David Beimers

Pathways to Employment: The Experiences of TANF Recipients With Employment Services

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 by the U.S. Congress required welfare recipients to quickly move into the workforce. Employment services agencies perform a key role in this process by providing welfare recipients with work readiness and job search skills. This article reviews the findings of an empirical study of the experiences and employment outcomes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients referred to contracted employment services agencies. The study involves a random-sample survey of 151 TANF recipients in a large, urban, north-central county. The findings suggest that generic work readiness activities may be of limited utility unless they include job leads to actual employment opportunities. The article concludes with a discussion of critical issues for practitioners.

Predictors of Referral to Supported Employment Among Consumers with Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders

Clinical trials demonstrate that Supported Employment is effective in assisting persons with severe mental illness in obtaining competitive employment. However, little is known about the factors related to consumers’ decisions to pursue employment, especially for consumers with co-occurring substance and mental disorders. This study examines the demographic, socioeconomic and illness characteristics of consumers referred for Supported Employment services. Consumers were drawn from Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment programs in four community mental health agencies. Study participants included 113 consumers referred for Supported Employment services and 78 randomly selected non-referred consumers as the comparison group. Results suggest that consumers who have past work experience are more likely to be referred to Supported Employment, while consumers who perceive themselves as disabled or who are diagnosed as substance dependent are less likely to be referred to Supported Employment. Implications for agency practice and future research are discussed.

Predictors of Competitive Employment Among Consumers With Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders

Objectives: This study examines consumer and agency level predictors of competitive employment for consumers with co-occurring disorders. Methods: The study sample included 191 consumers from mental health agencies receiving Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment services, including a subgroup which was referred for Supported Employment Services. Results: Logistic regression analyses show consumers with schizoaffective disorder, greater psychiatric distress, and those not referred for Supported Employment services were less likely to enter competitively employment. Lack of previous employment and consumers’ perceived disability negatively affected employment through referral status. Conclusions: Implications for mental health practice, service delivery, and future research are discussed.

A University-Agency Mental Health Research Collaboration: A Case Example

There is significant documentation in the literature of barriers that may prevent research results from being utilized by agencies to inform and impact practice and policy. Such barriers pertain to several factors as follows: (a) those related to the nature of the research enterprise itself, (b) those related to differences between the producers and consumers of research, and (c) barriers arising from the differences in organizational contexts of researchers and case management and supported employment agency staff. This article discusses a collaborative relationship between university researchers and agency practitioners in the context of a research project studying the implementation of supported employment, an evidence-based practice. As a case example, it provides an exemplar of the problems and issues of conducting mental health research with community-based agencies and offers strategies and case examples that address these issues.

NASW Involvement in Legislative Advocacy

NASW serves as the professional association for social workers, yet little is known about how NASW chapters engage social workers and social work students in policy practice. This article presents the results of a survey of 40 NASW state chapters, describing how NASW engages social workers in legislative advocacy, the role of legislative advocacy days, and the involvement of social work students in NASW advocacy efforts. Findings indicate state chapters are very involved in policy practice and legislative advocacy days appear to be one prominent vehicle in engaging members and social work students in legislative advocacy.

Legislative Advocacy Days: Building Political Self-Efficacy in Social Work Students

ABSTRACT Legislative advocacy days are one strategy social work programs use to develop advocacy skills in students. This study examines how past experience, confidence in advocacy skills, and beliefs about the ability to affect change influence intent to advocate in the future among 111 undergraduate social work students who recently participated in a legislative advocacy day. Findings indicate that greater confidence and beliefs are significant predictors of intent to advocate in the future. These findings underscore the importance of fostering elements of political self-efficacy in students and the use of legislative advocacy days to achieve that goal.