This program at New York School for the Deaf serves students of average intelligence and slow reading ability between ages 15 and 21. The program gives students both the expertise available in a school for the handicapped and a practical education combined with a mainstreamed vocational setting and appropriate career guidance. (PB)

The article describes the efforts of Project PATH (Progressive Approach to Training and Habilitation) to design a comprehensive training program for moderately and severely retarded adults in a sheltered workshop setting. (SBH)

Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the Vocational Assessment and Curriculum Guide with mentally retarded and nonretarded subjects having different employment characteristics was investigated. Empirical validation results suggested that domain scores differentiated between retarded subjects with only sheltered work…

Describes the services of the Appalachian Mental Health Center in Elkins, West Virginia. Services include a school for emotionally disturbed teenagers, an Adult Training Center, a preschool for developmental disabilities, a public inebriate shelter, a crisis center for teens, a small prison counseling program, and long-term counseling for drug and…

Two hundred adults with mild mental retardation were assessed on overall job satisfaction and self-esteem. Subjects worked either in a sheltered workshop or a supported employment setting. Subjects who worked in supported employment reported significantly higher levels of job satisfaction and self-esteem. Subjects living in semi-independent…

Background: Despite research that has investigated whether the financial benefits of open employment exceed the costs, there has been scant research as to the effect sheltered and open employment have upon the quality of life of participants. The importance of this research is threefold: it investigates outcomes explicitly in terms of quality of…

A job training program in rural Wyoming is described in which 86 percent of the disabled clients served in a two-year period (N=57) were placed in employment after receiving sheltered workshop training in one of 10 vocational training modules. Among data reported are wages, success rates for training, and length of training. (JW)

Examined social interactions among developmentally disabled workers (N=30) and the social context of interactions during work and breaks in sheltered and nonsheltered work settings. Studied workers' initiation patterns and the general structure of workers' conversations as well as the social context for these interactions. (Author/ABB)

Studied the effects of conversation skills training for two retarded and one learning disabled participant in a sheltered workshop. Results indicated that participants improved their use of targeted conversational skills over the course of training, but had difficulty generalizing target behaviors to other individuals. (JAC)

Measured the concept of purpose-in-life and underlying occupational interests and aspirations of older men and women in a gerontological sheltered workshop. Findings, which include that the construct of purpose-in-life and vocational aspirations are poorly related for workshop participants, are discussed in terms of previous research. (Author)

Little attention has been given to the severely handicapped older person. A group of disabled elderly men participating as unpaid volunteers in a bi-weekly sheltered workshop indicated that being able to help others, getting out of the house, and sociability were important reasons for their interest and participation. (Author)

A multiple-component strategy was investigated for aiding staff responsible for supervising production of 16 lower-functioning retarded clients (ages 20 to 53) on contract tasks in an institution-based sheltered workshop. Production performance increased during the production supervisory strategy with all 16 clients, with the range of increase…

Summarizes the present status of supported employment for people with disabilities, discusses major accomplishments of the initiative (such as positive results in benefit-cost analyses) and identifies challenges, including continuing high numbers of individuals in segregated programs, lack of supported employment services for individuals with…

Monetary costs and benefits of supported employment to individuals with mental retardation (n=20), taxpayers, and society were assessed, as was the quality of life of supported employees. Supported employment was found to be cost-effective over a five-year period during which programs moved from sheltered to supported employment. (DB)

While supported employment has made significant gains since its formal introduction in 1984 (P. L. 98-527), segregated services continue to outpace the growth of supported employment. We discuss these and other important trends in this article, and conclude with recommendations that include (1) ensuring that all young adults leave high school…