Integrated employment or sheltered workshops: Preferences of adults with intellectual disabilities, their families, and staff

Despite national and state policies promoting integrated employment, the majority of adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (76%) are served in facility-based programs. This article focuses on whether or not this gap between policy and practice is in part due to the lack of interest of adults with intellectual disabilities and their families for employment outside facility-based programs. Results are based on the answers given by 210 adults with intellectual disabilities in 19 sheltered workshops, their respective families or caregivers (N=185), and staff members in these workshops (N=224). Results show that the majority of respondents would either like employment outside sheltered workshops or at least consider it an option. Moreover, the majority of respondents believe that adults with intellectual disabilities can perform outside workshops, if support is made available if needed. It is noteworthy that the preference for employment outside of workshops is not associated with the severity of the disability. Based on these findings, this study supports the literature that advocates for system change policy promoting the employment of adults with intellectual disabilities in the general labor market.