New Jersey's early learning system is poised for change. The momentum for providing an aligned and coordinated system of early education is building. Yet, in order for such a system to successfully come to fruition, advocates the author, more work is needed. Collaboration between the state's Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE),…

This article is a review of the long-term follow-up study of competitively employed individuals with significant developmental disabilities by Brown, Shiraga, and Kessler (2006). In this report, 50 people with developmental disabilities were followed for 20 years and their work histories carefully chronicled. Notably, all of these individuals were…

Postschool outcomes for students with disabilities have been dismal for quite some time now. Although recent data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 indicate some improvement, students with severe intellectual disabilities continue to transition into segregated employment at unacceptable rates in spite of a multitude of studies,…

Numerous studies show that employment, community participation, and postsecondary training rates of students with severe disabilities after leaving high school are the lowest of all disability categories and compare unfavorably to those of their peers without disabilities. In addition, outcomes generally do not improve as these students age. Certo…

The Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services discusses the office's initiative encouraging supported employment for the disabled. Accomplishments of the initiative include implementation in all states and territories. Employment trends favoring increased employment of the disabled include the need for…

This tribute to the late Robert Gaylord-Ross notes his research, publications, teaching, and commitment to the cause of the disabled especially the provision of vocational education and supported employment services to allow open employment of persons with disability. (DB)

The director of an agency for the blind and visually impaired examines the service-delivery dilemma of funding versus placement decisions. Three program areas demonstrate this dilemma: (1) Social Security Disability Insurance disincentives to competitive placement; (2) the private agency's role when the educational system falls short; and (3)…

This article explores issues related to the use of supported employment and time-related transitional employment for blind and visually impaired persons. It defines the concepts; describes the characteristics that distinguish these services from others; and discusses the need for these services from ecological, philosophical, fiscal, and learning…

Defines and discusses 10 program-development, research, and policy-analysis needs that are crucial for the continued success of the supported-employment program for individuals with disabilities. These include the following: consumer choice and self-determination, meaningful employment outcomes, employer needs and perceptions, natural supports,…

Challenges to supported employment programs for people with disabilities include conversion of day programs to integrated work options, expansion of program capacity, the need to ensure consumer choice and self-determination, and the achievement of meaningful employment outcomes. Specific recommendations are offered for each challenge. (Author/DB)

The "place-train" model of supported employment, appropriate for developmental disability, must be replaced by a "choose-get-keep" model for supported employment of people with psychiatric disabilities. Key model concepts include client job choice, development of job seeking skills, and application of appropriate job behaviors. (Author/DB)

This paper suggests that supported employment programs should view themselves as learning organizations for whom people with severe or profound disabilities are a prized resource, since they encourage the organization to invent new ways to develop jobs, foster administrative flexibility, review assumptions about potential, and take responsibility…

The literature on parental attitudes towards supported employment for adults with mental retardation is reviewed, and issues needing further research are raised. The role of expectations in service delivery and research is pointed out. (Author/DB)

This paper reviews the literature concerned with vocational placement and rehabilitation for individuals with severe mental disorders (SMD), and offers recommendations for rehabilitation counselors. It notes that about 85 percent of this population is unemployed, and the rate of job placement for people with SMD is about half that of other people…

Summarizes the present status of supported employment for people with disabilities, discusses major accomplishments of the initiative (such as positive results in benefit-cost analyses) and identifies challenges, including continuing high numbers of individuals in segregated programs, lack of supported employment services for individuals with…