Supported employment
[3][4] Supported employment is worldwide in 2013, though moving to new inclusive models, and the term has been used for assisting workers of diverse kinds who may need an extra jump start in the workplace; it is still associated with its roots in disability which includes community integration and deinstitutionalization.
As an example, Thomas Bellamy, Larry Rhodes and Jay Albin of Oregon prepared a new chapter titled "Supported Employment" which indicated its uniqueness as having no entry requirement and no minimum ability levels (unheard of in vocational programs) in order to include candidates regardless of the nature or degree of their disability".
[11] In the psychiatric field, the prominent approach, also very innovative in long term services and supports (LTSS) was transitional employment [12] associated with the now international Clubhouse Model of Fountain House in New York City.
[21][22] By 1991, proposed rules for the State Supported Employment Grant Program were published in the Federal Register for comment by the US Department of Education, and the announcement was made available to deaf and hearing impaired individuals through a TDD service (FR 56: 219.57776-57786).
", is the core national employment program for persons with a disability, but is not the main agency to fund long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the community.
[27][28] Supported employment was designed to be cost-effective and cost-beneficial, and indeed has been documented to be so as a key community services in public administration and disability (Racino, in press, 2014).
Over 30 studies were reviewed in the 1980s and 1990s including in the US, Australia, Great Britain and Canada finding that "individuals with disabilities experience greater monetary benefits than costs when working in the community".
In addition, reviews of costs and benefits do not indicate the revenue streams for supported employment, especially when these programs can be one service of a large community "disability NGO" (non-governmental organization) and were eligible for Medicaid financing as early as 1991 (Smith & Gettings, 1991).
[46] What is needed will vary from one person and one employer to the next, but do involve the human resource offices, the funding agencies, the supervisory levels, and even union leadership, among others.
[53][54] Personal assistance services (PAS)has expanded to be an important component of "workplace supports" (Soloveiva, et al., 2010; Barcus & Targett, 2003) [55][56] and is part of working schemes in countries such as Sweden (Clevner & Johansson, @2012).
[57] Personal assistance services and workplace PAS has been taught through Virginia Commonwealth University as an online course and is available in 2013 as a self-study through the independent living network.
Systemic efforts were made to identify barriers to employment (e.g., Noble & Collignon, 1988),[66] and legal avenues were also opened as described by Dr. Peter Blanck on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The term "employment supports" was also applied to efforts to assist individuals which may come to the rehabilitation system with a "mental health diagnosis" (Marrone, Bazell, & Gold, 1995).
[78] These issues have been termed "attitudinal" problems or lowered expectations and aspirations for people with disabilities which may emanate from the employers, the public, or from the service workers themselves.
As early as the mid-1980s, supported employment was an accepted inservice training topic with extensive working papers, videotapes, presentations, case studies, written books and products, and very reputable network of university personnel, including in severe disabilities.
[88] In addition, exceptional skills are required and more (e.g., political, social, administrative, health-human services) for conversion of traditional day programs to integrated employment systems.
The focus has a behavioral emphasis and the concept and realities of supported employment are considered revolutionary for "children who had difficulty in communication, speech, and the world in their immediate space."
The issue includes a study of 70 individuals with autism served by the Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children (CSSAC) in state of Maryland.
The federal research study leadership, now approaching its 40th year, came through the National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation (NIDRR) in the US Department of Education which prioritized 5 year, competitive center for assistance to all US states, university and college sectors, rehabilitation programs, governmental partners, and families and individuals with disabilities [99](competitive winner, Dr. Paul Wehman, of the Virginia Commonwealth University, virtually continuously in the US as collaboration with their Medical College, and technical assistance, Dr. Grant Revell).
In addition, the major federal research center in "mental retardation/intellectual and developmental disabilities" in the US has been "male-led" as director, associate director and Technical Assistance to US States) for over 3 decades (Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Supported Employment, and variations) (e.g., Wehman, 1993; Wehman & Kregel, 1994) [103][104] However, women have held key roles in labor and disability, including Suzanne Bruyere of Cornell University ILR (Industrial and Labor Relations) School.
In 1995, Steven Byer who visited the US from the United Kingdom, authored a chapter on Real jobs and supported employment for a leading book, Values and Visions by the King's Fund Linda Ward (with Philpot).
[107] In 2012, the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation (JVR) highlighted the status in the European Union, inclusive of Germany, Norway and the Scandinavian countries (e.g., Iceland, Denmark), and the United Kingdom.
Supported employment remains underdeveloped, in spite of its years of available direct university education and training to the provider, financing and regulatory sectors.
[109] Stefan Doose of Germany (2012) indicates a new federal Inklusion program (2011 from 2018) which promotes transition from school to work, and from sheltered workshops direct to the labor markets.
The minimum employment quota is a legislative affirmative action that attempts to create equal opportunity for persons with disabilities by ensuring that a proportion of employees consist of PWDs.
The Labor Department of Government of Hong Kong's Labour and Welfare Bureau provides free supported employment services under the Selective Placement Division (SPD), which was established in 1980.
The SPD launched the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme (WOPS) in 2013, serving to incentivize employers to hire job seekers with disabilities.
SPED provides one-off-subsidy to participating employers for modifying the workspace to accommodate for special needs or equipping the workplace with assistive devices that can enhance the work efficiency of workers with disabilities.
To encourage re-employment, Additional Special Employment Credit, which funds 22% of the employee's monthly wages, was initiated in 2015 as an amendment to the SEC program.
The revenue resulting from the levies is disbursed to provide supported employment in forms of vocational training and job placement career services.
