Entries by:
Bonnie Shoultz, Rannveig Traustadottir,
Nirmala Erevelles, Pat Rogan, and Steven J. Taylor
1991
Research and Training Center on Community Integration
Center on Human Policy
805 South Crouse Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2280
Preparation of these resource materials was supported by a contract awarded to the Center on Human Policy, Division of Special Education and Rehabilitation, School of Education, Syracuse University under Cooperative Agreement H133B00003-90 and Contract No. G0085C3503 funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the authors and no official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education should be inferred.
Some of the most exciting and creative progress in community integration of people with severe disabilities is now being made in efforts to place and support people in regular jobs in the community where they earn a decent wage and have opportunities to interact with nondisabled people. As is always the case in fast moving fields, the literature lags behind the exciting progress being made in this area. With this in mind the following reviews provide basic information to those who are interested in supported work.
TITLE: An instructional guide for training on a job site: A supported employment resource
AUTHOR: Barcus, M., Brooke, V., Inge, K., Moon, S., & Goodall, P.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- Virginia Commonwealth University
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
VCU Box 2011
Richmond, VA 23284-0001
This manual is written for vocational service providers who are directly involved with on-site job training of people with severe disabilities. The process and the corresponding forms included are based on work done in vocational services during the past nine years at Virginia Commonwealth University through Project Employability and the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. The authors point out that there are many approaches to vocational training and that this manual is not intended to be an all inclusive source of information on job site training. Instead this is a detailed procedural guide for professionals who wish to implement one particular approach to job site training.
TITLE: Supported employment: Parental involvement
AUTHOR: Beckett, C., & Fluke, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Exceptional Parent, 18(1), 20-26.
This article is primarily directed toward parents. The authors emphasize the importance of parental involvement in supported employment issues. At the same time they recognize that in order for parents to be effective advocates for their children, they must understand the concept of supported employment. The chapter describes a training program for parents that was developed to address the parents’ many questions and concerns around supported employment.
TITLE: Supported employment: A community implementation guide
AUTHOR: Bellamy, G. T., Rhodes, L. E., Mank, D. M. & Albin, J. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This book is a practical guide on how to make supported employment a reality. It gives practical advice for developing supported employment programs, including the initial planning stages, collecting information, and developing a program proposal. The authors also discuss four different approaches to consider, when establishing a supported employment program. These are: (1) individual supported jobs in community businesses, (2) enclaves, or work stations, in industry, (3) mobile work crews, and (4) other small businesses. In discussing these approaches the authors emphasize that each approach must meet the federal requirements for supported employment as well as five requirements the authors call “organizational accomplishments” which they recommend be used by supported employment organizations as a framework for planning, management and evaluation. It should be noted that some authors in the area of supported employment would argue that only individual job placements could truly meet the requirements outlined in the book. Despite this disagreement the book offers practical advice on how to develop, organize, operate, manage, and evaluate supported employment efforts and should be a practical resource for those who are involved in the planning and organization of supported employment programs, including parents, educators, and human service workers.
TITLE: The Madison strategy for evaluating the vocational milieu of a worker with severe intellectual disabilities
AUTHOR: Brown, L., Solner, A. U., Schwartz, P., Courchave, B., Kampschroer, E. F., VanDeventer, P., & Jorgenson, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: in press – available June 1991
- TASH
7010 Roosevelt Way, N.E.
Seattle, WA 98115
This volume’s primary purpose is to delineate a strategy that can be used to evaluate the vocational milieu of a worker with severe intellectual disabilities. It offers an alternative to many of the currently used vocational evaluation strategies and is based on the assumption that all people with severe disabilities can work in integrated work environments. This work has been underway since 1986, and has gone through four revisions. It was sent out for review to selected various agencies, service providers and public schools that are involved in vocational training, and was extensively revised based on their input. The latest version has been field-tested with 45 local individuals, and contains a checklist covering the evaluation areas.
TITLE: Integrated work: A rejection of segregated enclaves and mobile work crews
AUTHOR: Brown, L., Udvari-Solner, A., Frattura-Kampschroer, E., Davis, L., Ahlgren, C., VanDeventer, P., & Jorgensen, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1991
- In L. Meyer, C. Peck, & L. Brown (Eds.), Critical issues in the lives of people with severe disabilities (pp. 219-228).
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This chapter provides a detailed comparison of integrated work environments and enclave/work crew options. Five dimensions are discussed, including: (1) nature and cost of supervision, (2) nature and cost of transportation, (3) opportunities for work, (4) opportunities for social relationships, and (5) personalized matching of a worker to a work environment. Ideological values associated with each dimension are presented and contrasted between enclaves and individualized work environment options.
TITLE: The new Victors: A progressive policy analysis of work reform for people with very severe handicaps
AUTHOR: Ferguson, D. L. & Ferguson, P. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
- Mental Retardation, 24(6), 331-338.
The authors begin this article by reviewing the history of reform in human services and special education. They then use the experience of earlier reform movements as a guide for examining current efforts to expand the vocational opportunities available to individuals with severe disabilities. In this light, they discuss the meaning of work and the current state of the labor force. Their historical perspective leads them to caution against a new form of unintended exclusion of people with severe disabilities from community participation which can result from over reliance on economic utility at the price of social integration. In conclusion they make five specific suggestions for future research, policy, and practice to act as a guide for avoiding the mistakes of past reform movements.
TITLE: Toward supported employment: A process guide for planned change
AUTHOR: Gardner, J. F., Chapman, M. S., Donaldson, G., & Jacobson, S. G.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
Conversion from sheltered to integrated employment is a major change for an organization. This valuable book’s premise is that such change can be managed successfully. The book begins by concisely summarizing existing theory and knowledge about change, including methods for introducing change, design of strategic and long range action plans, and coping with internal and external resistance to change. It emphasizes involvement of all affected parties in the change process, including board members, staff at all levels, people with disabilities, parents, and community organizations. The book goes on to apply the conceptual material to conversion more specifically to supported employment, discussing such areas as leadership, organization readiness, market analysis, assessing staff needs, skills, and capabilities, organizational structure needed to maintain supported employment, and coordination with other human service providers and private sector organizations. The authors insist that the values and norms of the organization are critical to the change process, and properly emphasize the need to clarify and communicate these throughout the process. It is up to the reader, however, to define the values used to drive the change process, as the authors only suggest some general values. This may but does not need to present problems for readers who prefer the individualized placement approach.
TITLE: Vocational education for persons with handicaps
AUTHOR: Gaylord-Ross, R. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Mayfield Publishing Company
1240 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
This comprehensive textbook describes the multifaceted process of career preparation for students with disabilities. It is divided into four major sections having to do with vocational special education. The first part, dealing with policies and professional roles, contains chapters on legislation and policy, career education, professional roles and practices, and community living. The second section, on vocational assessment and preparation, looks at assessment, programming, and secondary vocational training. The third section describes and explores economic issues, the business perspective, the ecology of the workplace, and adult employment programs. The last section contains four chapters that look at vocational education for persons with different levels or types of disabilities–mild disabilities, severe disabilities, physical disabilities, and sensory disabilities. While the authors of these chapters include well-known writers in every aspect of the field, readers may have difficulty with their complexity. Several chapters are excellent, however.
Ian Pumpian, Elizabeth West, and Holly Shepard, for example, contributed a chapter entitled “Vocational Education of Persons with Severe Handicaps.” This chapter starts by raising some fundamental value questions that provide the basis for developing and evaluating services for people with severe disabilities. The authors argue that consistent answers to such questions are essential to understanding the current direction and debate concerning training and employment. The authors also criticize some of the current supported employment practices, for example, for either excluding people with the most severe disabilities or selecting pseudointegration models, as has been the case with some enclave and work crew programs. The chapter reviews some of the school trends and initiatives that have contributed to the evolution of supported work and discuss current trends and initiatives in adult services.
TITLE: Vocational education for students with handicaps
AUTHOR: Gaylord-Ross, R.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1989
- In D. Biklen, D. L. Ferguson, & A. Ford (Eds.), Schooling and disability: Eighty-eighth yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part II (pp. 203-231). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
In this article, the author describes a qualitative study of vocational integration of people with developmental disabilities in five European countries: Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and West Germany. Based on five months of travel through these countries, where the author conducted numerous site visits; completed over 250 interviews; and reviewed 500 documents, the author describes patterns of vocational integration in these five countries, as compared to efforts underway in the United States. The author concludes by identifying and discussing five important variables which can facilitate social change toward integrated work: (1) “political will,” (2) the presence of a “charismatic leader(s),” (3) the presence of “model demonstration programs,” (4) the level of “instructional technology” among staff, and (5) the “economic state” of a particular country.
TITLE: Supported employment: Federal policies and state activities related to integrated work opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities
AUTHOR: Gettings, R. M., & Katz, R. E.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- National Association of State Mental
Retardation Program Directors
113 Oronoco Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
The aim of this report is twofold. First, it explores how federal and state policies influence the participation of people with severe disabilities in the general work force. Second, it explores the current activities of state MR/DD (Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disability) agencies in the area of supported employment programs. Part one summarizes recent federal legislation and demonstrates the various, often interrelated ways, in which federal policies can influence (either positively or negatively) the establishment of supported employment programs across the nation. Part two describes how many states are actively converting day activity programs into supported employment. Part two is based on a state-by-state survey conducted by the National Association of State Mental retardation Program Directors.
The purpose of the report is to offer a descriptive analysis of current events. Therefore, it does not draw conclusions or contain recommendations. However, because it discusses many crucial issues it contributes to a greater awareness of the role of state agencies in helping workers with severe disabilities to find and retain jobs in the community. The report also demonstrates how various federal policies influence the availability and accessibility of employment opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities.
TITLE: The social integration of supported employees: A qualitative study
AUTHOR: Hagner, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1989
- Center on Human Policy
Syracuse University
200 Huntington Hall, 2nd Floor
Syracuse, NY 13244-2340
This study examines the social interactions that occurred within supported employment settings in Syracuse, NY, between workers with disabilities and their co-workers without disabilities. It also examines the job supports at these work settings, to understand the relationship between formal support services and natural job supports.
This study should affect the supported employment field profoundly. Its major finding is that even though employees were physically integrated on their jobs, they were often socially isolated, not because of their disabilities but because of how their jobs were set up. That is, their jobs tended to be structured in ways that inhibited natural social interaction, and their job coaches did not teach (and often discouraged) participation in social customs. The author, who spent hundreds of hours observing co-worker interactions on jobs, found that workers talk, joke, and give assistance to each other on a regular basis, and that there is often an informal mentoring system by which new workers are socialized into jobs. He concludes that job coaches sometimes bring a human service perspective and a narrow job task focus to a work setting, being unaware of or ignoring the wider “culture” of a workplace. Many supported employment services will recognize themselves in his descriptions of practices that tend to exclude supported employees from participating in the workplace culture, which could be a powerful source of natural support.
TITLE: Payment mechanisms for community employment: Realities and recommendations
AUTHOR: Hagner, D., Nisbet, J., Callahan, M., & Moseley, C.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 12(1), 45-52.
The article describes the payment mechanisms that are available to reimburse workers with severe disabilities for performed work. The authors demonstrate that even if the current regulations do provide mechanisms whereby workers with severe disabilities can both work in fully integrated settings and receive pay, the options available for these workers have serious limitations. Current regulations allow for a few different types of employment by workers with severe disabilities and the authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of those: (1) competitive employment at, above, or below minimum wage, (2) contracted employment through a rehabilitation agency, and (3) self-employment. The discussion includes suggestions for utilization of different available payment options. The article concludes with recommendations for changes both on the level of service provision and public policy.
TITLE: Employment outcomes for people with moderate and severe disabilities: An eight-year longitudinal analysis of supported competitive employment
AUTHOR: Hill, M. L., Wehman, P. H., Kregel, J., Banks, P. D., & Metzler, H. M. D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 12(3), 182-189.
(This article is one in a series of three articles that all focus on the benefits and costs of supported employment. All three articles were published in the same issue of JASH. The other two articles (by Noble & Conley and by Rhodes, Ramsing & Hill) are not included in this listing but are worth reading.)
This article presents information on the benefits and costs associated with supported competitive employment and is based on an eight-year analysis. This is one of the few benefit-cost analyses that has focused on people with mental retardation who have received supported competitive employment services over an extended period of time. The authors’ analysis showed a substantial savings to society by utilizing the model of supported competitive employment. Their results also showed a significant financial benefit to workers with moderate and severe disabilities. The authors conclude that hopefully this information will provide encouragement to those who make fiscal decisions related to supported competitive employment.
TITLE: Supported employment: What about those in Medicaid funded day treatment and day activity centers?
AUTHOR: Laski, F., & Shoultz, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987, May
- Word From Washington, 12-14.
In this article the authors remind us that supported employment is designed for individuals with severe disabilities who have traditionally been served in day activity programs. At the same time some of the supported employment programs have been used to serve people with mild disabilities who have had, or should have had, other vocational services to achieve and maintain competitive employment. The authors analyze how the federal funding and administration of the Medicaid Program have affected vocational services for people with severe disabilities and argue that these funding mechanisms make it a virtual certainty that states utilizing Title XIX funds for day programs will continue to exclude adults with severe handicaps from vocational services, including supported employment.
TITLE: Getting employed, staying employed: Job development and training for persons with severe handicaps
AUTHORS: McLoughlin, C. S., Garner, J. B., & Callahan, M. (Eds.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This excellent and practical book investigates the processes involved in developing jobs in integrated settings, and methods for facilitating employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities. The first part deals with the problems of sheltered work. Based on an analysis of cost effectiveness and programmatic ideologies, the first chapter demonstrates how these workshops are inherently inadequate. The authors suggest that sheltered work environments should be systematically phased out in favor of employment in integrated settings. The rest of the book serves as a practical manual for job development, placement and training for people with severe disabilities. This book provides unusually valuable guidelines for people who are interested in developing integrated individualized jobs for people with severe disabilities.
TITLE: Helping persons with severe mental retardation get and keep employment: Supported employment issues and strategies
AUTHOR: Moon, S. W., Inge, K. J., Wehman, P., Brooke, V., & Barcus, M. J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1990
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This book was written to address the exclusion of persons with severe and multiple disabilities from supported employment training and placement programs–an exclusion that is well documented at this point in time, despite the fact that this is the group for whom supported employment was intended. This book provides information specifically related to helping people with the most severe disabilities get and keep real jobs in regular work places.
The first half of the book examines a variety of issues, including strategies for assessment, present performance outcomes for people with severe mental retardation, and job placement for students in transition to adulthood, and should challenge the reader to recognize what remains to be done in implementing supported employment. The last five chapters are more technical in nature, and can serve as a day-to-day guide for persons directly involved in programs. These chapters describe methods that have worked and that can be replicated. This is an excellent resource for program administrators and staff as well as parents and people in state decision-making positions.
TITLE: Achieving success in integrated workplaces: Critical elements in assisting persons with severe disabilities
AUTHOR: Nisbet, J., & Callahan, M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- In S. J. Taylor, D. Biklen, & J. Knoll (Eds.), Community integration for people with severe disabilities (pp. 184-201). New York: Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027.
This chapter provides an overview of the elements of successful job placements for people with severe disabilities. Specifically the authors outline the rationale for a fully individualized approach to job placement, including methods for coordinating services across the various agencies which are usually involved in the life of a person with a severe disability. The authors also address key issues related to supports and skill development with special emphasis given to natural supports and the development of on-the-job relationships.
TITLE: Squeezing long-term supports out of a short-term program: Independence issues and supported employment
AUTHOR: Nisbet, J., Rogan, P., & Hagner, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1989
- Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 20(3), 21-25.
This article analyzes the vocational service system’s tradition of emphasizing independence rather than interdependence. Sections examine current conceptions and misconceptions about “independence” in rehabilitation, and the issue of long-term support as it relates to supported employment. The author argue for the use of natural supports, ongoing supports, and a reexamination of state policies and funding formulas to remove disincentives to individualized supported jobs.
TITLE: Real jobs
AUTHOR: People First of Ontario
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Entourage, 3(1), 41 & 49.
This short article describes the third annual meeting of People First of Ontario, held on October 30, 1987. The meeting was titled: “Real Jobs in the Community” and focused on the difference between segregated (workshop) jobs and integrated (real) jobs. In the form of two resolutions, People First of Ontario pledged to act on their own behalf and agreed to make “Real Jobs” a major project in the coming year by approaching the local associations for community living and going to the provincial government to urge that real jobs be found for people labelled mentally retarded.
TITLE: Supported employment: Providing integrated employment opportunities for persons with disabilities
AUTHOR: Powell, T., Pancsofar, E., Steere, D., Butterworth, J.,
Itzkowitz, J., & Rainforth, B.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1991
- Longman Publishing Group
95 Church Street
Long Island, NY 10601-1505
The 18 chapters of this book are filled with useful information for practitioners and others associated with the provision of supported employment services. The book begins with an overview of supported employment and guiding principles. Next, a career-planning approach is described which is based on the Lifestyle Planning and Personal Futures Planning work of O’Brien and Mount. Other valuable chapters include discussions os instructional techniques, assessment strategies, behavioral intervention strategies, co- worker and supervisor supports, family involvement, and transition issues. Overall, the strength of this book is its usability as a handy tool and reference.
TITLE: New roles for parents
AUTHOR: Pressman, H.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- The Exceptional Parent, 17(1), 36-40.
This article describes how parents of young people with special needs are making an impact on the employment opportunities of these young people. The author gives many examples from across the country about the important role parents can play in influencing vocational opportunities ranging from applying for state grants, to establishing vocational training programs in schools, to training other parents to be advocates for their children, to establishing corporations to provide jobs.
TITLE: Vocational evaluation in supported employment
AUTHOR: Rogan, P., & Hagner, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1990, January/February/March
- Journal of Rehabilitation
There are problems with the traditional approaches to vocational evaluation for people with severe disabilities. This article discusses ways in which supported employment has been adopted within traditional vocational evaluation practices, and provide arguments supporting the need for reexamination and revamping of traditional ideologies and practices. Finally, the authors offer a model of vocational evaluation that is compatible with the principles of supported employment.
TITLE: Competitive employment: Issues and strategies
AUTHOR: Rusch, F. R. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This book is a significant contribution to the literature on community employment of people with disabilities. Section one consists of six chapters. Chapter one describes obstacles to competitive employment and program options to overcome them. Chapters two through six describe and discuss five programs which use different approaches to achieve competitive employment. Section two consists of eleven chapters and focuses on competitive employment methods. The chapters address a number of specific techniques and strategies in relation to competitive employment programs, from initial assessment to long term follow-up. Section two also has two chapters on developing training sites and community jobs. Both contain useful suggestions and information. Section three explores competitive employment issues in seven chapters. Most of these chapters present contemporary service delivery issues in vocational programming. The book concludes with an epilogue on integrated work in the form of an interview with Dr. Lou Brown.
TITLE: Supported employment: Models, methods, and issues
AUTHOR: Rusch, F. R. (Ed.)
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1990
- Sycamore Publishing Company
P.O. Box 133
Sycamore, IL 60178
This is a comprehensive book (25 chapters) covering many aspects of supported employment, with an emphasis on support as the hallmark of the approach and integration as its most defining contribution. The first 14 chapters, which deal with historical developments, experiences in several states, characteristics of programs, and methods, include some good discussions of worker-directed placement and promoting natural support and social acceptance. The chapter on worker-directed placement, for example, emphasizes the importance of organizing services so that workers with severe disabilities are assisted to achieve employment and other life goals that are personally defined, rather than controlled or established by the service provider. In this discussion, the worker provides the guidance and the professional the technology the worker uses to realize his or her choices. The difficult process of transformation of traditional supported employment services to a program that understands and supports consumer choices is explained and a model for doing so is proposed.
The next 7 chapters focus on issues in supported employment, including incentives and disincentives, cost-benefit analysis, conversion from adult day care, current national issues, and future opportunities, questions, and concerns. A final section focuses on the transition from school to work, looking at secondary vocational training, community planning, personnel preparation, and state planning.
TITLE: Supported employment: Emerging opportunities for employment integration
AUTHOR: Rusch, F., Chadsey-Rusch, J., & Johnson, J.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1991
- In L. Meyer, C. Peck, & L. Brown (Eds.), Critical issues in the lives of people with severe disabilities (pp. 145-169).
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
The authors begin by describing supported employment, including placement approaches and program components. An overview of research related to wages and benefit-cost analyses, integration, and ongoing support in supported employment is provided. Finally, the authors discuss each of these three areas further, focusing on unresolved issues and suggestions for future research.
TITLE: The impact of integrated employment on leisure lifestyles
AUTHOR: Sandys, J., & Leaker, D.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Entourage, 3(1), 17-23.
This article focuses on the way in which integrated work can influence the use of leisure time of workers with disabilities. The authors argue that after-hour socializing with fellow workers is in the majority of cases greater in community jobs than in sheltered workshop jobs. While most supported employment programs do not focus specifically on the issue of relationship building the authors argue that integrated work has, at least for some workers with disabilities, resulted in opportunities to interact and develop relationships with non-disabled people.
TITLE: Establishing effective community-based training stations
AUTHOR: Stainback, W., Stainback, S., Nietupski, J., & Hamre-Nietupski, S.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
- In F. Rusch (Ed.), Competitive employment: Issues and strategies.
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This chapter describes a rationale for the use of community-based training sites during the school years and suggests guidelines for developing and maintaining these sites. The chapter is aimed primarily at school personnel who are unfamiliar with the use of community-based training sites.
TITLE: From school to work: A vocational transition model for handicapped students
AUTHOR: Wehman, P., Kregel, J., & Barcus, J. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1985
- Exceptional Children, 52(1), 25-37.
In this article, the authors describe a three-stage vocational transition model for young people with disabilities as they move into adulthood. A major part of the article is directed toward emphasizing the necessity for functional curriculum in integrated educational settings with community based training opportunities. In addition the authors recommend the use of a written individualized transition plan and emphasize the importance of parental input. The authors conclude by recommending that all school systems provide regular follow-up of special education graduates on a minimum of every two to three years in order to determine the effectiveness of transition plans in reducing the extraordinarily high unemployment rate of people with disabilities.
TITLE: A report on competitive employment histories of persons labeled severely mentally retarded
AUTHOR: Wehman, P., Hill, J. W., Wood, W., & Parent, W.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1987
- Journal of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 12(1), 11-17.
This article is based on the authors’ in-depth study of 21 individuals with severe mental retardation working in integrated competitive supported employment settings. The purpose was to describe the employment experiences of these 21 individuals over an eight-year period from 1978-1986. The data described in the article presents both positive and negative commentary on competitive employment prospects for people with severe mental retardation and concludes by making suggestions for improving the quality of vocational interventions, including more creative and comprehensive job development and more powerful and systematic intervention techniques.
TITLE: Vocational rehabilitation and supported employment
AUTHOR: Wehman, P., & Moon, S.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This book provides an extensive and at times inspirational overview of the supported employment field. It discusses philosophies, ideas, and models of supported employment as well as practical issues such as interagency perspectives, funding, management of rehabilitation agencies engaged in conversion to supported employment, inservice training for supported employment personnel, marketing strategies and other implementation issues. The last section of the book discusses supported employment applications with different groups of people, specifically people with autism, traumatic brain injury, severe and persistent mental illness, physical disabilities, and severe and profound mental retardation. An early chapter, by M. Sherril Moon and Susan L. Griffin, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of individualized placement, enclaves, mobile work crews, and small business options in a balanced way that demonstrates the clear advantages of individualized placement for the worker and the agency.
TITLE: Transition from school to work: New challenges for youth with severe disabilities
AUTHOR: Wehman, P., Moon, S. M., Everson, J. M., Wood, W., & Barcus, J. M.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1988
- Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
This book is a practical guide to planning and implementing successful transition programs for adolescents with severe disabilities. The book focuses on sustained employment as the primary goal of transition. The authors argue that they do not intend to minimize the importance of community living competence, but rather to emphasize the influence that employment can have on all dimensions of an individual’s life. Throughout the book the authors provide a variety of sample forms, charts, tables, and lists for individual transition plans, program evaluation and interagency cooperation.
Appendices include guidelines for parent involvement in vocational training and a selected annotated bibliography on supported employment and transition. This book should be useful for practitioners, parents, researchers, students and advocates.
TITLE: Implementing a community-based vocational training model: A process for systems change
AUTHOR: Wershing, A., Gaylord-Ross, C., & Gaylord-Ross, R.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
- Education and Training of the Mentally Retarded, 21(2), 130-137.
This article describes procedures necessary to implement a community-based instructional model for vocational training. Issues involved in facilitating systems change are addressed. Strategies for use in gaining administrative support, in programming, community site selection and development, parent involvement, and employer participation are provided. The benefits of community-based vocational training for students with disabilities, in preparation for transition to employment opportunities, are illustrated through presentation of a case study.
TITLE: Expanding employment opportunities and options through major barrier removal
AUTHOR: Whitehead, C. W.
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1986
- Employment-Related Services
901 Sixth Street, SW #609A
Washington, DC 20024
This article describes the major changes in legislation created by the 99th Congress, which impact favorably upon employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. Specifically outlined are changes in: (1) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (2) the Education for all Handicapped Children Act; (3) the Fair Labor Standards Act; (4) the Work Incentive Provisions of the Social Security Act; (5) the Tax Revisions of 1986; and (7) the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).
The author also addresses related actions taken by the Social Security Administration in an effort to reduce barriers to employment and concludes by discussing seven issues that remain as barriers to employment.
The following two journals have each devoted a whole issue to transition from school to work and vocational issues.
Exceptional Children, April 1985, 53(6).
Special Issue: The Transition from School to Adult Life
This issue of Exceptional Children is devoted to the transition from school to adult life. Most of the eleven articles are more of an overview than a detailed description of programming and how to go about doing things.
Exceptional Parent, January/February 1988, 18(1).
Special Issue: Educational Planning
This issue of Exceptional Parent is devoted to educational planning, transition from school to work and vocational issues. All the articles and information in the issue are primarily directed toward parents who have daughters or sons with disabilities.
OTHER RESOURCES
The two organizations below have both specialized in vocational issues, especially supported employment. Both have available resource materials on supported employment and provide training for people who are interested in supported employment. Also below is information on a videotape produced by Human Policy Press.
- Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children (CSAAC)
751 Twinbrook Parkway
Rockville, MD 20851
(301) 762-1650
CSAAC operates a vocational program for people with autism and is a recipient of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide training in supported employment. CSAAC also has available diverse material, such as monographs, videotapes, etc., on supported employment. Much of their material is sold at cost.
- Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC)
Virginia Commonwealth University
VCU Box 2011
Richmond, VA 23284-0001
(804) 367-1851
This is research and training center that focuses exclusively on supported employment for people with mental retardation. RRTC has available a wide variety of material on supported employment, including written material, slide-shows, and videotapes. Some of their material is free, other is available for a fee.