William E. Kiernan

Beyond the Workshop: National Trends in Integrated and Segregated Day and Employment Services

Survey data from a national, random sample of 643 service providers were analyzed to examine past, current, and future utilization of integrated and segregated day and employment services. The percentage of persons in integrated employment increased to 30% in 1991, from a total of 17% documented during 1986. However, the average number of persons served in segregated, facility-based work programs has also increased since 1986, and half the respondents (N = 643) either planned to start new facility-based programs, maintain the current service capacity, or increase the number served by 1997. Implications of a dual system of integrated versus segregated services and potential incentives for stimulating conversion of facility-based services are discussed.

Natural Supports in the Workplace: Defining an Agenda for Research and Practice

Although there is a growing consensus that including natural supports in the employment process is an important goal, there is considerable debate about the definition and appropriate role of these supports. This manuscript clarifies and extends current definitions of natural supports and proposes a working model to guide future research and practice. Primary emphasis is placed on natural supports as a desired outcome of successful employment rather than a distinct model for support and as a contributing factor to higher level outcomes such as quality of life. From both a researchers and a practitioners perspective there is a need to shift emphasis from competing models of employment support to developing a better understanding of the relationship between specific job coach interventions and the desired outcome of effective natural support.

Employment Options for Adults with Developmental Disabilities: A Conceptual Model

There are many paths which one may take when entering the world of work. The conceptual model put forth here, Pathways to Employment, is one which looks at the common avenues available to achieving greater economic self-sufficiency through employment for adults with developmental disabilities. The model acknowledges individual differences among those who enter the employment decision-making process while stressing the concept of the availability of simultaneous choices or paths for the individual. Employment is thus presented as a dynamic rather than a static process. The model has broad application and looks to employment or supported employment as a means to an end and not an end in and of itself. The challenge is to access the real work environment and to provide enough support that the individual will realize an increased level of economic self-sufficiency.

School-Based Vocational Programs and Labor Laws: A 1990 Update

This article describes how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) administered through the United States Department of Labor (DOL) governs school-based employment and vocational training programs. Particular attention is paid to the regulations regarding employment and training for students with disabilities. Because the FLSA was recently reauthorized with final regulations published in late 1989, this paper updates the Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps publication by Martin and Husch (1987) on the same topic. It further explains and interprets situations that are often misunderstood by educators and employment specialists through a series of case studies typical of school-based vocational programs for students with severe handicaps. Finally, suggestions for reform in federal and state policy as a result of counterproductive provisions of the FLSA are presented.

Survey of Employment for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

The role of employment in the lives of young adults and adults with developmental disabilities has received a considerable amount of attention during the past few years. This study attempted to document the movement of this population into the areas of competitive employment. A survey of 1,629 facilities and organizations throughout the U.S. revealed that more developmentally disabled persons are being hired in competitive employment settings, and that job retention is good. Further, the data confirm that the movement of this population into competitive work settings is both realistic and financially sound.

Prevocational and vocational education for special needs youth : a blueprint for the 1980s

Prevocational and vocational education for special needs youth , Prevocational and vocational education for special needs youth , کتابخانه مرکزی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی ایران

Rehabilitation Counseling and the Community Paradigm

Publisher Summary Paradigm shifts are not new to rehabilitation. There have been numerous conceptual shifts throughout its history in populations served, outcomes sought, and scope of services delivered. But a consistent theme over the years in rehabilitation has been the focus on the needs of the individual and the inclusion of the person with a disability in the planning process. Care and protection are not the operational concepts of rehabilitation, but rather partnership, planning, and action steps leading to consumer outcomes. The National Council on Rehabilitation (1944) defined rehabilitation as the restoration of people who are handicapped to the fullest physical, mental, social, vocational, and economic usefulness of which they are capable. A more practical description of rehabilitation is the process engaged in by people with disabilities to define individual or person-specific goals, develop action steps to achieve those goals, and identify resources that can be accessed to meet those goals. Such resources include those internal to the individual; those that naturally occur, such as friends at work, the use of appointment books, or bells for crossing streets; and those provided by a paid support person, such as a rehabilitation counselor. The chapter presents some of the highlights in the development of vocational rehabilitation and reviews the various roles that rehabilitation counselors play in the process of providing rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities.

Transitional Services in the Habilitation of Mentally Retarded Individuals with Mental Health Needs

In the 1970s and first half of the 1980s, mainstreaming was the major new focus of our educational system in providing services to disabled children and adolescents. During the next 10 to 15 years, transitional services will be the primary new emphasis of our school programs. Evidence of this new emphasis is already apparent in funding allocations by the Directors of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services and Administration on Developmental Disabilities. Both of these directors have jointly pooled funds to encourage individual states, via financial incentives, to reevaluate their success at transitioning disabled individuals from school programs into residential and vocational service systems in cooperation with other state and local agencies.

Societal Philosophies Affecting Habilitation Strategies

We are able to write this book in large part because of recent changes in the larger society and systems-level philosophies regarding how we view and deal with adults with disabilities. The last 20 years have seen tremendous changes and improvements in the life experiences of most adults with disabilities. As stated recently by Lakin and Bruininks (1985): These improvements demonstrate society’s increased concern for furthering integration, individual opportunity and equitable treatment for all citizens. For handicapped citizens and their families, social advances have been reflected in an evolving, more progressive philosophy toward integrating handicapped individuals into society, toward reorganizing and extending their legal rights, and toward substantially increasing public support for educational, residential, income maintenance, training, and other essential services. (p. 3)

The Seven Major Life Activity Areas

Think for a moment about a typical day in your life, and the activities you participate in during that day. Your day probably began with self-care activities involving hygiene, grooming, and eating (unless you are a typical college student and skipped breakfast). Then, you probably walked or drove to class or to your job where you exhibited language skills and either focused on learning or earning a living (which we will refer to henceforth as economic self-sufficiency). Throughout the day you were reflecting to people what you think about yourself, socializing with others, initiating activities, and responding to various characteristics and demands of your environment. After school or work, you probably shopped, visited with friends, cleaned your room, house, or apartment, took part in leisure activities, and went downtown. Thus, during any typical day, people use the skills comprising the seven life activity areas that are a part of our working definition of adults with disabilities. Our primary purpose in this chapter is to sensitize you to the significance of these seven life activity areas and their importance as a basis for your habilitation planning and service delivery efforts.