Meet the Employment Policy & Systems Team

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The Institute for Community Inclusion’s (ICI) Employment Policy and Systems team plays a key role in understanding and improving employment outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We spoke with the team to learn more about their work, impact, and what drives their approach.

For those who may not be familiar, what does the Employment Policy and Systems team do?

The Employment Policy and Systems team focuses on describing the outcomes of employment and day services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and related disabilities. We work across multiple projects to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence integrated employment.

Our research agenda is grounded in the Access to Integrated Employment project, a longitudinal data project deemed a Developmental Disabilities Project of National Significance by the Administration on Community Living. For more than 30 years, we have been translating research to practice through research based models for change, such as the High Performing States Model and the 10 Elements of Provider Transformation.

The State Employment Leadership Network is an integral part of our team’s research-to-practice and practice-to-research strategies.

Who makes up the Employment Policy and Systems team?

Members of the Employment Policy and Systems team are:

Daria Domin, Suzzanne Freeze, Amy Huppi, Mark Hutchinson, Esther Kamau, Oliver Lyons, Pam McFarland, Alberto Migliore, Brittany Powers, Kara Sexton, John Shepard, Ryan Wedeking, Alison White, Jean Winsor, and Agnes Zalewska.

How does your work help inform decisions or improve outcomes for people with disabilities?

Our publications, which can be found on ThinkWork.org, are directed toward multiple audiences, including people with IDD, families, community rehabilitation providers, policymakers, and legislators.

Findings from our work are featured in national and state level journalism, presentations, policy reports, and legislative testimony. Training and technical assistance providers regularly contact us and ask if they can use our individual stories and state and provider promising practices series in their presentations.

Ultimately, by impacting policy, practice, and expectations for what is possible, we help to ensure that people with IDD receive high-quality services and long-term success in the community.

Can you share an example of a project the team has worked on that had a positive impact?

Here are two examples:

  1. Our team produces the State Data Report (the “Blue Book”) annually, and project staff are regularly asked to support the use of the data for change at the state and national levels.

  2. Our team has also led the development of ES-Coach, a software application that has been used by over 400 employment consultants in 90 programs across 24 states. ES-Coach aims to professionalize the role of employment consultants by embedding data and microlearning into their daily workflows for just one minute per day.

What’s something about your work that people might not expect?

While our team’s name is relatively new, the roots of our work are more than three decades old.

Also, many people who currently work on other ICI teams have worked on previous versions of the Employment Policy and Systems team and have contributed to the depth of our work. The thread that connects us across time is a focus on community inclusion and employment for people with IDD.

What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

The slow rate of change in employment participation and outcomes for people with IDD can feel discouraging.

We are so fortunate that while it can be hard to see change at the national level, we regularly do see change at the state and individual levels. We hear from people with IDD, families, and providers whose lives have changed for the better because of a product developed by our team.

We hear from state IDD agency staff who have used our products to help inform policy and practice in their state that has resulted in substantial improvements to the IDD system.

What excites you most about the work your team is doing right now?

When asked this question, members of the team identified multiple things that are exciting. Some examples include:

  • We intentionally include people with IDD in our work as research partners and advisors.
  • We support the field to move beyond the idea that we can “train” our way out of low employment rates for people with IDD, and instead, we are using data to inform the specific areas that need to be changed at the individual, provider, and systems levels.
  • We embrace the philosophy of Marc Gold and Find Another Way: No matter what the barriers are, we keep looking for ways to improve the services and supports available to people with IDD so that everyone who wants to work has the resources they need to work in the community.