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Supported employment is a program to assist people
with the most significant disabilities to become and remain successfully and
competitively employed in integrated workplace settings. Supported employment
is targeted at people with the most significant disabilities for whom
competitive employment has not traditionally occurred, has been interrupted or
is intermittent because of the disability, or who, because of the severity of
their disability, need intensive or extended support services to work
competitively.
Increasingly, supported employment programs seek to
identify jobs that provide wages above the minimum wage, fringe benefits and
career potential. Supported employment programs not only develop jobs for
people with the most significant disabilities, but also provide a qualified
labor source for the business sector.
The most effective employment outcomes are achieved
initially by using natural workplace supports in conjunction with
agency-provided supports. Many of the agency supports can eventually be
replaced by natural supports in the work environment, similar to the ones that
all employees receive.
Supported Employment Models
- Individual Placement -Consumers obtain employment
independently and then contact the supported employment providers to get
assistance or support, as needed.
- Agency Supported -A rehabilitation or community
services agency places the consumer in a job and provides or facilitates the
ongoing support services needed to help assist him or her to retain the
job.
- Entrepreneurial -The consumer is supported by the
rehabilitation or community services agency in getting the services and
supports needed to successfully run his or her own business.
Definitions of Basic Supported Employment Terms
- Supported services: Job development and placement;
intensive job-site training; facilitation of natural supports; special skills
training; supplementary assessment; contact with employers, parents, family
members and advocacy organizations; teaching compensatory workplace
strategies.
- Extensive support services: Support services needed on
an ongoing basis to support and maintain a person in competitive employment,
provided at no cost to the employer.
- Employment Specialist/Consultant (Job Coach): A person
employed by a job training and placement organization serving people with
disabilities who matches clients with jobs, provides necessary supports during
the initial employment period and then facilitates the transition to natural
workplace supports while reducing his or her role.
- Natural supports: Support from supervisors and
co-workers occurring in the workplace to assist employees with disabilities to
perform their jobs, including supports already provided by employers for all
employees. These natural supports may be both formal and informal, and include
mentoring, supervision (ongoing feedback on job performance), training
(learning a new job skill with a co-worker) and co-workers socializing with
employees with disabilities at breaks or after work. The use of natural
supports increases the integration and acceptance of an employee with a
disability within the workplace.
- Carving/job creation: The process of breaking down jobs
into their key components and assigning them to employees based on efficient
company operations and customization to meet the skills of the employee with a
disability. This process results in either job restructuring or job
creation.
- Job development: Locating jobs for people with
disabilities through networking with employers, businesses and community
leaders. The use of Business Advisory Councils is an excellent way to develop
contacts that lead to employment for people with disabilities.
Benefits to Employers
- Qualified employees
- On-the-job training resources
- No-cost job placement services
- Operations analysis
- Post-employment follow-up
- Technical assistance on workplace accommodations
Case Studies
Project EMPLOY, an Office of Disability Employment
Policy program with strong support from the Society of Human Resources
Management, promotes the employment of people with cognitive disabilities using
a variety of techniques, including supported employment. Below are examples of
successful Project EMPLOY placements involving the use of supported employment
methods. In each case, the employment specialist located the employee's job,
provided support services for a time, then facilitated the use of natural
supports. The specialist remained available for resolution of new issues as
they arose.
AMB
AMB, a real estate investment company based in San
Francisco, had grown rapidly. AMB contacted WorkLink of TransCen, Inc., a local
Project EMPLOY partner, for help in dealing with the increased workload.
WorkLink's staff examined AMB's operating procedures and identified a number of
areas where centralized administrative support would improve the company's
efficiency and communication.
Working with AMB's staff, WorkLink created an
administrative support position responsible for managing a central filing room
for property purchase proposals and sending old files to storage. A young man
who has a cognitive disability was hired for this position. He was responsible
for collecting, filing, storing, logging and distributing submissions. This
more centralized process allowed administrative assistants to spend less time
on organizing and screening properties, thereby enabling them to devote their
efforts to examining the properties AMB was potentially interested in
purchasing.
Because of his successful work in Acquisitions, other
departments requested assistance from this employee. Work-Link's staff worked
with department managers to determine which tasks should be reassigned. A
weekly schedule was developed, as well as a method of requesting assistance for
random assignments (i.e., large copying projects, mailings or tasks that
occurred intermittently). In one year, this clerical support position has grown
from 20 to 40 hours a week, and the employee is now earning $18,000 a year and
has full benefits.
Prudential Insurance Company of America
A young woman who has a cognitive disability has been
an employee of The Prudential Insurance Company of America in Newark, NJ, since
1996. She was placed by Our House, Inc., Employment Services, a local Project
EMPLOY partner. When she first joined Prudential, she was a part-time employee
in the Comptroller's Department, where she was responsible for general typing,
data entry, photocopying and mail delivery, as well as ordering supplies.
Since 1996, this employee has attended many training
classes offered by Prudential and as a result was transferred to the Tax
Division of the company. She has received promotions and is now a Senior
Assistant, in a full-time position paying more than $24,000 annually, with full
medical and vacation benefits. She has adjusted to new supervisors and their
management styles and recently received a bonus for her efforts on a special
project.
Additional Resources
- Association for Persons in Supported Employment
804-278-9187 (V)
- International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Services
410-730-7190 (V); 410-730-1723 (TTY)
- Institute for Community Inclusion
617-355-6506 (V);
617-355-6956 (TTY)
- Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Research and
Training Center on Supported Employment
804-828-1851 (V); 804-828-2494
(TTY)
- Indiana University, Institute for the Study of Developmental
Disabilities
812-855-6508 (V); 812-855-9396 (TTY)
- University of Montana, Rural Institute
406-243-2454 (V);
406-243-4200 (TTY)
This fact sheet was developed with assistance from
Project EMPLOY and its local partners.
This publication is available in alternate
formats.
July 2001 |
