Think Work

Texas’s Vocational Apprenticeship Program: Moving Adults into Integrated Employment through Training in Transferable, Marketable Skills

This promising practice describes how the Texas Department of Health and Human Services has developed the Vocational Apprenticeship Program (VAP) as a statewide initiative to support the development of transferable and marketable employment skills in working-age adults.

Ellice: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts

image of Ellice singing on the stage wearing a black dress Ellice used her network to create a professional dance company that embraces diversity and inclusion. Abilities Dance Boston is a space for innovative professional dancers and the development of innovative dance forms that incorporate differences in movement and in each dancers lived experiences.

Frank: Leveraging Natural Supports in the Workplace

Frank Hellmer is a 31-year-old man who lives alone in Little Rock, Arkansas. He enjoys playing video games in his spare time. Frank currently works as a data analyst for Centene Corporation where he has accessed a range of natural supports that have enabled his ongoing success.

Oscar: How Focused, Individualized Exploration Led to a Good Job Match at Shake Shack

Oscar Segal is 27 years old and lives in his own apartment in the Bronx, New York. He grew up with the expectation from his parents that he would work and support himself to the greatest extent possible. For the last seven years, he has worked for the Shake Shack restaurant chain. Read an accessible format of the story here.

Moving Forward after COVID-19: Implications for Ongoing Use of Remote and Virtual Supports in Promoting and Supporting Integrated Employment

This brief describes the findings from a survey developed and implemented by the Association of Persons Supporting Employment (APSE) on how employment and day service providers used remote and virtual supports. Findings from the survey and a set of considerations to improve employment services, policies, and practices based on lessons learned are offered.

The Basics of Social Security Disability Benefits

This factsheet is a basic overview of Supplementary Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

Ohio’s Technology First Policy: Enabling Swift Delivery of Remote Supports During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Ohio’s Technology First policy ensured that people eligible for services through Department of Developmental Disabilities had increased opportunities to live, work, and thrive in their homes and communities during the Covid-19 pandemic through state-of-the-art planning, innovative technology and supports.

Nikolas: Understanding the Risks and New Routines of Being an Essential Worker During COVID-19

Nikolas at work in Whole Foods Nikolas is 22 years old and works for Amazon at Whole Foods in Providence, Rhode Island as a personal shopper. In this job, he uses an Amazon phone that receives the customers’ orders and payments. Nikolas fulfills the customers’ requests, bags the items and labels the bags in preparation for delivery. He began working in this position before COVID-19 hit, finding the job after participating in a one-year school-to-work program called Project Search.

Infographic: Disparities in Workforce Participation between White and Black Individuals with IDD

This infographic depicts disparities in workforce participation between white and black individuals with intellectual and developmental disability.

Infographic: Gender Disparities in Workforce Participation

This infographic depicts how women with a cognitive disability earn less than men with a cognitive disability despite being employed at similar rates.

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