Statement of the Department of Justice on Application of the Integration Mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead v. L.C. to State and Local Governments’ Employment Service Systems for Individuals with Disabilities

5. What factors are relevant in determining whether an individual does not oppose receiving services in an integrated employment setting?

A: People with disabilities in or at risk of entering segregated employment settings must have the opportunity to make an informed decision about whether to work in integrated employment settings. Individuals who have been segregated in sheltered workshops have often been told that they cannot work, frequently have been tracked away from competitive integrated employment or steered to sheltered workshops directly from secondary school settings, have been absent from the competitive labor market for long periods of time, or been given scant information about supported employment services, integrated employment settings, or how individuals with disabilities can work in jobs in the community. Consequently, individuals and their families may hesitate to explore work in an integrated setting, or they may not ask for or be aware of supported employment services. ³⁰ Public entities that have traditionally relied on segregated work settings should take affirmative steps to remedy this history and to ensure that individuals have a real opportunity to make an informed choice to work in integrated settings. Affirmative steps may include providing information about the benefits of working in integrated employment settings; providing vocational and situational assessments, career development planning, and discovery in integrated employment settings; arranging peer-to-peer mentoring; facilitating visits, conducting job exploration, interest inventories, and work experiences in integrated job settings; and providing benefits counseling, and access to benefits plans, to explain the impact of competitive work on an individual’s public benefits.