Growing Ready Employees Through Applied Training (GREAT)

Growing Ready Employees Through Applied Training (GREAT) is an individualized work-based training program with potential employers where students ages 18-21 with developmental differences, typically autism and intellectual disabilities, are provided upfront intensive job coaching support that fades with the student’s demonstrated mastered independence, with a goal of rapidly preparing them for future independent employment.

The Need:

Over 70 million adults in the United States – 1 in 4 Americans – have a disability – yet only 20% of students who graduate from high school having received special education services are employed 10 years post-graduation.  Maryland surpasses the national average, but still only 44% of adults with a disability are employed for more than one consecutive year between the ages of 18-64. Of this population, both nationally and locally, the employment rate drops
to 2% when looking at individuals with significant neurological and intellectual disabilities. Of those who are employed, they are five times more likely to be underemployed or paid below minimum wage through supported work arrangements. The lack of employment has compounding effects – the poverty rate for adults with disabilities is 26.5% – more than double that of their peers. The independent living rate for adults with intellectual disabilities is 34%, while for adults with more profound forms of autism is 19%. Beyond the individual impacts, it is estimated that the economic losses from under and lack of employment for people with disabilities exceeds $490 billion annually based on reduced taxes and spending. This doesn’t account for the incurred costs related to social security and Medicare payments. It is in everyone’s interest to increase employment outcomes for all individuals. There are many factors
contributing to this, but lack of access to effective training, that establishes consistent and reliable transportation to and from work, improves employee stamina, and builds the employee’s independent skillset without compromising productivity or adding burden to the employer have been historical challenges.

The Response:

In 2023 C-IMPACT partnered with the Baltimore County School System to create the GREAT initiative, focusing on students 18-21 with developmental differences, providing them with intensive job coaching and support with a goal of preparing them for future independent employment. The coaching is intentionally designed to rapidly reinforce learning of specific job skills, increase the student’s endurance, establish support systems like transportation, coach social skills necessary to successfully navigate a professional environment and then to intentionally fade in intensity as the student achieves mastery of those skills and achieves independence.

Over the two years of this program, 17 students out of 21 (81%) received full-pay employment opportunities while no longer needing a job coach. GREAT has proven that with the proper upfront training support, many of these young people can be fully contributing members of the workforce worthy of equal investments as their colleagues.