A 1994 survey of the satisfaction of 502 workers with blindness, employed in industries affiliated with the National Industries for the Blind, found that 61% were satisfied with their current placements. Satisfaction was lower for those with higher levels of education and those employed more than five years. (Author/CR)

Across nations, sheltered workshops for people with disabilities follow several models: therapeutic (protection vs. employee status), intermediate (disabled worker as "quasi-employee"), mixed/dual, and wage employment (protection and labor legislation). Impairment should present no insurmountable obstacle to integration into working life. (SK)

Aim: This study investigate what characteristics of supported employment increase quality of life and whether quality of life is higher in supported employment workers or the sheltered ones in Spain. Typicalness, the degree to which the characteristics of a job are the same as those of co-workers without a disability in the same company, was…

The study investigated vocational activities of 274 English young people between the ages of 15 and 21. Two-thirds entered occupational centers for disabled adults; only 5% found a job in open employment. The physically impaired experienced a more difficult transition but the mentally impaired faced a more limited range of vocational choices.…

Boatworks, a subsidiary of Stepping Stones Growth Center in Oakland, California, provides work experience to developmentally disabled persons and helps them learn skills useful in private sector jobs. Workers learn job responsibility, quality control, and work safety procedures and are paid according to productivity. (CB)

The validity of the Vocational Adaptation Rating Scale (VARS) for predicting placement of 125 mentally retarded workers in sheltered workshop settings was investigated. Results indicated low to moderate significant partial correlations with concurrent placement and one year follow-up placement (controlling IQ, age, and sex). (Author)

Cites some examples of effective employment creation, but warns that this is likely to be more difficult in the future due to increasing unemployment and underemployment, demographic shifts, strains on social support systems, and changes in the nature of work. (Author/CT)

Results of this experiment indicate that instructional guidance, related to job-seeking skills and job-maintenance behaviors, enhances worker personality orientations of physically handicapped sheltered workshop employees. A strong positive change in agreeableness in getting along with co-workers and employers is indicated by the Agreeableness…

Two studies increased the low production rates of two severely retarded workers in a sheltered workshop setting; the first study by using differential reinforcement, and the second study by using a system of self-delivery of reward and self-evaluation. (Author/DLS)

Sheltered workshops are asserted to be failing to provide mentally retarded clients with appropriate work experiences because of low wage rates, unavailability of work, changing industrial forecasts for blue collar employment, financial dependence, tax returns, segregation, and normalization issues. (Author/DB)

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)

Presents a cost-benefit analysis of a supported-employment program using natural support strategies to assist 59 workers with severe disabilities in integrated employment settings. Results suggest substantial benefits to participants, the taxpayer, and society resulting from the choice of a natural support approach over the sheltered workshop…

The present study investigated the efficiency of various existing measures, mainly psychological tests, for predicting job performance of mentally retarded workers in a sheltered occupational shop. Results indicated that existing measures are predictive of performance on some but not all jobs in a sheltered workshop. (Author)

A social skills training program using self-instruction to facilitate the acquisition and generalization of two social behaviors in the work setting effectively increased the percentages of occurrence of target behaviors for five mentally retarded employees working in a sheltered workshop. The training generalized across work settings. (Author/CB)