The promise of demand side employer-based strategies to increase employment rates for people living with serious mental illnesses.

OBJECTIVE: This article describes current and promising demand-side strategies to increase job retention and employment rates of people living with serious mental illnesses. The article raises awareness of the potential impact of demand side strategies and generates considerations to implement and evaluate these strategies. METHOD: Information is drawn from peer reviewed research, policy articles and documents, and the authors' direct experiences. RESULTS: Employees with serious mental illnesses struggle to retain jobs due to workplace stigma, difficulty accessing reasonable accommodations, and noneligibility for health benefits. The traditional focus of vocational services on direct individualized supports has not addressed these employer-based challenges. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The federal government, primarily through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, is increasing resources to guide businesses to adopt best practices for employing people with serious mental illnesses. Financial incentives, such as tax credits for hiring people with disabilities, are considered vital toward employers' cooperation. (PsycINFO Database Record

The impact of failed housing policy on the public behavioral health system.

The author describes the crisis in affordable housing for individuals with serious mental illness who have extremely low incomes and outlines implications for the behavioral health system. Studies have shown that nowhere in the United States can an individual with serious mental illness who is receiving Supplemental Security Income afford housing. This has contributed to compliance issues with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The failure of housing policy to effectively address the needs of individuals with serious mental illness who are in poverty is largely to blame for the most visible and costly failures attributed to the behavioral health system: institutionalization, incarceration, and chronic homelessness. It is critical for the behavioral health field to advocate for housing policies to address the housing affordability crisis.