Providing effective employment supports for persons living with HIV: The KEEP project | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Factors affecting vocational outcomes of people with chronic illness participating in a supported competitive open employment program in Hong Kong
Year Published	2005
Publication	Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
Volume	22
Number	2
Pages	105-114
Publisher	IOS Press
Background	The Kirk Employment Empowerment Project (KEEP) was a three-year demonstration project funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to test strategies for improving employment outcomes of individuals with HIV/AIDS. KEEP sought to identify and test service strategies that would be effective for individuals who have multiple barriers to employment, and individuals from populations that are typically underrepresented in HIV/AIDS research.
Purpose	The purposes of this article are to (1) describe the KEEP model and (2) provide data regarding program outcomes.
Setting	The study setting was the Horizon House, a treatment center for individuals with HIV/AIDS in Philadelphia, PA.
Sample	The study sample was 148 individuals who were referred to and accepted for KEEP services. The sample was predominantly African-American (72.3%) and male (60%). A substantial proportion had co-occurring disorders, with over a third report a psychiatric disorder.
Data Collection	Employment tracking data were collected for each participant upon job start, significant job changes, and job end. Initial baseline interviews were conducted by research staff with each participant to obtain demographic data and income, motivation to work and satisfaction with life issues in general as reflected by participants responses to quality of life items. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 6-month intervals for the duration of the project. Descriptive statistics were used to report outcomes for participants.
Control	The study used a pre/post intervention design without a control or comparison condition.
Findings	Of 148 participants in the project, 114 (77%) were employed at some point during the project. They held a total of 278 jobs during the project, averaging 2.4 jobs per participant. Sixty-three percent of participants were employed for 90 days or longer during the project, Earnings ranged from $2.50 per hour to $44.23 per hour, with an average hourly wage of $8.49 (median $7.50/hour). Of the 278 jobs, only 4 paid less than minimum wage. The vast majority of all jobs obtained (87.4%) did not include any benefits at any time.
Conclusions	The fact that they achieved such high employment rates in the KEEP project supports the evidence that for people with a variety of disabilities, a history of competitive employment, no matter how limited, can be considered an indicator for future employment success. Employment also contributed to improved health and physical functioning.
URL	http://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation/jvr00278
Disabilities	Emotional disturbance
Populations	Male & Female \| Hispanic or Latino \| Black / African American \| White / Caucasian \| Urban
Outcomes	Employment acquisition
NIDILRR Funded	No
Research Design	Single group
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2005

Publication

Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation

Volume

22

Number

2

Pages

105-114

Publisher

IOS Press

Background

The Kirk Employment Empowerment Project (KEEP) was a three-year demonstration project funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to test strategies for improving employment outcomes of individuals with HIV/AIDS. KEEP sought to identify and test service strategies that would be effective for individuals who have multiple barriers to employment, and individuals from populations that are typically underrepresented in HIV/AIDS research.

Purpose

The purposes of this article are to (1) describe the KEEP model and (2) provide data regarding program outcomes.

Setting

The study setting was the Horizon House, a treatment center for individuals with HIV/AIDS in Philadelphia, PA.

Sample

The study sample was 148 individuals who were referred to and accepted for KEEP services. The sample was predominantly African-American (72.3%) and male (60%). A substantial proportion had co-occurring disorders, with over a third report a psychiatric disorder.

Data Collection

Employment tracking data were collected for each participant upon job start, significant job changes, and job end. Initial baseline interviews were conducted by research staff with each participant to obtain demographic data and income, motivation to work and satisfaction with life issues in general as reflected by participants responses to quality of life items. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 6-month intervals for the duration of the project. Descriptive statistics were used to report outcomes for participants.

Control

The study used a pre/post intervention design without a control or comparison condition.

Findings

Of 148 participants in the project, 114 (77%) were employed at some point during the project. They held a total of 278 jobs during the project, averaging 2.4 jobs per participant. Sixty-three percent of participants were employed for 90 days or longer during the project, Earnings ranged from $2.50 per hour to $44.23 per hour, with an average hourly wage of $8.49 (median $7.50/hour). Of the 278 jobs, only 4 paid less than minimum wage. The vast majority of all jobs obtained (87.4%) did not include any benefits at any time.

Conclusions

The fact that they achieved such high employment rates in the KEEP project supports the evidence that for people with a variety of disabilities, a history of competitive employment, no matter how limited, can be considered an indicator for future employment success. Employment also contributed to improved health and physical functioning.

URL

http://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation/jvr00278

Disabilities

Emotional disturbance

Populations

Male & Female | Hispanic or Latino | Black / African American | White / Caucasian | Urban

Outcomes

Employment acquisition

NIDILRR Funded

No

Research Design

Single group

Peer Reviewed

Yes