Jobs by 21 partnership project: impact of cross-system collaboration on employment outcomes of young adults with developmental disabilities.

Lancioni et al. (2011) tracked young adults with developmental disabilities who left high school.

Half joined the Jobs by 21 Partnership. The project linked schools, vocational rehab, and employers.

The team shared budgets, staff, and data so kids could move straight into paid work.

Partnership kids landed jobs more often than non-partnership kids.

The gain came from pooled money and one shared plan, not a new therapy.

Whaling et al. (2025) and Kahng et al. (2023) show the next step. They used short BST courses to teach interview skills. Their kids got hired faster, proving skills training plus the partnership equals even better odds.

Bacon-Prue et al. (1980) and Varley et al. (1980) did the first tiny BST pilots. They taught four to six youths how to answer interview questions. Lancioni et al. (2011) built a city-wide system that moves hundreds, not handfuls, into those same interviews.

Price et al. (2018) add the travel piece. They taught young adults to ride the bus alone. A job offer is useless if you can’t get there; chaining transit skills fills that gap.

You don’t need a new curriculum. You need a shared spreadsheet. Ask the adult-services supervisor to your next IEP meeting. Bring one employer contact and one vocational-rehab counselor. List each student’s job goal, needed supports, and who pays. Meet monthly. That simple routine copied the partnership and raised employment in the study.