Employment outcomes and support needs of Michigan Project SEARCH graduates with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A mixed-method study

1Introduction

Compared to 63.7% of individuals without disabilities, only 19.1% of individuals with disabilities were employed in 2021 (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2022). Obtaining and maintaining meaningful employment is even more challenging for individuals with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities (IDD; e.g., intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder [ASD], learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]; Zablotsky et al., 2019) who face additional employment barriers due to poor vocational preparation, behavioral challenges, social skills deficits, and an overall negative perception and attitude toward IDD (Chen et al., 2015; Hartnett et al., 2011; Kocman et al., 2018). As a result, according to the National Core Indicator Survey, only 20.2% of adults with IDD were included in integrated, paid employment (Hiersteiner et al., 2018). The quality of employment for individuals with IDD is also well below that of individuals without disabilities, as they are frequently underemployed, work limited hours, earn lower wages, and are assigned responsibilities below their educational attainments (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2020; Butterworth & Migliore, 2015; Hendricks, 2010; Hiersteiner, 2016; Moore & Schelling, 2015; Taylor & Seltzer, 2011).

These high rates of under- and unemployment exist despite legislative and policy initiatives calling on schools and communities to better prepare students with IDD for employment. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA; 2004) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; 2014) both place significant emphasis on the importance of transition planning and preparation during the secondary school years (beginning by at least age 16). Schools are expected to provide transition services that include instruction, related services, community experiences, and the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives delivered by highly trained personnel (IDEIA, 2004). Further, these services should be provided through alternative, evidence-based programs or activities that enhance the choices available to eligible students (WIOA, 2014). In response, educational and vocational agencies across Michigan are working together to improve outcomes for transition-aged students with IDD, including funding the implementation of a nationally known school-to-work transition program, Project SEARCH.

Project SEARCH is a one-year intensive school-to-work transition program that actively collaborates with a school district, community business partner, and vocational rehabilitation service provider to prepare students with IDD for competitive employment (Daston et al., 2012; Wehman, 2012). Replicated in over 500 sites across the United States and internationally, Project SEARCH combines classroom instruction with relevant employability and independent living skills and real-life work experience through strategically planned internships that prepare students with IDD to attain integrated or competitive employment upon completion of the program (Daston et al., 2012; Wehman, 2012). Each Project SEARCH site comprises approximately 12 students per cohort, who rotate through three 10–12-week unpaid internships at a community business partner. In practice, interns complete approximately 720 hours of hands-on internships learning vocational skills with the support of a skills trainer (i.e., job coach) and 180 hours of classroom time learning social, adaptive, and independent living skills for a total of approximately 900 hours in the community business setting (Daston et al., 2012).

According to the most recently released national Project SEARCH data, between 92% and 94% of participants successfully complete the program with 46% – 67% of Project SEARCH graduates achieving competitive integrated employment of over 16 hours per week with a salary above minimum wage, usually within 3 to 6 months after completion of the program (Project SEARCH, 2021). From published research reports, there is variation of post-Project SEARCH employment outcomes ranging from approximately 50% (Kaehne, 2016) to 83% of participants (Christensen et al., 2015) achieving competitive integrated employment. Further, Wehman and colleagues (2017; 2020) have conducted a series of studies evaluating employment outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who received Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports (e.g., using applied behavior analytic techniques to support learning; increasing specific social communication skills for workplace success) compared to students who received high school special education services as usual. These studies found that between 73.4% (2020) and 94% (2017) of participants with ASD who completed Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports achieved employment within one year of program completion (compared to 12% and 17% of students in the control groups, respectively). These data show promising employment outcomes especially when compared to the general employment rate for individuals with IDD who are traditionally placed at adult activity centers, sheltered workshops, or stay at home (Wehman et al., 2014, 2020).

Despite these recent monitoring and evaluation efforts that suggest promising employment outcomes for Project SEARCH participants, less is known about the experience of transitioning from Project SEARCH to employment, whether individuals with IDD felt prepared and supported for competitive employment following the 1-year preparation program, and whether they continued to be successful following the removal of the supports offered through Project SEARCH. Research that has evaluated other transition-to-work programs has shown that initial impressive employment outcomes after completion of employment-based intervention programs do not guarantee long-term job retention. Specifically, employment rates consistently dropped at 12 and 18-month follow-up, with few graduates remaining employed at 3 to 5 years following high school exit (Luecking & Fabian, 2000; Noyes & Sax, 2004). Christensen et al. (2015) investigated the longitudinal outcomes of Project SEARCH graduates in upstate New York and reported that job retention tends to remain high with the rate of 82% at one year post exit; however, the rate showed a downward trend at each data collection interval and by 2 years post exit, only 44% of Project SEARCH graduates remained employed (Christensen et al., 2015).

Given the discouraging job retention rate of transition program graduates and limited research regarding the experiences and long-term outcomes after graduates of Project SEARCH exited the program, the current study evaluated the employment outcomes and support needs of individuals with IDD who completed Project SEARCH in Michigan. We had the following research questions: 1) What is the current employment status of Michigan-based Project SEARCH graduates and are they satisfied with their employment outcomes? 2) Were graduates adequately prepared for the transition from Project SEARCH and what was most helpful/most challenging during the transition? And 3) What additional supports would have been helpful during the transition from Project SEARCH to employment?

2Method

3Results

4Discussion

This study explored the current employment status of Michigan-based Project SEARCH graduates and satisfaction with the employment outcomes, as well as whether graduates were adequately prepared for the transition, what was most helpful and most challenging during the transition, and what additional supports would have been helpful during the transition from Project SEARCH to employment. Similar to previous findings of Project SEARCH and other work-based learning programs, the current study found a positive employment outcome for the majority of respondents, including a promising job retention rate and overall satisfaction with their employment (Bellman et al., 2014; Müller & VanGilder, 2014; Rutkowski et al., 2006; Schall et al., 2015; Scholl & Mooney, 2004; Wehman et al., 2012). The findings also support the extensive research suggesting that having accumulative prior work experiences strongly predicts a successful transition from school to employment among students with disabilities (Test et al., 2009; Wehman et al., 2014).

Although the results of the current study found that the majority of the graduates were able to obtain and maintain employment after exiting Project SEARCH, the jobs were often entry-level. Employment settings were limited to, for example, food service, hospitality, and retail jobs and the primary job tasks consisted of cleaning, customer service, and restocking items. The limited work environment of these Project SEARCH graduates is consistent with findings for other individuals with disabilities, as labor force characteristics indicate that compared to those without disabilities people with disabilities are more likely to be placed in sales or office occupations than those without disabilities (19.7% vs. 21.4%, respectively) and less likely to be in management and professional occupations (42.7% vs. 36.5%, respectively; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). Some report that individuals with disabilities are more likely to obtain entry-level positions because employers assume these individuals have lower achievement and job skills (e.g., more advanced work would be too difficult), parents and teachers have low expectations for employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, and because society holds stereotypes regarding the fit between a particular disability and a particular job (Cardoso et al., 2013; Colella & Varma, 1999; Lysaght et al., 2012; Moon et al., 2012). More recent studies, however, have identified a rising demand for people with disabilities in more advanced fields, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (i.e., STEM) and found several predictors of developing students’ interests and goal persistence in this field including social support, academic self-efficacy, and related field interests (Cardoso et al., 2013; Dutta et al., 2015). Project SEARCH-like transition programs can serve as an ancillary avenue working with school and disability agencies to provide information about newly arising career pathways and help individuals with IDD to develop the skills necessary to persistently pursue and obtain more advanced positions.

Regarding job preparedness, one of the major employment barriers for students with disabilities is inadequate preparation for employment-related soft skills (e.g., following instruction, punctuality, self-regulation, social skills, etc.) and almost 90% of job loss of individuals with disabilities has been attributed to their lack of preparedness in soft skills (Elksnin & Elksnin, 2001; Luecking & Luecking, 2015). It is encouraging, then, that more than half of the graduates in the current study were reported to have learned employment-related soft skills such as following instructions, interpersonal skills, time management, problem-solving skills, and organizing and planning skills during Project SEARCH. In addition to acquiring direct employment-related soft skills, parents of graduates also noted beneficial psychosocial outcomes such as increased confidence, independence, discipline, accountability, and work ethic. Didactic instruction regarding soft skills and consistent interaction with peers and worksite colleagues that occurred throughout Project SEARCH may have contributed to the graduates’ acquisition and application of soft skills in their new employment setting. Indeed, previous research supports the effectiveness of soft skill training for individuals with IDD, but the generalizability of these skills over time and across settings has not yet been examined (Clark et al., 2019; Lu et al., 2020; Sung et al., 2019).

When asked about employment and satisfaction with the Project SEARCH experience, most participants reported positive outcomes and identified several factors that may contribute to participants’ satisfaction. For example, students’ preparedness for employment, smooth transition from Project SEARCH to employment, and collaborative transition support (e.g., Project SEARCH classroom teacher, vocational rehabilitation counselor, skills trainer, and employment specialist) were considered positive experiences. Despite the positive efforts that were made for the Project SEARCH participants, unaddressed support needs were also highlighted. Specifically, respondents indicated a need for benefits counseling, follow-along and retention support, and support with developing workplace accommodations or prompts.

The finding that participants had the highest support need for benefits counseling, which is defined as a service to help individuals with disabilities and their families understand how employment and other life decisions impact their cash benefits (e.g., Social Security Income [SSI], Social Security Disability Insurance [SSDI]) and health insurance (e.g., Medicaid/Medicare; Association of People Supporting Employment, 2019) is concerning. Many individuals with disabilities are recipients of SSI/SSDI and Medicaid/Medicare and these benefits usually account for almost half of their total household income; many households of individuals with disabilities highly rely on these public benefits (Rupp et al., 2005). It is not surprising, then, that they expressed concerns about losing their disability benefits if they obtained a job and earned an increased income. It is critical for adults with IDD and their caregivers to understand how employment may impact benefits. This concern can be easily addressed by teaching individuals and their families about the work incentives built into Social Security Agency Programs and helping them fully understand how employment will impact their current benefits. Fortunately, state-federal vocational rehabilitation programs provide benefit counseling for the recipients of SSI/SSDI and Medicare/Medicaid, and thus, it should be easy for the Project SEARCH teacher or vocational rehabilitation counselor to make a referral to an appropriate vocational rehabilitation counselor with expertise who may be able to provide this information and help individuals with disabilities and their families become more knowledgeable of the sustainability of their benefits (Iwanaga et al., 2020; Schlegelmilch et al., 2019).

The second highest reported need was for follow-along and retention support for graduates after Project SEARCH. Some respondents expressed psychological and physical exhaustion and others needed accommodations to support challenging work conditions. These findings are similar to previous research, which documented persistent and frequent anxious emotional states in individuals with IDD due to changes in routine and being with other people (DePape & Lindsay, 2016; Griffith et al., 2012; Portway & Johnson, 2005). Unfortunately, the respondents indicated that they did not receive enough follow-along and retention support to address these issues. These difficulties could be addressed both during Project SEARCH and through follow-up support by helping graduates to develop adaptive coping skills to manage anxiety and stress at their worksites and by connecting them with counseling support from mental health/vocational rehabilitation counselors.

As an additional component of follow-along and retention support, participants’ positive or negative appraisals of job coaches are critical for graduates’ successful adjustment and retention at work (Cheng et al., 2018; McInnes et al., 2010; Parsons et al., 2001). Despite the importance of job coach support, especially during the initial period of employment, job coaches rarely receive meaningful training or support for providing vocational skills instructions and effective support to students with disabilities (Gilson et al., 2021; Rogan & Held, 1999). In response to such emerging needs for well-trained job coaches, job coach training programs have recently been developed and evaluated (Brock et al., 2016; Gilson et al., 2021; Wenzel et al., 2022) and they have shown positive outcomes of job coaches’ skills to teach vocational tasks to students with disabilities. These trainings for job coaches should be modified and extended to Project SEARCH-like transition programs and provided to job coach employers who can then equip their job coaches with appropriate skills and knowledge for providing the best services and supports to individuals with IDD.

Lastly, regarding work accommodations, individuals with IDD expressed some difficulty asking for workplace accommodations in the employment settings, which is similar to previous finding that report difficulties asking for accommodations outside of the school system (Hutchinson et al., 2008; Lindsay et al., 2013). This finding reflects the need for curricular development in Project SEARCH to teach students about how and when to disclose their disability and ask for accommodations. Students should have the opportunity to practice these self-advocacy skills at their internship sites before exiting Project SEARCH. Previous literature also showed the important role of self-advocacy in predicting better adult outcomes among students with disabilities (Callahan et al., 2011; Caldwell, 2010; Getzel & Thoma, 2008) and specifically, Wehmeyer and Schwartz (1997) found a meaningful relationship between successful employment outcomes (e.g., being employed, earning competitive wages) and self-determination skills, noting self-advocacy as one of the key components of self-determination.

5Conclusion

Despite these limitations, this study has important implications for practice and research. Given the current and other previous study results supporting the effectiveness of students’ prior work experience in predicting positive career prospects (e.g., improved soft skills, career preparedness; Bellman et al., 2014; Müller & VanGilder, 2014) and outcomes (e.g., employment, job satisfaction; Southward & Kyzar, 2017; Test et al., 2009), school systems and rehabilitation agencies’ should continue to promote and expand work-based learning programs such as Project SEARCH for students with IDD. These efforts would be well aligned with the federal initiative in enacting the WIOA (2014) which heavily emphasizes the importance of pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities.

Beyond transition programs, practitioners should consider conducting regular check-ins with graduates to identify additional employment support needs. In addition to on-the-job check-ins, the current study specified extra support needs, including benefit counseling, retention support, job coach support, and work-place accommodations. It should be noted that these support needs can be best met by mutual efforts from different partnerships such as sponsoring businesses, vocational rehabilitation counselors, school systems, families, and local IDD agencies (O’Day, 2009; Wehman et al., 2012). Thus, having regular collaborative communication channels with these partners would be worthy of being implemented. Indeed, interagency collaboration is an important predictor for successful transition planning for students with disabilities (Fabian et al., 2016; Test et al., 2009). Fabian et al. (2016) suggested instrumental and task-oriented collaboration (i.e., concrete planning on each agency’s role and how much they contribute to a certain goal) as the desired form of interagency relationship instead of emphasizing the rhetorical meaning of collaboration and expecting synergistic effects.

Future research should explore how other Project SEARCH stakeholders (i.e., business partners, job coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and local IDD agencies) report their experience of participation in Project SEARCH. For example, there have been several studies that explored the business partnerships’ perspective in participating in work-based learning programs and including individuals with disabilities at their worksites (Bremer & Madzar, 1995; Müller et al., 2018; Riesen & Oertle, 2019). While most businesses were satisfied with the program and participants, several concerns were identified related to hiring/supervising individuals with IDD, such as quality control problems, reduced productivity, lack of support from a job coach/school personnel, and doubt about payback on their investment. Businesses suggested creating specific training agreements, providing employer training, and ensuring students’ career preparation before job placement (Bremer & Madzar, 1995; Müller et al., 2018; Riesen & Oertle, 2019). Research to examine the extent to which Project SEARCH addresses these barriers to employment would also be beneficial. In a similar way, future studies can investigate the concerns and needs of other key stakeholders in participating in transition planning and training or working with students with IDD.