Project Description:
The University of Missouri Kansas City Institute for Human Development (UMKC-IHD) and the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities (KUCDD) are partnering on a Field Initiated Program grant in response to an RFP from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) with the goal of:
Testing the Self-Determined Career Development Model (SDCDM) with a statewide sample in Missouri and measuring the gain individuals with DD make in self-identified career development goals as a result of their interaction with the model.
What is the SDCDM?
The SDCDM is a process designed to help individuals self-direct decision making pertaining to career development. It is based in a three-phase discovery process in which a facilitator helps a person with a disability identify and set a career or employment goal, develop an action plan to achieve that goal, and self-monitor and self-evaluate progress toward the goal, revising the action plan or goal as needed. In each phase, facilitators support participants through the discovery process by answering four questions, each of which comprises the steps in the problem-solving process.
KUCDD pilot tested and validated the SDCDM with 36 people in Kansas who had active vocational rehabilitation (VR) case files. In that study, 13 VR counselors and support staff were trained to guide the discovery process to employment using the SDCDM. Each participant met with a facilitator once a week on a one-to-one basis for six weeks. Meetings lasted for approximately 45 minutes. Facilitators worked with one to six participants at a time. The results of this pilot study were that participants showed significant gains in overall self-determination scores as well as autonomy and self-regulation scores. Most impressively, however, was the impact of the intervention on goal attainment. Participants set and worked toward more than 70 total goals, with 80 percent of those goals achieved at an acceptable level or higher, and 60 percent achieved at the exceeded expectations level. It is important to note that the 36 participants in this study were specifically identified for this study because they had difficulty with job placement and career development through traditional services. Further, a majority of participants were either employed or in training one year after the study was completed. Lastly, given increasing demands and resources stretched to the limits, an effective model that can be implemented by support staff has considerable value.
What are we proposing?
UMKC-IHD and KUCDD are in the process of implementing and evaluating the SDCDM on a much larger scale in partnership with interested organizations that provide employment supports to adults with developmental disabilities. Our hope is that the SDCDM would seamlessly integrate into any current employment initiatives within the participating organizations.
Staff from UMKC-IHD and KUCDD train employment coordinators and other staff on how to facilitate the discovery process using the SDCDM. Additionally, UMKC-IHD and KUCDD staff provide ongoing technical assistance. The employment coordinators then implement the SDCDM with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Specifically, they use the discovery process to help adults with I/DD to:
1. Set individualized employment goals;
2. Develop an action plan to meet those goals; and
3. Adjust their action plans or goals as needed.
The research goal will be to determine whether participants achieve career and vocationally-focused goals and enhance their self-determination through the discovery process outlined in the SDCDM.
Whats in it for sites that participate?
Sites that participate in this project will benefit in three ways:
1. Staff will receive free training and technical assistance in validated materials shown to improve employment outcomes for people with I/DD.
2. Participating staff will receive gift card incentives each time they facilitate the SDCDM process.
3. Participating staff will become members of the SDCDM Facilitators Community of Practice, which will give them access to the most current employment resources that support people with I/DD to achieve employment goals. The Community of Practice will also provide a forum to receive continuous technical assistance from the developers of the SDCDM as well as from fellow facilitators.
4. High potential to realize improved employment outcomes for their consumers, as demonstrated by the pilot-tests of the SDCDM.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
