Engaging Families in Employment: Individuals and Families' Retrospective Transition Experiences With Employment Services.

Kramer et al. (2020) looked back at how adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities and their families used state employment help. They pulled together stories and numbers already published. The goal was to see how many adults actually landed integrated jobs after using these services.

Only 19 out of every 100 working-age adults with IDD who got state support had any kind of integrated job in 2015-2016. That means more than 4 out of 5 adults were still in sheltered workshops, day programs, or sitting at home. The gap between policy talk and real jobs stayed huge.

Butterworth et al. (2024) updated the same sad picture four years later: employment rates are still dismal despite decades of effort. Frazier et al. (2023) helps explain why. They counted 64 different barriers families face, from transportation fears to confusing paperwork. Nord et al. (2020) adds a bright spot: states that pour extra money into integrated-employment services see bigger gains, especially for the youngest and oldest adults. Together these papers show the problem is systemic, not personal.

If you write transition plans or job goals, remember the 19% figure. It tells you the default system fails most clients. Push for real individualized placements, not convenient group slots. Ask families about the 64 barriers W et al. found and tackle those first. When you need leverage, cite Derek et al.: states that fund integrated services get better outcomes, so your request for more intensive job development is evidence-based.