The effectiveness of different methods of employment for people with intellectual disabilities

[Truncated abstract] Background Performance measurement in the not-for-profit sector is extremely important in terms of measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations in achieving their goals. Performance indicators assist management in strategic decision making and fulfilling their accountability obligations for the best use of limited resources to funders, purchasers, consumers, and other stakeholder groups. Aim This thesis seeks to further the research into performance measurement in the notfor- profit sector by evaluating the effectiveness of different methods of employment (open employment and supported employment) for people with intellectual disabilities. The disability employment sector is selected as the sector in which to undertake this research, as there are hundreds of disability employment agencies across Australia, which either support people with intellectual disabilities in supported employment or place them into open employment; each of whom contracts directly with the Australian Commonwealth Government for the services they must provide in order to receive funding. Method The Eggleton (1991) performance measurement framework is used to justify the measurement of the effectiveness of the different methods of employment based on the job satisfaction and quality of life of individuals participating in each method of employment. Job satisfaction is measured using a refined version of the Barlow and Kirby (1991) job satisfaction questionnaire, while quality of life is measured using both a refined version of the Schalock and Keith (1993) quality of life questionnaire, and the original questionnaire. One hundred and seventeen people with intellectual disabilities, who were employed in either supported employment or open employment, are interviewed. Statistical analyses are conducted on the entire sample, and also on various sub-samples that control for differences between participants in open employment and supported employment in terms of the type of occupation performed, living environment, and functional work ability.