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Supported Employment
| Empowering individuals with developmental disabilities to dream and achieve careers and community inclusion. |
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Success stories
Brandon
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Michellee
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Sarah
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Nathan
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What is supported employment?
Supported employment is a service that assists an individual to get, learn and keep a paid job/career in an integrated work setting where most of your co-workers are persons without disabilities. Paid work may be full time or part time. Each worker with a disability may have his or her own individual job or work within a small group called a crew or enclave.
Supported Employment is sometimes called “Customized Employment” when a job is individually negotiated and developed. It is based on an individualized determination of the strengths, needs and interests of the person with a disability, and also is designed to meet the specific needs of the employer. Customized employment assumes that accommodations and supports will be identified to allow the individual to perform the functions of a job. For a few individuals supported employment may mean "self-employment", having your own business and having your own boss.
Specialized employment staff or typical non diabled co-workers at a business site may be paid or just naturally assist an individual with:
- Job exploration - discovering their work interests and abilities;
- Job development - finding a job matching those interests;
- Job Coaching - helping learn the skills of a particular job; and
- Job Support - helping the worker and employer with issues of job performance in a way that helps assure on-going success at the job site.
Review the definitions for standard terms that may be used throughout this supported employment site and linked tools.
The Supported Employment Partnership
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Supported Employment is an inter-agency partnership that brings together resources to help an individual get, learn and keep a job or career. Staff from various agencies will form an employment team and work with you, creating one plan for your success.
One dream, one team, putting many resources together for one great job.
Learn more about Andy:
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Andy Owens working at Powell's Books in Portland OR |
Resources to get and learn a job or career (time limited)
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Vocational Rehabilitation Funding (VR) - Oregon has two agencies responsible for helping eligible individuals with disabilities to become employed:
- Local School Transition Resources - If you are a student in special education aged 14-21, school resources should be directed to assist in the achievement of your adult goals, including employment. Learn more...
- Social Security Work Incentives - Special rules that allow for working, earning money and keeping public benefits. Work incentives can provide resources to help achieve employment goals. Learn more...
- Other Possible Resources - The local Employment Office, One Stop Center or other organizations assisting Oregonians to become employed may be able to assist in achieving your employment goal. Employers will also provide “typical” training available to their employees and reasonable accommodations as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Resources to help keep a job or career (on-going, long-term)
- Office of Developmental Disabilities Funding - Individuals may use allocated funding to pay for on-going employment consultation at or away form a job site, designed to help perform the essential job functions.
- An individual in Brokerage Support Services may use his or her own budget or allocated funding to assure essential ongoing job support once job development and training has occurred in partnership with OVRS. Payment may be made to a job coach who may work for you or work for your emplolyer.
- An individual with County contracted Employment or Community Inclusion funding can expect the designated provider to assist in achieving and maintaining supported employment.
- Social Security Work Incentives - Some work incentives provide long term support for employment. Learn more...
- Other Possible Resources there are many ways to help an individual get necessary support to continue to meet job expectations including workplace accommodation, natural supports, and internal supports.
Social Security benefits and working
Many individuals with disabilities and their families fear the loss of essential health care and basic living support if they go to work.
Benefits Planning helps each individual understand how his or her Social Security and other benefits can be affected by earning an income. It can also provide information about work incentives or the special rules that allow for working, earning money and keeping public benefits. Work incentives can provide resources to help achieve employment goals.
Benefits planning is important when you are thinking about going to work, you have been offered a job, or you are already working and have the potential to earn more money. It is also a good idea to check with a benefits planner once a year because benefit levels and rules change.
Oregon resources
- Oregon Advocacy Center Passage to Independence Project
Provides information and counseling to Oregonians regarding benefits and working.
- Workbenefits.org - Allows Oregonions to share information and stories about using work incentives to achieve employment goals. It will also help an individual see how going to work may impact Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
National resources
- Social Security's Redbook - Provides a working knowledge of the technical provisions of the SSDI and SSI programs.
- Cornell University's PASS - This Web site provides a detailed explanation of the Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS) program as well as a helpful tutorial on completing the application.
- PASSplan.org - Offers detailed information about the PASS and shows successful examples.
Tools and other resources
Individual person centered employment planning
Inter-agency parternships and resource identification tools
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VRD-DD Supported Employment Partnership Tools - Provide information to a personal agent, services coordinator and VR counselor about how they can work together to achieve supported employment.:
Assistance in Transition from school to work
A County Services Coordinator or Brokerage Personal Agent can attend and participate in school transition planning only if requested by a student or family member. Information to assist in transition planning is also available at:
Measuring success
- DHS Performance Measure - People are able to help themselves and their families - Annual data on the average monthly earnings of individuals with DD who receive SPD services (comprehensive waiver only).
- Semi Annual Employment Outcomes Systems Data - The Employment Outcomes System is a semi-annual report of performance outcomes for adults with developmental disabilities who are employed or are alternately employed. SPD distributes the survey forms, collects the data submitted, and produces this semi-annual report in accordance with ORS 427.007 (comprehensive waiver only).
- Other Examples of Employment Outcome Data - Support service brokerages focus on training customers to define and evaluate expected outcomes in their lives and using their identified budgets. Snapshots of employment outcomes are evident in some annual reports:
- Full Access Brokerage - 2005 Annual Report (pages 4-6) includes a trend analysis showing efforts to assure that students leaving school have jobs. The data shows individuals in self employment, community jobs and rehabilitation facilities. 49% of 511 customers were earning wages.
- Eastern Oregon Support Services Brokerage - The 2005 Quality Assurance Strategic Plan (page 6) includes a vocational survey identifying the employment site and interests in working for Brokerage customers:
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Customer in Survey
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Number
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Percentage
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Total in Survey
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233
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95.1%
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In school
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12
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5%
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Employed without paid supports
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39
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17%
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Employed Sheltered Workshops
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43
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18%
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Employed Supported Employment
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22
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9%
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Seeking Employment at OVRS
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44
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19%
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Unemployed (not interested in employment)
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85
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36%
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Reason Not Interested
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Lack of knowledge
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7
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8%
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Concerns about Listing Benefits
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2
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2%
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Need Help to Find Job
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0
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Family Not Encourage Employment
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34
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40%
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Retired
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15
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17%
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Other
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23
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27%
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Become an employer
- The Oregon Business Leadership Network (OBLN) provides Oregon businesses with networking opportunities, education, and resources to effectively increase understanding and awareness of disability issues in the workplace.
- The Job Accommodation Network is a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities by: 1) providing individualized worksite accommodations solutions, and 2) providing technical assistance regarding the ADA and other disability related legislation.
Do you have a story to tell?
If you know of a supported employment or self-directed employment story you'd like to share with us, we'd like to hear it. And we may want to feature the story on this web page.
- Contact Molly Holsapple by:
- email: molly.s.holsapple@state.or.us
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phone: 503-945-9815
- fax: 503-947-4245
- Supported Employment Story instructions: (MS Word) or (PDF)
- Supported Employment Story format/template: (MS Word) or (PDF)
- Photo release form - If you've talked with a Supported Employment staff member about your story, they will give you instructions for filling out the form and returning it to us with your photo(s).
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