Employment outcomes of transition-aged adults with autism spectrum disorder: A state of the states report

Authors: 
Escovitz, K., & Donegan, K.
Year Published: 
2014
Publication: 
American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Volume: 
119
Number: 
1
Pages: 
64-83
Publisher: 
AAIDD
Background: 

Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face a number of obstacles when transitioning from school to work. The cost to society to support individuals with ASD who do not work is very high. The incidence of ASD is on the rise. It is important to make sure vocational services provided by the states are leading to successful employment outcomes for these individuals.

Purpose: 

The goal of this study was to examine the employment outcomes of transition aged youth with ASD served by the states vocational rehabilitation system.

Setting: 

This study included individuals with autism spectrum disorder served by multiple vocational rehabilitation agencies in various settings.

Sample: 

Data was taken from the Rehabilitation Services Administration's (RSA); RSA-911 Case Service Report database. This database hold records of adults who apply for a states' vocational rehabilitation services. Demographics, vocational services received, and outcomes for closed cases (i.e. employed or not, hours worked etc...) are located there. The study examined the records of 34, 314 youth with ASD who were age 21 and under. Data was pulled for individuals whose cases were closed from 2002 to 2011.

Data Collection: 

A number of variables were examined in the study. This included: successful employment outcome, hours worked and wages and the cost of services. Data was pulled for all of the United States. Washington DC and US territories were excluded. Data from each state and year was reported for each study question. In order to identify trends data from 2002 to 2006 was compared to 2007 to 2011 and regression analysis was used to evaluate the data. Mean data for the total transition population served by VR was compared to the ASD group and t test statistics were used to compare outcomes between the two groups.

Intervention: 

The intervention was various vocational rehabilitation services provided to assist youth with ASD with achieving successful employment.

Control: 

There was no control or comparison condition.

Findings: 

Over a ten year time span, the number of transition aged individuals with ASD served by VR has increased over time. While employment outcomes, hours and wages have not improved for the group. Transition aged youth with ASD were more likely to receive a positive employment outcome if they received VR services as compared to all youth with disabilities served by VR. However, youth with ASD worked less hours and had lower wages. This means they were underemployed. The cost of VR services for this group remained stable. There is much variability between states.

Conclusions: 

Transition aged individuals with ASD are accessing VR services. However, their employment outcomes have not improved. More research is needed to determine what influences the variability between states and improve work outcomes for this group.

URL: 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24450322
Disabilities: 
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Populations: 
Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black / African American
Native Hawaiian / other Pacific Islander
White / Caucasian
Male & Female
Outcomes: 
Employment acquisition
Increase in hours worked
Wages
NIDILRR Funded: 
Not Reported
Research Design: 
Observational
Peer Reviewed: 
Yes

Is job tenure brief in individual placement and support (IPS) employment programs?

Authors: 
Bond, G. R., Becker, D. R., & Drake, R. E.
Year Published: 
2011
Publication: 
Psychiatric Services
Volume: 
62
Number: 
8
Pages: 
950-953
Publisher: 
American Psychiatric Association
Background: 

Individual placement and support (IPS) is a well- model of supported employment for clients with severe mental illness. Competitive employment rates for IPS programs are more than twice those for other vocational approaches. However, despite strong and consistent findings for job acquisition, observers have noted that job retention rates for IPS clients are fairly brief. One widely cited review of eight studies concluded that job tenure for clients enrolled in supported employment was typically less than four months and ranged from 70 to 151 days. However, the studies reviewed were conducted between 1994 and 2004 and are now dated.

Purpose: 

The purpose of the study was to analyze the job tenure issue for high-fidelity IPS programs and to use standardized measures of job tenure and an adequate sample and follow-up period. To avoid some of the limitations mentioned earlier, this study estimated job tenure by defining the sample and follow-up period for IPS clients after they obtained competitive employment, thereby differentiating the question of job acquisition from job tenure.

Setting: 

Study participants were enrolled from November 2005 until June 2007. Two-year follow-up data collection ended in June 2009. This study was reviewed by the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Institutional Review Board and was deemed an exempt study. Four urban sites located in the Midwest region of the United States participated in the study. Three sites were community mental health centers, and each operated a single IPS program. The fourth site was a large psychiatric rehabilitation center with three IPS teams. In addition to offering IPS, all four sites provided comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services.

Sample: 

Participants were clients with severe mental illness aged 18 and older and enrolled in IPS at one of the participating sites. To be eligible, a client was required to be identified by an employment specialist as meeting the study criteria: currently working at least ten hours per week in competitive employment and having begun a competitive employment position within the preceding six months. Most IPS clients who work competitively do so at least ten hours a week. In one large database of four IPS trials, 74% of IPS clients worked at least ten hours a week. The study enrolled all eligible clients during the study period.

Data Collection: 

Monthly data about job tenure were collected for 82 clients upon beginning competitive employment (prospective sample) and from 60 clients who had begun competitive employment in the preceding six months (retrospective sample). At study entry, information on demographic characteristics, employment history, diagnosis, Social Security entitlements, and current employment was collected. The monthly employment update included information on employment status (employed or unemployed), job losses, job starts, job type, days worked during the past month, changes in hours worked per week, and changes in wage rate.

Intervention: 

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is a systematic approach to helping people with severe mental illness achieve competitive employment. It is based on eight principles: eligibility based on client choice, focus on competitive employment, integration of mental health and employment services, attention to client preferences, work incentives planning, rapid job search, systematic job development, and individualized job supports. Systematic reviews have concluded that IPS is an evidence-based practice. The intervention was IPS services with high fidelity to the program model and practices.

Control: 

The comparison condition was a retrospective sample of IPS clients who were served prior to the initiation of high-fidelity services.

Findings: 

The 142 clients worked a mean of 12.86 months overall and 9.96 months at their first job; compared with the prospective sample, the retrospective sample worked for more months (13.69 versus 11.02; p<.05) and worked more months at the first job (12.63 versus 8.01; p<.01). A total of 100 (70%) clients remained enrolled in IPS during the 24-month follow-up period, and 42 (30%) did not. Of the 42 non-completers, four (3%) terminated during the first six months, 15 (10%) during months 7–12, 13 (9%) during months 13–18, and ten (7%) during months 19–24. Twenty-one (50%) non-completers were employed at the point of termination. Across 24 months of follow-up, the total sample worked an average of 15.6±10.2 hours per week and 10.7±6.8 days per month. Limiting the statistics to periods in which clients were employed, clients worked an average of 23.5±8.3 hours per week and 16.4±4.2 days per month. Mean wage rate for working clients was $7.90±$3.00 per hour

Conclusions: 

Job tenure among employed clients of high-fidelity IPS was twice as long as previously reported, and about 40% became steady workers over two years. The proportion of IPS clients who begin a long-term attachment to the labor market is higher than has sometimes been asserted in the literature. Long-term follow-up studies of IPS are needed. As this study suggests, short-term studies may not correctly forecast long-term outcomes.

URL: 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21807836
Disabilities: 
Emotional disturbance
Populations: 
Male & Female
Hispanic or Latino
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black / African American
White / Caucasian
Outcomes: 
Increase in tenure
NIDILRR Funded: 
Yes
Research Design: 
Quasi-experimental
Peer Reviewed: 
Yes