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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.

Keywords

Youth developmental disabilities individual placement and support mental illness competitive employment

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A preliminary evaluation of individual placement and support for youth with developmental and psychiatric disabilities

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

OBJECTIVE:

METHODS:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:

Keywords

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References