Benefit-cost analysis of supported competitive employment for persons with mental retardation.
Supported employment for adults with ID saves taxpayers about four grand a year while boosting personal income.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Green et al. (1987) added up the dollars. They tracked adults with intellectual disability who left sheltered workshops and took real jobs with support.
The team counted wages earned, taxes paid, and support costs for each worker. They compared these numbers to the costs of day programs.
What they found
Every person who got a job brought in about $3,900 more than they cost. Taxpayers also saved about $4,000 per worker each year.
In plain terms, the program paid for itself and then some.
How this fits with other research
The money story holds up. Mavranezouli et al. (2014) ran the same math in the UK with autistic adults and still found savings, just smaller.
Wehman et al. (2014) and Iwanaga et al. (2025) show the same model now works for teens and young adults leaving high school.
Cimera et al. (2012) flips the script: adults who start in sheltered workshops earn less and cost more than those who go straight to supported jobs. The two papers seem to clash, but the 2012 study looked at wages after placement while the 1987 paper looked at total public savings.
Why it matters
You can take this dollar figure to funders. When a parent or agency asks why a client should skip the workshop, show them the $4,000 taxpayer saving. Use it to write stronger transition plans and to justify job-coach hours in the IEP or ISP.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A review of the literature on unemployment rates among adults with mental retardation is presented and the societal impact of the number of adults with mental retardation who remain unemployed is discussed. The supported competitive employment model is presented as illustrative of a habilitation program allowing greater monetary returns to society than traditional adult service programs. A benefit-cost analysis of our supported competitive employment program, occurring during the period from 1978 to 1986, is presented from two perspectives: that of the consumer (i.e., the adult with severe disabilities) and that of the taxpayer. Results of the benefit-cost analysis indicate that supported competitive employment is a financially prosperous venture from both perspectives. That is, from the consumers' perspective, for every $1.00 relinquished in taxes, supplemental security income (SSI), and forgone workshop earnings, $1.97 was received in increased income; the net benefit per year was $3,894 consumer. From the taxpayers' perspective, for every $1.00 expended for the funding of supported competitive employment programs and in lost tax revenues realized by the provision of targeted jobs tax credits, $1.87 was accumulated in benefits; the net yearly benefit to the taxpayer was $4,063 per consumer. The authors conclude that supported competitive employment is a financially profitable venture for both consumers and taxpayers.
Research in developmental disabilities, 1987 · doi:10.1016/0891-4222(87)90041-2