Competitive Job Training and Placement for Youths with Severe Emotional Disturbances

Abstract

Programs for youths who are severely emotionally disturbed and who exhibit such behaviors as noncompliance with rules and authority, tantrums, theft, and sex offending must incorporate a comprehensive array of services to help the young people succeed in community-based job settings. Youths in the vocational program described here are divided into two groups because of their different intellectual functioning levels. Case histories from both groups illustrate the types of interventions necessary to maintain the young people in competitive jobs. Results indicate that, over the past 10 years, 63 % of the youths served by this program have had successful job placements. For this type of success to be achieved, certain conditions seem to be necessary, including counseling for certain youths including specialized counseling for sex offending and substance abuse, training in social skills, case manager training for job coaches, and specialized behavior intervention training for job coaches.