CIE Resources for State Agencies

State agencies play a key role in developing and implementing policy that will increase competitive integrated employment (CIE) for people with disabilities. This section includes resources, such as a national plan, a joint communication and webinars, showcasing the role state agencies play in policy development.

National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON): Plan to Increase CIE – This NEON plan outlines recommendations and action items for increasing CIE, based on the experiences of five national provider organizations participating in the ODEP-funded NEON initiative and their local provider organizations (LPOs). It is intended to provide information and recommendations useful to LPOs, policy makers, funding entities and in-the-field activities in the overall national effort to increase CIE.

Resource Leveraging & Service Coordination to Increase CIE for Individuals with Disabilities – This joint communication developed by nine federal agencies encourages state and local governments to blend, braid and sequence funding to proactively maximize resources and improve CIE for youth and adults with disabilities. Read the answers to frequently asked questions about this communication.

State Efforts to Phase Out Subminimum Wages Webinar – This Employment First Community of Practice webinar features the states of Tennessee, Virginia and Washington explaining how and why they phased out subminimum wages for people with disabilities.

Research Supporting CIE – This brief from the Administration for Community Living shows how working in the community, alongside people with and without disabilities, at competitive wages, offers a direct pathway to greater independence and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.

Agency Change Toolkit – This toolkit from ThinkWork! at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion addresses 10 elements of successful organizational transformation to CIE and includes a self-assessment tool.

Let's Get to Work Podcast Series – This podcast series includes episodes on advancing CIE, pursuing economic justice for people with disabilities and modernizing the AbilityOne program. They were produced by the Disability-Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, which is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research.

Promoting CIE Through Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and Other Interagency and Interdepartmental Agreements – This guide developed for ODEP provides a step-by-step process that walks agencies through MOU development by illustrating who should be at the table, key areas to include in an MOU, strategies for completing MOUs and tips for implementing an MOU effectively.

Model Cooperative Agreements Between VR Agency and Medicaid, Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Agencies – This sample model MOU from the ODEP-funded National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities serves as a template for vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other agencies to use when discussing and negotiating MOUs with state partners from mental health, IDD and Medicaid agencies.

Policies And Practices of High-Performing State Employment Systems – This collection of ThinkWork! resources focuses on policies and practices within state agencies that lead to improved employment outcomes for people with IDD.

Value-Based Payment Methodologies to Advance CIE: A Mix of Inspiring Examples from Across the Country – Developed by NEON, this guide provides examples of best practices in Medicaid rate restructuring that states have used to incentivize services that lead to CIE.

Analysis of Wage and Total Compensation Gaps by Disability Measure – This study, developed by the Employer Practices Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, which examines employer practices that affect employment outcomes among individuals with disabilities, explores the pay gaps between workers with disabilities and their nondisabled peers.

The State Exchange on Employment & Disability (SEED) – Funded by ODEP, SEED is a unique state-federal collaboration that supports state and local governments in adopting and implementing inclusive policies and best practices that lead to increased employment opportunities for disabled people and a stronger, more inclusive American workforce and economy.

Agencies that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can increase competitive integrated employment (CIE) by providing services that help individuals with IDD determine which activities they might like to do for pay through community experiences. Home and community-based services (HCBS) can play a key role in funding these services.

Home & Community-Based Services Settings Rule – These regulations help ensure that people who receive services and supports through Medicaid’s HCBS programs have full access to the benefits of community living and can receive services in the most integrated setting.

A Framework for Community Engagement – A Pathway to CIE – This brief presents a joint federal vision for community engagement that enables people with disabilities to expand their skills, experiences and relationships so that they may secure high-quality and personally satisfying jobs and careers along with the benefits of employment.

Persons with Intellectual Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA – This U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission document addresses how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job applicants and employees with intellectual disabilities in the workplace, including issues of reasonable accommodations, safety and harassment.

Most Integrated Employment Setting – State Self-Assessment – This tool from the ODEP-funded National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities helps governors and state administrations understand and voluntarily meet their obligations to provide publicly funded employment and non-workday services to persons with disabilities.

StateData.info – This resource from ThinkWork! allows users to find, sort and analyze state- and national-level data related to employment for people with IDD.

Partnerships in Integrated Employment System Change Grants – These grants prioritize CIE as the first and preferred option for youth and young adults with IDD by enhancing collaboration across existing state systems, including programs administered by state developmental disabilities agencies, vocational rehabilitation agencies, educational agencies and other entities.

State Mental Health Agencies provide vital services for people with mental health conditions. In this section, learn about ODEP’s Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE), Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and employment services for people with mental health conditions.   

Advancing State Policy Integration for Recovery and Employment (ASPIRE) – The ODEP-funded ASPIRE initiative provides selected states tailored and targeted technical assistance to integrate state policy, program and funding infrastructures to expand evidence-based employment services for people with a disability resulting from mental health conditions.

Leveraging State Policy to Support Positive Mental Health and Employment for Youth with Marginalized Racial Identities – ODEP’s Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) recently published this policy considerations paper. The publication provides states with key policy considerations—involving cultural responsiveness, access to care and workforce supports—to help improve the delivery of mental health services to youth and young adults from marginalized racial groups. These considerations were drawn from a virtual roundtable hosted by CAPE-Youth in collaboration with the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Peer Supporters as Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Specialists – This site includes resources for peer supporters as IPS employment specialists, who deliver standard supported employment services while also contributing their unique perspective of living and working with a mental health condition. It was developed by the Center on Integrated Health Care and Self-Directed Recovery at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Quick Guide to Disability Employment Policy – This resource from the Center on Integrated Health Care and Self-Directed Recovery at UIC includes factsheets, info graphics, resource guides and podcasts related to employment for persons with serious mental health conditions.

Mental Health Conditions: Resources for Job Seekers, Employees and Employers – This U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission resource page provides background information about mental health issues in employment and links to several EEOC technical assistance materials addressing mental health employment-related topics.

Translating Evidence to Support Transitions – This is a series of practice guides to increase the use and adoption of three research-informed practices for the transition planning of high school students with emotional behavioral disturbance who receive special education services. They were developed by the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research (Transitions ACR) at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

Transitions ACR Employment Publications – This resource webpage includes tip sheets, issue briefs, reports, articles and presentations to improve employment for transition age youth with serious mental health conditions.

Improving Mental Health Service Delivery: Focus on Coordinated Specialty Care for Youth with First Episode Psychosis Using Resources Available through the Workforce Development System and American Rescue Plan – This ODEP brief discusses the importance of early intervention in mental health service delivery for youth experiencing their first episode psychosis through Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC). It also indicates how elements of CSC service delivery, including supported employment and education, can be funded using traditional and less traditional funding sources, including those available through the workforce development system.

Transforming Lives through Supported Employment – This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant program supports state and community efforts to refine, implement and sustain evidence-based supported employment programs and complementing evidence-based practices for adults with serious mental illness or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.

Employment Repository of Specific Resources for Providers and Administrators – This webpage from Boston University’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation includes employment interventions, models, approaches and other information specific to serving individuals with psychiatric disabilities and/or behavioral health conditions.

Effects of Self-Directed Career Accounts on Vocational Outcomes of Supported Employment Recipients – This evaluation project examines the impact of a Career Account—a self-directed approach to vocational service delivery—on the employment success of individuals receiving evidence-based practice supported employment services using the IPS model. It was conducted by the Center on Integrated Health Care and Self-Directed Recovery at UIC.

This section provides resources for youth who will be exiting high school and looking to transition to college or employment. Resources include a video, an FAQ and technical assistance centers.

The Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) – CAPE-Youth is a collaboration between ODEP, The Council of State Governments and the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University. It seeks to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems.

• Fostering Financial Empowerment for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities – The CAPE-Youth brief provides policy considerations that help youth, young adults and their families foster financial literacy—strategies that can reduce financial pressures for youth and young adults as they transition to employment and adulthood.

Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act – Limitations on Use of Subminimum Wage – These FAQs, developed jointly by RSA and the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, provide information to employers, agencies and individuals concerning limitations on the payment of a subminimum wage to disabled workers.

Why Choose CIE? – This video from Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Rehabilitation Research and Transition Center on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities explains why choosing CIE can be the best option for people with disabilities.

The Need for an Eligibility/Ineligibility Determination for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services for Youth Considering Subminimum Wage Employment Under Section 511 – These Frequently-asked questions (FAQs) from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) address the application and eligibility determination processes under Section 102(a) of the Rehabilitation Act that a youth with a disability must satisfy if and when they choose to pursue subminimum wage work.

Collaboration Opportunities: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth and VR Programs – This resource from Workforce GPS provides a high-level overview of the WIOA Youth and VR programs and helps improve coordination of workforce preparation activities and employment services between them to serve youth with disabilities more effectively.

National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C) – NTACT:C assists state education and VR agencies as they support local education agencies and VR service providers to implement effective practices and strategies so that students and youth with disabilities experience improved employment outcomes.

Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE) – HYPE is a manual-based intervention to support transition-aged youth with mental health conditions to develop their careers. HYPE is based on the values and practices of the IPS approach to supported employment as well as supported education. It is a project of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

Youth@Work – Youth@Work is the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) website for youth in the workforce. It is designed to teach youth about some of their rights and responsibilities as employees, including different types of discrimination affecting young workers and what they can do to help prevent discrimination in the workplace.

Think College – Think College, a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is dedicated to developing, expanding and improving research and practice in inclusive higher education for students with intellectual disabilities. It provides an extensive array of information about inclusive post-secondary education as well as access to training and technical assistance.

Vocational Rehabilitation provides support to job seekers with disabilities who may need assistance finding a job or accessing accommodations to become employed or maintain employment. Resources in this section include: FAQs, grants and guides.

Criterion for an Integrated Employment Location in the Definition of CIE and Participant Choice – These frequently asked questions from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) provide guidance and technical assistance to VR agencies and community rehabilitation programs so they may assist individuals with disabilities to exercise informed choice and achieve high-quality employment.

2022 Disability Innovation Fund Grants – Subminimum Wage to CIE Demonstration Projects – These five-year grants awarded to 14 state VR agencies are working to decrease the use of subminimum wages and increase access to CIE for people with disabilities.

2023 Disability Innovation Fund: Pathways to Partnerships Innovative Model Demonstration Projects – These projects support collaborative partnerships between state vocational rehabilitation agencies, state and local educational agencies and federally funded centers for independent living to help individuals with disabilities seamlessly transition to life after high school, preparing them for independent living, CIE and community integration.

Preparing Students for CIE – This quick guide, from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative, defines and discusses the importance of CIE, how research supports its effectiveness and provides a number of valuable resources to prepare youth for CIE. It also provides CIE implementation ideas for education administrators, education practitioners and VR counselors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Supported Employment – These FAQs from RSA provide general guidance and technical assistance to VR agencies and community rehabilitation programs so that they may assist individuals with the most significant disabilities to achieve high-quality supported employment.

Working with Businesses to Improve Employment Outcomes for Consumers who are Blind or Visually Impaired – This evidence-based practice guide from the National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision presents key research findings from a five-year research project and recommendations for agencies and counselors about working with businesses.

Resources and Strategies for Competitive Integrated Employment – This webpage from the VR Technical Assistance Center for Quality Management provides a range of resources and strategies on CIE.

State Supported Employment Services Grant Program – This RSA program provides grants to assist states in developing and implementing collaborative programs to provide supported employment services for individuals with the most significant disabilities, including youth.

ExploreVR – ExploreVR offers research and practical resources focused on innovative employment models such as PE, Career Pathways and Apprenticeships to better serve individuals with disabilities with multiple barriers to employment, including those with the most significant disabilities, substance abuse and corrections histories and people within marginalized groups and rural communities. It is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston.

Progressive Employment (PE) Models – This field-initiated project from Explore VR is researching the dual-customer PE model for individuals with the most significant disabilities served by state VR agencies and community rehabilitation providers. Resources include factsheets, recorded webinars and introductory materials.

Supported and Customized Employment: Side by Side Referral Decision Guide – This decision guide can help VR agencies offering both supported and customized employment approaches in determining which approach is best based on an individual’s circumstances. It was produced by the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.

Vocational Rehabilitation Return on Investment Project (VR-ROI) – Funded through three grants from the National Institute for Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, the current VR-ROI project addresses the call for VR agencies to invest time and energy to understand the factors that predict sustained employment outcomes. The goal is to provide guidance on the mix of services that provide superior outcomes and enable VR agencies to examine data across subgroups (i.e., race, geography).

In this section you will find resources such as the Ticket to Work Program, Employment Networks and Work Incentive Planning and Assistance centers.

Training and Employment Notice (TEN) – New Administrative Processes for Public Workforce Employment Networks (ENs) under the Ticket to Work (TTW) Program – This TEN notifies the workforce system about the Social Security Administration's (SSA) TTW program's changes to administrative processes for public workforce ENs. Under SSA TTW regulations, State Workforce Agencies, State Workforce Development Boards, Local Workforce Development Boards and American Job Centers (AJCs) are all deemed automatically qualified as ENs.

American Dream Employment Network (ADEN) – ADEN is a solution oriented administrative EN model that provides technical assistance and training to employment service providers to assist them with providing high quality employment services to SSA disability beneficiaries through the TTW program.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) National Training and Data Center – This center, from Virginia Commonwealth University, provides comprehensive training and technical assistance to WIPA projects, the TTW Help Line and community partners to ensure accurate and timely support for beneficiaries on the road to employment and financial independence.

Several federally funded technical assistance centers provide resources to individuals with disabilities, state agencies and others who support people with disabilities. These TA Centers include a WIOA policy development center, transition to adulthood center and a disability employment TA center.

The Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) – CAPE-Youth is a collaboration between ODEP, The Council of State Governments and the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability at Cornell University. It seeks to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems. 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Policy Development Center – The ODEP funded National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center) delivers policy research and recommendations, technical assistance and demonstration projects to promote inclusion and equity and facilitate the adoption and integration of inclusive WIOA programs, policies and practices.

Disability-Related Resources – This U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) landing page provides links to many of its technical assistance publications and guidance and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) materials explaining core concepts, such as reasonable accommodation, and recent disability case filings and resolutions.

Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research (Transitions ACR) – This center, managed by the UMass Chan Medical School, allows individuals, families, state agencies, providers and employers to request technical assistance and find links to employment service models, employment resources, publications, a podcast and blogs.

Disability Employment TA Center – This center provides evidence-based technical assistance to Administration on Disabilities grantees aimed at improving CIE and economic outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Langston University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiply Marginalized People with Disabilities – This national resource center offers a range of technical assistance tools to assist employers in accommodating, hiring, promoting and retaining disabled workers that are multiply marginalized.

Boston University’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation – This center along with its partners works to develop new knowledge and interventions to help programs and providers develop, implement and deliver services that positively impact the lives of people with severe mental health conditions.