Only 15% of Californians With Disabilities in DDS System Earned Wages

Only 15% of working-age Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services from the state's regional centers earned wages in 2023–24, according to the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Roughly 85% had no reported paid employment. That figure anchors a new $5.4 million, three-year initiative that UCLA Health is joining to expand job opportunities and training for a population the labor market has historically overlooked.

The UCLA Tarjan Center, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, will partner with DDS to improve employment pathways, workforce training, leadership development and access to disability resources across the state.

"This effort reflects what's possible when universities and state government work with the community toward a common goal," said Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, director of the UCLA Tarjan Center. "Together, we're creating opportunities that support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to pursue meaningful careers while also strengthening the systems that support them."

What the initiative actually delivers

The program's structure matters for anyone assessing whether it can move that 15% wage-earning figure. The Workforce Preparation and Placement Program provides a comprehensive pathway to employment, leadership and self-advocacy for individuals served by DDS regional centers. A 12-week Advocacy Academy develops skills in disability policy, systems change, leadership and communication — and it is co-led by professionals alongside self-advocacy coaches who have disabilities themselves. UCLA's PEERS for Careers program teaches the social and interpersonal skills needed to find and keep a job.

Participants then move into paid internships with either UCLA or DDS. That detail is significant: the pipeline ends in compensated positions, not unpaid preparation, giving participants real-world professional experience and the connections that paid work generates.

A second component, the Training and Community Resource Sharing Program, broadens access to disability-related information through educational programs, accessible resources and statewide outreach to individuals, families, professionals and community partners.

"Employment is only one part of true inclusion," Laugeson said. "People also need access to information, community connections, leadership opportunities and the skills to advocate for themselves. These programs are designed to support individuals and families across each of those areas."

What the numbers mean for individuals

For a job seeker with an intellectual or developmental disability in California, the barrier is rarely the application itself. It is misconceptions about ability, limited community resources and the wait for an employer to recognize potential. A program that combines skills training, a paid internship at a major institution and advocacy training changes an individual's market position on two fronts: it adds verifiable work experience to a résumé and it builds the self-advocacy capacity that career progression requires.

Monika Jezebelle, who completed PEERS for Careers, now works as an advocate on disability policy in California. "This program helped me realize that my experiences mattered," she said. "Employment gave me confidence, but advocacy gave me purpose. Today, I help shape policies so that future generations of people with disabilities have even greater opportunities than I did."

The initiative also targets leadership, not just placement. It creates opportunities for people with disabilities to advocate for themselves, influence public policy and shape more inclusive communities across California — a mechanism for changing the conditions that produced the 85% no-employment figure in the first place.

"Our goal is not simply to help people find jobs," Laugeson said. "It's to help people build meaningful careers, become leaders, influence public policy, and fully participate in their communities. This initiative is about creating opportunities today while building a more inclusive California for generations to come."

With $5.4 million committed over three years and paid internships built into the program design, the DDS–UCLA partnership will test, at scale, whether structured university-state pipelines can shift employment outcomes for a group that California's own data shows the market has largely left behind.