In the 1970s, states began reallocating resources from institutions to community-based services. Demonstration projects in the late 1970s and early 1980s showed that people with developmental disabilities could work when given opportunities and support. Approximately 280,000 adults with developmental disabilities were employed in the United States in 1990. In some locations, sheltered workshops are known as diversified industries, community rehabilitation programs, or work activity centers. A day-habilitation program provides training in communication and daily living and social skills to people with severe disabilities.
Competitive employment is a job in the community done by workers with and without disabilities.
Supported employment is a job in the community done by workers with disabilities who need assistance to learn job requirements or adapt to a competitive employment setting. The number of employed people with developmental disabilities increased between 1990 and 1996, to nearly 400,000. Of these workers, approximately 305,000 people with developmental disabilities worked in facility-based settings, and almost 91,000 worked in supported employment. Mental retardation is the most common developmental disability. The American Psychiatric Association defines significantly subaverage intellectual functioning as an IQ of 70 or less.