Job Coaches

According to Parent, Unger, Gibson, & Clements (1995), job coaches orchestrate community and work place supports. They provide individualized services on and off the job site as well as initial and ongoing employment assistance.

Job coaches must be versatile and energetic. They accompany consumers with severe and often multiple disabilities onto the job and help them perform their duties until the consumer meets the employer's productivity standards. The role of a job coach includes, but is not limited to:

• Identifying individuals' skills and interests (consumer assessment)
• Finding consumers a job (job development)
• Making the necessary startup arrangements (job placement)
• Teaching them how to do the job (jobsite training)
• Providing needed assistance for as long as the worker is employed (ongoing follow-along services)
• Acting as advocate, facilitator, and coordinator of services
• Providing case management (intervening with Social Security, interpersonal relationships, skill training, grooming, lunch and breaks, supervision, and career advancement)