Retention Strategies: Keeping Great Employees with Disabilities

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2026 theme is “Celebrating Value and Talent.”

For Rhode Island employers, it’s a natural time to recognize the people with disabilities who already make their teams stronger. It’s also a smart time to focus on retaining employees with disabilities. 

The stakes are real. In 2025, the unemployment rate for people with a disability was 8.3%, about double the 4.1% rate for people without one, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every placement that lasts helps close that gap. Through the Trudeau Center’s Employment Concepts program, our team supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and the businesses that hire them. We’ve learned what makes a job stick. 

Start With the Right Match 

Retention begins before the first shift. Employment Concepts starts with vocational evaluations and community-based work evaluations, so each person’s strengths and interests guide the search. Mitch, an Employment Concepts participant, found his fit running the steam equipment and machines at Thorpe’s Laundromat & Dry Cleaning. He enjoys the work so much he says he’d like to stay there forever. 

“The strongest retention strategy is a thoughtful match,” says Charlotte Higham, Vice President of Adult Services at the Trudeau Center. “When we understand what someone does well and what they enjoy, and we pair that with an employer who needs those exact strengths, people stay. The job fits who they are, and it shows in their work every day.” 

Make Accommodations Part of the Routine 

Many employers assume accommodations will be complicated or costly. The numbers say otherwise. In a Job Accommodation Network survey of more than 5,400 employers, 61% said the accommodations they made cost nothing. Most of the rest were one-time expenses, with a median cost of $300. 

For many employees with I/DD, the most useful changes are simple. A picture-based task list. A consistent schedule. Written steps for a new process, or a workstation away from heavy noise. Make it easy to ask for what helps, and check in after a few weeks. 

Keep Support in Place After Week One 

A job that runs smoothly in September can feel very different by November. Fall brings new schedules, seasonal hires, and busier holiday weeks for retailers, restaurants, and grocers. Change like that can unsettle anyone, and it’s often when a good placement starts to slip. 

Employment Concepts plans for those moments with job coaching, long-term job coaching, and retention services, funded through Rhode Island’s Office of Rehabilitation Services (ORS) and the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH). 

“A new supervisor or a shift in routine can feel huge to someone who worked hard to master their role,” says Melissa Charpentier, Director of Adult Services at the Trudeau Center. “Our job coaches stay connected, so those moments turn into quick adjustments instead of reasons to leave. Employers have a partner to call, and employees have someone in their corner.” 

Build Belonging and Room to Grow 

People stay where they feel like part of the team. Invite every employee to staff meetings, lunches, and celebrations. Recognize work anniversaries. Hold regular stay conversations that ask what’s going well and what would make the job better, long before anyone thinks about leaving. 

Growth matters, too. Cross-train when someone is ready, add responsibilities over time, and include employees with disabilities in the same review and raise cycles as everyone else. Charlie Crosby, co-owner of Thorpe’s Laundromat, one of Trudeau’s Employer Partners, has said the partnership deepened his belief in the dignity of work and the meaning it gives people’s days. Employers who build on that meaning give people a reason to stay. 

Celebrate NDEAM as an Employer Partner 

Employment Concepts helps local businesses find qualified employees and supports them on the job. Partner businesses also benefit from staffing support and tax incentives. Since 1964, the Trudeau Center has been creating bright futures for people of all ages with differing abilities. To learn more, visit our Employer Partnerships page or call Employment Concepts at (401) 823-0051. 

AI may have been used in the initial drafting and research of this article. The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, medical, therapeutic, legal, or individualized service advice. Every person’s needs and circumstances are unique. For information about services specific to you or your loved one, please contact the Trudeau Center.