Why Employment Matters
Alliance for Full Participation Summit 2011
December, 2011
Promoting Employment First Policies and Practices
What do we know? What do we want? What can we do?
Promoting Employment First Policies and Practices
What do we know?
Lives in Household Below Poverty Threshold – 2009
American Community Survey
Getting out of Poverty
Having a Job
Employment participation 2009
PercentWorking
American Community Survey
Like Everyone Else
Having a Job
Trends over Time: Total Served and Integrated Employment Nationally
ICI IDD Agency Survey
Employment and Day Supports: National
ICI IDD Agency Survey
What We Need
Having a Job
Mean Wage/Week
National Core Indicators Project 2008-2009
Getting More Earnings
Having a Job
State DD agency successes in integrated
employment varies widely
ICI IDD Agency Survey
States VR Agency successes Vary – (Rehabilitation Rate)
Persons with ID - RSA 911 – 2007
States
Supply and Demand in Future Years (NE Fed Reserve 2010)
•2010 those entering the workforce will be 10% greater than those leaving
•2020 those entering the workforce will be 15% smaller than those leaving
•The workforce will be more diverse and have more older workers in 2015
•37.4% of total employment will be low skilled workers
•From 2009 thru 2018 a growth rate of 11.9% in low skilled jobs (health, food, personal care, construction and production)
Promoting Employment First Policies and Practices
What do we want?
(Expectations for Employment)
Definitely Will86%
Probably Will
10%
NLTS2 Students: I will eventually get a paid job
What Youth Want
Having a Job
Not Sure12%
Yes63%Maybe
11%
No14%
Not Sure12%
Participant Prefers employment outside of workshop
Migliore (2006)
What People in Workshops Want
Having a Job
Promoting Employment First Policies and Practices
What can we do?
(A time for a change)
Employment First: Realities and Expectations
What Do We Mean By Employment First?
Employment First: Essential Elements
Presumption of Employment for ALL
A Series of Policies, Procedures and Practices
Outcomes Competitive Integrated Employment
Competitive Integrated Employment:
Essential Elements
Paid at the minimum or prevailing wage Similar benefits to all Opportunity to continuously interact
with co-workers without disabilities Chances for advancement Preferably full time
What is the Outcome
Having a Job
Practices that Have Worked Person centered and directed services
and supports Postsecondary education National Service Apprenticeship and internships Technology: Electronic job
development
Are We there Yet?The employment participation rate
for persons with disabilities (20.7% currently) is the same as that for persons without disabilities (71.9% currently)
My goal is 71.9% employment participation for all
What Matters
HAVING A JOB
Why Employment Matters
William E. Kiernan, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Community Inclusion
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd
Boston, MA 02125
617-287-4311
www.communityinclusion.org