A survey administered to 91 supported employment job coaches and 86 supervisors revealed that confusion exists over what constitutes an aversive intervention versus a nonaversive intervention for persons with disabilities. When asked to rate 20 vignettes describing interventions, respondents' ratings ranged from nonaversive to severely aversive on…

Procedures are outlined for employing a resource components approach to collect and report cost information on training and supported employment programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Examination of the costs of 41 Minnesota programs indicates that costs are functionally related to different consumer and program factors. (Author/JDD)

The study attempted to identify activities performed by 47 job developers that positively or negatively influenced job placement. Variance in job placement was influenced by marketing activities, available job development time, use of specific client assessment procedures, frequency of use of trial job placements, and gender of the job developers.…

Interviews with 84 employers in 6 occupational clusters resulted in identification of the following top incentives to hiring a person with mental retardation: probability of regular attendance, ongoing availability of assistance, high probability of long-term employment, and availability of person for on-site training. The two lowest incentives…

This exploratory resource allocation model for implementing community-based supported employment services for persons with mental retardation uses a multivariate linear regression approach to project the hours required to develop a job site based on the size of the community, the rate of unemployment, and the percent of service jobs. (Author/DB)

This study employed direct observation to assess social interaction patterns of eight employees with severe disabilities and seven without disabilities in a supported employment setting. Variance was substantial among individual employees. Although patterns of interaction were similar between groups, statistically significant differences were…

Perceived quality of life was compared among 10 individuals with disabilities in supported community employment, 10 individuals in sheltered workshops, and 9 individuals without disabilities. Supported community employment was positively related to number of leisure activities, self-esteem, use of leisure time, involvement in activities, mobility,…

A more businesslike approach to job development, which stresses meeting employer needs, is encouraged for growth in supported employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Seven job development guidelines are offered, including research businesses to identify personnel needs and problems, and define services so employers understand…

This study examined the social interactions and activities of 15 workers with mental retardation employed in supported competitive employment positions and 15 co-workers. Although the supported employees and co-workers did not differ in the total number of interactions, co-workers interacted more frequently during breaktime whereas supported…

This paper examines current issues in supported employment in the areas of assessment, job analysis, instructional technology, and management. How supported employment can be implemented more effectively is discussed along with areas in which further policy implementation and research are needed. (Author/DB)

A self-management training package used in conjunction with a changing performance criterion was effective in increasing the number of steps a profoundly retarded student in a community employment setting was able to perform independently. A four-step model for teaching the severely disabled to manage their own behavior is suggested. (Author/DB)

Interviews with 34 persons with developmental disabilities in supported employment indicated that the majority liked their jobs, were satisfied with the help that their job coach had provided, had a voice in choosing their job, would rather work in the community than attend a workshop, and reported having friends at work. (Author/JDD)

The performance of two adults, one with moderate and one with severe mental retardation, in a community employment site was compared. Results indicated that both participants learned to perform the target tasks equally well though the individual with severe mental retardation required substantially more training. (DB)

Iowa high school graduates (n=322) with mental disabilities were interviewed one and three years after graduation, concerning general status, employment, and adult adjustment. Over the postgraduation period, subjects became more independent in living arrangements and increased the number of hours per week of employment, but only approximately 20%…

This study follows up a study examining use of self-monitoring to remediate social skills of a young man with Down syndrome in supported competitive employment. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the follow-along component of supported employment and the use of a criterion-referenced assessment and treatment package to retrain technical job…