Determining the Efficacy of the Self-Determination Career Development Model (SDCDM)

Description

The UMKC-IHD and the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities (KUCDD) are partnering on a Field Initiated Program grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) with the goal of testing the Self-Determined Career Development Model (SDCDM) with a multi-state sample in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma to measure the gain individuals with DD make in self-identified career development goals as a result of their interaction with the model.

  • Project ContactGeorge S. Gotto, 816-235-5334 and Megan Steele, 816-235-6438
  • Project Period – 2012 – 2015
  • Project Funding – $200,000 (FY2014)
  • Funding Source – National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Core Functions

Applied Research

Data collection, entry, and analysis occurs under the direction of the UMKC-IHD faculty.

Community Services and Supports

Institute faculty provide all training and technical assistance to the community partners who are participating in project activities.

Information Dissemination

IHD faculty have developed all training and facilitation materials that are being used to implement the SDCDM.

Program Need and Historical Context

Employment figures for adults with I/DD lag far behind those for the general population; the Alliance for Full Participation reports an employment gap of 58% between people with I/DD and the general population (2009). People with I/DD who are working tend to work fewer hours and make less per hour than their counterparts in the general population, and tend to be concentrated in low-paying entry-level service jobs (Butterworth, et. al., 2011). In Missouri, according to 2009 data from the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), just 7% of individuals with DD/ID were employed in integrated settings, compared with 20% nationally.

Consumer and Community Involvement

The UMKC-IHD is working with 15 direct support organizations and 40 direct support providers in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The support providers are working directly with individuals with IDD, facilitating the implementation of the SDCDM.

Significant Project Activities and Outcomes

  • UMKC-IHD staff have trained 75 direct support providers in the use of the SDCDM
  • Collected first-round data from 180 people with IDD. This includes the ARC Self-Determination Scale, the Autonomous Functioning Checklist, and Goal Attainment Scaling
  • Implemented the SDCDM with 90 individuals with IDD

Institute’s Role

  • Institute faculty provide all training and technical assistance to implementation sites
  • Institute faculty oversee the collection of all data
  • Institute faculty participate in the analysis of all data
  • Institute faculty participate in the dissemination of all results