A community's response to supported employment: implications for social work practice.

Supported employment is one of the most significant advances in vocational rehabilitation services to have emerged from the 1980s (Rogan & Hagner, 1990). Viewed as an alternative vocational service for individuals with severe mental or physical challenges, supported employment was initially defined in the regulations of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in 1984 and has since appeared in a variety of federal contexts, including the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, and the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 (Bellamy, Rhodes, & Albin, 1988).

These numerous federal initiatives define individuals with severe disabilities or challenges as those "who need intensive, ongoing support to live and work in community settings" (Bellamy et al., 1988, p. 4). Supported employment exists when three program components are present: employment for wages and benefits in the competitive marketplace; continuing on-the-job supports such as training, supervision, and transportation; and an integrated workplace in which nonchallenged and challenged people are employed (Bellamy et al., 1988).

The initial findings regarding the benefits of supported employment are promising. For exampl...

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