WHAT DOES COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT MEAN? A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYMENT APPROACHES IN THE MASSACHUSETTS EMPLOYMENT INTERVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Abstract

Significant unemployment among adults with serious mental illness (SMI) is a well-documented problem. Estimates suggest that as many as 85% of adults with SMI are unemployed at any one time (Anthony & Blanch, 1987; Milazzo-Sayre, Henderson & Manderscheid, 1997; Rogers, Walsh, Masotta & Danley, 1991). Recent years have seen advances in the development and dissemination of a variety of supported employment services for adults with disabilities. When people with SMI are enrolled in services with a specific employment focus, they achieve employment outcomes (e.g. job placement rates, job tenure) superior to those achieved by people receiving standard mental health services such as day treatment (Bond et al., 2001; Cook, 2003). Supported employment is now considered an “evidenced-based” practice (Bond et al., 2001). Although supported employment approaches vary, evidence-based services share common principles, including (1) prioritizing client preferences for type and timing of work; (2) providing in-vivo and follow-along supports as long as needed; (3) viewing work attempts as part of a learning opportunity; (4) having a commitment to “competitive” employment as an attainable goal; and (5) not relying on pre-vocational training, day treatment or sheltered workshops (Bond et al., 2001; Mowbray, Leff, Warren, McCrohan et al., 1997; Ridgeway & Rapp, 1998).

Citation

Johnsen, M., McKay, C., Henry, A.D. and Manning, T.D. (2004), "WHAT DOES COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT MEAN? A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYMENT APPROACHES IN THE MASSACHUSETTS EMPLOYMENT INTERVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT", Fisher, W.H. (Ed.) Research on Employment for Persons with Severe Mental Illness (Research in Community and Mental Health, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 43-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0192-0812(04)13002-X