Vermont is a small rural state with the nation’s second-smallest population. Based on the 2021 data, the population of Vermont is 645,570 with much of the population in the Chittenden County area.

The closure of Brandon Training School in 1993 was a turning point in the care for individuals with developmental disabilities as it marked the end of reliance on an institutional model of care and underscored the commitment to create supports and services necessary for people to live with dignity, respect and independence within their communities. 

The Vermont State Legislature embedded into law the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1996 requiring the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, through the Developmental Disabilities Services Division, to adopt the State System of Care Plan for Developmental Disabilities Services that describes the nature, extent, allocation and timing of services that will be provided to people with developmental disabilities and their families. 

The System of Care Plan is intended to instruct how legislatively appropriated funding will be allocated to:

• Serve individuals with significant developmental disabilities
• Help people achieve their personal goals, and
• Continuously improve the system of supports for individuals with developmental disabilities within available resources.

Since resources are never sufficient to meet all needs, eligibility criteria were established by the State of Vermont and are determined by the designated agency in each county. The System of Care Plan is designed to serve those with the greatest need. 

Supported Employment In Vermont

Vermont launched its first community-based supported employment program in 1980.

This pilot program was created based on the value that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could have regular jobs in the community.

The overall success of these various demonstration projects led the U.S. Department of Education-Rehabilitation Services Administration to fund states with multi-year grants to implement statewide systems-change supported employment efforts.

The initial federal investment in systemic change in the 1980s and 1990s exceeded $100 million with funding more than 55 three-to-five-year grants (Mank, 1994).

In 1982 the University of Vermont received a grant and started providing support to expand the pilot. (Masterson, 2016).

Sheltered workshops gradually closed as technical assistance and systems change ramped up and people found employment in the community or received other developmental disabilities services, such as community supports and home supports.

Funding was stopped for new entrances to sheltered workshops in 2000.

Two years later Vermont closed its last sheltered workshop for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, becoming the first state with no sheltered workshop.

According to the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living:

“Supported Employment involves a wide range of services, including person centered employment planning, job search assistance, assistance in negotiating job accommodation or modification, on the job training, follow along services for duration of employment, career enhancement supports, and advocacy skills.”
(Vermont DAIL, 2023) 

People receive different services when they have supported employment. Many who are receiving supported employment services are working, and others may be searching for jobs or between jobs.

It is important to note that supported employment in Vermont includes only individual placements. There are no group sites or enclaves. In addition, some people with intellectual and developmental disabilities secure jobs without receiving supported employment services.

In 2018, a survey of Vermonters with intellectual and developmental disabilities found that just over one-third (36%) were working. About one-quarter (24%) of those working were not receiving supported employment services (National Core Indicators, 2019).

The goal of supported employment services is for the person with a disability to achieve competitive integrated employment.

Such employment is defined as full or part-time work with the same opportunities as non-disabled workers in the same position including same salary, same benefits, opportunities for advancement, and is based in the community with interactions with people without disabilities in their job (State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program; State Supported Employment Services Program; Limitations on Use of Subminimum Wage, 2016).

This section shares Vermont data and historical context. It is organized as responses to two questions raised by critics of ending subminimum wage and sheltered workshops.

Question 1: Will people with disabilities still have opportunities to work?

As shown in Figure 1, the number of Vermonters with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving community and employment services (also called I/DD services) who were working increased steadily before the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a drop in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 State of Emergency that limited the availability of direct support workers and temporarily closed many businesses.

In 1996, 263 people receiving services were working, compared to 1,353 in 2019 (StateData, 2023). That is a 414% increase.

For comparison, the population of Vermont increased by only 14% during that same period (U.S. Census, 2021). We can also focus on the time since closing the last sheltered workshop (2002). Between 2002 and 2019 there was an 88% increase in people working.

This line graph shows the number of Vermonters receiving I/DD services who are employed. A green line shows a steady increase from 1996 (263 people employed) to 2019 (1,353 people employed). These numbers drop in 2020 and 2021 (1,133 people employed). Note: Drop in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be useful to look at these numbers relative to the population of Vermont.

The number of people receiving I/DD services who were employed per 100,000 people in the population has been steadily increasing over time. This rate is also much higher than the total rate for the United States (see Figure 2). Like the previous figure, this rate decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This line graph shows the number of people receiving I/DD services who are employed per 100,000 people. A green line shows the number of people in Vermont and a blue line shows the number of people across the USA. The Vermont line shows a steady increase from 1996 (44 people per 100,000) to 2019 (217 people per 100,000). The numbers drop in 2020 and 2021 (176 per 100,000 people). The line for the USA says fairly flat from 1996 (34 people per 100,000) to 2021 (40 people per 100,000).

Finally, this trend can be examined as the number of people working as a percentage of everyone receiving I/DD services (employment and community services).

• In 1996 Vermont and the United States had similar percentages (20% in Vermont and 22% for the United States). Vermont saw a steady increase between 1996 and 2010.
• Since 2010 the percent has remained fairly level, around 46%. The national data has remained stable near 22% from 1996 to 2021 (StateData, 2023).
• Notably, the agency that housed the last sheltered workshop (that closed in 2002) had an employment rate of 66% in 2021. (Developmental Disabilities Services Division, DAIL, State of Vermont, 2022).

This line graph shows the percent of people receiving I/DD services who are employed. A green line shows the number of people in Vermont and a blue line shows the number of people across the USA. The Vermont line increases from 1996 (20%) to 2010 (46%) then stays steady to 2021 (47%). The line for the USA says fairly flat from 1996 (22%) to 2021 (22%).

Vermont agencies with sheltered workshops did not close; they transformed their segregated vocational services to community-based employment. In fact, agencies generally grow by increasing the services they provided. Individuals with high support needs were not left behind. Supported employment, including self-employment, can assist individuals with high needs to gain employment. 

The shift in philosophy and practice from facility-based to community-based employment services also shifts energy and resources. Since Vermont has no segregated employment, other opportunities are nurtured and supported including:

• Project Search (2011) in 3 locations;
• Post-secondary education programs like Think College at the University of Vermont (2010), College Steps (2011) at 3 state colleges; and
• SUCCEED (2007), a post-secondary transitional living program.

People who would have been relegated to sheltered workshops are now students in these educational/vocational programs resulting in employment.

The State of Vermont has been recognized twice by the international Zero Project whose mission is working for a world with zero barriers. Worldwide, the Zero Project finds and shares solutions that improve the daily lives and legal rights of all persons with disabilities. In 2017, Vermont was awarded the Policy Award for Inclusive Employment.

In 2021, Vermont was awarded another Policy Award for Post-Secondary Education Initiative.