The Effects of Health Insurance Coverage on Workforce Engagement of Family Caregivers of Children With Intellectual Disability and Autism.

For many families of children with intellectual disability and autism (ID/ASD), private health insurance and public programs, such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are critical sources of support. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of health insurance coverage on workforce engagement of parents of children with ID/ASD. The study utilized 2014-2018 pooled National Health Interview Survey data to construct national estimates and test the effects of health insurance status on parent workforce outcomes.

Employment Equity for People With IDD Across the Lifespan: The Effects of State Funding.

In the last decade, major strides have been made to elevate the importance of employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Despite progress, improvement in employment outcomes remain modest. Using extant data, a sample of 9,871 adults with IDD accessing Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waiver services across 33 states were studied using hierarchical modeling to understand the effects of age on employment as well as assess how state fiscal effort toward integrated employment services affects employment equity across the lifespan.

Earning a Real Wage: A Statewide Investigation of Young Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has gained increased attention through legislation, policies, advocacy, and practice. For transition-age youth, this focus aims to set a trajectory of increased competitive employment outcomes and a lower reliance on facility-based and subminimum wage jobs. Using a statewide survey of day and employment service users, this study sought to understand how earnings of young adults fared compared to other age groups.

More Job Services-Better Employment Outcomes: Increasing Job Attainment for People With IDD.

Job search, job placement, and on-the-job supports are valuable services provided to many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to obtain work in the community. Investigating those who were unemployed at the time of service entry, this study seeks to extend understanding about the effect of services. Using extant data, a sample of 39,277 people with IDD using Vocational Rehabilitation services were studied to understand the potential cumulative effects of these job-related services and individual characteristics on job attainment.

Food Insecurity Among Young Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States: Evidence From the National Health Interview Survey.

People with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) face higher levels of poverty than others, which can lead to concerns regarding areas of well-being, such as food security. Young adults with IDD who are, in many cases, transitioning from the system of educational, health care, and income supports of their youth into the adult world may be particularly vulnerable. Using pooled data from the 2011-2014 National Health Interview Survey, we find that young adults with IDD have significantly higher levels of food insecurity than young adults without disabilities, even when controlling for poverty.

The Negative Effects of Public Benefits on Individual Employment: A Multilevel Analysis of Work Hours.

Public benefits are widely used by people with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD) as crucial financial supports. Using Rehabilitation Service Administration 911 and Annual Review Report datasets to account for individual and state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency variables, a sample of 21,869 people with IDD were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to model the effects of public benefits on hours worked per week. Findings point to associations that indicate that public benefits not only limit access to employment participation, they also have a restricting effect on growth of weekly hours that typically come with higher wage positions, compared those that do not access benefits.

Competency-Based Training and Worker Turnover in Community Supports for People With IDD: Results From a Group Randomized Controlled Study.

Turnover among direct support professionals (DSPs) in community support settings for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has been regarded as a challenge since tracking of this workforce began in the 1980s. This study utilized a group randomized controlled design to test the effects of a competency-based training intervention for DSPs on site-level turnover rates over a one year period. Results suggested that, compared with the control group, sites receiving the training intervention experienced a significant decrease in annual turnover, when multiple factors were controlled.

Responsiveness to Self-Report Interview Questions by Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disability.

An important line of research involves asking people with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) to self-report their experiences and opinions. We analyzed the responsiveness of 11,391 adult users of IDD services to interview questions from Section 1 of the 2008-2009 National Core Indicators-Adult Consumer Survey (NCI-ACS). Proxy responses were not allowed for the selected questions.

Direct support workforce supporting individuals with IDD: current wages, benefits, and stability.

Abstract Direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs) play an integral role in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and are often the individuals directly responsible for assisting people with IDD to live and fully participate in their communities. These two groups of workers have typically been employed at lower wages with limited access to fringe benefits, contributing to high rates of turnover compared to a similarly skilled worker in the United States. This article summarizes findings and is the first investigation in several years to systematically examine the wages, fringe benefits, and stability of the DSP and FLS workforces supporting individuals with IDD.

The state of the science of employment and economic self-sufficiency for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Employment, career advancement, and financial independence are highly valued in the United States. As expectations, they are often instilled at a young age and incentivized throughout adulthood. Despite their importance, employment and economic sufficiency continue to be out of reach for most people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

System and individual outcomes and their predictors in services and support for people with IDD.

The growth and advancement of community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have resulted in vast changes in the long-term services and support landscape as well as in expected outcomes of service systems for service recipients. Investments in IDD research have been made to provide a deeper understanding of these outcomes and to explain them. This article summarizes outcomes and their predictors through systems and individual lenses by examining the research and findings of the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities' Data Projects of National Significance that address residential services, employment services, costs of services, and individual outcomes.

Implementation of job development practices.

We investigated the extent to which employment consultants implemented job development practices recommended in the literature when assisting job seekers with intellectual or developmental disabilities. We contacted 83 employment consultants from 25 employment programs in Minnesota and Connecticut. Fifty-nine participants were eligible and completed surveys.