This Data Note is the second in a series on the territories produced by the Access to Integrated Employment project, focusing on the secondary data analysis of federal data sets. The purpose is to describe the employment outcomes of adults with disabilities in the territory of Puerto Rico, drawing from a variety of data sources that are typically analyzed for individual U.S. states.
This report summarizes the employment and economic outcomes for young adults with intellectual disabilities between 2006 and 2013 in the nation’s 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). Data are reported separately for two age groups: 16 to 21 years old, and 22 to 30 years old. Data are from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Rehabilitation Services Administration 911 (RSA-911), and the National Core Indicators (NCI).
Setting expectations and goals in high school is key for a successful transition into adulthood. Postsecondary education is a particularly important goal because higher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased quality of life, including better employment outcomes. Unfortunately, the transition plans of students with autism do not often include postsecondary education as a goal.
Integrated employment is a critical goal because it leads to greater economic self-sufficiency, social inclusion, and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, high schools do not always include integrated employment as a primary goal in the transition plans of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Moreover, in some cases sheltered employment is listed as the primary goal. As Table 1 demonstrates, only 53% of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities had integrated employment listed as a primary goal in their transition plans, and 10% had sheltered employment listed as a primary goal.
Data Source: The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS-2)
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