About Employment First Massachusetts

Massachusetts' Employment First policy states that integrated, individual employment is the preferred service option and optimal outcome for working-age adults served by the Department of Developmental Services, or DDS. The Massachusetts Employment First policy was established in 2010.

To assist providers with the transformation from center-based work to work in the community, the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), with funding from DDS, provides ongoing training, technical assistance, and access to a wide range of tools and resources that support Employment First initiatives and are centered around our core beliefs:

• Everyone can work.
• Everyone has the right to earn a living wage in a job of their choosing, based on their unique talents, gifts, skills, and interests.
• Having a job can be an important part of one's self-identity and value in society.
• Everyone has a right to exercise initiative, self-advocacy, and decision-making about future directions for their life.
• Employment is a way people can achieve their personal vision of success, respect, control, and choice.

Employment First Massachusetts is hosted by the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS). This site supports the implementation of DDS's Employment First policy and the Blueprint for Success 2.0: Moving Forward Together.

For more information about Employment First MA, please email EmploymentFirstMA@umb.edu.

For more information about the Department of Developmental Service's Employment First Policy and the Blueprint for Success 2.0, contact:

Holly McCarthy
Department of Developmental Services
1000 Washington Street Boston, MA 02188
Holly.McCarthy@mass.gov