Although an important part of adult life, individuals with significant disabilities experience low rates of gainful employment. The purpose of this review was to summarize and analyze the literature on teaching vocational skills to individuals with significant disabilities. Sixty-two articles (with 75 experiments) included in this review were…

This study explored the effect of utilizing natural supports strategies on the cost of supported employment in the state of Wisconsin. Data presented here suggest that the use of natural supports reduced annual per capita costs by 57.6%. Further, supported employees trained via natural supports generated cumulative costs of $5,063 over 6.04 fiscal…

The sheltered workshop model for the retarded is being changed to a non-sheltered community and business model of vocational services in Detroit, Michigan. Methods used included creation of their own businesses by rehabilitation companies and provision of job training and placement within businesses by an on-site trainer. (DB)

A job module approach, which combines training and production, is proposed as a systematic way of procuring subcontract work without disrupting the skill training aspect of sheltered workshop programs for moderately, severely, and profoundly retarded persons. (CL)

Operation Heracles sought to promote the social and occupational advancement of workers with disabilities in sheltered workshops and occupational therapy centers in the Lower Rhine region. Preparation of workers for mainstream workplaces involved skills reviews, retraining, placement, and follow-up, with family participation. (SK)

This paper refutes criticism about industrial workshops for individuals with blindness and argues that they are a suitable vocational option that is often underutilized. The paper explores the role of the sheltered workshop as a continuum for multihandicapped blind persons, employment experience for teenagers, opportunity for older individuals,…

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…

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)

The manual describes the vocational rehabilitation program and services for handicapped individuals that are provided by Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania, Inc., which services an eight-county outreach area. An introductory section provides general background information regarding program objectives, philosophy, and organizational…

Describes the program of the Occupational Training Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (SB)

Designed as a hands-on guide for job development specialists, vocational rehabilitation professionals, and agency leaders and staff, this book provides an indepth analysis of the conversion process of Pioneer, a sheltered workshop in Syracuse, New York. The book moves from an examination of the historical roots of sheltered workshops in chapter 1…

A review of problems faced by sheltered workshops for disabled persons (low placement rates in open employment, nonconsideration of individual needs, poor financial rewards) includes an outline of a habilitation model featuring improved staff training, production and wages, vocational and nonvocational options, organization of training, and…

This paper discusses a German program that provides a network of sheltered workshops for those unable to work under competitive conditions. Specifically described is the program at Detmold, Westphalia, which uses job analysis and detailed appraisal of workers' social and psychological characteristics in its training program. (Author/DB)

Effects of a self-instructional training procedure on the on-task behavior of four mentally retarded young adults in a sheltered workshop were investigated using a multiple-baseline design across subjects. The subjects chosen had been identified as demonstrating a high incidence of off-task behavior for small assembly tasks such as stamping and…

A behavior modification program in a rehabilitation center requires a staff member skilled in behavior modification, as well as considerable inservice training of staff who work with clients. A workshop without walls approach also requires a staff heavily involved in employer contacts and follow-up of clients. (EA)