Participant, Employer, and Rehabilitation Resources in Supported Employment: A Collaborative Support Approach

Employer participation and natural supports are recent topics in the supported employment literature. This article traces the potential role of employers in the development and implementation of supports while describing the experience of the authors with employer assistance in supported employment programs. Ecological principles are applied to issues of support provision, and a collaborative approach is suggested in which active employer participation on a case by case basis can inform the support development process. Service delivery and marketing issues are outlined to sensitize the reader to implications of an ecological approach to support provision.