Vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment program.
The objective of this paper is to report on the vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment (SCE) program. A total of 458 subjects enrolled in the present SCE program which was developed on the basis of the Supported Employment Model developed by Wehman [23] and the principles of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) developed by Becker and Drake [5]. 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. 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.
Wong
Kin
K
Supported Employment Services, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong.
Chiu
Lai-Ping
LP
Tang
Sau-Wai
SW
Kan
Hon-Kit
HK
Kong
Chung-Lung
CL
Chu
Hon-Wai
HW
Lo
Wai-Mei
WM
Sin
Yuk-Ming
YM
Chiu
Siu-Ning
SN