Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
and | Department of Family and Preventive Medicine,
University of South Carolina, School of Public Health, Columbia, SC 29208,
USA | Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, 3400
Harden Street Extension, P.O. Box 4706, Columbia, SC 29240, USA
Note: [] University of South Carolina, Department of Family and
Preventive Medicine, 6 Richland Medical Park, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. Tel.: +1
803 434 2445; Fax: +1 803 434 7529; E-mail: smcdermott@rmh.edu
Abstract: {\it Objective:} Determine whether the number of job coaches
provided by local nonprofit disability service providers (``boards'')
significantly affected the employment outcome for individuals with mental
retardation (MR) in South Carolina in 1997. {\it Study Design:} Health, demographic and IQ information for
individuals with MR (IQ 20--74) were matched with employment information
derived from written surveys supplied by the boards. The study group comprised
431 employed and 6659 unemployed individuals. Logistic regression was used to
assess the relationship between employment outcome and the number of job
coaches per individual served. {\it Results:} Job coach numbers per board varied from 0.00 to 2.48
job coaches per 100 individuals, with mean and median values of 0.97 and 0.87
coaches per 100 individuals. The effect of coaches on employment likelihood was
approximately two times greater for individuals with low (IQ 20--39) than for
high IQ (IQ 40--74), approximately three times greater for individuals in
counties with low (3--6%) or intermediate (6--9%) unemployment and
approximately ten times greater for individuals located in highly (>75%)
urbanized counties. The likelihood of employment given the addition of one job
coach per 100 individuals increased by factors of 0.37 to 2.49 in rural or
moderately urban areas and by 3.79 to 25.70 in highly urban areas. {\it Conclusions:} These results suggest that expenditures on job
coaches are effective, and that such expenditures may be most effective if
applied in urban counties with low or intermediate unemployment rates.
