Prioritizing barriers and solutions to improve employment for persons with developmental disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: Persons with a developmental disability have the lowest rate of labour force participation relative to other disabilities. The widening gap between the labour force participation of persons with versus without disability has been an enduring concern for many governments across the globe, which has led to policy initiatives such as labour market activation programs, welfare reforms, and equality laws. Despite these policies, persistently poor labour force participation rates for persons with developmental disabilities suggest that this population experiences pervasive barriers to participating in the labour force. Materials and methods: In this study, a two-phase qualitative research design was used to systematically identify, explore and prioritize barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, potential policy solutions and criteria for evaluating future policy initiatives. Incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives, a Nominal Group Technique and a modified Delphi technique were used to collect and analyze data. Results: Findings indicate that barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities are multi-factorial and policy solutions to address these barriers require stakeholder engagement and collaboration from multiple sectors. Conclusions: Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Policy and decision makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities more holistically by designing policies considering employers and the workplace, persons with developmental disabilities and the broader society. Findings call for crosssectoral collaboration using a Whole of Government approach. ä IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Persons with a developmental disability face lower levels of labour force participation than any other disability group. Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for persons with developmental disabilities. Decision and policy makers need to address barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities holistically through policies guiding employers and broader societal behaviour in addition to those aimed at the individuals (such as skill development or training). Due to multi-factorial nature of barriers to employment for persons with developmental disabilities, policy solutions are wide-ranging and fall under the responsibility of multiple sectors for implementation. This calls for cross-sectoral collaboration using a "Whole of Government" approach, with shared goals and integrated responses.

Stakeholders’ engagement in co-producing policy-relevant knowledge to facilitate employment for persons with developmental disabilities

“…We adopted a case study approach in order to better understand how to engage a wide range of stakeholders in different stages of research and what challenges and opportunities for engagement exist. We selected the case of employment for PWDD given the broad perspectives of stakeholders needing to be engaged in addressing this multifaceted 'wicked' problem [2]. Our engagement approach involved two phases.…”

“…For instance, Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) is a Government of Alberta programme that provides financial assistance to adults who have severe disabilities that significantly limit their ability to work. However, an unintended consequence of the programme is that it provides a disincentive for some PWDD to work additional hours, as they receive less after-tax earnings and transfers than those who work fewer hours at the same wage level [2]. Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for PWDD [2,3].…”

“…However, an unintended consequence of the programme is that it provides a disincentive for some PWDD to work additional hours, as they receive less after-tax earnings and transfers than those who work fewer hours at the same wage level [2]. Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for PWDD [2,3]. Policy-makers and decision-makers need to address prioritised barriers to employment for PWDD more holistically by designing policies considering employers and the workplace, persons with developmental disabilities, and the broader society [2].…”

“…Individual, environmental and societal factors all impact employment outcomes for PWDD [2,3]. Policy-makers and decision-makers need to address prioritised barriers to employment for PWDD more holistically by designing policies considering employers and the workplace, persons with developmental disabilities, and the broader society [2]. This implies that the problem to be solved (i.e.…”

“…Stakeholders are often defined as groups who (1) are essential to the implementation of resulting policies, (2) have expert knowledge and (3) have an interest in the outcome of research [17]. In our research we viewed stakeholders as those who are interested in the evidence but may or may not be using the evidence in their decision-making.…”