The SELN addresses the elements needed to bring integrated employment to scale for individuals with IDD. We do this by bringing together a deeply researched knowledge base of the multiple systems that impact employment for people with IDD, illustrated by:

1. highly productive researchers, trainers, and policy experts; 
2. robust partnerships with state IDD agencies, state VR agencies, state departments of education, and postsecondary education programs; 
3. an exemplary record of publication; and 
4. partnership across groups including individuals with IDD, family members, employment support providers, advocacy organizations, federal agencies, and policy makers.

State Employment Leadership Network Funding Statement: An Essential Strategy to Support Integrated Employment

June 2015

The field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is at a crossroads. We know people with IDD want to work (footnote 1) and employers want to hire (footnote 2); despite this, the percentage of individuals receiving supports to work in the community has declined (footnote 3). While state IDD agencies have been able to improve employment outcomes (Hall et al., 2007), more work is needed to develop and implement effective funding strategies to achieve long-term growth in integrated employment. 
The State Employment Leadership Network (SELN) provides training and technical assistance to states on how to prioritize employment within the context of a robust community life. A state’s funding strategy is one part of systems change, and must:
assume that with appropriate supports all working-age adults can become economically self-sufficient members of the workforce, 
invest in integrated employment, 
support community integration and self-determination, and
reflect the reality that employment occurs within an individual’s life experiences (including family, day-time, home, and community supports). 

States who engage with the SELN to address these goals in their funding strategy receive technical assistance to:
make educated decisions from a wide range of possible payment amounts and systems,
develop methodologies for funding each distinct phase of integrated employment service delivery, (footnote 4) 
build employment pathways so that individuals can easily access employment services at any time, 
ensure that all supports and services are held accountable for promoting integrated employment, 
promote the delivery and widespread availability of high-quality supports, and 
ensure that changes to funding strategy are developed and evaluated on an ongoing basis within the context of all IDD systems changes. 

1 Migliore, A., Mank, D., Grossi, T., & Rogan, P. (2007); Timmons, J. C., Hall, A. C., Bose, J., Wolfe, A., & Winsor, J. (2011); Migliore, A., Grossi, T., Mank, D., & Rogan, P. (2008); Walker, A. (2011); and National Core Indicators, (2014).
2 Institute for Corporate Productivity. (2014).
3 Between 2001 and 2013, the IDD system added more than 130,000 service recipients. However, participation in integrated employment services declined. The estimated participation in integrated employment services in 2001 was 117, 384. This number declined rapidly between 2001 and 2004, before beginning to make slow gains and reaching 113,271 in 2013. This has occurred despite state IDD agencies’ interest in using payment rates to create incentives for integrated employment services.
4 Phases include career exploration and discovery, job development, long-term job coaching and fading of services, and career advancement.
References
Butterworth, J., Winsor, J., Smith, F. A., Migliore, A., Domin, D., Ciulla Timmons, J. & Hall, A.C. (2015). StateData: The national report on employment services and outcomes. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Community Inclusion.
Hall, A. C., Butterworth, J., Winsor, J., Gilmore, D., & Metzel, D. (2007). Pushing the employment agenda: Case study research of high performing states in integrated employment. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 45(3), 182–198.
Institute for Corporate Productivity. (2014). Employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A report by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp). Retrieved from www.imintohire.org/download-the-report/
Migliore, A., Mank, D., Grossi, T., & Rogan, P. (2007). Integrated employment or sheltered workshops: Preferences of adults with intellectual disabilities, their families, and staff. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 26, 5–19.
Migliore, A., Grossi, T., Mank, D., & Rogan, P. (2008). Why do adults with intellectual disabilities work in sheltered workshops? Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 28, 29–40.
National Core Indicators Project. (2014). Adult Consumer Survey 2012-2013: Final report. Cambridge, MA: Human Services Research Institute.
Timmons, J. C., Hall, A. C., Bose, J., Wolfe, A., & Winsor, J. (2011). Choosing employment: Factors that impact employment decisions for individuals with intellectual disability. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 49(4), 285–299.
Walker, A. (2011). Checkmate! A self-advocate’s journey through the world of  a
Citation
This document should be cited as: State Employment Leadership Network. (2015). State Employment Leadership Network Funding Statement: An Essential Strategy to Support Integrated Employment. The State Employment Leadership Networks is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services.

SELN Technical Assistance
SELN member states have direct access to technical assistance across a variety of areas, including leadership, policies and goals, service innovation, workforce development, communication strategies, performance

About the SELN
The State Employment Leadership Network (SELN) is a cross-state cooperative venture of state intellectual and developmental disabilities that are committed to improving employment outcomes for adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities. SELN online discussions are chosen based on conversations with individual member states, as well as high profile and critical issues circulating around the country. Summary documents provide an overview of the sessions and highlight the resources available and knowledge required to achieve best practices.
The SELN is a joint program of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services.