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Impact of supported employment on service costs and income of people with mental health needs
- Authors:
- SCHNEIDER Justine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 18(6), December 2009, pp.533-542.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
This paper examined the impact of supported employment on the cost of services used, benefits claimed, and earnings for 141 participants in the UK with mental health problems. Service use and frequency were measured at baseline and 12 months. Comparisons paid particular attention to the differences between people entering work and those who remained unemployed. Costs were analysed from a government perspective, excluding earnings, and a societal perspective excluding welfare benefits and taxes. Results revealed 77 of the participants in the study remained unemployed, 32 got jobs and 32 retained the jobs they held at the outset. Those who entered work reduced their consumption of mental health services. However, use of supported employment increased. The increase in earnings for those entering work was not offset by a similar reduction in benefits. In conclusion, the findings suggest that mental health services may make savings as a result of their clients engaging in paid work.
Mainstream education as a possible route to recovery and social inclusion: a review
- Authors:
- ATKINSON Susan, COLLIS Benjamin, SCHNEIDER Justine
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 23(4), 2018, pp.246-252.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the findings of a review of the Learning Advice Service which provided mainstream learning opportunities and individual support to people using mental health services. The service was decommissioned after 15 years due to service reconfiguration and cost-cutting. Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with members of the Learning Advisor’s caseload by a researcher with no affiliation to the NHS or the Institute of Mental Health and no connection to the clients. The researcher also transcribed and analysed the interviews. This ensured that there could be no personal or positive bias. The clients faced significant mental health challenges and used the Learning Advice Service to facilitate and support their entry into mainstream learning. Findings: The service enabled individuals facing significant mental health challenges to gain access to adult, community, distance and further and higher education facilitated by individual advice, guidance and support. They were able to broaden their sense of identity beyond that of someone using mental health services and to widen their social and educational base. Research limitations/implications: Lack of funding within mental health services to continue this type of work limits research which would further explore the value of mainstream education in the recovery of people with a mental health diagnosis. While this cohort was small because of funding and staffing constraints, it would be possible to generalise to a larger scale, using flexible person-centred ways of working if the will, staffing and funding were made available. Further research is certainly indicated as current practice has moved away from mainstream inclusion to discrete provision with associated limitations. Practical implications: The practical implications include the development of autonomy and the development of a sense of identity that is separate from a mental health diagnosis and where appropriate to gain qualifications and further the student’s knowledge. Social implications: Social implications include broadening one’s experience, developing communication skills in a broad context, transferable skills, independence and strengthening one’s sense of identity separate from a mental health diagnosis. Originality/value: Individuals from a variety of educational and other backgrounds who expressed an interest in pursuing education in mainstream facilities were encouraged and supported in doing so in flexible and individual ways. It appears to be more usual that people using mental health services are encouraged to learn in groups comprising other people using such services, frequently on mental health service premises with associated limitations. (Publisher abstract)
Campaign appears to influence subjective experience of stigma
- Authors:
- SCHNEIDER Justine, BEELEY Chris, REPPER Julie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 20(1), 2011, pp.89-97.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
Between September 2007 and Mental Health Awareness Week in October 2009, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in England conducted an anti-stigma campaign. It hoped to reduce the general public’s stereotyped attitudes to mental health problems and mental health service users. The campaign's rationale was based on social contact theory, which holds that bringing together 2 groups can reduce inter-group hostility. This study evaluates the campaign's impact on removing barriers to service users’ employment, promoting recovery and social inclusion, reducing the incidence of discrimination, as well as dissipating stereotyped attitudes and self-stigma. Factor analysis of questionnaires returned by 243 service users revealed 3 key factors referring to service users’ perceptions of: public attitudes to mental health; service users’ relationships with staff; and other interpersonal relationships. Service users’ perceptions of public attitudes towards mental health were improved, suggesting a short term, successful outcome from the main thrust of the campaign. However, there was no significant effect on the other 2 factors. The authors conclude that certain aspects of stigma associated with mental health may be changed through targeted strategies and community-level interventions. But, there remains an intractable core of stigma experiences associated with interpersonal relationships with family and staff, discrimination and social interactions. Bullying, harassment and assault can occur. These hard core issues present the greatest challenge to future anti-stigma strategies.
Employment support agencies in the UK: current operation and future development needs
- Authors:
- WISTOW Richard, SCHNEIDER Justine
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 15(2), March 2007, pp.128-135.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Disabled people are amongst the most excluded in society, while people with learning disability have the lowest rates of employment. Supported employment promises to address the gaps, but it is a new approach, one whose development has been incremental. The present authors explore some of the features of agencies providing employment support to disabled people, together with their managers' views. This paper describes semi structured telephone interviews with the managers of 31 employment support agencies. The survey sought to understand the types of service provided, the staff and caseload numbers, the training offered, and the targets used. The authors also asked the managers what would help them in delivering employment opportunities to disabled people. The responses of the managers highlight gaps between current policy and practice. Particular attention is given to the use of targets, fragmented funding and what managers consider is required to improve employment opportunities for disabled people. Managers endorsed the vision expressed in current policy, and identified numerous obstacles to its implementation in employment support. Taken together, their views can be used to guide the development of supported employment.
Impact of the national minimum wage on disabled people
- Authors:
- SCHNEIDER Justine, SIMONS Ken, EVERATT Greg
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 16(5), August 2001, pp.723-747.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The survey reported here found disparities in the impact of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage on disabled people. These were associated with age, gender, impairment and type of employment setting. The main determinant of whether individuals gained from the NMW was their status as claimants of welfare benefits. The authors also found evidence that paid hours had been reduced to implement the NMW with no net increase in earnings, possibly to enable people to enable people to retain benefits entitlements. They make recommendations about how the anomalies can be tackled. It may be unrealistic to expect the Act to have been implemented fully so soon after it became law and some of the anomalies found may eventually disappear. However, many of the inequalities uncovered by this survey are not addressed by the NMW, specifically those inequalities associated with impairment and gender.
Attitudes towards disabled staff and the effect of the National Minimum wage: a Delphi survey of employers and disability employment advisors
- Authors:
- SCHNEIDER Justine, DUTTON Jillian
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 17(3), May 2002, pp.283-306.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Reports on a Delphi study on a drawing on the expertise of a national sample of 100 employers of disabled people, and a similar number of Disability Employment Advisors (DEAs). It presents their existing attitudes towards disabled employees before analysing the effect of the NMW on these views. Differences between employers and DEAs were found in relation to the perceived costs and obstacles to employers of taking or retaining disabled staff, the problems presented by specific disabilities and the motivation shown by disabled staff. There was general agreement that the NMW has benefited disabled people by making low paid jobs better paid. Some disabled employees appear to have been adversely affected by the interaction of the interaction of the NMW with the Supported Placement Scheme (SPS, now Workstep) and the benefits system. Concludes that understanding employers' perspectives may facilitate the promotion of work opportunities for disabled people.