Customized Employment

LEAD Center has multiple initiatives to promote Customized Employment as a universal design approach within the workforce development system to enable youth and adults with disabilities to secure and maintain employment. The LEAD Center provides intensive technical assistance and training to staff at American Job Centers (AJCs) and their partners on group discovery, customized employment, self-guided discovery and self-employment, while highlighting the benefits of partnerships, collaborations, and braiding and leveraging resources.

- A Resource Developed by LEAD Center for ODEP

Advice and Information: Helping People with Disabilities to Become Informed and to Make Effective Decisions Concerning Employment

July 1997 | Report/Brief | Marc Gold & Associates

Informed Choice is a critical requirement for Vocational Rehabilitation providers.

Discovering Your Purpose After Transitioning: Tools for Finding the Right Career Match Post-Discharge

August 13, 2020

Veterans want to ensure that their career after military life is a good fit that provides them with a sense of purpose.

Customizing Employment: Strategies for Employment Success

June 24, 2020

This webinar will expand on what we learned last week about Discovery and how to take the next step after you have really gotten to know the veterans with whom you work. Customized Employment (CE) is a process that starts with Discovery.

Guided Group Discovery: Paving a Road to Employment

June 17, 2020

Many veterans are unsure about their path to civilian employment and seek guidance on how to proceed.

Career Pathways Community of Practice Meeting: Getting on Track to Employment & Self-Sufficiency: Key Drivers of Inclusive Career Pathways

February 12, 2019

The road to Inclusive Career Pathways can be difficult for stakeholders and workforce professionals to navigate. The destination is achieving Employment and Economic Self-Sufficiency for people with disabilities. Getting there is the tricky part.

Webinar: Self-Guided Discovery: Helping People Discover Their Own Path to Employment

March 28, 2018

WEBINAR: Guided Group Discovery: Paving the Way to Employment

June 26, 2017

Don’t miss this webinar on Guided Group Discovery: Paving the Way to Employment,, in which we will share materials you can use to implement Guided Group Discovery through cross-system partnerships.

Customizing Employment: Success through Partnerships

October 6, 2016

Join this webinar to gain information you can use about Customizing Employment: Success through Partnerships.

Customized Employment: Moving Beyond the Basics

July 30, 2014

Join us to continue to build your understanding of Customized Employment and your ability to provide this innovative employment practice to those you serve.

Promoting Leadership: Cross-Agency Approaches to Advance the Use of Customized Employment and Self–Employment Strategies

August 28, 2013

During this webinar, we will discuss reasons and strategies for aligning resources across systems to support the implementation of Discovery, Customized Employment, and Self-Employment.

Promoting Employment - Discovering Your Potential: Using Discovery to Identify Your Employment Goals

July 31, 2013

This webinar will provide information on how to use Discovery – an alternative assessment tool proven to identify the strengths of job seekers with and without disabilities – to discover your personal employment goals.

Five Ways You Can Help Expand Opportunities for Competitive Integrated Employment in Your Community

December 9, 2018

Employment is central to all of our lives. A good job contributes to our self-worth, offers membership in a community, provides benefits like health insurance, and is critical to financial stability and independence.

Guided Group Discovery – Veterans and Youth Editions

March 17, 2020

The LEAD Center created two new versions of Guided Group Discovery materials–one for veterans and the other for youth. Both include a Facilitator Guide; the youth version has an added supplemental slide deck.

LEAD Center’s Statewide Youth Employment Project in Oregon Highlighted at Federal Briefing

September 26, 2018

On August 8 and 9, 2018, the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) hosted Employment First Federal Briefings on School-to-Work Transition, Provider Transformation, Interagency Coordination, and Mental Health practices that have been shown

New LEAD Center Self-Paced Trainings Now Available!

September 26, 2018

The LEAD Center just launched self-paced trainings on popular topics, including Customized Employment, Guided Group Discovery, and Financial Literacy.

Oregon Update: Youth Guided Group Discovery

September 26, 2018

As fall begins and students are returning to school, LEAD Center has already met with the transition network facilitators at our Oregon Guided Group Discovery pilot sites.

LEAD Center Releases Guided Group Discovery Online Participant Workbook

June 28, 2018

The LEAD Center is pleased to announce the release of the Guided Group Discovery Online Participant Workbook.

Update: Oregon Guided Group Discovery Youth Pilot

June 28, 2018

In the previous LEAD On! newsletter, we told you about kicking off Oregon’s statewide Guided Group Discovery (GGD) Youth Pilot. The six pilot sites included a mix of rural and urban locations throughout Oregon.

Adding Self-Guided Discovery to Your Toolkit: An Additional Resource to Promote Employment Outcomes for People with Barriers to Employment

March 28, 2018

LEAD Center and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) were excited to release the

Guided Group Discovery Youth Pilot Kicks Off in Oregon

March 28, 2018

On February 28, 2018, Oregon’s statewide Guided Group Discovery (GGD) Youth Pilot kicked off with a full-day Train-the-Trainer for 31 Transition Network Facilitators, Youth Transition Program staff, and teachers from across the state.

LEAD Center Releases Policy Briefs on Guided Group Discovery and ABLE Accounts and Employment

March 28, 2018

LEAD Center recently published two policy briefs: Improving Employment Outcomes with ABLE Accounts and

Tennessee American Job Center Hosts LEAD Center’s First Guided Group Discovery Veterans Pilot

December 19, 2017

On December 7th, LEAD Center staff launched a new Guided Group Discovery (GGD) pilot focused on veterans by providing a Facilitator Training at a comprehensive American Job Center (AJC) in Clarksville, Tenn.

New E-Logic Courses

October 17, 2018

The LEAD Center just launched self-paced trainings on popular topics, including Customized Employment, Guided Group Discovery, and Financial Literacy.

SAMHSA Posts Request for Applications for Supported Employment Program

March 17, 2014

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2014 for the Mental Health Transformation Grant Program: Transforming Lives throug

Customized Employment Helped Me Get a Job I Love

September 28, 2018

In our newest blog, Brian Salewski shares how customized employment helped him land a job he loves in the Finance Department of Montgomery County Health and Human Services.

How to Minimize Job Search Blues and Maximize Job Search Excitement

May 30, 2017

As a way of commemorating Mental Health Awareness Month, the LEAD Center asked Dr. Debra Kissen to outline strategies people with psychiatric and other disabilities can use to maintain or improve their mental health while looking for work.

The Intersection of Customized Employment and Homelessness

October 28, 2016

For over 35 years, people have known about best practices and evidence-based approaches to support employment for people with intellectual disabilities.

Dads Who Are Breaking Stereotypes About Disability Employment

October 24, 2016

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a topic that is important to me on both a professional and personal level.

In The Know: Leave as an Accommodation

August 19, 2016

Did you know that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an employee with a disability can request the use of accrued paid leave or the use of unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation?

In the Know: START-UP USA

May 7, 2015

In the Know is a bi-monthly feature on the LEAD Center blog that highlights important resources and information about the employment, policy and economic advancement of people with disabilities.

Group Discovery Training: Making Connections

June 25, 2014

The LEAD Center’s customized employment initiative in collaboration with American Job Centers (AJCs) aims to increase the use of the workforce system by people with disabilities and support their ultimate success in achieving employment. The...

In the Know: Self-Employment for People with Disabilities

June 5, 2014

This 2013 report highlights Self-Employment Technical Assistance, Recources and Training (START-UP) and makes recommendations to ensure entrepreneurs with disabilities can achieve their dream of owning their own business.

Categories - LG Tablet

- A Resource Developed by LEAD Center for ODEP

Advice and Information: Helping People with Disabilities to Become Informed and to Make Effective Decisions Concerning Employment

July 1997 | Report/Brief | Marc Gold & Associates

Informed Choice is a critical requirement for Vocational Rehabilitation providers.

Discovering Your Purpose After Transitioning: Tools for Finding the Right Career Match Post-Discharge

August 13, 2020

Veterans want to ensure that their career after military life is a good fit that provides them with a sense of purpose.

Customizing Employment: Strategies for Employment Success

June 24, 2020

Guided Group Discovery: Paving a Road to Employment

June 17, 2020

Many veterans are unsure about their path to civilian employment and seek guidance on how to proceed.

Career Pathways Community of Practice Meeting: Getting on Track to Employment & Self-Sufficiency: Key Drivers of Inclusive Career Pathways

February 12, 2019

Webinar: Self-Guided Discovery: Helping People Discover Their Own Path to Employment

March 28, 2018

WEBINAR: Guided Group Discovery: Paving the Way to Employment

June 26, 2017

Don’t miss this webinar on Guided Group Discovery: Paving the Way to Employment,, in which we will share materials you can use to implement Guided Group Discovery through cross-system partnerships.

Customizing Employment: Success through Partnerships

October 6, 2016

Join this webinar to gain information you can use about Customizing Employment: Success through Partnerships.

Customized Employment: Moving Beyond the Basics

July 30, 2014

Join us to continue to build your understanding of Customized Employment and your ability to provide this innovative employment practice to those you serve.

Promoting Leadership: Cross-Agency Approaches to Advance the Use of Customized Employment and Self–Employment Strategies

August 28, 2013

During this webinar, we will discuss reasons and strategies for aligning resources across systems to support the implementation of Discovery, Customized Employment, and Self-Employment.

Promoting Employment - Discovering Your Potential: Using Discovery to Identify Your Employment Goals

July 31, 2013

Five Ways You Can Help Expand Opportunities for Competitive Integrated Employment in Your Community

December 9, 2018

Guided Group Discovery – Veterans and Youth Editions

March 17, 2020

LEAD Center’s Statewide Youth Employment Project in Oregon Highlighted at Federal Briefing

September 26, 2018

New LEAD Center Self-Paced Trainings Now Available!

September 26, 2018

The LEAD Center just launched self-paced trainings on popular topics, including Customized Employment, Guided Group Discovery, and Financial Literacy.

Oregon Update: Youth Guided Group Discovery

September 26, 2018

As fall begins and students are returning to school, LEAD Center has already met with the transition network facilitators at our Oregon Guided Group Discovery pilot sites.