The monetary benefits and costs of hiring supported employees: Revisited

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Cimera, Robert Evert

Affiliations: Department of Special Education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA. Tel.: +1 920 424 7235; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Over the past decade, several authors have documented that supported employment has not been living up to its full potential. One explanation for this lack of growth may involve the reluctance of employers to hire workers with disabilities. Specifically, many employers have expressed concerns that workers with disabilities will increase the operating expenditures of their companies. However, to date, there have been no systematic efforts to evaluate the monetary costs and benefits associated with supported employment from the employer's perspective. This paper proposes a corrected version of a cost-accounting methodology proposed in an earlier publication [9]. This revised methodology will enable researchers to determine whether or not supported employees are viable alternatives to traditional workers.

Keywords: Supported employment, employer, cost-efficiency, cost-effectiveness

Journal: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 137-144, 2006