Barriers to Employment for Transition-age Youth with Developmental and Psychiatric Disabilities.
Youth with developmental and psychiatric disabilities encounter significant vocational challenges, even when they receive supported employment services. We examined the barriers to employment for 280 transition-age youth with disabilities enrolled in supported employment in eight community rehabilitation centers. Employment team members identified each youth's top three barriers to employment using a 21-item checklist. Lack of work experience, transportation problems, and program engagement issues represented common barriers for both youth with developmental disabilities (53, 36, and 25%) and youth with psychiatric disabilities (20, 33, and 26%). Additional common barriers among youth with developmental disabilities included cognitive problems (32%) and lack of social skills (23%) and among youth with psychiatric disabilities included poor control of psychiatric symptoms (23%). Despite receiving evidence-based employment services, youth with disabilities encounter many barriers to employment. Awareness of typical barriers for transition-age youth, including those specific to different disability groups, may help employment programs anticipate challenges and develop strategies that avoid these barriers and their effects on employment opportunities.
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, 85 Mechanic Street, Suite C3-1, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA. valerie.noel@dartmouth.edu.
Valerie A
VA
Noel
Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation Services, Chicago, USA.
Eugene
E
Oulvey
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, 85 Mechanic Street, Suite C3-1, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA.|IPS Employment Center, Westat Inc., Lebanon, 03766, USA.
Robert E
RE
Drake
IPS Employment Center, Westat Inc., Lebanon, 03766, USA.
Gary R
GR
Bond
D000293:Adolescent; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016832:Employment, Supported / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D066107:Social Skills; D014186:Transportation; D055815:Young Adult
Barriers; Developmental disabilities; Employment; Mental illness; Youth