Affiliations: [a] Westat, Lebanon, NH, USA
| [b] Illinois Department of Human Services, Springfield, IL, USA
| [c] The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Lebanon, NH, USA
| [d] Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| [e] SourceAmerica, Vienna, VA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Valerie A. Noel, Westat, 85 Mechanic St. Suite C3-1, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA. Tel.: +1 603 287 4719; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Youth with disabilities desire competitive employment, but most are placed in sheltered workshops. Illinois launched a pilot project to promote competitive employment for youth with disabilities, using Individual Placement and Support (IPS), an evidence-based vocational model for people with serious mental illness. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the potential of IPS for youth with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities. METHODS:We assessed fidelity to the IPS model, competitive employment outcomes, and implementation barriers over one year in 10 agencies in Illinois implementing new IPS programs for youth with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities. Assessments included fidelity reviews, employment outcomes, and semi-structured interviews. Project outcomes were compared against national benchmarks for fidelity and employment outcomes. RESULTS:All 10 programs successfully implemented IPS with four achieving a fidelity score above 100, the benchmark for good fidelity. Over a 12-month follow-up period, most programs increased quarterly employment rates, reaching a mean employment rate of 36% (SD = 14%) by the fourth quarter, approaching the national benchmark for good employment outcome. A lack of collaboration between systems, competing expectations, and stigma were the main implementation barriers. CONCLUSION:The overall good employment rate and fidelity scores suggest that IPS is a promising approach for youth with disabilities.
