Date Presented 3/31/2017
Several practices act as barriers, as supports, or as both to the job-matching process. Future research should focus on integrating these factors into a systematic procedure for matching persons with disabilities to long-term, competitive community employment.
Primary Author and Speaker: Andrew Persch
Additional Authors and Speakers: Beth Pfeiffer, Rebecca Weisshaar, Amy Darragh, Dennis Cleary
PURPOSE: Long-term employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities has been a concern for service providers and researchers for several decades. Even when individuals with intellectual disabilities do obtain employment during their early adulthood, they often fail to maintain or reacquire employment as they age (Butterworth et al., 2013). Job matching is the process of matching individuals with disabilities to jobs in integrated work environments (Rusch, 1990; Trach, 1990). There is currently no systematic procedure for placing individuals with disabilities in long-term employment. To develop a systematic procedure for job matching, current job placement and job matching practices must be understood in greater depth. The current study aims to identify specific practices that act as supports or barriers to the job matching process.
DESIGN: This study used a mixed-methods sequential-explanatory research design with a grounded theory approach. The target population included individuals with intellectual disabilities and the professionals who serve them. These professionals were purposefully recruited from the list of 2013 International Project Search Conference registrants. Individuals with intellectual disabilities were selected from a pool of students receiving transition-to-work services from local Project SEARCH sites or from The Ohio State University’s Transition Options for Postsecondary Students (TOPS) Program.
METHODS: This study was implemented in two phases. During Phase 1, researchers gathered quantitative and narrative data from professionals using Survey S1. This survey asked for demographic information and included a combination of closed- and open-ended questions about the professionals’ experiences with the job matching process. Quantitative data from Survey S1 were analyzed using univariate statistical procedures. Results from Survey S1 were used to inform the structure of Phase 2 of this study. Four focus groups, including professionals, postsecondary students with intellectual disabilities, and secondary students with intellectual disabilities, were created to gather qualitative data. These data were transcribed and coded by the research team according to a grounded theory approach.
RESULTS: The researchers confirmed the grounded theory that there are supports and barriers to the job matching process and determined that individual factors may be a support, barrier, or both depending on context. Subthemes included transportation, worker abilities, employer characteristics, and provider characteristics.
CONCLUSION: Several practices act as barriers, as supports, or as both to the job matching process. Future research should focus on integrating these factors into a systematic procedure for matching individuals with disabilities to long-term, competitive community employment. Occupational therapy practitioners working in the priority area of transition can work to maximize supports and reduce barriers for the population of people with intellectual disabilities.
References
Butterworth, J., Hall, A. C., Smith, F. A., Migliore, A., Winsor, J., & Sulewski, J. (2013). StateData: The national report on employment services and outcomes. Boston: University of Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Community Inclusion.
Rusch, F. R. (1990). Supported employment: Models, methods, and issues. Sycamore, IL: Sycamore Publishing.
Trach, J. S. (1990). Supported employment program characteristics. In F. R. Rusch (Ed.), Supported employment: Models, methods, and issues (p. 65–81). Sycamore, IL: Sycamore Publishing.
