OHIO SE CCOE

Conference 2010 to celebrate ten years of EBPs in Ohio, combine annual SAMI-IDDT & SE events, as well as tobacco recovery

Save these dates! The Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University will host its next conference October 12, 13, and 14, 2010. The event, titled "Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices: The Next Ten Years", will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State of Ohio's success with implementing EBPs for people diagnosed with mental illness. The event will highlight national EBP research and lessons-learned from EBP initiatives in Ohio and other states.

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Ohio Supported Employment conference 2009 retrospective

The Annual Ohio Supported Employment (SE) Conference 2009, entitled "Recovery Is Working," attracted some 200 people from around the country to Columbus in March. Participants learned about the most recent outcomes from national studies of the evidence-based SE model and forged professional relationships, sharing consumer-success stories and lessons-learned stories from implementation of SE. Listen to and read about presentations and conversations in this retrospective of the event. | Save these dates for conference 2010: October 12, 13 & 14.

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SE pioneer Gary Bond provides an update on research, evidence for supported employment

Gary Bond, PhD, digs into the researech evidence and explains why Supported Employment (SE) is one of the most sought-after service models for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses. He also foreshadows the coming of two emerging best practices—cognitive rehabilitation and supported education—which will likely augment SE and enhance consumer outcomes.

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Consultant and author Philip Devol helps people understand the psycho-social dimensions of poverty

Philip Devol wants everyone to know that if you are going to help people get out of poverty, you must include representatives from all economic classes—the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor—in the process of planning and implementing services. Each has mental models (perspectives and experiences) that contain knowledge to shape useful solutions.

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Michele Robinson helps young woman with co-occurring disorders re-enter community after prison by providing supported employment

Michele Robinson is an employment specialist embedded in an Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) team, which serves people diagnosed with co-occurring severe mental and substance use disorders. She shares a story about a woman in her twenties who started her teen years and adult life with the odds stacked against her.

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Service provider Rick Johnson has witnessed the transformative nature of work and how it supports, promotes recovery

Getting people placed in meaningful work environments has long been a passion of Rick Johnson, one that can be heard in the enthusiasm of his voice. Johnson shares insights from his work and a story of success about a man diagnosed with co-occurring disorders.

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7 Core principles of supported employment, the evidence-based practice

Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, helps people diagnosed with severe mental illness or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders find competitive jobs of their choice in local communities with rapid job-search and placement services. There are seven core principles that make the evidence-based SE model different from traditional vocational programs.

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Motivational Interviewing training event, practical resources for clinical supervisors

Clinical supervisors who provide meaningful supervision of Motivational Interviewing (MI) skill-development must be equipped with some essential tools, including skill-evaluation, clinical feedback, and planning. This event is designed for supervisors at organizations that provide services to people diagnosed with severe mental illness and/or co-occurring severe mental illness and substance use disorders. . . . This one-day event will take place on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm in Columbus, Ohio. Register online today.

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Benefits Planning | The Basics: The Argument for Employment

This training event is designed to provide participants with basic information about the impact that employment earnings have upon benefits such as SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and Medicare. The training focuses on the concerns about benefits that consumers (beneficiaries) have which may keep them from searching for employment. Learn to support and promote informed choice among consumers.

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New Benefits Planning Tool Kit now available

This new resource is especially helpful for case managers, vocational specialists, employment specialists, and other service providers who do not need to be experts in benefits counseling but want to be more informed about the cash benefits and medical benefits that people diagnosed with severe mental illness and other disabilities often receive. Learn about eligibility requirements, income limits, work incentives, and more.

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Evidence Matters Newsletter

We recently mailed the first issue of our new printed newsletter, "Evidence Matters." A free PDF is available from our web site. Please distribute it to anyone who is interested in enhancing services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness.

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New full-day supervisor's training emphasizes importance of motivational interviewing

Service organizations that are integrating or wish to integrate Motivational Interviewing (MI) into their daily routines and organizational structures have a new resource available to them. It’s a full-day supervisor’s training, which was designed by consultants and trainers at the Center for EBPs who are members of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).

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John Moneypenny draws upon a strong work ethic to advance his recovery, purpose

John Moneypenny is Assistant Director of the Choices Community Social Center in Akron, Ohio, a gathering place that provides a social, recreational, and educational outlet for adults recovering from mental illness in the surrounding Summit County area. Supported Employment Consultant and Trainer Nicole Clevenger visited John at Choices and asked him to recount his recovery story, so it might be shared as a source of inspiration.

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The impact of Supported Employment for consumers with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders

The primary purpose of this study was to improve our understanding of who gets referred to evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services and what characteristics predict entry into competitive employment for adult consumers diagnosed with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders.

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Benefits Planning web site supports new consulting and training services, provides practical resources

• Program/organizational consultation
• Introductory and advanced training
• Onsite consulting (coaching) following the training
• Consulting for supervisors and team leaders

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Learn the basics of benefits programs, help people make informed decisions about their financial futures

Employment specialists, case managers, and other mental health and vocational service providers who are not full-time benefits counselors do not need to be experts in benefits planning to help each person they serve begin to make informed decisions about his or her financial situation. A basic knowledge of Social Security's SSI and SSDI programs, Medicaid, Medicare, and other benefits programs like housing subsides and work incentives will help consumers

• Avoid benefits crises
• Encourage and support employment in a regular job (part time or full time)
• Increase earned income without jeopardizing benefits

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Benefits planning is a relationship job, not just an information job

In Ohio and many other states, there is often a just-the-facts approach to benefits planning. Counselors typically meet one time with consumers, ask a lot of questions, and provide a deluge of information. This can feel intrusive, confusing, and defeating to people who rely upon benefits programs. There may be follow-up calls from counselors, but those also typically focus on information—just the facts. Learn about the importance of building meaningful relationships with the people you serve.

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Build trust with consumers to dispel myths about benefits, prepare them for potential surprises

Steve Shober, BS, LSW, came into benefits planning almost by accident-in the throes of a crisis during his first job out of college. Back then, he was working as a vocational specialist and job coach, assisting a woman who took a chance and reentered the workforce. Her job was going great. Her employer was happy. Her recovery was advancing. Then, one day, a letter arrived from Social Security, and she quit her job—never to return. Learn how to prevent this from happening with the people you serve.

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Build trust by listening to each person’s fears and concerns and by responding with facts that address each directly

Many individuals in recovery feel they are taking a risk by going back to work, mainly the risk of losing medical coverage and other benefits. They fear that income earned from the job will make them ineligible for benefits programs. What many folks don't realize is that they can earn a regular paycheck and still retain cash benefits from Social Security (e.g., SSI, SSDI) and medical benefits from Medicaid or Medicare, among others.

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Overpayments by benefits programs and mandatory paybacks can be avoided with monthly reports of income by consumers

Here's a situation you want to avoid. You're working with a person who has been receiving cash benefits (non-earned income) for disability from the Social Security Administration (SSA). He gets a job and stops coming into the mental health agency for a few years. One day, he shows up with a letter from SSA informing him that he is required to pay back some benefits—$27,000 worth.

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Work incentives from Social Security may enable consumers to earn more money and remain eligible for benefits programs

This story took place when Steve Shober, BS, LSW, was just getting started in benefits planning, before the agency with which he worked had a formal benefits-planning service. One day, the agency received a telephone call of panic from the sister of a consumer who had received a letter from the Social Security Administration. The letter stated that her brother's cash benefits (non-earned income) would be ending, because he was making enough money from his job not to need the benefits any more.

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8 things you can do today

There are full-time benefits planners who understand many of the ins, outs, complexities, and nuances of benefits programs like Social Security (e.g., SSI, SSDI), Medicaid, and Medicare. Then, there is everybody else—service providers not needing or wanting to be experts with benefits but to be informed enough to help people make informed decisions about their financial futures. Steve Shober, BS, LSW, is trying to reach this group. He has an important message.

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Zero-exclusion is the ultimate optimism; everyone who wants to work receives Supported Employment services

In the mental health profession, we rarely use statements of the absolute. Here's an exception: Never underestimate a person's desire and ability to get a job and succeed—no matter how severe or frequent his or her symptoms or inconsistent his or her track-record with jobs might be. And never deny anyone the opportunity to find a job if he wants one. This is called "zero exclusion": it is one of the 7 core principles of Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice. SE is designed to help people who are diagnosed with severe mental illness find a job of their choice with rapid job-search and placement services.

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9th All-Ohio Institute on Community Psychiatry

The All-Ohio Institute is the creation of the Public Psychiatry Program at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. It is designed as a multidisciplinary celebration of community mental-health services. This year's conference, presented in collaboration with the Winter Meeting of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, focuses on the integration of mental health care with a variety of disciplines to enhance care to consumers. Special attention will be given to the integration of mental health and physical healthcare, trauma-informed care and disaster mental health. The event will take place on Friday, March 20 & Saturday, March 21, 2009 at Hilton Cleveland East/Beachwood Cleveland, Ohio.

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New fidelity scale finds its way to Ohio’s supported-employment services

The Ohio SE CCOE is now using a revised fidelity scale to assist mental health service organizations in Ohio that are implementing the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. Evaluators from the CCOE have already conducted fidelity reviews using the new scale at several organizations across the state and plan to conduct at least one review with the new scale at all evidence-based SE programs in Ohio by the end of the year.

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Register for SE Conference 2009, "Recovery is Working"

The conference is designed for those who want to acquire more information about and practical skills that pertain to providing evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) services for people diagnosed with severe mental illness. It is also designed for those seeking more contact with the professional peer-networks that will help develop, grow, and sustain these efforts.

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CBS features Supported Employment success stories in Ohio

It's always a pleasant surprise when a national discussion focuses on the work we do in the world of social services. It's all the more surprising when the conversation highlights one of our own at the Ohio Supported Employment Coordinating Center of Excellence (Ohio SE CCOE)-a program of the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric recently aired a report on Supported Employment (SE), the evidence-based practice, featuring our own SE Consultant and Trainer Nicole Clevenger.

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