Chapter 7 of 129.3% of exam

Career Development and Job Placement

This domain covers career development and work adjustment theories, evidence-based employment models for people with significant disabilities, transition services, and job-seeking skills.

Career theories

Each theory has a few defining terms, and items usually test whether you can match the term to the theorist. Holland's six types are also used by the O*NET Interest Profiler. Super describes development across the life span, while the Theory of Work Adjustment looks at the ongoing fit between worker and workplace. Krumboltz adds learning experiences and chance events to the picture.

Trait-factor
Know yourself, know the world of work, and reason about the fit between them.
Parsons, Choosing a Vocation (1909)
Holland
Six personality and environment types; congruence between them predicts satisfaction.
Holland, Making Vocational Choices (1997)
Super
Growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and disengagement across the life span.
Super (1980)
Work adjustment
Satisfaction is the worker's view; satisfactoriness is the employer's view of performance.
Dawis & Lofquist (1984)

Employment models for significant disabilities

Federal VR regulations define supported and customized employment precisely, and IPS has its own practice principles for people with serious mental illness. These models place people in real jobs first and provide support there, rather than preparing them in segregated settings. Items often contrast them with sheltered or extended employment. Watch for the time limits and the definitions of who each model serves.

Supported employment
Competitive integrated employment with ongoing supports for people with the most significant disabilities; VR services generally last up to 24 months.
34 CFR 361.5(c)(53)-(54)
Customized employment
An individualized job negotiated with an employer around the person's strengths and the employer's needs.
34 CFR 361.5(c)(11)
IPS
Zero exclusion, rapid job search, integration with treatment, benefits counseling, and time-unlimited support.
IPS Employment Center; SAMHSA IPS-25 Fidelity Scale
Self-employment
Self-employment and business ownership are recognized employment outcomes.
34 CFR 361.5(c)(15); 361.48(b)(19)

Transition and job-seeking skills

WIOA added pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities. Interview preparation includes knowing what employers may ask before an offer. Students can receive pre-employment transition services before applying for VR. Interview coaching should include what a candidate is and is not required to disclose.

Pre-employment transition services
Job exploration counseling, work-based learning, postsecondary counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy instruction, available without a VR application.
34 CFR 361.48(a)
Pre-offer questions
Employers may ask about ability to perform job functions but not whether an applicant has a disability.
29 CFR 1630.13(a); 1630.14(a)
Youth definition
A youth with a disability is aged 14 through 24.
34 CFR 361.5(c)(58)

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