Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Data Note: Work Incentives And Ssi Recipients With Intellectual Disabilities, Frank A. Smith, John Butterworth Jul 2009

Data Note: Work Incentives And Ssi Recipients With Intellectual Disabilities, Frank A. Smith, John Butterworth

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Congress has enacted a number of work incentive programs for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients with disabilities after concluding additional incentives were necessary to help individuals become self-supporting. Moreover, Congress has noted that individuals who could work outside of sheltered workshops might have been discouraged from doing so by the fear of losing their benefits before they had established for themselves the capability for continued self-support. In this Data Note, we explore the degree to which SSI recipients with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) work and participate in these incentive programs.


Stepping Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta Jan 2009

Stepping Up: Managing Diversity In Challenging Times, Carol Hardy-Fanta

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Since its launch in 2008, Commonwealth Compact has grown steadily, employing several strategies to promote diversity statewide. The Benchmarks initiative has collected data, analyzed in this report, on a significant portion of the state workforce. Guided by Stephen Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston, Commonwealth Compact has conducted newsmaking surveys of public opinion and of boards of directors statewide. In addition, it has convened ongoing coalitions with its higher education partners, and established a collaborative of local business schools aimed specifically at increasing faculty diversity. The Compact has sponsored or co-sponsored …


State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma’S Outcomes-Based Rate Setting System, Susanne Freeze, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma’S Outcomes-Based Rate Setting System, Susanne Freeze, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Oklahoma’s Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) realized the need for increased attention towards the goal of community-based employment for individuals they served. Initially, rates were based on a vendor’s costs of providing direct services such as job development and job coaching. It became increasingly apparent that claims for vocational services oftentimes reflected staff activities (e.g., job development, client assessment, and service delivery documentation), which may have been occurring without the direct involvement of the service recipient. In some situations, this resulted in long-term job development with little success in actually acquiring a job. In 1995, DDSD elected to focus on …


State Agency Promising Practices: Using Employment Data To Create Area-Specific Employment Goals In Massachusetts, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practices: Using Employment Data To Create Area-Specific Employment Goals In Massachusetts, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2002, the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) developed a contractual requirement that employment service provider performance be tracked through outcome measures. As a result, DDS shaped its employment data collection system to focus on what it viewed as key outcomes for measuring success around employment. A confluence of factors including participation in the National Core Indicator project, a new Request for Responses (RFR) for Employment Support Services that emphasized performance measurement, and DDS’s intrinsic commitment to greater community employment supported the development of an employment data system that focused on individual outcomes. Data from this effort is now …


State Agency Promising Practice: Mandatory Situational Assessments In Tennessee, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Mandatory Situational Assessments In Tennessee, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Tennessee implemented its Employment First initiative in 2002 with a goal of making employment the first day service option for adults receiving supports from the Department of Mental Retardation Services. As part of the Employment First initiative, the state requires a periodic community-based work assessment for all individuals not currently employed in the community. State-contracted and independent individualized support coordinators ensure that individuals who are not in integrated employment participate in a community-based work assessment at least every three years. Since December 2005, employment providers can be trained in conducting situational job assessments and the importance of providing these opportunities.


State Agency Promising Practices: Reaching Target Employment Goals - The Five-Year Initiative From Florida’S Agency For Persons With Disabilities (Apd), Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practices: Reaching Target Employment Goals - The Five-Year Initiative From Florida’S Agency For Persons With Disabilities (Apd), Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The state of Florida has implemented a five-year employment initiative for people with ID/DD. The goal is to enable at least 50% of adults (ages 18 to 55) receiving APD-funded day services as of July 1, 2004, to achieve community employment by July 1, 2009. APD-funded services include adult day training, supported employment, and non-residential supports and services. Florida is specifically targeting a total of 25% of individuals who were in Adult Day Training (ADT) on July 1, 2004, to be employed by July 1, 2009. The impetus for this five-year initiative was multifold. Governor Jeb Bush created a Blue …


State Agency Promising Practices: The Maine Employment Curriculum - Delivering Best Practices For Employment Support Professionals, John Butterworth, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practices: The Maine Employment Curriculum - Delivering Best Practices For Employment Support Professionals, John Butterworth, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The University of Maine’s Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), along with the Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services (BDS) and the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, developed the Maine Employment Curriculum (MEC). The comprehensive curriculum fosters best practices in employment supports for people with disabilities statewide by using a cadre of trainers who are supported by the Maine Employment Curriculum project staff. The Maine Employment Curriculum ultimately seeks an increase in the number of integrated, communitybased supports available and builds the capacity of the employment support provider community to achieve this goal.


State Agency Promising Practice: Maine’S Peer- Support Training - Helping People With Id/Dd Transition Out Of Sheltered Workshops, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Maine’S Peer- Support Training - Helping People With Id/Dd Transition Out Of Sheltered Workshops, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In 2006, a new Maine law mandated the creation of a waiver program that promotes the expansion of supported employment programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). As a result, state funding for sheltered workshops was reduced for seven workshops and approximately 220 individuals throughout Maine. These individuals received funding under the new waiver program for community supports and supported employment services. As a result, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Service’s (DHHS) Office of Adults with Cognitive and Physical Disabilities (OACPD) developed a comprehensive work plan. A pilot project, which was included in this plan, focused on …


State Agency Promising Practice: Washington - Promoting Public Sector Jobs For People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Jean Winsor, Allison C. Hall, John Butterworth, Dana Scott Gilmore, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Washington - Promoting Public Sector Jobs For People With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Jean Winsor, Allison C. Hall, John Butterworth, Dana Scott Gilmore, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

King County’s program to employ people with disabilities in county jobs is an example of Washington’s commitment to the use of innovative approaches to increase integrated employment. In 1989, a training resource funded by Washington State and the county Division of Developmental Disabilities, O’Neill and Associates, submitted a grant application to the Rehabilitation Services Administration to develop public sector jobs for people with developmental disabilities within the state. These jobs were to be concentrated in King County (Seattle area) government because of the availability of high-paying jobs with benefits. With the political assistance of a King County councilor, the County …


State Agency Promising Practice: Community Employment Training By And For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Tennessee, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Community Employment Training By And For Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Tennessee, Jean Winsor, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Project Income was a joint venture between the Tennessee Microboards Association (statewide organization that supports individual microboards, which procure and oversee supports and services) and People First of Tennessee (a statewide selfadvocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities). The focus of the project was to educate people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) and their families about the benefits of and opportunities for community employment.


Social Capital Through Workplace Connections: Opportunities For Workers With Intellectual Disabilities, Allison Cohen Hall, John Kramer Jan 2009

Social Capital Through Workplace Connections: Opportunities For Workers With Intellectual Disabilities, Allison Cohen Hall, John Kramer

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

Using qualitative methods, this study examined the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) in sheltered workshops and compared them to those in community employment. In particular, the study investigated how employment affects opportunities for the creation of social capital. Primary respondents were individuals with ID and secondary respondents were family members and employment services staff. Findings revealed that a form of social capital was created through workplace connections. Community employment did not increase social capital per se, but it did produce opportunities not available in the workshop. The role of family members emerged as critical in the support of …


State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Pennsylvania’S Employment Newsletter - A Communication Strategy To Promote Employment, Jennifer Bose, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The State of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) created a monthly newsletter called The Employment Update, which covers state- and nationwide news about the employment of people with disabilities, including intellectual/developmental disabilities. The Employment Update is sent via email to state agency contacts and a large stakeholder community, including individuals with disabilities, service providers, state associations, employers, advocacy groups, family members, representatives from academia and others. The Employment Update contains information about employment trends, employment policy, trainings and conferences throughout Pennsylvania and nationwide. The newsletter also contains information about employment grants and project activities, including links to articles covering …


State Agency Promising Practices: North Carolina - Using An Outcomes-Based Long-Term Vocational Services Funding Model, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practices: North Carolina - Using An Outcomes-Based Long-Term Vocational Services Funding Model, Allison C. Hall, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

In North Carolina, counties have been consolidated into Local Management Entities (LMEs). These entities contract for services with community providers and provide oversight on access, utilization, best practices, and community collaborations. The Mecklenberg County LME established the Best Practices Community Committee, comprising service providers, individuals and family members, advocacy agencies, community partners, interested community volunteers, and LME staff. Sub-committees addressed several areas, including employment. Based on their recommendations, a pilot project that uses an outcome-based funding model for follow-along employment services was developed. Follow-along employment supports are ongoing supports that are necessary to assist a person with an intellectual/developmental disability …


State Agency Promising Practice: Delaware’S Early Start To Supported Employment Pilot Project, Susanne Freeze, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Delaware’S Early Start To Supported Employment Pilot Project, Susanne Freeze, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

The Early Start to Supported Employment (ESSE) pilot started in 2005 with the goal of providing a more seamless transition for students who would benefit from supported employment services when leaving school and entering the adult workforce. An interagency project team was established to guide the pilot work and ensure all required parties knew their role and shared information and equal responsibility within the project.


State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma - Contracting With Industry For The Provision Of Job Coaching Supports, Monica Cox, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston Jan 2009

State Agency Promising Practice: Oklahoma - Contracting With Industry For The Provision Of Job Coaching Supports, Monica Cox, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

Contracts with Industry, implemented in the 1990s as the Natural Supports Initiative, is a program option that allows the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) to contract directly with businesses to provide job coaching supports that become a part of the natural workplace. Individuals participating in this program are employed by a business and are paid minimum wage or better. The name change to Contracts with Industry was an effort to distinguish the program from other DDSD employment options that involve employment service providers and paid job coaches.