Supported employment program evaluation: evaluating degree of implementation and selected outcomes.

The relation between the degree to which adult service agencies implemented supported employment and selected program outcomes was examined. Supported employment programs developed by adult vocational service agencies in Illinois served as the subject pool for data collection. Results indicated that clients with higher IQs received less complete support services but earned higher wages. Vocational service agencies that spent more time developing jobs seemed better at matching job requirements with clients' skills.

Reliability and validity of the vocational assessment and curriculum guide.

Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the Vocational Assessment and Curriculum Guide (VACG) with subjects having different employment characteristics was investigated. The VACG, a behavior rating scale comprised of eight vocational and social skill domains, was designed to assist in the development of employment training programs for persons with mental retardation and other disabilities. Test-retest coefficients ranged from - .69 to .96 (mean = .79). Internal consistency, estimated by coefficient alpha, ranged from .59 to .91 (mean = .76) for VACG domain scores. The alpha coefficient for the total test score was .95. Empirical validation results suggest that domain scores differentiated between subjects with mental retardation having only sheltered work experience and those who were employed successfully in the competitive labor force.

Analysis of hours of direct training provided by employment specialists to supported employees.

A repeated measures analysis of the hours of direct training and the ratio of the hours of direct training to the hours worked by supported employees was conducted for two cohorts of supported employees with mental retardation employed for 6 and 12 consecutive months. Results indicated little change in the amount of direct training over time. Type of supported employment significantly affected the amount of direct training provided for both cohorts. Significant differences were found for the ratio of hours of direct training to hours worked for level of disability for both cohorts and in type of supported employment for those employed for 12 months. The need to promote employee independence by withdrawing direct training and supervision was discussed.

Benefit-cost analysis of supported employment in Illinois: a statewide evaluation.

A benefit-cost analysis of supported employment in Illinois during Fiscal Year 1987 was presented. Benefits and costs were identified and valued from three perspectives. Society received a $.75 return for every $1.00 invested during this initial year, whereas taxpayers received a return of $.66. Supported employees earned an average of 37% more in supported employment than in alternative programs during this same time period. We recommended continuation of this financial analysis longitudinally, as it is critical to the development of supported employment as an efficient delivery system.

Predicting quality of life of students who have left special education high school programs.

A subsample (N = 505) was selected from a nationwide, stratified, probability sample of students with disabilities attending high school in 1985. In-school and out-of-school information about these students was obtained in 1987 and 1990 from school records, school personnel, and parents. Conventional item analysis procedures were used to construct a priori quality-of-life composites (social relationships, employment, and independence) from 17 questionnaire variables. These composites were related to 27 geopolitical, family, demographic, cognitive, disability, and school program variables using three multiple regression analyses, which indicated that the predictors accounted for 23.5% of the variance in social relationships; 25.6%, in independence; and 19.5%, in employment. Results suggest that although quality of life is multidimensional, competence appears to underlie many of its facets.

Predicting the earnings of supported employees with mental retardation: a longitudinal study.

A random sample (N = 197) of supported employees with mental retardation was examined in a longitudinal study. Results indicate that intelligence, prior earnings, and federal job subsidy predicted future earnings. Statistical controls applied to the stratified sample show that job placement, job type, subsidy, and means of transportation had little influence on earnings.

Interaction of persons with severe mental retardation and their nondisabled co-workers in integrated work settings.

This investigation matched 23 workers with severe mental retardation to 23 workers without disabilities by job type and minimal duration of employment (at least 6 months) to determine if co-worker relations differed between the two groups of employees. Results indicated that, compared to workers with severe mental retardation, nondisabled workers were more likely to receive information, to receive training, and to interact as friends outside the workplace.

Identification of co-worker involvement in supported employment: a review and analysis.

This article identifies the roles that co-workers have assumed in providing support to employees with handicaps. These roles included validating instructional strategies, collecting subjective evaluations, implementing training procedures, collecting social comparison information, and maintaining behavior in the context of actual employment. This review is based upon an existing research literature that has focused upon providing "support" to individuals with handicaps after they become employed. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to important new roles that co-workers are assuming. Specifically, this review is one of the first attempts at defining co-worker involvement.

Use of the partial-sequential withdrawal design to assess maintenance of mentally retarded adults' acquired meal preparation skills.

This study is presented as a follow-up to an earlier fully-controlled acquisition study in which three mentally retarded adults had acquired the ability to use sequenced picture recipe cards to prepare breakfast and dinner meals. Immediately following the acquisition demonstration, instructional components and trainers were partially-sequentially withdrawn. Reliable self-reports from the subjects and their mentally retarded roommates were established prior to trainer withdrawal. The demonstrated self-report method provided a means to assess performance following the withdrawal of trainers. Performance was maintained during a 10 month period.

Prediction of residential independence of special education high school students.

The residential independence of post-secondary students was assessed for the 2,686 interviewees of the National Longitudinal Transition Study who had left United States high schools between 1985 and the time of the questionnaire in 1987. An index of residential placement independence was the dependent variable in a regression analysis that featured 37 community, family, student, and school program characteristics entered as block-wise predictors (i.e., entered in a controlled order). Results showed a total R2 of .443, with missing data, student maladaptive ("problem") behavior, student competence, and family characteristics all contributing significantly to the prediction of post-school residential independence.

Residential independence of former special education high school students: a second look.

The residential independence of postsecondary students was assessed in 5,462 parents or surrogate parents of students with disabilities from the National Longitudinal Transition Study who had left United States high schools between 1985 and the time of the questionnaire in 1990. An index of residential placement independence served as the dependent variable in a hierarchical regression analysis that featured 43 community, family, student, and school program characteristics entered as block-wise predictors (i.e., entered in a controlled order). This analysis produced a multiple R2 of .376: missing data, youths' daily living skills, youths' social skills, youths' maladaptive ("problem") behaviors, and community characteristics all contributed significantly to the prediction of the postschool residential independence of former special education students during the first 5 years after they had left secondary school.

Toward a methodology of withdrawal designs for the assessment of response maintenance.

Single-case experimental designs have advanced considerably in the evaluation of functional relationships between interventions and behavior change. The systematic investigation of response maintenance once intervention effects have been demonstrated has, however, received relatively little attention. The lack of research on maintenance may stem in part from the paucity of design options that systematically evaluate factors that contribute to maintenance. The present paper discusses three design options potentially useful for the investigation of response maintenance. These include: (a) the sequential-withdrawal, (b) the partial-withdrawal, and (c) the partial-sequential withdrawal designs. Each design is illustrated and potential limitations are discussed.

Overview of supported employment.

This article traces the emergence of supported employment as a result of philosophical changes in expectations for persons with disabilities, based on scientific developments that challenged traditional service-delivery models. Supported employment program characteristics also are reviewed, and the influence of applied behavior analysis is outlined. Finally, areas for future research in supported employment are discussed.

Teaching supported employees with severe mental retardation to solve problems.

Two individuals with severe mental retardation, employed by a janitorial supply company, were taught to use self-instruction in combination with multiple exemplar training to solve work-related problems. Use of the combined strategy resulted in generalization of the effects of independent variables, as well as generalization to nontrained problems. Use of the strategy is discussed in terms of promoting independent performance among supported employees.

Correspondence between saying and doing: Some thoughts on defining correspondence and future directions for application.

Israel (1978) evaluated and discussed research on positive and negative verbal-nonverbal correspondence. In the present report we attempt to delineate the relationship of correspondence training to two major intervention goals-producing (increasing) behavior and inhibiting (decreasing) behavior. The concepts of noncorrespondence and generalized positive correspondence are introduced. Past research relating to the correspondence analyses offered for the two intervention outcomes and possibilities for future research are discussed. The relationship of verbal correspondence training to the issues of response maintenance and response generalization is also examined.

Strategies to increase exercise-report correspondence by boys with moderate mental retardation: collateral changes in intention-exercise correspondence.

Correspondence between verbal and nonverbal behavior in an exercise room was taught to 4 13-year-old boys diagnosed with moderate mental retardation. Participants were asked prior to each exercise session which exercise machine(s) they intended to use. No contingencies on stating intentions (promising) were applied. Following the exercise session, participants were asked to say (report) which machine(s) they had used. Following the baseline condition, do-report correspondence training was introduced sequentially across participants. During do-report correspondence training, accurate reporting was reinforced. High rates of both do-report and promise-do correspondence were observed. Data were analyzed via a multiple baseline across subjects design and contingency-space analysis. Results are discussed with regard to observed changes in promise-do correspondence subsequent to observed changes in do-report correspondence.

Benefits and costs of supported employment: an analysis of the Illinois Supported Employment Project.

This investigation presents a cost-benefit analysis completed for one of 27 states implementing supported employment as a result of federal funding. Based upon the benefits and costs detailed, society realized a $0.75 return for every $1.00 invested in supported employment in Illinois. Supported employees realized a 37% increase in their earnings over a comparable period. The results of this study are discussed and recommendations are made for similar analyses across states.

Teaching mentally retarded adults to time-manage in a vocational setting.

Three retarded adults who had minimal ability to tell time were trained to "time-manage." Each was given a card with clock face representations on which the hands of the clock were drawn, representing each trainee's assigned lunch and break times. Instruction was given before work to perform each of the required behaviors when the "real" clock matched the clock faces. Praise was given following correct responses, and reprimands, instruction, and, in some instances, delay or omission of the scheduled activity followed incorrect responses. Pre-instruction and instructional feedback were then sequentially withdrawn. Results indicated that the package consisting of pre-instruction, instructional feedback, and picture cues was effective in producing independent time management responding. When the first two components were withdrawn, two trainees maintained high levels of correct responding. Correct responding decreased for one trainee when pre-instruction was withdrawn. Reintroduction and subsequent withdrawal of the components resulted in maintenance by this trainee. Little improvement in time-telling ability resulted.