The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires transition planning, related instruction and interagency coordination for all special education students. The movement from school to post-school activities is an important event in terms of the information which can be captured and analyzed. Specifically, the employment history of disabled individuals has been a concern noted in a number of studies. By providing an Employment History Information System, school administrators, industry, community and government agencies can be provided with data critical to supporting the needs of the disabled and their families. An Employment History Information System can enhance the transition to total integration and self-sufficiency.Summary: The Employment History Information System will provide information on disabled individuals and their job histories. Phase I will involve analysis of the system requirements and development of a system prototype. Phase II will involve the design and construction of software based on the Phase I findings. Businesses have strategic subject areas which are vital to their mission. They use information technologies to enable them to achieve success. In the "business" of education, the employment of the disabled is critical to achieving the educational "mission". By taking a "business" approach to developing information systems for education, the information challenges which face educators in providing transition services to the disabled can be addressed. An Employment History Information System could be purchased by school districts, government/community agencies and industry. In the public sector, it would assist educators and social services with reporting, administration and implementing transition services. In the private sector, an Employment History Information System could be purchased by business to track permanent and temporary employment for the disabled. It could also be modified to track the general population and be used to analyze trends in women/minority advancement, retraining, outsourcing, etc.
Keywords: transition, disabled, software, employability, history, underemployment, vocational, facilitationTopic Number 7: Development of Management Information Systems Software concerned with the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities and Their Families
