Recent efforts have been made to transform traditional sheltered workshop employment to transitional employment training in nonsheltered sites for mentally retarded young adults and adults. Benefits (both monetary and nonmonetary) to the individual, employer, and society are described. Disincentives in the financial system are cited as creating a…

Redefinition of placement to include not only competitive employment but sheltered and volunteer employment as well as training on the job setting can increase the probability of success for head-injured adults. Preplacement preparation and placement selectivity can increase the chances for placement success as illustrated in two case histories.…

Data from surveys of 2,071 facilities providing vocational services to adults with developmental disabilities were used to analyze: employment placement patterns in sheltered, supported, competitive, or transitional settings; employment retention rates; occupational categories; rehabilitation costs; integration with nondisabled coworkers; effects…

Procedures are outlined for employing a resource components approach to collect and report cost information on training and supported employment programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Examination of the costs of 41 Minnesota programs indicates that costs are functionally related to different consumer and program factors. (Author/JDD)

This project attempted to develop competitive employment opportunities for people with mental retardation with Greater Cincinnati (Ohio) businesses and industries. The Employment Initiatives Project was designed for persons with mental retardation, functioning in the moderate to severe range, who are located in either an adult work activity or…

Informal discussion groups, "rap groups", have been found to be an effective method for establishing rapport and understanding with mentally retarded adults in sheltered workshop settings. To investigate the use of rap groups as a field research approach with mentally retarded adults, four groups of 6 to 9 mentally retarded adults,…

The monograph describes 11 exemplary programs selected in 1987 by the J. M. (Jeremiah Milbank) Foundation from 154 programs providing vocational services to persons with disabilities. Programs were selected in four categories: community-based work adjustment, consortium-based transition, supported work in small communities, and work services for…

An ecological study was made of persistent repetitious movements by 12 developmentally disabled adults in a horticultural day work program. Fewer dysfunctional patterns occurred during times when staff were actively teaching than when the trainee was isolated or resting. Results argued for teaching skills in terms of coordinated response…

Ethnographic research at 2 work activity centers for mentally retarded clients revealed that 16 production supervisors and 9 adult basic education teachers differed in their connotations of the term "functioning." Teachers defined functioning in narrowly academic terms, whereas supervisors defined it as a set of mental, physical, and moral traits…

This module provides information on supported employment as outlined in the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986, P.L. 99-506. It discusses models of supported employment; the roles of vocational rehabilitation counselors, school district personnel, and job coaches; and what school district personnel can do to prepare students for supported…