The State of Employment for People With IDD: Implications for Practice, Policy, and Equity.

Butterworth et al. (2024) looked back at 40 years of work programs for adults with IDD. They asked why jobs are still rare for this group. The team read reports, laws, and studies to map the problem.

They focused on adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The paper is a narrative review, not a new experiment.

Employment rates have barely moved since the 1980s. Fewer than one in five adults with IDD hold a real job in the community.

The authors say the system is stuck. Rules, funding, and low expectations all pile up to block work.

Kramer et al. (2020) already showed the 19 % figure. The new paper keeps the same number, proving little has changed.

Nord et al. (2020) found that states spending more on integrated services do narrow age gaps. This supports the call for better funds in the 2024 paper.

Migliore et al. (2012) showed job coaches rarely use proven tactics. The 2024 review echoes this gap between what helps and what happens.

Emerson et al. (2023) mapped seven state-level features that boost jobs. The target paper widens the lens, asking for policy, practice, and personal voice together.

You can push for change even if you do not write laws. Ask for individual budgets that buy work supports, not just day programs. Track whether job coaches use family input and job carving. Share data with your state council to back funding requests. Small moves, stacked across clients, can shift the 40-year stalemate.