Vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment program

Authors: Xu, Y.W., Chan, C. C., Lam, C. S., Li-Tsang, C. W., Lo-Hui, K. Y., & Gatchel, R. J.
Year Published 2000
Publication Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation
Volume 14
Number 3
Pages 247-256
Publisher IOS Press
Background

Supported employment has emerged in recent years as a viable employment service alternative for individuals with chronic mental illness. Numerous reports demonstrate enhanced vocational outcomes in the areas of employment rate, job retention rate, job tenure, and earnings for individuals with chronic mental illness.

Purpose

This study provides information about vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment (SCE) program.

Setting

The setting was a community based supported competitive employment program.

Sample

The sample was 458 individuals with chronic mental illness.

Data Collection

Demographic and employment data was collected by the employment specialists during the study.

Control

The comparison condition was traditional Vocational Rehabilitation.

Findings

Of the 458 subjects, 308 (67.3%) obtained competitive employment. The mean job tenure was 134 days. The mean salary was $4,740 for full-time jobs and was $2,321 for part-time jobs. The majority of subjects (59.4%) could sustain their job placement for more than 30 days, 74 (24.0%) subjects could work for more than six months, and 38 (12.3%) could maintain the job for more than one year.

Conclusions

Subjects who became employed were compared to those who did not gain employment on a variety of demographic variables. Significant differences were found between two groups in terms of sex and source of referral. The rate of employment in the current study was slightly higher, but the job retention rate was lower than in earlier studies. Recommendations for future research on evaluation of the effectiveness of SCE program are suggested.

URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12441521
Disabilities Emotional disturbance
Populations Male & Female
Outcomes Employment acquisition | Full-time employment | Increase in tenure | Part-time employment | Wages
NIDILRR Funded No
Research Design Quasi-experimental
Peer Reviewed Yes