Development of the MINDS Client Profile Checklist for Determining the Vocational Competency of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

There is a need to systematically assess vocational competency of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) according to the level of support they require. The present study reports on the development of the Client Profile Checklist (CPC) to assess vocational competency of adults with IDD. The 38 items that were selected from empirical literature and interviews with clinical staff were rated by training officers for 969 18 to 52-year-old trainees with IDD from low, medium, and high support level vocational training tracks. Factor analyses, multivariate analyses, ROC analyses, and reliability analyses were conducted to examine internal consistency, reliability, validity, and factor structure. Factor analyses yielded a conceptually acceptable 5-factor structure with 36 items accounting for 40.1% of the variance and with the internal consistencies of the subscales ranging from .52 to .81 (total items α = .85). The CPC total scores significantly differed across the three support levels. Cutoff scores for each track were also identified. In addition, inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities were high at .80 and .92, respectively. The preliminary results suggest that the CPC may be a useful tool for assessing vocational competency of adults with IDD according to the level of support they require.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess work support needs of adults with intellectual disabilities in sheltered employment

“…The work group provides input about the critical items tapping on basic work skills needed for carrying out common work tasks in a sheltered workshop setting. The MINDS Client Profile Checklist (Manokara et al., 2018) was used as a reference, due to its applicability and validation in the local sheltered workshop context. Items generated fell under five domains identified to be most relevant to sheltered workshops, namely (a) vocational skills, (b) work‐related interpersonal behaviours, (c) communication skills, (d) work‐related cognitive abilities and (e) social behaviours.…”

“…A recently developed tool is the MINDS Client Profile Checklist (CPC; Manokara et al., 2018). The CPC assesses the vocational competencies of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across five domains.…”

“…Although international practices have shifted from sheltered employment to supported and open (competitive) employment, there are many challenges in getting employers to hire adults with disabilities in Singapore. As a result, employment for adults with disabilities still appears to be predominantly based in a sheltered workshop setting (Manokara, Kishore, & Lee, 2018). In the private sector workforce, persons with disabilities constitute only 0.1% (Steering Committee of the Enabling Masterplan, 2017–20212017).…”

“…While supported employment is gradually being implemented, sheltered workshops have been used as an interim training ground to support adults with disabilities to transit to supported employment outside the sheltered setting. With the majority of the employed adults with disabilities working in a sheltered setting, it is important to understand the support needs of this group (Manokara et al., 2018).…”