Employment is a very important factor for every individual, as it brings financial independence, increases autonomy and acceptance. This should also be available to individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities who, due to the current legislation, do not have the same rights to employment in the regular work environment. Most of them are a part of the occupational and daycare centers, where they work under special conditions, but do not enter into an employment relationship and receive only a symbolic payment. Some occupational and daycare centers in Slovenia are trying to find integrated employment for users in a regular work environment, even though it is not defined in the legislation and they are not obliged to implement it. According to the existing legislation, integrated employment is the most inclusive form of work for individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities, as they are included in the regular work environment and perform their work with appropriate support and adjustments.
In the theoretical part we defined the general characteristics of individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities and their possibilities for education. The basic laws governing the employment of the disabled, the importance and factors of employment of individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities, and various forms of employment implemented in Slovenia are presented below. Finally we present the development and role of occupational and daycare centers, various activities performed by occupational and daycare centers within the service management, protection and employment under special conditions, and the importance of integrated employment for people with moderate intellectual disabilities.
The purpose of this master’s thesis is to determine what forms of employment under special conditions are currently provided by occupational and daycare centers in Slovenia, to what extent integrated employment is carried out, what advantages and disadvantages of it are noticed by professionals in occupational and daycare centers, where do those who do not implement this form of employment see the limitations and what is their vision for the employment of individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities in the future. The data were obtained with a technical survey, using a non-standardized questionnaire, which was designed for the needs of the master's thesis. 30 professionals employed in occupational and daycare centers in Slovenia were included in the sample.
The results of the research show that most occupational and daycare centers in Slovenia run a cooperative and their own program, but they mostly use the cooperative program. It was found that most respondents who perform integrated employment find this form of employment appropriate for people with moderate intellectual disabilities and that it has more positive effects on them compared to other forms of employment. The advantages of integrated employment, which the respondents point out are raising awareness of the work skills, developing a sense of usefulness, importance, and self-confidence, and developing social skills of people with moderate intellectual disabilities. Occupational and daycare centers that implement integrated employment see the biggest obstacles in unregulated legislation, in finding employers and suitable jobs and in the lack of staff to introduce and monitor users in the work environment. The results show that those occupational and daycare centers that do not provide integrated employment attribute the reasons mainly to the lack of suitable staff and organizational problems, as well as to the search for suitable employers who would be willing to employ people with moderate intellectual disabilities.
The last part of the empirical section presents various examples of good practices encountered by occupational and daycare centers implementing integrated employment. By including them we wanted to show that people with moderate intellectual disabilities can perform work in a normal work environment with appropriate adjustments, support, and guidance. This indicates changes are needed to enable these individuals to better integrate into the work environment. Respondents most often suggest the need for a change in legislation, greater familiarization of employers with the population of individuals with moderate intellectual disabilities, the provision of additional staff, and awareness of good practices.
|
