Data Note No. 101, 2025
Data Note 101 summarizes national data that show progress toward inclusive employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Facility-based work and subminimum wage use have declined, while poverty rates and unemployment have dropped. While data suggest progress, there is a need to continue strengthening policies, practices, and initiatives that prioritize employment.
Data Note No. 100, 2025
Data Note 100 celebrates the 20th anniversary of the ThinkWork Data Note with fun stats and infographics about this consistent and remarkable publication. Data Notes highlight research on employment and day services trends and outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Check out Data Note 100.
Data Note No. 97, 2025
This Data Note is an update of findings that highlighted the sharp employment decline that occurred in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic and tracked recovery using February 2020 as a baseline. The analysis is extended through February 2025 to examine how employment trends have evolved over time for people with and without disabilities.Data Note No. 95, 2025
This Data Note discusses the definition of competitive integrated employment (CIE) under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and its role as a goal for federally funded employment services. It highlights the national shift toward CIE for people with IDD, promoting community participation and self-sufficiency, and provides guidance on identifying valid CIE outcome data.Data Note No. 91, 2024
This Data Note compares the employment levels of people with disabilities pre-COVID-19 pandemic to their employment levels post-pandemic, expanding the findings from Data Note 69. These data are compared to individuals without disabilities, highlighting the differences between recovery rates in employment between these two groups.
DataNote No. 43, 2013
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) provides guidance and technical assistance to decision makers at all levels of government on the design, structure, content, and use of mental health information systems. The goal is to improve the quality of mental health programs and service delivery. CMHS operates the only program in the nation that focuses on the development of data standards that provide the basis for uniform, comparable, high-quality statistics on mental health services. This makes it a model in the health care statistics field. Data is stored in the Uniform Reporting System Output Tables.
DataNote No. 40, 2012
Data Source: The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS-2)
DataNote No. 34, 2011
Integrated employment is a critical goal because it leads to greater economic self-sufficiency, social inclusion, and personal satisfaction. Unfortunately, high schools do not always include integrated employment as a primary goal in the transition plans of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Moreover, in some cases sheltered employment is listed as the primary goal. As Table 1 demonstrates, only 53% of students with intellectual or developmental disabilities had integrated employment listed as a primary goal in their transition plans, and 10% had sheltered employment listed as a primary goal.
DataNote No. 32, 2011
The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 established a nationwide system of public employment services, known as the Employment Service. Via the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Employment Service was made part of the One-Stop Career Center service-delivery system. Wagner-Peyser is a primary source of funding for these centers, which make employment services available to all people, including those with disabilities. There are currently 1,800+ comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers throughout the United States, as well as satellite and affiliate centers.
DataNote No. 31, 2011
Setting expectations and goals in high school is key for a successful transition into adulthood. Postsecondary education is a particularly important goal because higher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased quality of life, including better employment outcomes. Unfortunately, the transition plans of students with autism do not often include postsecondary education as a goal.