Achievements and Challenges I: A Five-Year Report on Consumer and System Outcomes from the Supported Employment Initiative

This article presents results from the 1990 fiscal year survey of state supported employment implementation conducted by the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Supported Employment at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a longitudinal analysis of findings from the 5-year course of this investigation. State vocational rehabilitation agencies reported a total of 74,657 supported employment participants and 2,647 provider agencies for 1990. Persons with mental retardation continue to be the primary service group, but there has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of supported employment participants with mental illness. Among participants with mental retardation, those with mild retardation continue to be the primary recipients of services. Use of the individual placement model has also increased substantially, with a corresponding decrease in the use of most group options. The availability of extended services funding was found to be limited across a number of disability groups. Findings are discussed in relation to the achievements of the states in implementing supported employment, and challenges to the states for improving service access and delivery for individuals with severe disabilities.