Instead of simply assessing the job ability of the person alone, as practitioners within a typical continuum of day services do, supported employment practitio ners consider what the person can do with the assistance of a job coach. This shift in focus allows many previously excluded people to work. It also redefines the service resource question and the most important staff function. When service provider's focus includes assistance from a job coach, the number and variety of jobs developed depends on the number of staff hours and the training skill of the job coach. As supported employment agencies have grown within this focus, many have begun to learn on the job how to enlist co-worker support, make more effective relationships with family members and involved others, and strengthen their partnership with employe rs and unions.
Different people contribute different amounts and contributions shift over time.
The more ably a person performs a particular job, the less others will need to accommodate, so the need for relevant training remains strong. But the job coach positions her or himself as the trainer or provider of other necessary support only if and when employers, supervisors, and co-workers are unwilling to train and support the person or unwilling to learn to do so with the job coach's help. In this focus, the number and variety of jobs developed depends on how effectively available social resources are organized. The key staff function is discovering and orchestrating the capacity of the people in and around the job situation. Those who see the focus on organizing available social resources are unrealistically idealistic should stop and think about three things.