Employment Support - What is it?

For Individuals with Disabilities-Wanting a Job

Employment Support is a service that assists an individual to get, learn and keep a paid job/career in an integrated work setting where most of your co-workers are persons without disabilities. Paid work may be full time or part time. Each worker with a disability may have his or her own individual job or work within a small group called a crew or enclave.

 

Staff from private agencies statewide provide services to both an employer and an employee, including:

• Recruitment-Matching an individual worker to tasks and duties in a company.
• Initial Training-Assisting an employee and co-workers to learn a job and become part of the work team.
• Regular support for job performance.

Employment Support is sometimes called “Customized Employment” when a job is individually negotiated and developed. Customized employment is based on the strengths, needs and interests of the person with a disability, and is also designed to meet the specific needs of the employer. Customized employment assumes that accommodations and supports will be identified to allow the individual to perform the functions of a job.

 

Specialized employment staff or typical non disabled co-workers at a business site may be paid or just naturally assist an individual with:

• Job exploration - discovering their work interests and abilities;
• Job development - finding a job matching those interests;
• Job Coaching - helping learn the skills of a particular job; and
• Job Support - helping the worker and employer with issues of job performance in a way that helps assure on-going success at the job site.

For a few individuals, supported employment may mean "self-employment", having your own business and being your own boss.

 

Review the definitions for standard terms that may be used throughout this employment support site and linked tools.

 

Also see: Employment Support for Employers and Employment Support for Partners.