Advancing Customized Employment Initiatives in Illinois

The State of Illinois has made recent strides in increasing the capacity to provide customized employment (CE) for job seekers with developmental disabilities (and others with significant need of job seeking assistance) to successfully find community employment that matches their skills and interests. The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) funded an investment with Marc Gold & Associates (MGA) to train employment staff at community providers in CE strategies so they could receive the nationally recognized ACRE certificate in Customized Employment. Through this project, 89 staff attained ACRE certificates for CE.

The Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) has shown Individualized Placement and Support to be a best practice for individuals with mental health issues, and that it has promise for people with developmental disabilities. An additional step is to incorporate a thorough person-centered assessment similar to the Discovery process that is part of CE services -- which has been demonstrated as a best practice. Thus, the CE pilot builds on DRS’s IPS approach, adding strategies of CE which increase the successful employment of people with developmental disabilities (and others with significant need of job seeking assistance).

This current project will facilitate the implementation and expansion of CE as a strategy in Illinois, adhering to nationally accepted fidelity standards with three related stakeholder groups.

• One focus is the CE Pilot Project currently underway through the DRS. DRS Division leadership will be provided technical assistance to ensure that CE contract grantees are implementing CE in fidelity to national standards1. Technical assistance to DRS will ensure this pilot can be completed as intended and can be evaluated. Additionally, DRS will be assisted in gathering and analyzing data to continue to monitor and evaluate CE services.
• A second focus is transition-aged students with developmental disabilities who can benefit from the unique insights offered through Discovery and Customization to support and broaden their transition plans and IEPs. Discovery and Customized Employment training will be offered to teachers, education professionals and parents of students with developmental disabilities.
• The third focus is to increase vocational staff capacity to implement quality CE services. Training, competency-based certification and technical assistance will be offered to provider staff and leadership. Provider staff and leadership will be assisted with gathering data on CE services.