Employment retention and career movement among individuals with mental retardation working in supported employment.

Results of a 24-month analysis of employment retention and replacement needs of a sample of 302 individuals placed into supported employment were reported. Supported employees experienced regular movement in and out of the labor market. Approximately 30% of them were still employed in their original employment situation 24 months following initial placement. An additional 20% were employed in subsequent employment situations, and over 31% had lost their employment and were returned to a referral pool to await replacement. Implications for future supported employment service delivery and funding were discussed.

National supported employment initiative: a preliminary analysis.

A survey of 27 states receiving federal supported employment grants was conducted. Results indicated that the number of participating individuals increased 157% during the 3-year study period. Further, over 1,400 programs of supported employment were authorized by state agencies during this time. Individual placement options remained prevalent and employment outcomes associated with this approach appeared to be superior to outcomes associated with other models. Persons with mental retardation were the most frequent participants; individuals experiencing other handicapping conditions or those considered severely handicapped were not well represented. Implications of these results for the continued implementation of this new service alternative were discussed.

An analysis of employer evaluations of workers with mental retardation.

A critical component of supported competitive employment is the provision of long-term consumer assessment and systematic follow-along services. To date, there is a paucity of information that describes or validates the process of ongoing consumer assessment. In this article, written employer evaluations of workers with mental retardation were analyzed regarding their relationship to employment retention. Three factors were identified which related to employment retention: (a) workers' attendance, (b) punctuality patterns, and (c) consistency in task performance. These findings are discussed in light of their implications for curriculum design and habilitation efforts for persons with mental retardation.

Competitive employment and workers with mental retardation: analysis of employers' perceptions and experiences.

The results of a survey of three groups of employers (employers of workers with mental retardation who received (a) supported competitive employment services, (b) only job placement services, or no known services) in Virginia were reported. Employers were generally satisfied with the performance of workers with mental retardation, but they were more satisfied with the performance of those who were receiving supported competitive employment services.

Benefit-cost analysis of supported competitive employment for persons with mental retardation.

A review of the literature on unemployment rates among adults with mental retardation is presented and the societal impact of the number of adults with mental retardation who remain unemployed is discussed. The supported competitive employment model is presented as illustrative of a habilitation program allowing greater monetary returns to society than traditional adult service programs. A benefit-cost analysis of our supported competitive employment program, occurring during the period from 1978 to 1986, is presented from two perspectives: that of the consumer (i.e., the adult with severe disabilities) and that of the taxpayer. Results of the benefit-cost analysis indicate that supported competitive employment is a financially prosperous venture from both perspectives. That is, from the consumers' perspective, for every $1.00 relinquished in taxes, supplemental security income (SSI), and forgone workshop earnings, $1.97 was received in increased income; the net benefit per year was $3,894 consumer. From the taxpayers' perspective, for every $1.00 expended for the funding of supported competitive employment programs and in lost tax revenues realized by the provision of targeted jobs tax credits, $1.87 was accumulated in benefits; the net yearly benefit to the taxpayer was $4,063 per consumer. The authors conclude that supported competitive employment is a financially profitable venture for both consumers and taxpayers.

Training mildly handicapped peers to facilitate changes in the social interaction skills of autistic children.

We evaluated the effects of a peer-training strategy, consisting of direct prompting and modeling, on the occurrence and duration of interactions between autistic students and nonautistic peer-trainers. Data were obtained in both training and generalization settings. The results of a multiple-baseline design across students demonstrated that:the direct prompting procedure produced immediate and substantial increases in the occurrences and durations of positive social interactions between the peer-trainers and autistic students; these increases were maintained across time at levels above baseline during subsequent free-play probes; these findings were judged by teachers to be socially valid; untrained peers increased their interactions with the autistic students in three of the four groups; generalization of behavior change across settings occurred only after specific programming; and interactions between untrained peers and peer-trainers decreased following training. Variables that may account for the results and the implications of these findings for peer-mediated interventions are discussed.

The class specific effects of compliance training with "do" and "don't" requests: analogue analysis and classroom application.

Two experiments are reported in which the relationship between compliance with "do" and "don't" requests was examined with developmentally disabled children. In Experiment 1, a multiple baseline design across subjects with counterbalanced treatment conditions was used to evaluate a compliance training program composed of four phases: (a) baseline, during which no consequences were delivered for compliance, (b) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted "do" request, (c) reinforcement for compliance with one targeted "don't" request, and (d) follow-up with reinforcement on a variable ratio schedule for compliance with any "do" or "don't" request. Results of probes conducted before and after training within each condition indicated that generalized compliance occurred only with requests of the same type as the target exemplar ("do" or "don't"). In Experiment 2, these results were replicated in a classroom setting. Following collection of baseline probe data on student compliance, a teacher training program was successfully implemented to increase reinforcement of compliance first with one "do" and subsequently with one "don't" request of a target student. Results of multiple baseline probes across "do" and "don't" requests indicated that the teacher generalized and maintained reinforcement of compliance with other requests of the same type and to other students, with a resulting increase in student compliance with the type of requests reinforced. The impact of treatment on both teacher and student behavior was socially validated via consumer ratings. Implications of these findings with respect to response class formation and compliance training programs are discussed.