CECY: California's collaborative approach to increasing employment of youth and young adults with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Collaboratives have been shown to be effective at addressing complex problems and powerful drivers of systems change (Chrislip, 2002). The intractable problem of low employment for youth and young adults (YYA) with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) cannot be solved by one agency alone. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the California Employment Consortium for Youth with IDD ("CECY") and its impact in California. CONCLUSION: The California Employment Consortium for Youth with IDD was an alliance of 45 representatives from 25 local and state agencies, associations, organizations, families, and self-advocates committed to building capacity and partnerships among state and local agencies and stakeholders to foster meaningful, sustainable changes in the systems that support YYA with IDD to achieve employment. Guiding this work were two models for change, the High Performing States Framework, that identifies effective elements for employment systems change; and Collaborative Leadership, a process to constructively engage diverse stakeholders in dialogue, mutual learning, shared responsibility, and action. This article describes the organization, administration, strategic actions, outcomes, and lessons learned from implementing a state level systems change project.