The Subtle and Salient Points of Progratn Evaluation An Illustration from Supported Employment John Kregel, EdD Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia Supported employment has recently emerged as a viable rehabilitation alternative for individuals with develop- mental and other severe disabilities. Funding agencies and program managers are struggling to develop procedures for measuring the overall quality oj an individual supported employment program and to determine the relative emphasis that should be placed on supported employment among an a"ay of sometimes competing rehabilitation alternatives. This article identifies key supported employment program- matic and policy issues that require the implementation of comprehensive evaluation efforts. In addition, the complex- ities involved in developing program evaluation strategies that will assess the strengths and weaknesses of individual supported employment programs are described and the ma- jor components oj an evaluation system are illustrated. The economic and political realities of the 1990s are placing rehabilitation programs for individu- als with severe disabilities under greater scrutiny than ever before. Fiscal crises are overwhelming federal and state agencies at the same time that a long overdue recognition of the economic and political rights of individuals with disabilities has The development of this manuscript was partially sup- ported by Cooperative Agreement No. H133B80052 from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The opinions expressed in this manuscript are strictly those of the author and no official endorsement by NIDRR should be inferred. occurred. These forces are leading to calls for the redirection of funds and the elimination of pro- grams and services that fail to effectively and effi- ciently enhance the lives of individuals with severe disabilities. The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the overall consumer empowerment movement has focused increased scrutiny on the appropriateness of various rehabilitation services for individuals with severe disabilities. Do shel- tered employment settings have a role in any com- prehensive rehabilitation system? Has the feder- al-state supported employment initiative had its intended effect? Must new service delivery alter- natives be developed to meet the needs ofindividu- als presently not represented in our nation's work- force? Unfortunately, national dialogue on these issues has been dominated by philosophical and ideological arguments, owing in large part to the fact that valid, empirical information regarding the relative efficacy of different service delivery alternatives does not exist. We simply do not know which service technologies are most effective (both in terms of outcomes and costs) for individuals with various types of disabilities. As Craig Thornton clearly illustrates elsewhere in this issue, federal and state policymakers are currently frustrated in their efforts to accurately compare the relative efficacy of various service delivery alternatives for individuals with severe disabilities. Lack of comprehensive program eval- uation technologies leads to conflicting results and contradictory messages to policymakers and service providers. Objective and comprehensive analyses of which services achieve the greatest suc- cess, at the lowest cost, for individuals with vari- ous types of severe disabilities is essential for the J Vocat Rehahil1992; 2(2):53-61 Copyright © 1992 by Andover Medical Publishers, Inc.