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“We work with people who are at various stages in the job seeking process.” As an employment consultant, Wendy Druckemiller, works with people to overcome barriers to employment. Wendy uses a vocational assessment to help people figure out what type…

“I haven't really seen progression in supported employment since the 1990s,” recalls Connie Ferrell. She was hired as a field coordinator for the new Indiana Employment Initiative in 1992. In her 2015 interview, Connie explains why she feels…

“We were afraid as parents, and they started talking about doing away with the workshop.” Mary Lou and her husband didn't like the idea of their daughter Cindy getting a job in the community. In the late 1990s, they sent a letter to other parents…

“We would get referrals from the workshops usually, and we would meet with the individuals to determine their eligibility.” Roberta Stafford worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for almost 24 years. Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation…

“We were scratching our heads saying, this is wrong. This isn't the right way to do it, but I'm not sure what the right way is,” describes Patrick Sandy of his experience with the Deinstitutionalization Project at the Developmental Training Center…

This photograph shows a blind Works Progress Administration (WPA) worker operating a Braille machine at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis. The photo, from the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration, was taken between…

This is an undated photograph associated with the institution known as Indiana Asylum for Feeble Minded Children (1879 - 1931) or the Fort Wayne State School for Feeble Minded Youth (renamed in 1931). The photograph depicts boys and young men in what…

On May 10, 2017, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 390 into law. The passage of Indiana SB 290 “Employment First” legislation made Indiana one of 34 other states promoting employment as the first goal for people with…

“To be part of that and to watch the leadership and those agencies catch fire…" Connie Ferrell recalls the excitement of introducing supported employment to Indiana in the early 1990s. "At the time they were doing it, it was like heresy. And they had…

"Customers come up to me and they'll talk to me like they've known me for years." Cori Mitchell loves her job at a movie theater. As a high school senior in Colorado she was left with a head injury from an automobile accident. Soon after, in 1989,…