In-vivo job development training among peer providers of homeless veterans supported employment programs.

TOPIC: This column describes a goal-oriented, time-limited in vivo coaching/training approach for skills building among peer veterans vocational rehabilitation specialists of the Homeless Veteran Supported Employment Program (HVSEP). PURPOSE: Planning, implementing, and evaluating the training approach for peer providers was intended, ultimately, to support veterans in their goal of returning to community competitive employment. SOURCES USED: The description draws from the training experience that aimed to improve the ability of peer providers to increase both rates of employment and wages of the homeless veterans using their services. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Training peers using an in vivo training approach provided a unique opportunity for the veterans to improve their job development skills with a focus to support employment outcomes for the service users. Peers who received training also expressed that learning skills through an in vivo training approach was more engaging than typical classroom trainings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Law & psychiatry: Assisting people in recovery who have criminal records to reach their employment goals.

Working, a goal of most people in recovery from mental disorders, can be impeded by legal exclusions and by employers' rejections based on an applicant's criminal record. This column describes established tools that can partially lower these barriers and recent legal developments that provide additional strategies, in particular the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Enforcement Guidance. These developments address the permissible use of arrest and conviction information in employment contexts, focusing on individualized consideration of specific factors, including rehabilitation. The authors also suggest strategies for job interview preparation that, when combined with job retention planning, can improve clients' prospects of achieving their employment goals.

Recognizing work as a priority in preventing or ending homelessness.

The literature speaks to the importance of employment in the lives of homeless individuals and shows how they can be assisted in job seeking (Long & Amendolia, 2003; Marrone, 2005; Quimby, Drake, & Becker, 2001; Rio, Russell, Dudasik, & Gravino, 1999; Rog & Holupka, 1998; Shaheen, Williams, & Dennis, 2003; Trutko, Barnow, Beck, Min, & Isbell, 1998). Some reports suggest it may be effective and worthwhile to offer employment at the earliest stages of engagement to help people who are homeless develop trust, motivation, and hope (Cook et al., 2001; Min, Wong, & Rothbard, 2004). Practitioners have historically focused on providing people with access to safe and affordable housing and supportive services, usually addressing employment later in the continuum. This practice-oriented report from the field proposes that employment should be offered as early as possible and maintains that facilitating employment is an unrecognized and underutilized practice for preventing and ending homelessness. The paper provides principles, practices, and strategies programs can use to make work a priority.

Phagocytosis of bovine blood and milk polymorphonuclear leukocytes after ozone gas administration in vitro.

To determine the effects of ozone on the phagocytosis of bovine polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), ozone gas was administered in vitro on the blood and milk of healthy lactating cows, cows with acute mastitis, and cows with milk fever. In the blood of healthy dairy cattle, although there was no significant effect of ozone gas on the viability of the leukocytes, phagocytosis of PMNs significantly decreased. In contrast, ozone gas administration in vitro significantly increased phagocytosis of PMNs from the blood of cows with acute mastitis and milk fever, and from mastitic milk. These findings showed that ozone administration in vitro has positive and negative effects on bovine PMN phagocytosis, depending on the health status of the animal.

Cryptosporidium infection of cattle in the Tokachi district, Hokkaido.

The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection was examined in 480 healthy cattle (0-39 months old) in the Tokachi district in Hokkaido during the period from June to September in 2000 and from June to July in 2001. C. parvum oocysts were detected in 6 of 50 cattle (0-2 months old) in 2001; while C. muris was detected in 2 of 56 cattle (6-8 months old) in 2001, in 1 of 15 cattle (9-11 months old) in 2001, in 1 of 88 cattle (15-17 months old) in 2000, in 4 of 89 cattle (18-21 months old) in 2000 and in 2 of 53 cattle (21-23 months old) in 2000.