Individual Placement and Support (IPS), an evidence-based supported employment model for working-age adults with serious mental illness, also serves transition age adults (TAY; ages 16-24). The IPS-Y is a new IPS fidelity scale tailored to this younger population. Although adopted worldwide, it lacks research on the psychometric properties of its…

This study examined the percentage of 21,257 supported employees served by 74 state-federal vocational rehabilitation agencies in 2013 who would have earned more wages in sheltered workshops than in the community. It found that the overwhelming majority of supported employees earned more in their communities at all wage comparison points; however,…

Students with significant disabilities typically experience poor postschool employment outcomes. However, when provided opportunities to work and engage within their communities, they can gain necessary work-specific and workplace social skills to improve outcomes. This article outlines a six-step model for community-based employment programs…

At the 2016 TASH Conference in St. Louis, a research colloquium was held that focused on the state of selected life-span services for people with severe disabilities. Topics addressed by leading experts in the field included inclusion, teaching academic skills, family support, challenging behavior, supported employment, and voting. This article…

If people with intellectual disability are to become truly self-determined, they must be allowed to express choice throughout their lives, including employment. Expectations for competitive employment tend to be low for this population, if considered at all (Citron et al., 2008). Theoretically, integrated employment options, including customized…

Young adults with disabilities face multiple challenges in obtaining successful post-school employment outcomes. This situation has remained relatively unchanged despite nearly 25 years of federal attention to the issue, including mandated transition services and a series of additional significant legislative responses. KentuckyWorks is a…

For early emerging adults with serious mental health conditions, vocational services with peer mentors are a promising adaptation of adult system evidence-based practices. Peer mentors were added to the Individual Placement and Support model of supported employment for 17- to 20-year-olds receiving residential and psychiatric care. To explore the…

Background: Functional assessments and supported employment procedures have the potential to enhance quality of life factors for adults who have historically been isolated. Method: Functional assessments and supported employment procedures were used to assist four adults with severe disability who exhibited challenging behaviour, to achieve…

Background: Individuals with severe disability exiting school are likely to be enrolled in day activity and sheltered workshops at least as often as in supported employment. Such facilities are often staffed by paraprofessionals who may not have the skills to engage clients in meaningful activities. This article describes a 3-phase staff training…

Roughly 54 million people with disabilities live in the U.S., and there are many more millions of people with disabilities around the world. Not surprisingly, differences among and between people with disabilities are often as notable as differences between people with and without disabilities. While the lack of homogeneity among people with…

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 purpose of this study was to identify job site supervisors' opinions regarding job placement, training, evaluation, and job maintenance of persons with disabilities. In order to assess the role of job site supervisors, 10 supervisors in businesses that employed individuals with handicaps were interviewed. Employment sites represented four…

A study investigated support provided to target employees who have been competitively employed. Ten supervisors in businesses employing individuals with handicaps were interviewed. Supervisors' roles included hiring, modifying the job, providing training, assisting co-workers in providing employee support, evaluating employees, and providing…

Evaluation of a shared-work program found that job coach assistance to three workers with severe multiple disabilities could be reduced by assigning each worker only those job tasks able to be performed with minimal assistance while ensuring that entire tasks were still completed by combining steps performed by all three workers. (Contains…