EMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES FOR ADULTS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS

The relationship between employment services and employment outcomes has been the subject of research for a number of years (Bond et al., 2001; Drake et al., 1996). More recently, the competitive employment of service recipients has become an important indicator of community mental health program and service system performance. The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ President’s Task Force on Performance Measures, for instance, recognized the importance of monitoring employment rates for adults with serious mental illness: “For payers, this is the payoff…Monitoring this outcome for populations with mental illness…is critical. This was considered a critical outcome to track.” For similar reasons, the new federal Performance Partnership (Block) Grant program (Federal Register, 2002) requires annual reporting by all states of employment rates for recipients of publicly funded mental health services.