Converting day treatment centers to supported employment programs in Rhode Island | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Becker, D. R., Bond, G. R., McCarthy, D., Thompson, D., Xie, H., McHugo, G. J., & Drake, R. E.
Year Published	2001
Publication	Psychiatric Services
Volume	52
Number	3
Pages	351-357
Publisher	American Psychiatric Association
Background	Day treatment centers were originally designed to provide "partial hospitalization" for patients with serious mental disorders who required intensive, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary treatment that was unavailable in an outpatient setting. These programs began to develop rehabilitative services, rather than "hospital diversion". However, research indicates that these centers do not assist clients in obtaining jobs in the community. Because of the expense involved in maintaining these centers, they are coming under closer scrutiny. As such, several day treatment centers were successfully converted to supported employment programs.
Purpose	The intent of the study was to determine if phasing out day treatment centers in support of supported employment and other activities can be implemented statewide.
Setting	Three community day care treatment centers in Rhode Island participated in the study. Two were converted to supported employment programs, while the third remained a day treatment center until after the study was complete, for comparison purposes.
Sample	The study sample include 28 day treatment clients with severe mental illness in three community mental health centers.
Data Collection	"Participants were assessed at baseline and again at follow-up 30 to 36 months later; follow-up for clients in the converted programs took place 18 months after the conversion was completed. An independent research team conducted the interviews and evaluation." (p. 352)
Control	One of the centers remained as a rehabilitative day center.
Findings	"Former day treatment clients in the converted centers attained higher rates of competitive employment than those in the comparison group (44.2 percent and 56.7 percent versus 19.5 percent). Other employment outcomes also improved, and hospitalization rates and overall social functioning were unchanged." (p. 351)
Conclusions	"This study supports findings of previous studies suggesting that replacing rehabilitative day treatment programs with supported employment programs yields improvements in employment outcomes without adverse effects." (p. 351)
URL	http://www.worksupport.com/kter/documents/pdf/ConvertingDayCenters.pdf
Disabilities	Emotional disturbance
Populations	Male & Female \| Asian \| Black / African American \| White / Caucasian
Outcomes	Employment acquisition \| Return to work
NIDILRR Funded	Yes
Research Design	Quasi-experimental
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2001

Publication

Psychiatric Services

Volume

52

Number

3

Pages

351-357

Publisher

American Psychiatric Association

Background

Day treatment centers were originally designed to provide "partial hospitalization" for patients with serious mental disorders who required intensive, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary treatment that was unavailable in an outpatient setting. These programs began to develop rehabilitative services, rather than "hospital diversion". However, research indicates that these centers do not assist clients in obtaining jobs in the community. Because of the expense involved in maintaining these centers, they are coming under closer scrutiny. As such, several day treatment centers were successfully converted to supported employment programs.

Purpose

The intent of the study was to determine if phasing out day treatment centers in support of supported employment and other activities can be implemented statewide.

Setting

Three community day care treatment centers in Rhode Island participated in the study. Two were converted to supported employment programs, while the third remained a day treatment center until after the study was complete, for comparison purposes.

Sample

The study sample include 28 day treatment clients with severe mental illness in three community mental health centers.

Data Collection

"Participants were assessed at baseline and again at follow-up 30 to 36 months later; follow-up for clients in the converted programs took place 18 months after the conversion was completed. An independent research team conducted the interviews and evaluation." (p. 352)

Control

One of the centers remained as a rehabilitative day center.

Findings

"Former day treatment clients in the converted centers attained higher rates of competitive employment than those in the comparison group (44.2 percent and 56.7 percent versus 19.5 percent). Other employment outcomes also improved, and hospitalization rates and overall social functioning were unchanged." (p. 351)

Conclusions

"This study supports findings of previous studies suggesting that replacing rehabilitative day treatment programs with supported employment programs yields improvements in employment outcomes without adverse effects." (p. 351)

URL

http://www.worksupport.com/kter/documents/pdf/ConvertingDayCenters.pdf

Disabilities

Emotional disturbance

Populations

Male & Female | Asian | Black / African American | White / Caucasian

Outcomes

Employment acquisition | Return to work

NIDILRR Funded

Yes

Research Design

Quasi-experimental

Peer Reviewed

Yes