This section includes resources on Workforce Development that have been created by The CAFE TA Center. Links to available resources can be found below.
Concern about the state of the behavioral health workforce has highlighted problems with an impact on almost every aspect of prevention and treatment across all sectors of the behavioral health field. Workforce development reports difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, the absence of career ladders for employees, marginal wages and benefits, limited access to relevant and effective training, the erosion of supervision, a vacuum with respect to future leaders, and financing systems that place enormous burdens on the workforce to meet high levels of demand with inadequate resources. The Café TAC will offer technical assistance and feature information, resources, and tools to address workforce development relative to:
• recruiting and retaining self-help providers that includes peer specialists;
• identifying financing mechanisms for hiring peer employees and consumers with lived experience;
• retraining clinical and related service staff on recovery-based and consumer-driven practices; and
• peer support.
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CAFE TAC Resources
Check out our newest resource on Workforce Development, The Role of Consumers with Lived Experience in Mental Health Workforce Development.
Watch our online training, Consumers with Lived Experience: Critical Partners in the Mental Health System of Care.
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Outside Resources
SAMHSA’s Consumer-Operated Services Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Kit - http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA11-4633CD-DVD – This free tool kit provides tools for developing mental health services that are owned and operated by people who have personal experience living with a psychiatric disorder, and offers guidance grounded in evidence-based practices. CD-ROM/DVD includes 10 booklets.
Reentering the Workforce Can be Possible for the Mentally Ill - http://www.suite101.com/content/mental-illness-and-employment-a130739 – Article on how people with serious mental illnesses can get back into the workforce with a discussion regarding best practice and practical ideas.
Supported Employment for People with Severe Mental Illness - http://www.bhrm.org/guidelines/Supported%20Employment%20for%20People%20with%20Severe%20Mental%20Illness.pdf – A guideline developed for the Behavioral Health Recovery Management Project regarding supported employment models and methods.
Employment Scenarios: What Would You Do? - http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-scena.html – This Web page outlines three examples of mental health issues in the workplace, and provides appropriate responses about how to address them. It also provides links to appropriate resources.
Working Minds Tool Kit - http://www.mindfulemployer.net/Working%20Minds%20Toolkit.pdf – This guide, developed for the Mind Out for Mental Health campaign in England, may help employers in addressing the issue of mental health in the workplace. The kit contains useful material for anyone interested in addressing mental health issues in their workplace.
Accommodating Mental Illness – http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Discrimination/Disabilities-ADA/Accommodating-Mental-Illness/ – This comprehensive 50 page report covers Healthcare, Recordkeeping, Hiring, Retention, and other compliance issues.
Navigating Tunnels and Cliffs: Empowering Families and Caregivers to Assist Youth with Mental Health Needs in Preparing for Work – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/short-cut/navigating-tunnels-and-cliffs – For many families and caregivers of youth with mental health needs, career preparation and exploration are not top priorities. This short cut provides families, caregivers, and youth with mental health needs the information needed to prepare for a career including promising practices from the field and an action plan for success.
Businesses Materials for a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace: Workplaces That Thrive: A Resource for Creating Mental Health-Friendly Work Environments – http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/business_resource.aspx - This toolkit developed by SAMHSA contains information and tools for human resource personnel and managers to use in developing a mental health friendly workplace.
Businesses Materials for a Mental Health Friendly Workplace: Executives Booklet – http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/business_execs.aspx – This booklet developed by SAMHSA invites business leaders to take a serious look at the role of their employees’ mental health and how it relates to both their well-being and the bottom line.
Employment Issues for People with Mental Illness – http://www.onestops.info/article.php?article_id=88and – This document talks about the stigmas of Mental Health and principles to helping people with mental health issues.
Some Notes about Mental Health and the Hiring Process – http://www.corporate-eye.com/blog/2010/06/mental-health-hiring-process/ – Article regarding the corporate hiring of people with mental illness. Including best practices for hiring.
Mental Health in the Workplace – http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/?EntryId5=38718 – This booklet considers the effects of stress at work and those factors that can contribute to stress. It also addresses the ways in which employers can help to create a psychologically healthy work environment. It also looks at the recruitment and retention of those experiencing mental health problems and provides a list of useful contacts.
How Family Members Can Be Involved in Supported Employment Activities and How Providers Can Support Family Member Involvement in Supported Employment Activities - http://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/sites/dmh/files/publications/ – This flyer provides ways for providers and family members to support people who are engaging in Supported Employment activities.
Accommodating Mental Illness – http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Discrimination/Disabilities-ADA/Accommodating-Mental-Illness/ – Comprehensive 50 page report covering Healthcare, Recordkeeping, Hiring, Retention, and other compliance issues.
The Annapolis Coalition on Behavioral Health Workforce – http://www.annapoliscoalition.org/pages/default2.asp?active_page_id=57 – Non-profit organization dedicated to improving the recruitment, retention, training and performance of the prevention and treatment workforce in the mental health and addictions sectors of the behavioral health field; seeks to strengthen the workforce role of persons in recovery and family members in caring for themselves and each other, as well as improving the capacity of all health and human service personnel to respond to the behavioral health needs of the individuals they serve.
APA Public Interest Government Relations Office Transition Youth with Serious Mental Illness – http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/cyf/transition-youth.pdf – Explores issues impacting individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), including youth in transition from child welfare systems to adulthood, obstacles as in the transition from school and child welfare systems to their adult lives. Lack of appropriate transition services can result in substantial direct and indirect costs, and the implications of failure to provide needed services could have an adverse impact on youth, families, and institutions unprepared and ill-equipped to assist.
Assessment Jump Start – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/assessment – Discusses what is needed to make the transition successfully from school to adult life and the world of work, developing the ability to make informed choices, and sound information including appropriate assessments that focus on the talents, knowledge, skills, interests, values, and aptitudes of each individual.
Benefits Planning – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/quick-reference-guide/benefits-planning – Document providing examples of benefits and work incentives available to youth with disabilities.
Blending and Braiding Funds and Resources: The Intermediary As Facilitator – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/information-brief-18 – Brief, the second in a series, focuses on how intermediary organizations can facilitate the blending and braiding of funds and resources to encourage cross-systems collaboration and, in turn, to improve the educational and employment outcomes for all youth, including those with disabilities, identifies strategies that states can use to support local communities in the “blending” and “braiding” of resources, and outlines how cross-systems collaboration and alternative funding strategies can be facilitated by intermediary organizations at both the state and local levels.
Businesses Materials for a Mental Health Friendly Workplace: Executives Booklet – http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/business_execs.aspx – Booklet developed by SAMHSA inviting business leaders to take a serious look at the role of their employees’ mental health and how it relates to both their well-being and the bottom line.
Businesses Materials for a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace: Workplaces That Thrive: A Resource for Creating Mental Health-Friendly Work Environments – http://www.promoteacceptance.samhsa.gov/publications/business_resource.aspx – Toolkit developed by SAMHSA containing information and tools for human resource personnel and managers to use in developing a mental health friendly workplace.
Charting the Course: Supporting the Career Development of Youth with Learning Disabilities – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/ld-guide – Intended to help practitioners, administrators, and policymakers in secondary and postsecondary education programs, transition programs, One-Stop Career Centers, youth employment programs, and community rehabilitation programs to improve services and outcomes for youth, ages 14 to 25, with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities, includes numerous quick reference charts, tables, and tools for counselors, career advisors, and other professionals who work directly with youth with in-depth information provided on a variety of topics, including the types and impact of learning disabilities, needed supports, and research-based interventions.
Consumers in the Mental Health Workforce: A Handbook for Providers – https://store.thenationalcouncil.org/catalog/show/15 – Handbook for providers with tips and strategies for hiring/retaining consumer employees.
Disability Inquiries In The Workforce Development System – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/information-brief-09 – Publication for those working in One-Stop centers as well as youth and adult service providers who interact with individuals with disabilities; designed to help clarify what you can and cannot ask about someone’s disability.
Disclosing Your Disability to an Employer – http://www.bu.edu/cpr/jobschool/disclosing.htm – Discusses whether and how much to tell employers about psychiatric disability to protect legal rights to any accommodations needed to get or keep a job.
Employment Connections – http://nichcy.org/schoolage/transitionadult/employment – Factsheet on employment options and opportunities for young adults with disabilities
Employment Issues for People with Mental Illness – http://www.onestops.info/article.php?article_id=88and – Talks about the stigmas of Mental Health and principles to helping people with mental health issues.
Employment Scenarios: What Would You Do? – http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-scena.html – Web page outlining three examples of mental health issues in the workplace with appropriate responses about how to address them; links to appropriate resources.
Employment and Major Depressive Episode – http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k9/162/Employment.pdf - Discusses barriers to employment among those with mental disorders including lack of confidence, fear and anxiety, gaps in work history, social stigma, and workplace discrimination and inflexibility.
Finding Meaningful Work – http://www.reintegration.com/reint/employment/meaning.asp – Discusses ways to find meaningful work.
Helping Consumers Add Years to Their Lives, VIII: Jobs vs. Mental Health Careerism in an Ongoing Recession – http://www.behavioral.net/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=45D4F1BC1C2F41E6A754ED831BD98648&type=Blog&mod=BlogTopics&mid=66A53481AC7B4A13B45D7CDA7A9B920B&tier=7&id=5FE4AE6700EB47EFA5B8630E5AC951A9&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BehavioralHealthcare-Blogs+%28Behavioral+Healthcare+-+Blogs%29 – Addresses how persons caught up in the mental health system can be helped to live as effective citizens in the larger community.
Helping Youth with Mental Health Needs Avoid Transition Cliffs: Lessons from Pioneering Transition Programs – http://www.ncwd-youth.info/information-brief-24 – InfoBrief discussing challenges faced by youth and young adults with mental health needs during their transition to adulthood and describes strategies used by youth service professionals to avoid age-related transition cliffs and prevent service interruptions during this critical stage of development.
How does mental illness interfere with work performance? – http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-func.html – Some of the ways mental illness can interfere with a person’s work performance.
How Family Members Can Be Involved in Supported Employment Activities and How Providers Can Support Family Member Involvement in Supported Employment Activities - http://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/sites/dmh/files/publications/DMH-Supported_Employment_Ways_to_be_Involved.pdf – Flyer providing ways for providers and family members to support people who are engaging in Supported Employment activities.
How-to Tips for Employers – http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-tips.html -
Tips for employers on developing accommodations and guidelines for providing feedback.
Mental Health Consumer Providers: A Guide for Clinical Staff – http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2008/RAND_TR584.pdf – Booklet providing mental health clinic staff with a brief guide to implementing and sustaining a consumer provider program.
Mental Health in the Workplace – http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/?EntryId5=38718 – Booklet considers the effects of stress at work and those factors that can contribute to stress, addresses the ways in which employers can help to create a psychologically healthy work environment, and looks at the recruitment and retention of those experiencing mental health problems and provides a list of useful contacts.
Mental Illness and the Workplace – http://www.reintegration.com/reint/employment/workplace.asp – Discusses re-employing individuals with mental illness.
Mental Illness at Work: An Assessment of Co-Worker Reactions – http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3981/is_200903/ai_n31666939/ – News Article that has reactions of Co-workers of people with mental illness and how they view certain situations. Includes research on stigmas, self-disclosure, workplace accommodations, and lots more.
Notes about Mental Health and the Hiring Process – http://www.corporate-eye.com/blog/2010/06/mental-health-hiring-process/ – Article regarding the corporate hiring of people with mental illness, including best practices for hiring.
Parent Partners’ Possibilities – http://www.behavioral.net/me2/dirmod.asp?sid=9B6FFC446FF7486981EA3C0C3CCE4943&nm=Archives&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=64D490AC6A7D4FE1AEB453627F1A4A32&tier=4&id=A0B8DF0792A4471DBB2AC7304417D3DD – Discusses peer employees as a valuable resource for people served within mental health programs.
People with Disabilities Foundation (PWDF) – http://pwdf.org – Provides education and advocacy for people with psychiatric, developmental, or both psychiatric and physical disabilities so that they can achieve equal opportunities in all aspects of life; services include education and public awareness seminars and trainings; educational videos addressing employment accommodations, housing and workforce sensitivity; and advocacy related to ADA, health care and other services.
Program Participants Climb the First Rung of the “Career Ladder” – http://www.tasksunlimited.org/sites/default/files/Fall2010UEwebversion.pdf – Newsletter explaining a “Career Ladder Program that Tasks Unlimited is using in their program.
Reentering the Workforce Can be Possible for the Mentally Ill – http://www.suite101.com/content/mental-illness-and-employment-a130739 – Article on how people with serious mental illnesses can get back into the workforce.
Shift’s Line Manager’s Resource – http://www.shift.org.uk/employers/ – Web-based guide, designed by Shift, offering a variety of resources about managing and supporting personnel with behavioral health problems, includes a series of short videos, case studies, and other materials for employers, employees, and job seekers.
Steps to Employment Workbook – http://www.marketingisland.com/mi/tmm/en/cataloguemanager/pdf0/CMHA-30028_EN2.pdf – Workbook is designed to assist people who have experienced mental health problems to become job-ready; includes everything from preparing for a job to keeping a job.
Supported Employment Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) KIT – http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA08-4365 – Provides practice principles about supported employment and approachs to vocational rehabilitation.
Supported Employment for People with Severe Mental Illness – http://www.bhrm.org/guidelines/Supported%20Employment%20for%20People%20with%20Severe%20Mental%20Illness.pdf - Guidelines developed for the Behavioral Health Recovery Management Project regarding supported employment.
Supported Employment: A Guide for Consumers, Families & Supporters Brochure – http://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/sites/dmh/files/publications/DMH-Supported_Employment_Brochure.pdf – Brief definition of supported employment, how supported employment works, and frequently asked questions.
Tasks Unlimited – http://www.tasksunlimited.org/ – Outlines opportunities for rehabilitation through supported employment, community housing and mental health services for adults with serious and persistent mental illness.
Vision’s: BC’s Mental Health and Addiction Journal – http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/sites/default/files/visions_workplaces.pdf – PDF document exploring many areas and issues with mental health in the workplace.
What Accommodations Work on the Job? – http://www.bu.edu/cpr/reasaccom/employ-accom.html – Examples of types of accommodations that would apply to someone with a psychiatric disability.
What To Do When You Think an Employee Might Need Mental Health Help – http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/employee-may-need-mental-health-help – Resource to help supervisors assist employees in getting any needed services so they can be healthy and return to a productive work life and to ensure the most positive and constructive outcomes.
Work as a Priority: A Resource for Employing People Who Have Serious Mental Illnesses and Who Are Homeless – http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA03-3834 – Reviews literature on increasing employment among people who are homeless and have serious mental illness, summarizes promising employment programs, and discusses policies and laws that address the provision of employment services for this population.
Working Well Together – http://workingwelltogether.org/dnn/ – Collaborative to ensure public mental health agencies are prepared to recruit, hire, train, support and retain multicultural clients, family members and parents/caregivers as employees.
Working Minds Tool Kit – http://www.mindfulemployer.net/Working%20Minds%20Toolkit.pdf - Guide developed for the Mind Out for Mental Health campaign in England to help employers in addressing the issue of mental health in the workplace; contains useful material for anyone interested in addressing mental health issues in their workplace.
Workplaces Quit Quietly Ignoring Mental Illness – http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2006-08-21-depressed-usat_x.htm – Talks about how more workplaces are recognizing mental illness in the workplace.
