Grant promotes employment for people with mental illnesses
Ohio SE CCOE at Case to provide enhanced job
services with the new grant
November 16, 2005
| For more information: Susan Griffith 216-368-1004
A four-year grant from the Johnson & Johnson-Dartmouth Community Mental
Health Program, a national initiative to provide job search services to people
with severe mental illness, has enabled the Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating
Center of Excellence (SE CCOE) at Case Western Reserve University to partner
with the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) and the Ohio Rehabilitation
Services Commission (ORSC).
The new support helps three additional community-based
mental health service agencies in Ohio develop the capacity to implement
the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model.
The Ohio initiative is enhancing partnerships between
community mental health programs and ORSC. The initiative promotes service
systems collaboration through training and consultation. It brings the total
number of Supported Employment (SE) programs in Ohio to 13. The Ohio SE CCOE
is providing technical assistance to all of these organizations and others
interested in moving their systems toward evidence-based employment practice.
It is currently accepting requests from community mental health organizations
that wish to participate.
“Supported employment
is simply the ‘gold-standard’ approach
to help people with mental illness get and keep a job,” says Michael F.
Hogan, Ph.D., director of ODMH. “We know that getting a job is one of the
top personal goals of many people working to recover from mental illness, and
having a job supports recovery.”
BACKGROUND ON SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT
Ohio’s Commitment to Employment
ODMH has chosen SE as the service model of choice for persons with severe mental
illness, because of the research that supports it. SE was developed by the
New Hampshire-Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, following over 20 years
of research. SE promotes positive outcomes for consumers, service organizations
and service systems.
According to Dale P. Svendsen, M.D., medical director of ODMH, SE is one of
six evidence-based practices being disseminated in the state.
“Local mental health systems in Ohio who adopt and provide these practices
in culturally-appropriate ways will have powerful tools at their disposal to
help persons with mental illness achieve their individual recovery goals,” Dr.
Svendsen says. “The successful implementation of SE is vital to help many
people reach these important goals.”
Not an ordinary employment program
The SE model is unique among employment programs for people with mental illness,
because research has demonstrated its effectiveness and superiority over
traditional vocational rehabilitation programs. Unlike many vocational rehabilitation
programs, SE does not postpone job placement by requiring consumers to enroll
in pre-employment training or sheltered workshops. SE helps consumers identify,
acquire, and maintain competitive employment—that is, a part-time or
full-time job that anyone can apply for. It is also assertive about career
development and job satisfaction.
According to Patrick E. Boyle, director of implementation services at the Ohio
SE CCOE, the SE model emphasizes that employment is important for treatment
and recovery and helps consumers begin the process of economic independence,
which reduces their vulnerability to poverty and their dependence upon social
service systems.
“As service professionals, it is our job to help them achieve their greatest
potential,” Boyle says. “Supported Employment helps us do this.”
Mental health consumers want to work
The timing is right for the new SE initiative in Ohio, says Sarah Swanson,
director of consultation and training at the SE CCOE. Surveys sponsored by
ODMH have found that the current rate of employment among persons with severe
mental illness is approximately 14 percent. The research has also found that
consumers rank employment as their top unmet need. Implementation of SE in
other states has generated competitive employment rates of 50 to 60 percent.
“An enjoyable job for a person recovering from mental illness serves the
same function that it does for everybody else,” Swanson says. “Work
provides people with structure and a sense of accomplishment. Many jobs increase
the amount of time that consumers spend with other people and improve the financial
situation of people living in poverty.”
More Information
Service organizations that wish to implement the evidence based practice should
contact the Ohio SE CCOE, 330.468.8663. For more information about the SE model,
visit this hyperlink:
www.ohiosamiccoe.case.edu/library/media/supportedemployment.pdf
For information, contact: Patrick E. Boyle, director of implementation services,
Center for EBPs at Case & Ohio Supported Employment CCOE by e-mail at patrick.boyle@case.edu
or 330-468-8663, and Sarah Swanson, director of consultation and training,
Ohio Supported Employment CCOE at sarah.swanson@case.edu or 330-468-8663.
About Ohio SE CCOE
The Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SE CCOE)
is a technical-assistance organization that helps service systems, organizations,
and providers implement and sustain SE with fidelity to the model. The Ohio
SE CCOE provides the following services: service systems consultation, program
consultation, clinical consultation, education and training, and research
and evaluation. The Ohio SE CCOE is a program of the Center for Evidence-Based
Practices (EBPs) at Case Western Reserve University, which is a partnership
between the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Department of
Psychiatry at the Case School of Medicine. The Center for EBPs is collaborating
with and supported by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the Ohio Department
of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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