Project Activities
A multi-site, clustered, randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of the Project SEARCH + ASSET-EPASS intervention compared to Project SEARCH, the business-as-usual approach for school-to-work transition support in the participating Michigan school districts. The research aimed to determine whether adding ASSET-EPASS to what is typically implemented in schools is more efficacious in improving the work-related social skills, job readiness, and employment outcomes of students with IDD.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research took place in Project SEARCH sites, which are internship programs hosted by businesses in which school districts across Michigan may place their students.
Sample
Participants were selected from 18 Project SEARCH sites in Michigan. Within these sites, 104 high school students (ages 18-26) served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and their teachers (special education teachers leading transition classes) participated in phase 1. In phase 2, 33 students and their teachers participated.
Project SEARCH is a vocational training/transition model that includes 7.5 hours of classroom-based instruction each week focused on functional employment and independent living skills and 20 hours of work at an internship site. In Project SEARCH, the host business develops the procedures that guide the program, identifies internships, and provides classroom space. The program provides a menu of resources (such as lessons on specific topics) that teachers can choose to support their instruction, but there is no manual, requirements, or set curriculum. Internship supervisors and host business administrators also provide regular feedback on student performance throughout the program. In the intervention condition, ASSET-EPASS was added to the existing Project SEARCH. ASSET-EPASS is a 24-week manualized work-related social skills and job readiness curriculum implemented twice per week (50 minutes per session) by the classroom teacher to systematically address the needs of transition-age students with IDD. Teachers participate in a 2-day training during which they receive lesson plans with didactic lectures, experiential activities, group discussions, role-plays, performance feedback, and weekly take-home assignments. During the first 12 weeks (the ASSET portion of the intervention), students develop the following workplace competencies: Communication, Networking, Enthusiasm and Attitude, Teamwork, Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, Organization and Planning, Professionalism, Mental Health and Stress Management, Awareness of Self and Others, and Maintaining Workplace Relationships. During the second 12 weeks (the EPASS portion of the intervention), students develop the following competencies for employment readiness: Goal Setting, Job Search, Job Application, Resume Building, Job Interview, Disability Law and Accommodation, First Day on the Job, Workplace Etiquette, and Job Maintenance. Students are taught each skill in the classroom setting and will then be able to practice their social and job readiness skills and receive direct feedback at their internship site. The classroom teacher and skills trainers are available at the internship sites to help reinforce the social and job readiness skills.
Research design and methods
In phase 1, using a cluster randomized controlled trial, researchers examined the impact of Project SEARCH + ASSET-EPASS (treatment, n = 7 sites) compared to Project SEARCH as usual (control, n = 8 sites) on student social and job readiness skills. Researchers at MSU randomly assigned sites to either the treatment or control condition. Teachers completed student assessments for MDE/MRS at pre-intervention and after completion of ASSET. Prior to completion of EPASS, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shutdown of all Project SEARCH sites and all programming and data collection were terminated. In phase 2, five treatment sites and one control site re-engaged with the study. Teachers completed student assessment at pre-intervention, after completion of ASSET, after completion of EPASS, and at 3 months post-graduation.
Control condition
Classes assigned to the business-as-usual condition engaged in the current Project SEARCH program implemented in their districts.
Key measures
Work-related social skills and job readiness student outcomes were assessed by teachers using the Job Observation and Behavior Scale (quality of the student’s job performance, student’s need for supports, quality of the student’s performance compared to co-workers performing the same competitive job), the Work Behavior Inventory (social skills, cooperativeness, work habits, work quality, and personal presentation), and the Employment Success: Soft Skills (confidence and performance of work-related social skills in work settings). Employment outcomes included data collected from teachers (employment status, industry, hours worked per week, hourly wages, and fringe and social security benefits). Implementation fidelity of ASSET-EPASS was measured by a fidelity checklist completed by teachers following completion of each week of the ASSET-EPASS curriculum as well as two observations by trained research assistants per program.
Data analytic strategy
For data collected during phase 1, a two-way repeated measure ANOVA was used to examine between-subject effects (group), within-subject effects (time; pre- and post-ASSET), and the interaction of group x time. For phase 2, a one-way repeated measure ANOVA was used to examine within-subject effects (time; pre-intervention, post-ASSET, and post-E-PASS). Different statistical methods were used because there was no comparable control group between T2 and T3 due to the disruption of the intervention during COVID-19.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project, as reported by the principal investigator, are as follows:
- The teachers implementing the ASSET and ASSET-EPASS intervention were observed and rated as implementing the intervention with high fidelity (93-100% fidelity score).
- The students receiving the ASSET intervention made statistically significantly greater gains than students in the control group on the Job Observation and Behavior Scale (JOBS) total score and the JOBS subscale of work-required daily living activities type of support and the Work Behavior Inventory (WBI) subscale of personal presentation. Differences in the other areas measured were not statistically significant.
- Students who received both the ASSET and the EPASS intervention made statistically significantly greater gains than students in the control group for the JOBS total score and all subscales of the JOBS measure, the WBI total score and all subscales of WBI, and the Employment Success Soft Skills total score.
- At the 3-month follow-up time point, teachers reported that the majority of the students who received the intervention had gained and maintained paid employment, either part-time or full-time, with an hourly wage ranging from $10.10 to $18.57. The types of business industries in which students were most employed were retail (30%), health care (22%), and food service (13.0%). All students in the control group gained paid part-time employment after Project SEARCH. The hourly wage was not available. However, most of the control group students were employed in food service. In comparison to the national average for Project SEARCH, students, the students in the ASSET-EPASS intervention group were employed at a higher rate.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
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SubAwardee(s)
Products and publications
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