The impact of customized employment on the competitive integrated employment outcomes of transition age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A randomized controlled trial study.
BACKGROUND: Customized employment (CE) is recognized in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (2014) as a strategy for promoting competitive integrated employment. However, the existing body of evidence supporting CE is mainly descriptive rather than experimental research. OBJECTIVE: This stu...
| Published in: | Work Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 721 - 730 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article |
| Published: |
Sage Publications Inc.
2024
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| Summary: | BACKGROUND: Customized employment (CE) is recognized in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (2014) as a strategy for promoting competitive integrated employment. However, the existing body of evidence supporting CE is mainly descriptive rather than experimental research. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the impact of CE on the employment outcomes, hours worked per week, and wages of transition-age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities. METHOD: The outcomes of transition-age youth participating in a CE intervention were compared to those receiving treatment-as-usual using a randomized controlled trial design. RESULTS: Participants receiving CE were significantly more likely to secure competitive integrated employment than controls who received treatment-as-usual. Participants in the intervention and control conditions earned similar wages. Participants in the control condition worked more hours per week than those in CE. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study demonstrate the effectiveness of CE to assist transition-age youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in obtaining competitive integrated employment, but future research is needed to examine factors impacting weekly hours and wages of participants in CE. |
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