Affiliations: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine,
University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29203, USA | South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special
Needs, Columbia, SC 29240, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Joshua R. Mann, MD, MPH, Department
of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of South Carolina School of
Medicine, 3209 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC 29203, USA. Tel.: +1 803 434 4575;
Fax: +1 803 434 8374; E-mail: joshua.mann@palmettohealth.org
Abstract: This study analyzed longitudinal employment data collected from
South Carolina disability service agencies to determine which individual and
agency characteristics are predictors of re-employment for individuals with
mental retardation. Reasons for job loss in this population were also explored.
While 1198 individuals (72.5% who worked in 2001 remained employed in 2002,
455 workers (27.5% did not sustain employment the following year. The most
frequent reasons reported for job loss in these individuals included job
performance problems (28.1%, a decision to quit on the part of the employee
(21.9%, health problems (10.9%), and employer lay-offs (10.9%. Only 38
percent of individuals who experienced an interruption in employment in 2002
successfully regained employment in 2003. Individual and service agency
characteristics, including race, agency size, and use of a job coach, were
found to be significant predictors of re-employment for these individuals.
Keywords: Mental retardation, re-employment, job loss
