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• Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Competitive Integrated Employment Trends for Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services Customers with Intellectual Disabilities

  Sep 17, 2024 12:30 pm by SWTCIE Illinois Evaluation Team: Austin, Bryan S., Lee, Chun-Lung, Kosciulek, John F., Rumrill, S., & Strauser, D. George
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  The number of people with disabilities working in subminimum wage employment has continued to diminish over time. At least 13 states have enacted laws that no longer allow employers to hold a 14(c) certificate (Jackson & Switzer, 2024, March), necessary to pay U.S. citizens less than minimum wage.

   

  

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  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as of September 1, 2024, there are 62 Illinois employers that are 14(c) certificate holders or have certificates that are pending and 2,954 Illinois workers with disabilities employed in subminimum wage jobs. The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) has initiated the Illinois Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE Illinois) five-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education (Rehabilitation Services Administration), to help Illinoisans with significant disabilities (ages 25 and older) move out of subminimum wage jobs to competitive integrated employment jobs in our local communities that pay at or above minimum wage and that are fully integrated with all workers (with and without disabilities). Illinois DRS is also working with Illinois high schools to help youth with disabilities (ages 14 to 24) who are considering subminimum wage jobs for the first time to enter competitive integrated employment instead. This innovative and collaborative partnership model project also intends to assist six 14(c) organizations, who are participating in the project, in transforming their business models toward competitive integrated employment policies and practices.
  
  The SWTCIE Illinois collaborative project aligns with the Illinois Dignity in Pay Act (still yet to be passed by both the Illinois House and Senate and signed into law, at the time of this writing) and the Illinois Employment First Policy with its underlying belief that “all Illinois citizens, regardless of disability, are capable of full participation and integration in their communities and that includes employment”, where employment-related services to Illinoisans with disabilities are the first service option. 
  
  Historically, workers paid subminimum wage in non-integrated settings (also called sheltered workshops) have been individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Of the total 11,672 Illinois DRS closed cases in 2023 that represent all disabilities, it is important to know that almost 10% had intellectual disabilities. The brief overview below provides a snapshot of State Vocational Rehabilitation (Illinois DRS) employment outcomes for customers with intellectual disabilities who serve as a comparison group to SWTCIE Illinois project participants. Both a decrease in the number of subminimum wage workers with disabilities (U.S. Department of Labor) and an increase in the number of Illinois DRS competitive integrated employment outcomes for customers with intellectual disabilities will be used to measure, in part, the impact of SWTCIE Illinois. With this in mind, What are the competitive integrated employment trends for Illinois DRS customers with intellectual disabilities? To answer this question, Table 1 provides a five-year trend (2019-2023) of employment outcomes for Illinois DRS customers with intellectual disabilities. 
  
  Table 1. State Vocational Rehabilitation (Illinois DRS) Agency Data VR Closures: Intellectual Disabilities in Illinois 
  
  

  Program Year	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
  Total Closed Cases	1,480	1,190	914	1,228	1,145
  IPE	1,193	1,035	802	1,109	1,036
  Successful Employment Outcome	493	416	347	484	451
  Closures into Employment	33%	35%	38%	39%	39%
  Rehabilitation Rate	41%	40%	43%	44%	44%
  Weekly Earnings	$210.74	$232.16	$252	$264	$299
  Hours Worked per Week	21	21	21	20	20
  Average Days to Achieve Successful Employment Outcome	758	770	800	789	848

  Note 1. IPE=Individualized Plan for Employment.
  Note 2. Rehabilitation Rate=% of Illinois DRS customers who signed an IPE who achieved a successful employment outcome (rehabilitated-status 26).

  During this five-year period, the number of closed cases for Illinois DRS customers with intellectual disabilities each year are relatively similar except for 2019 with a notable larger proportion of closed cases (1,480) and 2021 with a substantial drop in closed cases (914). Most successful employment outcomes are competitive integrated employment (99.5%) with a range of closures into employment from 33% to 39%, and rehabilitation rate from 40% to 44%. Again, rehabilitation rate means the percentage of Illinois DRS customers who signed an IPE who achieved a successful employment outcome (rehabilitated-status 26). Average weekly earnings were $251.58 and there was an average of 20.6 hours worked per week with a slight upward trajectory. Finally, over this five-year period, the average days to achieve a successful employment outcome from application to closure is 793 days (or 2.17 years).     

  How Findings Can Be Utilized to Improve Competitive Integrative Employment (CIE) Practices and Strategies

  The above data that illustrates competitive integrated employment trends for Illinois DRS customers with intellectual disabilities lead to the following recommendations to improve SWTCIE Illinois CIE practices and strategies. 

  • Use this data to understand typical CIE outcomes for Illinois DRS customers with intellectual disabilities (can provide context to serving SWTCIE participants)
  • Engage in outreach to increase enrollments of SWTCIE participants
  • Learn to apply new CIE practices and strategies to maximize the rehabilitation rate for SWTCIE participants
  • Facilitate SWTCIE participant engagement to complete the VR process in a timely and effective manner 

  Bibliography
  Illinois Department of Human Services. (2024). Employment first: Every skill counts. https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=80571 

  Illinois Institute for Rehabilitation and Employment Research, University of Illinois. (2024). Dignity in Pay Act. https://swtcieillinois.ahs.illinois.edu/dignity-in-pay-act/ 

  Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston. (2024). Think Work! https://www.thinkwork.org/   

  Jackson, K., &, Switzer, E. (2024, March). Subminimum wage for people with disabilities: An examination of policies and systems. ILR Carow, Cornell University. https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/carow/carow-policy/subminimum-wage-people-disabilities 

  Search results for: State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agency Data: VR Closures: All disabilities in Illinois during years: 2023: https://www.thinkwork.org/statedata/build-a-chart?report=single 

  Search results for: State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agency Data: VR Closures: Intellectual Disabilities in Illinois during years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023: https://www.thinkwork.org/statedata/build-a-chart?report=single 

  U.S. Department of Labor (2024). 14c Certificate Holders. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/workers-with-disabilities/section-14c/certificate-holders 

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