Article Details
| Citation: | Wehman, P., Chan, F., Ditchman, N., & Kang, H.J. (2014). Effect of supported employment on vocational rehabilitation outcomes of transition-age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A case control study. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 52 (4), 296-310. |
| Title: | Effect of supported employment on vocational rehabilitation outcomes of transition-age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A case control study |
| Authors: | Wehman, P., Chan, F., Ditchman, N., & Kang, H.J. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Journal/Publication: | Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities |
| Publisher: | American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-52.4.296 |
| Full text: | https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article-abstract/52/4/296/1615/... |
| Peer-reviewed? | Yes |
| NIDILRR-funded? | Yes |
| Research design: | Database mining |
Structured abstract:
| Background: | High unemployment rates are an unfortunate reality for people with disabilities. For young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) transitioning from school to work and adult life this often means no job awaits them. Supported employment (SE) can help many of those individuals escape the trend and secure competitive employment. Despite this, little data exists on the efficacy of SE in young adults with IDD. |
| Purpose: | The purpose of this study was to examine whether SE is an effective mechanism to secure positive employment outcomes in young adults with IDD that have been served by state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies. |
| Study sample: | Participant data was extracted from the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report (RSA-911) database. Data came from fiscal year 2009. The sample consisted of 23,298 youths with IDD ranging in age from 16-25. About seventy-two percent (71.9%) of the sample had an intellectual disability, 13.4% of the sample had autism, 7.4% had cerebral palsy, and 7.2% had traumatic brain injury. The sample was 60.5% male and 39.5% female. The sample was mostly (62.4%) White and roughly half (48.7%) had less than a high school education. Roughly 43% of the sample was receiving some sort of Social Security benefits. |
| Control or comparison condition: | Employment outcome was the comparison condition. |
| Data collection and analysis: | Data was extracted from the RSA-911 database. A classification and regression tree (CART) was used to determine the targeted measure. |
| Findings: | Receiving SE improved employment outcomes across the board. The effects of SE were most profound in Social Security recipients, special education students, and high school graduates with intellectual disabilities or autism. |
| Conclusions: | Vocational rehabilitation counselors should be aware of the strong impact of SE on improving employment outcomes. |
| Disabilities served: |
Autism / ASD |
| Populations served: |
Transition-age youth (14 - 24) |
| Outcomes: |
Employment acquisition Full-time employment Part-time employment |