Customized Employment for Individuals with Serious Psychiatric Disabilities - NIDILRR

AK-Center for Human Development, UCEDD/LEND
Program Type	UCEDD	Fiscal Year	2020
Contact	Karen Ward, Ed.D.
Email	[email protected]
Phone	907-272-8270
Project Description
Customized Employment for Individuals with Serious Psychiatric Disabilities The University of Alaska Anchorage Center for Human Development in partnership with community rehabilitation providers and vocational rehabilitation (VR), in the course of this three-year project, will research a customized employment (CE) model with individuals with serious psychiatric disabilities (SPDs). The goal of this project is to determine the feasibility and outcomes of CE, when implemented with fidelity, as a strategy for increasing job acquisition and sustained integrated competitive employment of individuals diagnosed as having a SPD. The objectives are: 1) to deliver CE training to 18 employment specialists; 2) to support employment specialists in implementing CE with individuals with SPDs; 3) to assess the feasibility of the CE model; 4) to propose a CE fidelity scale and to assess CE implementation integrity; 5) to evaluate CE for effects on employment outcomes and compare to VR data and the supported employment literature; and 6) to disseminate findings and inform future research. Anticipated outcomes are (a) to place at least 65 Alaskans with SPDs in customized jobs, (b) to document CE outcomes as compared to other employment services; (c) to document the barriers and facilitators of CE; and (d) to propose a CE fidelity scale. The expected products are (a) presentations to Alaskas primary disability and employment policy makers, disability provider agencies, individuals with SPDs and their families, and national audiences in the field of disability employment and/or behavioral health; and (b) publications in peer-reviewed journals, such as Psychiatric Services, Community Mental Health, and/or Journal of Vocational Rehabil