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Job Development and Follow-Along

Module 11: Supported Employment and Vocational Services · Lesson 3 of 3

12 min Back to module

Story opener

Thursday, 4:40 p.m. A participant is sitting across from you, your supervisor wants three notes before you leave, and the answer you need is not in any binder on the shelf. This lesson is the part of the job nobody handed you in orientation.

Learning objectives

  • Be able to front-load support in the first 90 days
  • Be able to coach soft skills and schedule management, not just tasks

Lesson

The placement is the beginning of the work.

Build employer relationships around business needs, not charity. Learn the role, the shift, and the supervisor's expectations, then coach specifically.

Most job losses occur in the first 90 days and stem from soft-skill and schedule issues, not task performance. Front-load contact and rehearse the hard conversations before they occur.

Maryland guidance & authority labels

Every statement below is labeled so you know what is binding regulation, what is only proposed, what is professional guidance, and what is our house standard.

  • PRA guidance

    IPS supported employment principles: zero exclusion, competitive jobs, rapid job search, participant preference, benefits counseling, and time-unlimited support.

  • Internal best practice

    Always arrange benefits counseling before the first paycheck, not after the first overpayment letter.

Common mistakes

  • Describing what you did without describing what the participant did.

    Do this instead — Record the intervention and the participant's observable response to it.

  • Treating regulation as a filing chore separate from practice.

    Do this instead — Let the required elements shape the session itself, so documentation writes itself.

Practical examples

Practical example

Instead of 'met with participant to discuss goals,' write: 'Reviewed the transportation objective; participant identified the #22 route unassisted and named one back-up plan. Verbal prompt needed once. Next session: practice the transfer at Mondawmin.'

Key takeaways

  • Front-load support in the first 90 days
  • Coach soft skills and schedule management, not just tasks

Reflection prompts

  1. 1Which part of this lesson describes something you are already doing differently in practice?
  2. 2What would an auditor see in your last five notes that contradicts this standard?

Bring your answers to supervision — the case-study workspace in this module saves written notes to your account.

Knowledge check

4 questions drawn from a bank of 7 · 75% to pass · instant feedback on every answer

1. A colleague does this: Treating regulation as a filing chore separate from practice. What should they do instead?

2. Which statement is a key takeaway from "Job Development and Follow-Along"?

3. Which additional point does "Job Development and Follow-Along" emphasize?

4. How should you treat this statement? "Always arrange benefits counseling before the first paycheck, not after the first overpayment letter."

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