What our new center is about: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can work and want to work--yet the majority don't have jobs. State and national policies exist to increase employment, but systems have not aligned to make integrated employment a priority. To meet this need, the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at…

This manual was designed primarily for use by individuals with developmental disabilities and related conditions. It is hoped that it is also useful for families, as well as service coordinators and providers who directly assist families and individuals with developmental disabilities. The focus of this manual is to provide easy-to-read…

The article reports the evaluation of a small-scale-supported employment project in a local authority in England. The study examined whether or not the peer support model could be used to deliver supported employment to a group of young people with intellectual disabilities. We utilised a mixed-method approach involving activity data, family…

Background: Current information technology offers the promise of innovative approaches to engagement for mental health. Specific psychosocial services may also benefit from technology-based engagement interventions. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an evidence-based service that helps people who have a severe mental illness to gain…

This study assessed the possibility of training two individuals with cognitive impairments using a system that reduced breaks in performance. This study was carried out according to an ABAB sequence in which A represented the baseline and B represented intervention phases. Data showed that the two participants significantly increased their target…

The study examined the differential experiences and outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families receiving self-directed services based on the type of personal support worker hired (parents, siblings, other relatives, friends, and agency staff). The sample consisted of 372 participants in a self-directed…

Hispanic women who are deaf constitute a heterogeneous group of individuals with varying vocational needs. To understand the unique needs of this population, it is important to analyze how consumer characteristics, presence of public supports, and type of services provided influence employment outcomes for Hispanic women who are deaf. The purpose…

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…

In this article, we examine supported employment and its impact on the level of employment, disposable income, and sum of allowances, targeting a group of individuals with disabilities. We have particularly focused on individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Supported employment is a vocational rehabilitation service with an empowerment approach…

Rehabilitation counselors and practitioners are under increased pressure to adopt and pursue evidenced-based practices, and the rehabilitation counseling literature has been criticized for a lack of empirical work providing support for individual-level interventions. The purpose of this literature review was to examine the last 25 years of…

The aim of this contribution is to shed light on the following questions: to what extent are labour market policy measures accessible for women and men with ID (intellectual disabilities)? What is the reality of transition to employment for this target group? What is the success rate of women and men with ID accessing labour market policy measures…

Traditional practice in employment of persons with disabilities has been to assess the skills and interests of the job seeker in relation to normative standards or to others. That comparative approach often results in job seekers with significant developmental disabilities being viewed as having few skills and lacking requisite work readiness,…

This study discusses the phenomenon of making claims of excellence by universities, which we interpret as a response, inter alia, to the hitherto unfamiliar context of scarce and diminishing resources. The main objective is to understand how claims of excellence are mobilised by higher education institutions to achieve "competitive advantage". The…

This study investigated whether sheltered workshops help prepare individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for competitive employment within the community. Two groups of individuals were compared: (a) 215 supported employees who were in sheltered workshops prior to entering supported employment and (b) 215 supported employees who were not in…

Background: The benefits of being in employment are well documented; however, underemployment is a critical issue for people with intellectual disability (ID). Some individuals perceive themselves as being in employment when in fact they are attending a non-work site such as a day service. The impact that this perception of employment has on other…