Engagement and interaction: a comparison between supported employment and day service provision

Work and non-work experiences of 16 adults with learning disabilities were compared. The results indicated that people spent significantly more of their time engaged in task-related activities during paid work than in non-work situations, where high levels of disengagement were observed. Interaction patterns varied considerably across conditions, people spending more of their time interacting with others in the non-work condition, possibly as a result of high levels of supervisory support from service staff. Differences were also observed in the direction of interaction, with clients more likely to initiate interactions in the non-work condition. A breakdown of who interactions occurred with revealed that clients tended to talk with supervisors more often than anyone else in the non-work condition. During work, clients tended to interact more often with their non-disabled co–workers, and a significant proportion of time was spent interacting with the public. The findings are discussed in relation to the relative success of the employment movement and suggestions for further research are made

Impact of agency organization on supported employment effectiveness

The costs and outcomes of supporting seven people with severe intellectual disabilities and high support needs in part-time employment were compared with those of a Special Needs Unit (SNU) of a day centre, both within-subject and against an equal-sized comparison group. The income of those employed was described. Direct observation of the employment activities and representative SNU activities were undertaken to assess participant engagement in activity and receipt of assistance, social contact in general and social contact from people other than paid staff. Costs of providing service support were calculated taking account of staff:service user ratios, staff identities and wage rates and service-administrative and management overheads. Employment was associated with greater receipt of assistance, higher task-related engagement in activity and more social contact from people other than paid staff. SNU activities were associated with greater receipt of social contact. Supporting people in employment was more expensive than in the SNU. Cost-effectiveness ratios of producing assistance and engagement in activities were equivalent across the comparative contexts. The SNU was more cost-effective in producing social involvement; employment in producing social contact from people other than paid staff

Engagement and interaction: a comparison between supported employment and day service provision

Work and non-work experiences of 16 adults with learning disabilities were compared. The results indicated that people spent significantly more of their time engaged in task-related activities during paid work than in non-work situations, where high levels of disengagement were observed. Interaction patterns varied considerably across conditions, people spending more of their time interacting with others in the non-work condition, possibly as a result of high levels of supervisory support from service staff. Differences were also observed in the direction of interaction, with clients more likely to initiate interactions in the non-work condition. A breakdown of who interactions occurred with revealed that clients tended to talk with supervisors more often than anyone else in the non-work condition. During work, clients tended to interact more often with their non-disabled co–workers, and a significant proportion of time was spent interacting with the public. The findings are discussed in relation to the relative success of the employment movement and suggestions for further research are made

Enhancing self-determination in job matching in supported employment for people with learning disabilities - an intervention study.

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of two interventions employed to assist job seekers with mental retardation to increase self-determined vocational choices. A job taster programme was set up in two South Wales supported employment agencies. During baseline, job coaches were provided with no specific instructions. Intervention 1 comprised a one-day training package to teach job coaches the principles of self-determination and encourage the use of structured job reviews following each job taster. Intervention 2 comprised the introduction of a pictorial job review profile aimed at increasing job seeker independence in the review procedure. Results suggested that job seeker self-determination was enhanced through the project, indicated by a high degree of job seeker accuracy in reporting factual aspects of their experiences accompanied by a drop in the rate of job coach assistance

Enhancing self-determination in job matching in supported employment for people with learning disabilities - an intervention study.

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of two interventions employed to assist job seekers with mental retardation to increase self-determined vocational choices. A job taster programme was set up in two South Wales supported employment agencies. During baseline, job coaches were provided with no specific instructions. Intervention 1 comprised a one-day training package to teach job coaches the principles of self-determination and encourage the use of structured job reviews following each job taster. Intervention 2 comprised the introduction of a pictorial job review profile aimed at increasing job seeker independence in the review procedure. Results suggested that job seeker self-determination was enhanced through the project, indicated by a high degree of job seeker accuracy in reporting factual aspects of their experiences accompanied by a drop in the rate of job coach assistance

Financial costs and benefits of two supported employment agencies in Wales

The costs and financial benefits accruing from two employment agencies were analysed over the two years of their operation. The analysis determined the net costs for society as a whole, the taxpayer and the supported employees, when reductions in welfare benefit payments and costs to previous day services, and increases in tax were taken into account. The results indicated that supported workers generally benefited financially as a result of their uptake of paid work but that costs outstripped financial benefits for the taxpayer and society as a whole. There were significant differences in net costs between the two agencies. The results also indicated that the cost-benefit performance of the two agencies was improving overtime, suggesting that the financial benefits of providing the service could ultimately outweigh the costs involved. This is in line with the general trends found in research in the USA, but progress towards a break-even point was much slower

The organisation and outcomes of supported employment in Britain

The study involved a questionnaire survey of all Supported Employment Agencies in Great Britain. The Agencies who responded (numbering 101 or 48%) supported in jobs, 90.3% those supported worked for under 16 hours per week and 30% small amount up to limits allowing them to retain their welfare benefit income. Of supported workers, 78% employment. Job Coach support was found to fall over time to a mean of one hour per week by the eighth month of work while mean hours worked remained stable in the first year at around 16 hours per week. A cost : benefit analysis showed workers gained {\pounds}2.47 for every {\pounds}1 they lost in taking up employment, and taxpayers received 43p back in savings for each {\pounds}1 invested

Interaction and engagement of workers in supported employment: a British comparison between workers with and without learning disabilities

Supported employment represents an important alternative to traditional forms of day service in Britain. Social integration in the workplace has been seen as one of its primary aims and this has been a key outcome measure in research. Few studies have looked at engagement in meaningful activity as an outcome measure. This paper describes a direct observation study which compared patterns of interaction and engagement for eight people with learning disabilities being supported in ordinary work settings and eight non-disabled co-workers. The results for engagement were favourable, showing no significant difference in percentage of time engaged for the two groups, although supported workers spent more time in on-task activities than their colleagues. There was no significant difference in frequency of interaction, and who people talked with, between the groups, except where Job Coaches were present, where they became the main focus of interaction for supported workers. Content of interaction differed, co-workers being more frequently involved in directing others and teasing and joking, while supported workers received praise and greetings more frequently. Reasons for the observed differences and implications for supported employment services are discussed