Maryland Supported Employment for Students with Disabilities: DORS, DDA, and Work-Based Learning

Three Systems, One Goal

Maryland funds employment support for students with disabilities through three separate tracks that overlap during the transition years. The school system provides work-based learning experiences. DORS provides Pre-ETS and vocational rehabilitation services. DDA funds long-term supported employment through its Medicaid waiver programs. Understanding which system does what — and when each one's responsibility begins and ends — is the difference between a smooth handoff and a student sitting at home after graduation with no job and no plan.

School-Based Work Experiences

While the student is still in school, the IEP team can arrange several types of work-based learning:

School-based enterprises operate within the school building — running a café, managing inventory, fulfilling print orders. These give students structured work experience with built-in support from school staff.

Community-based instruction (CBI) places students in real businesses and community settings during the school day. The student learns workplace expectations in an actual environment — grocery stores, offices, warehouses — with school staff providing on-site support.

Internships and job shadowing provide exposure to specific career fields. These are typically shorter-term than CBI placements and focused on career exploration rather than skill building.

DORS-supported work-based learning experiences (WBLE) are available through DORS's Pre-ETS program. They can extend what the school arranges with a structured framework including employer expectations, skill tracking, and assessment data that can inform future vocational planning.

All of these should be documented in the IEP transition plan with specific goals and timelines. If the IEP lists "community-based vocational training" as a service but the student has never left the building, the school isn't delivering what the plan promises.

DORS Employment Services

DORS provides two employment pathways, each with different eligibility requirements:

Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are available to all students with documented disabilities ages 14-21 who are currently enrolled in school. No waiting list, no means test. Pre-ETS covers five core areas: job exploration counseling, work-based learning, postsecondary counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy instruction.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a broader program that helps individuals prepare for, obtain, and maintain competitive integrated employment. VR requires a formal application and eligibility determination within 60 days. Because DORS operates under an Order of Selection, eligible individuals are categorized by disability severity:

• Category 1 (most significant disability): services begin without delay
• Category 2 (significant disability) and Category 3 (non-severe disability): placed on a waiting list

VR services can include job placement, job coaching, assistive technology, on-the-job training, and supported employment. They are designed to help the individual prepare for, obtain, and maintain competitive integrated employment; unlike DDA, they are not ongoing residential or day-program support.

DDA-Funded Employment

For individuals who need ongoing employment support beyond what DORS provides, DDA waiver programs fund two models:

Supported employment provides long-term job coaching and support for individuals working in competitive, integrated settings. A job coach helps with task learning, workplace relationships, and accommodation management. Unlike DORS services, DDA-funded supported employment doesn't have a case-closure timeline — support continues as long as the person-centered plan identifies the need.

Customized employment tailors a job to match the individual's strengths through job carving, self-employment, or micro-enterprise development. Instead of fitting the person into an existing job description, customized employment negotiates with employers to create a position based on what the individual does well.

Both models are funded through the Community Pathways Waiver and require an active waiver slot. This is why the DDA application timeline matters — a student who exits school without a waiver slot has no DDA employment funding, and DORS VR services may take months to activate if the student isn't in Category 1.

Sequencing the Employment Pathway

The most effective sequence:

Age 14-15: Enroll in DORS Pre-ETS. Start with job exploration counseling and workplace readiness training.

Age 16-17: Move into DORS work-based learning experiences. Simultaneously, the school should be providing community-based instruction through the IEP.

Age 17-18: Apply for DORS VR services (fall of next-to-last school year). The 60-day eligibility determination runs while the student is still receiving Pre-ETS.

Age 19-20: DORS VR services should be actively supporting job development. DDA provider interviews should be underway for long-term supported employment.

Age 21 (exit): Coordinate DORS employment support while DDA waiver funding (through GTYI) is activated once the waiver slot is secured.

The handoff from DORS to DDA is the critical seam. DORS services are time-limited. DDA services are ongoing. If the DDA waiver isn't in place when DORS closes the case, the student loses job coaching support with no replacement.

The Maryland IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide maps this employment pathway alongside the other transition timelines, showing exactly when each agency's services begin, overlap, and hand off so the student never falls between programs.

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