Individual Employment (IE)

Individual Employment establishes employment opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities in local business or industry on a one-person/one job basis on jobs at or above minimum wage. A support organization develops the job based on an individual’s interests, assists with training the individual and then provides ongoing support and retraining to the individual, the employer, and/or co-workers.

Self-employment has emerged as an option for some individuals. The support organization assists the individual with a business plan, taxes and other details of self-employment.

Benefits

Benefits of Individual Employment include, in part:

  • A choice in the work they do
  • Hours worked
  • Location and time of the job
  • Opportunities for an increase in natural supports
  • Potential benefits, such as, health insurance, retirement, etc.
  • Potential opportunity for advancement and Increased wages that will support economic self-sufficiency
  • Who provides the support

Responsibilities

Some responsibilities to consider as an employee, in part, include:

  • Periods of unemployment or underemployment without day program support
  • Increasing demands of an employer and the expectation to meet those demands
  • Develop and utilize personal skills and resources to navigate the community and arrive to and depart from the workplace as expected by the employer.
  • Strive to grow independent of the county support system.