This article proposes a continuum of employment training options for students with special needs and identifies program quality indicators in the areas of assessment and the Individual Education Plan; the employment training program; community-based settings; provisions for on-site training and evaluation; and interagency cooperation. (DB)

Reports findings from a national survey of 385 day support providers regarding conversion of resources from segregated services to supported employment. Approximately 23% of all agencies and 37% of agencies with both facility-based programs and supported employment indicate that they had converted resources to community-based employment.…

Provides an in-depth look at two young women (ages 18 and 22) with severe mental retardation who obtained competitive employment with support from their families, employment specialist, and coworkers while attending public school. The process and design of such employment supports are described. (Author/CR)

A study involving an adult with severe mental retardation and other disabilities found that the addition of a communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and eliciting co-worker support for social integration increased the social interactions of the employee in a supported employment setting. (Contains references.) (CR)

A program to meet training needs of personnel providing supported employment services to people with developmental disabilities in all parts of Alaska is described. The competency-based training program uses an independent learning format and master trainers. Evaluation indicated that the materials, the study format, and the master trainer model…

Given that the society has not been able to redistribute financial support away from day and sheltered programs, it needs to cut off the supply of consumers. To make this happen, Rusch and Braddock offered two recommendations in their study: (1) All students must leave high school either competitively employed or admitted to a postsecondary…

Aim: This study investigate what characteristics of supported employment increase quality of life and whether quality of life is higher in supported employment workers or the sheltered ones in Spain. Typicalness, the degree to which the characteristics of a job are the same as those of co-workers without a disability in the same company, was…

Currently recommended practice in supported work emphasizes training job skills to workers with severe disabilities while on the job. Early behavioral research indicated that skills needed in natural environments could also be trained in simulated settings. We compared job-site plus simulation training for teaching job skills to supported workers…

Major ongoing supported employment studies conducted at the Rehabilitation Research Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University are profiled in this newsletter. The training center involves individuals with disabilities in the design, implementation, and interpretation of the research. The first research study examined the opinions of 110…

An evaluation was conducted of the first year (1990-91) of Project HIRE (Hiring into Rewarding Employment). Project HIRE was a 3-year federally-funded project designed to assist students with disabilities to gain and retain meaningful employment by maintaining secondary support services until this transition is completed successfully. During the…

This qualitative study examined the perspectives of people with significant disabilities (N=23) and their family members about their overall employment experiences, outcomes, and expectations. Four focus groups were convened, two groups of people with significant disabilities and two groups of family members. Disabilities represented included…

This paper provides a historical overview of sheltered workshops and presents information about service innovations and mission expansion. The first workshop in the United States was the Perkins Institute, opened in 1837 for individuals with visual handicaps. This workshop was typical of "categorical" workshops that were established during this…

This booklet is intended for individuals with disabilities, their families, friends, and advocates who are interested in supported employment. It begins with a description of the system that provides supported employment, explaining that vocational rehabilitation agencies and social services agencies "buy" supported employment services from direct…

Because of their consistent presence in the work environment, co-workers have been identified as a potentially powerful resource available to provide support to employees with disabilities in supported employment programs. The "Co-worker Involvement Instrument" allows employment training specialists and job supervisors to estimate…

This Task Force report offers recommendations to state legislatures in the following policy areas: early intervention, family support, transition services, community living, supported employment, and funding for persons with developmental disabilities. Stressed is a consumer orientation which focuses on individual and family strengths and needs.…