Barriers and Ways to Address Them

State entities informed us of many barriers which impede the development and administration of employment programs, with the greatest barrier that persons with developmental disabilities encounter being a lack of transportation. All State Council directors list transportation as one of the top five barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities. (Appendix C reflects the barriers rated by State Council directors).

The general consensus of Councils to remedy transportation problems is to assemble a task force of the friends, parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, job coaches, and prospective coworkers of the person with developmental disabilities to devise an individualized transportation plan so that he/she has the ability to go to work on a dependable basis with a reliable mode of transportation.

Respondents also said that fear of losing a monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check is a disincentive to work. People with developmental disabilities may also have chronic medical conditions, yet may not have health insurance to pay for the care. These two barriers may be addressed by the proposed Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which will expand Medicaid options for States and encourage SSI beneficiaries to return to work by providing an assurance that cash benefits will remain available if employment proves unsuccessful.

Negative perceptions held by employers about the employability of a person with developmental disabilities are a common obstacle. Raising public awareness and support for obtaining jobs for persons with developmental disabilities can be accomplished through presentations to civic groups such as Chambers of Commerce, Lions and Rotary clubs, and employer groups, and by developing business advisory councils. Such advisory councils are groups of employers which periodically assemble to discuss employment needs in the community and how to effectively hire individuals with developmental disabilities. They can assist employers in understanding their responsibilities in regards to the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically any physical accommodations which must be made to adapt their workplace for a prospective employee with developmental disabilities. Also, of the employers surveyed, 7 of 10 indicate that assistive technology is not needed for their newly hired individuals with developmental disabilities.

Communicative skills in a professional business setting are traditionally a weakness of persons with developmental disabilities. Work and social skills may be enhanced on the job with the assistance of a job coach and a supervisor. Also, a practical way to address concerns of employers is to demonstrate the various skills and abilities that the person with developmental disabilities can contribute to the job. Job agencies can work specifically with individual employers to make successful one-on-one matches.

Lack of flexible financing arrangements among State entities is a commonly expressed barrier by State Councils, Vocational Rehabilitation, State Mental Health, and State Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities agencies. Several State entities in Massachusetts recently developed a mixed funding stream through years of collaborative meetings where the various agencies used creativity to devise a manageable, cooperative arrangement of financing where community based providers charge the same amount for certain pre-approved services. This mixed funding stream is an outcome based payment system which allows funding to be assigned to developmentally disabled individuals who can choose their service components as well as providers of service.