Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • Jennifer Sulewski is the Associate Director of the Institute on Disability and an Assistant Research Professor. She is a national expert on community life engagement (CLE) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has authored numerous publications on CLE, has presented locally and nationally at conferences, and has provided consultation to state agencies and service providers across the country on how to improve day services and supports. She received her Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brandeis University in 2006, with a dissertation titled In Search of Meaningful Daytimes: Community-Based Nonwork Supports for Adults with Developmental Disabilities. Her passion for inclusion is rooted in her lived experience as someone who is hard of hearing.

    • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2024 Content Validity Testing of the Community Life Engagement Guideposts Fidelity Scale.  Inclusion.  12:137-150. 2024
    2023 Community Life Engagement on the College Campus 2023
    2023 Development of a community life engagement fidelity scale to assess and improve day services and supports.  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  58:263-270. 2023
    2021 Case studies of effective partnerships between institutions of higher education enrolling students with intellectual disability and/or autism and vocational rehabilitation agencies.  Journal of Rehabilitation.  87:73-73. 2021
    2020 Virtual community life engagement.  Engage... A Brief Look at Community Life Engagement.  2020
    2019 Guideposts for high-quality community life engagement supports: Results of expert interviews.  Inclusion.  7:254-268. 2019
    2019 Meeting the Holistic Vision of Employment and Community Life Engagement: State Administrator Perspectives on Achievements and Gaps. 2019
    2019 State roles in promoting community life engagement: Themes from the State Employment Leadership Network’s working group 2019
    2019 The Importance of Formal and Informal Communication Strategies in Maintaining Effective Partnerships Between Vocational Rehabilitation and Inclusive Higher Education Programs 2019
    2018 Access to Integrated Employment: Employment Outcomes and Services 2018
    2018 Using a Light Touch: Engaging Families Using Facebook Messenger 2018
    2017 CLE Promising Practices: Using Human and Social Capital to Decrease Dependence on Paid Supports 2017
    2017 Guidepost 2: Promote community membership and contribution 2017
    2017 Guidepost 4: Ensure that supports are outcome-oriented and regularly monitored 2017
    2017 Organizational transformation to integrated employment and community life engagement.  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  46:313-320. 2017
    2017 Service Provider Promising Practice: Fading Supports at SEEC 2017
    2016 High-Quality Community Life Engagement Supports: Four Guideposts for Success (Engage: A Brief Look at Community Engagement, Issue No. 3, 2016) 2016
    2016 High-quality community life engagement supports: Four guideposts for success.  Engage... A Brief Look at Community Life Engagement.  3:1-4. 2016
    2016 Work and community engagement: Shifting services and supports to help individuals have the lives they want 2016
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 1: Introduction, Values, and Major Themes 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 2: Transition from School to Work 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 3: Collaboration Across Agencies 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 4: Education and Training for Job Seekers 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 5: Processes Within State Agencies 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 6: Generation and Use of Data and Evidence 2015
    2015 Delphi Panel Findings, Brief# 7: Paths Toward Fair Wages 2015
    2015 Increasing Community Engagement for Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities 2015
    2015 Introduction to Community Life Engagement (Engage: A Brief Look at Community Engagement, Issue No. 1, 2015) 2015
    2015 Introduction to community life engagement.  Engage... a.  2015
    2015 Partnerships in Employment: Supporting Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in their Communities 2015
    2015 Trends in employment outcomes of young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2006-2013 2015
    2014 Trends in Employment Outcomes of Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2004–2012.  Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion. http://www. communityinclusion. org/pdf/PIE_ REPORT_2014_F. pdf. Accessed January.  23:2015-2015. 2014
    2013 Think College National Coordinating Center: Annual report on the transition and postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities.  Institute for Community Inclusion.  2013
    2013 Trends in employment outcomes of young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in eight states, 2004–2011.  Institute for Community Inclusion. https://www. communityinclusion. org/pdf/t rends-IDD. pdf.  2013
    2012 Art and disability: Intersecting identities among young artists with disabilities.  Disability Studies Quarterly.  32. 2012
    2012 Data note: Vocational rehabilitation employment outcomes for transition-age youth with intellectual disabilities 2012
    2012 Indicators for Improving Educational, Employment, and Economic Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A National Report on Existing Data Sources..  Institute for Community Inclusion.  2012
    2012 Postsecondary education and employment outcomes for transition-age youth with and without disabilities: A secondary analysis of American Community Survey data.  Think College Insight Brief.  15:1-4. 2012
    2012 The impact of postsecondary education on employment outcomes for transition-age youth with and without disabilities: A secondary analysis of American community survey data.  Think College Insight Brief.  15. 2012
    2010 In search of meaningful daytimes: Case studies of community-based nonwork supports.  Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities.  35:39-54. 2010
    2010 Spreading a positive message about work, earnings and benefits through peer networking: Findings from the Peer Employment Benefits Network.  Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  32:151-161. 2010
    2008 Community-based nonwork supports: findings from the national survey of day and employment programs for people with developmental disabilities..  Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: journal of policy, practice, and perspectives.  46:456-467. 2008
    2008 Effective Career Development Strategies for Young Artists with Disabilities. The Institute Brief. Issue Number 24..  Institute for Community Inclusion.  2008
    2008 Effective career development strategies for young artists with disabilities.  The Institute Brief.  24. 2008
    2008 Institute Brief: Effective Career Development Strategies for Young Artists with Disabilities 2008
    2007 Achieving community membership through community rehabilitation provider services: are we there yet?.  Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: journal of policy, practice, and perspectives.  45:149-160. 2007
    2007 Shifting resources away from sheltered workshops in vermont.  Institute for Community Inclusion, University Massachusetts Boston.  2007
    2007 State Agency Promising Practice: Shifting Resources Away from Sheltered Workshops in Vermont 2007
    2007 State Agency Promising Practice: Working Together to Convert the Last Sheltered Workshop in Vermont to Individualized Supports 2007
    2007 Vivre l’appartenance ala communauté par les cen-tres de réadaptation communautaire: ouen som-mes-nous? DS Metzel, H. Boeltzig, J. Butterworth.  Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: journal of policy, practice, and perspectives.  45:225-226. 2007
    2006 Massachusetts Employment and Disability Snapshot Report, 2000-2005 2006
    2006 Medicaid and employment of people with disabilities: Findings from the national survey of state systems and employment for people with disabilities.  Journal of Disability Policy Studies.  17:158-165. 2006
    2006 Research to Practice: Community-Based Non-Work Services: Findings from the National Survey of Day and Employment Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities 2006
    2004 Research to Practice: The National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers, FY2002-2003, Report 2: Non-Work Services 2004
    2004 The InsTITuTe BrIef 2004
    2003 Medicaid Involvement in Employment Related Programs: Findings from the National Survey of State Systems and Employment for People with Disabilities.  Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion.  2003
    2003 Research to Practice: Medicaid Involvement in Employment-Related Programs-Findings from the National Survey of State Systems and Employment for People with Disabilities 2003
    2002 Research to Practice: Collaboration Between Medicaid and Other State Agencies-Findings from the National Survey of State Systems and Employment for People with Disabilities 2002
    ENGAGE...
    Measuring Community Life Engagement with the CLE Fidelity Scale (CLEFS)
    S., & Zalewska, A.(2014).  Trends in employment outcomes of young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities 2004–2012. 
    StateData. info

    Education And Training

  • Ph.D. Political Science, Brandeis University

    • Full Name

  • Jennifer Sulewski