A hierarchical regression analysis featuring 35 community, family, student, and school program characteristics, entered in a controlled order, was used to assess prediction of employment. Results showed that personal characteristics (especially being male and having living skills and academic skills) dominated the prediction of postschool employment. Family income, our proxy for socioeconomic status, also contributed significantly to this prediction. School programs had minimal effect on postschool employment once student competence and family characteristics had been controlled (held constant) statistically.

While supported employment has made significant gains since its formal introduction in 1984 (P.L. 98–527), segregated services continue to outpace the growth of supported employment. We discuss these and other important trends in this article, and conclude with recommendations that include (1) ensuring that all young adults leave high school competitively used or admitted to postsecondary education by age 18 and (2) that high schools coordinate post-placement follow-up for 3 years following employment or enrollment in postsecondary education. These recommendations are made because although current research suggests practices exist to employ persons with severe disabilities outside sheltered workshops and adult day care centers, these programs continue to grow at an alarming rate. In fact, the growth of supported employment has all but stalled since 2000. Diverting people and resources at the juncture between high school preparation and assuming adult roles such as employment appears to be a more realistic plan to promote integrated services over the foreseeable future.

Two individuals with severe mental retardation, employed by a janitorial supply company, were taught to use self-instruction in combination with multiple exemplar training to solve work-related problems. Use of the combined strategy resulted in generalization of the effects of independent variables, as well as generalization to nontrained problems. Use of the strategy is discussed in terms of promoting independent performance among supported employees.

Students without disabilities traditionally either enter postsecondary education or seek employment after high school graduation. These outcomes are not routinely experienced by youth with disabilities, however. Instead, they often face an uncertain future-one that may include unemployment or underemployment, social isolation, or dependence, despite federal legislation designed to pave the way toward successful and fulfilling adult lives. To address these inequalities, the authors propose constructing new transition bridges, including (a) teaching students to become self-directed learners before they enter high school, (b) assisting students in identifying where they would like to continue their education or work and placing these students in these student-identified destinations before they exit high school, and (c) coordinating postplacement support services with either postsecondary educational institutions or local agencies that provide employment support. A Word About TerminologyThe term bridges serves as a metaphor to focus our field's attention on pathways needed for students, their families, and schools to enable them to attain meaningful outcomes before, during, and after participation in high school. Twenty-five years ago, Madeleine (1983), then assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, introduced the concept of "transition bridges" at a time when transition was emerging as a national priority. Will's model depicted employment as the primary goal of transition services at a time when the scope of transition services was not yet fully understood.

Single-case experimental designs have advanced considerably in the evaluation of functional relationships between interventions and behavior change. The systematic investigation of response maintenance once intervention effects have been demonstrated has, however, received relatively little attention. The lack of research on maintenance may stem in part from the paucity of design options that systematically evaluate factors that contribute to maintenance. The present paper discusses three design options potentially useful for the investigation of response maintenance. These include: (a) the sequential-withdrawal, (b) the partial-withdrawal, and (c) the partial-sequential withdrawal designs. Each design is illustrated and potential limitations are discussed.