Supported employment
Last updated
Supported employment is paid work in a typical workplace, with ongoing support such as a job coach, for people with significant disabilities.
Topic: Transition and adult life
In plain terms
In supported employment, a person works alongside coworkers without disabilities and earns at least minimum wage. Support might include job matching, on-site training, adjustments to tasks, transportation planning and gradual fading of help. Customized employment is a related approach that creates a job around a person's strengths.
How it shows up in an IEP
When a student's postsecondary employment goal involves supported employment, transition services might include work experience with a job coach and a VR referral. Annual goals often target work skills and stamina.
Example
A 19-year-old works 12 hours a week at a hotel folding linens. A job coach starts on site every shift and fades to weekly check-ins after the student meets a quality checklist.
Related terms
- Job coachA job coach is a person who teaches a worker with a disability the tasks and routines of a job on site, then gradually reduces support.
- Vocational rehabilitationVocational rehabilitation is a state and federal program that helps people with disabilities prepare for, find and keep jobs.
- Work-based learningWork-based learning gives students real work experiences, such as job shadowing, internships or paid work, connected to what they learn in school.
- 18 to 21 transition programAn 18 to 21 transition program serves students with IEPs who have finished high school coursework but not exited special education, with a focus on adult life.
On IEP Atlas
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