NCT06586827

Impact of Competency-Based Training and Technical Assistance Employment Outcomes of Individuals With ID/DD

The Impact of Competency-Based Training and Technical Assistance on the Competitive Integrated Employment Outcomes of Individuals With ID/DD

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 60 (actual)
• Sponsor: Virginia Commonwealth University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Currently, there are no national pre-requisites for training to become or to be hired as an ES (Employment Specialist). Staff providing employment services have a broad range of educational and training backgrounds. Some individuals have a masters and have completed an ACRE approved course to earn a ACRE (Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators) Basic Employment Certificate in Employment Services while others may have a high school diploma and have not received any additional training. The first phases of the study were important in identifying if the currently identified ACRE competencies are relevant and if the ACRE approved online training course does impact knowledge.

Detailed description

The final phase of the study aims to identify if the addition of technical assistance to the current course not only impacts knowledge of participants but also their self-reported engagement in skills that are outputs of their knowledge acquisition. Additionally, the third phase will link participation in the course and TA (technical assistance) to employment outcomes of individuals with ID/DD (individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disability). These additions address large gaps in the extant literature and research on employment specialists, training, and its impact on employment outcomes. While, evidence-based practices in SE (Supported Employment) exist, research indicates that these practices are not often put into practice. Furthermore, of the few studies that have explored ES(Employment Specialist) training and its effectiveness, very few have identified if training impacts the employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Employment specialists and their skill directly impact the successful employment of individuals with ID/DD. Despite the introduction of SE into the field over four decades ago as well as legislative support, employment outcomes of individuals with remain dismally low. It is necessary to begin to gather evidence of the impact of training as well as feasibility and dosage in order to identify how to prepare employment service providers to better support individuals with disabilities to access employment.

Conditions

• Intellectual Disability
• Developmental Disability

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	VCU-RRTC Online Course	Approved by ACRE as its accrediting body and has been offered virtually through the VCU RRTC for over 15 years. The course currently entails: i. Six modules ii. Six online discussion boards iii. Assignments in each module iv. One quiz per module v. Final assignment
OTHER	Zoom Technical Assistance Sessions (6 total)	Technical Assistance sessions will be provided to small groups of participants of 5-7 via Zoom technology. There will be one virtual TA session for each of the six modules that will last for 1 hour. The TA sessions will be provided by a trained SE expert/ mentor. The TA sessions will have instructional plans so that they are delivered consistently and will align with the associated module's content and will entail application and discussion that facilitates implementation and reflection of the material.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-06-03
• Primary completion: 2025-04-07
• Completion: 2025-04-07
• First posted: 2024-09-19
• Last updated: 2025-07-31

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States