More Job Services-Better Employment Outcomes: Increasing Job Attainment for People With IDD.
Bundle job search, placement, and follow-along support to multiply employment odds for adults with IDD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The author looked at state records for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Each person’s file showed how many job services they got: job search help, placement, or on-the-job support.
The study then checked who actually landed a paid community job within the same year.
What they found
Adults who received all three services were 16 times more likely to get hired than those who got fewer.
The boost held no matter the person’s gender, race, or support level.
How this fits with other research
Dinora et al. (2023) seems to disagree. They found that pouring on more support hours did not improve personal outcomes for people with the highest needs.
The difference is focus: Parthenia counted total support hours across life areas, while Nord (2016) counted only three specific job services. Targeted job services work; blanket hours may not.
Walsh et al. (2020) extend the idea. They show a quick tech tool can pick jobs the worker likes, making the placement step even stronger.
Lerner et al. (2012) add a tactic: live audio cues during the shift can keep performance high once the job starts, giving the on-the-job support piece a practical boost.
Why it matters
If you write employment plans, list all three services in the ISP: job search, placement, and follow-along support. Refuse to close the file until all three are funded and scheduled. One missing piece drops the odds of a paycheck by a lot.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Job search, job placement, and on-the-job supports are valuable services provided to many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to obtain work in the community. Investigating those who were unemployed at the time of service entry, this study seeks to extend understanding about the effect of services. Using extant data, a sample of 39,277 people with IDD using Vocational Rehabilitation services were studied to understand the potential cumulative effects of these job-related services and individual characteristics on job attainment. Findings showed people with IDD of different demographic groups had different outcomes. Also, those receiving three job-related services were 16 times more likely to obtain employment than the reference group. This study has wide implications for research, policy, and practice.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556-54.6.402