Competitive Integrated Employment

Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) means working in the community alongside other employees without disabilities. It also means earning at least minimum wage and getting the same workplace benefits and opportunities as other employees doing the same job.

Over the past decade, North Carolina has worked to transform services and systems to support individuals with disabilities as fully included members of their communities, but in North Carolina, as in the nation, these individuals remain less likely to work in CIE and more likely to live in poverty. Mirroring national trends, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in our state are among the least likely to work in CIE.

CIE is critical to achieving equal opportunity, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. It helps people with disabilities access and participate in the broader community, develop meaningful relationships with peers with and without disabilities, build new skills and self-esteem, and offers a pathway leading to more informed choices and greater economic independence. We are excited to announce that DHHS is taking important new steps to help North Carolinians with I/DD achieve their goals for CIE.

Over the next five years, as part of our Strategic Plan to Promote and Expand CIE for Individuals with I/DD (CIE I/DD Plan), DHHS will enhance employment services and supports for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), by aligning them with evidence-based and promising practices to promote informed choice towards a successful transition to CIE.

Information and resources related to the CIE I/DD Plan will be made available on this website and will expand over time, so please check back frequently. If you have a question or comment for our team, please use this contact form.

Additional Information

• NEW: Updates on Competitive Integrated Employment and Continuation of New Admissions to ADVPs (4/19/23)
• Competitive Integrated Employment Update (5/8/2023)
• Implementation Memorandum of Agreement between Disability Rights NC, Center for Public Representation, and NCDHHS (Signed 12/8/2022)
• NCDHHS to Continue New Admissions to ADVPs (5/4/22)
• Strategic Plan to Promote and Expand CIE for Individuals with I/DD (PDF) NOTE: Our strategic plan is being revised and will be posted once updated.