Leveraging electronic documentation software to improve employment outcomes of job seekers with disabilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Over the past decades, researchers have made tremendous progress in identifying standards of practice for supporting job seekers with disabilities achieve their career goals. However, little is known about the actual implementation of these standards, which may affect the quality of services, and thus put job seekers at a higher risk of not fully realizing their career goals. OBJECTIVE: To explore how electronic documentation software could be leveraged to monitor the implementation of national standards in employment supports for quality improvement. METHODS: A panel of three vendors of electronic documentation software shared their experiences at the 2021 Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) conference. RESULTS: Most employment programs use their electronic documentation software primarily for billing and compliance reporting. Lack of standard metrics and guidelines are a challenge to leverage technology for quality improvement. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for standard metrics and guidelines so employment programs can leverage technology for quality improvement of employment services and outcomes.