S.A.F.E. Score Framework™
The S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ is a proprietary diagnostic model developed by Dr. Denise Malone-Cash, DSL, an employee relations and compliance subject-matter expert and Industrial/Organizational psychology researcher. The S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ was created to evaluate how workplace systems, culture, and organizational norms support neurodivergent talent. Insights from the S.A.F.E. Score Framework Assessment™ are used to implement neuroinclusive design. Organizations across industries have invested in policies and training. Yet, opportunities in usability, consistency, and disclosure safety remain high, creating unnecessary barriers to sustainable employment, retention, and advancement for qualified neurodivergent talent.
Grounded in I/O Psychology, Universal Design principles, and workplace systems analysis, the S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ provides a structured lens to examine how an organization operates in practice. The S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ evaluates how environments, policies, and leadership norms influence the everyday workplace experiences of neurodivergent individuals. By translating complex organizational systems into actionable insights, we can identify exactly where design changes are needed, offering a clear roadmap for targeted improvements to policy and practice.
The S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ evaluates organizational infrastructure through four core domain pillars to translate complex corporate architecture into measurable data. By auditing systems specifically through these distinct lenses, the S.A.F.E. Score Framework™ provides leaders with an objective, data-driven analysis of their operational environment. This multi-domain assessment ensures that every layer of the workplace infrastructure, from baseline compliance to daily management execution, is thoroughly evaluated through the four core S.A.F.E. domain pillars.
Employers that commit to a full engagement, completing the Full S.A.F.E. Score Framework Assessment™, earn the designation of a S.A.F.E. Score Certified Employer™. This designation requires an annual recertification to ensure ongoing system compliance and operational consistency across the workplace. Achieving this status serves as a definitive signal to the professional community and the neurodivergent workforce that an organization has moved beyond basic compliance and hiring initiatives to actively audit, align, and secure its infrastructure, policies, and operational systems to support long-term job security for neurodivergent talent.