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Gang Alternative, Inc., a Department of Children and Families- licensed and International CARF accredited non-profit organization will implement Project ENGAGE [Embracing Navigational Guidance to promote Autonomy in Employment]. This initiative is designed to provide culturally sensitive and linguistically-appropriate self-sufficiency focused employment services to adults with serious mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (COD) in South Florida’s Tri-County Area (Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties). The population of focus has amongst the highest percentage of immigrants in the United States including those for whom English is a second language or those who speak little or no English. Project ENGAGE will use evidence-based Supported Employment model, enhanced by Motivational Interviewing evidence-based technique. Goal 1: Empower adults in focus population to obtain competitive employment to become self-sufficient. Objective 1.1: 100% of individuals referred to the program will be engaged by their Employment Specialist (ES) within 1 week of receiving referrals. Objective 1.2: 80% of individuals will explore job opportunities with ES within 1 month of program enrollment. Objective 1.3: 65% of enrollees will secure competitive employment in field of their choice. Objective 1.4 : 60% of enrollees will secure jobs with wages at least 25% above Florida’s minimum wage. Goal 2: Empower adults in focus population retain competitive employment to become self-sufficient. Objective 2.1: Monthly, ES will make at least 4 contacts with enrollees. Objective 2.2: 70% of enrollees placed in jobs will retain employment at 3-month follow-up. Objective 2.3: Establish a Clinical Treatment Team (inclusive of ESs) within 4 months post-award. Objective 2.4: 100% of enrollees who express interest, will be engaged by a benefit specialist to create personalized benefits plan. Goal 3: Establish and Sustain Advisory Groups. Objective 3.1: Establish a Supported Employment Advisory Group will meet monthly in year 1, bi-monthly in year 2 and quarterly from years 3-5. Objective 3.2: Engage GA’s existing Employer and Industry Advisory Committee as the “Business Advisory Council” to meet quarterly to engage and elicit feedback from local employers. In year 45 individuals will be served and 75 for years 2-5 for a total of 345 over 5 year period.

In response to SM-23-008, McDermott Center, DBA Haymarket Center, proposes “Haymarket SEP.” Haymarket SEP will engage 238 adult Chicagoans over 5 years to overcome undertreated mental health and substance use disorders. Haymarket SEP will be data-driven and results-oriented, using the evidence-based Individual Placement and Support intervention model of Supported Employment and clinical interventions to bring employment rates from 0% to 60%. Goal 1. Secure competitive employment for 142 adults over five years by providing intensive employment and supportive services (22 in YR 1, 30 in YRs 2-5). 1.1. Enroll 238 adults aged 18 and older who have one or more mental health disorders, an SUD, and mental health-related barriers to employment (38 in YR 1, 50 in YRs 2-5). 1.2. Develop individual employment plans (IEPs) for 228 participants (96%; 36 in YR 1, 48 in YRs 2-5). 1.3. Provide employment navigation to 214 adults (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5). 1.4. Among 214 participants (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5), review employment status and progress toward goals in the IEP within 120 days of project enrollment. 1.5. Achieve first contact between 214 participants (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5) and an employer within 45 days of enrollment. Goal 2. Strengthen the underlying prospects for independent living among 214 adults over five years (90% of enrollments; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5) by providing comprehensive supportive services. 2.1 Provide mental health counseling to 214 adults (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5). 2.2 Provide benefits navigation to 214 adults (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5). 2.3 Provide primary medical care to 214 adults (90%; 34 in YR 1, 45 in YRs 2-5). Goal 3. Implement 4 strategies to create sustained, wide-reaching impact. 3.1 Contact 100 businesses over five years (20 in YRs 1-5). 3.2 Conduct outreach to 50 possible referral sources (10 in YRs 1-5) over five years. 3.3 Within six months of the project start date, submit a plan to achieve long-term employment stability among participants. 3.4 Within six months of the project start date and within six months of the project end date, submit plans to sustain project activities past the project period.

IPS Works Alabama is establishing two Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Works teams to serve Jefferson and Tuscaloosa counties' existing Community Mental Health Centers, creating their capacity to offer supported employment evidenced based practices and building the necessary staffing to meet the fidelity of an Evidenced Based Practice (EBP) IPS Team. The project goals and measurable objectives are as follows: Goal 1: Improve vocational assessment and competitive employment outcomes for adults (18+) with SMI and/or COD, with the following three objectives: (a) 80% of enrolled individuals will have first contact with an employer within 30 days of enrollment; (b) 70% of enrolled individuals will gain competitive employment each year; and (c) 60% of supported employment participants will obtain and remain competitive employment for 90 days. Goal 2: Increase the capacity to implement and sustain integrated support in Alabama for adults with SMI and/or COD through outreach, training, and community education, with the following two objectives: (a) Over the five-year grant period, 500 people in the mental health and related workforce will be trained in IPS Works; and (b) Over the five-year grant period, 100 employers will be outreached to receive education regarding the IPS Works model and ways to support individuals with SMI and/or COD. Goal 3: Promote housing stability among adults with SMI and/or COD, with the following two objectives: (a) 100% of consumers who present with housing needs will be provided and offered resources to identify stable housing; and (b) 70% without stable housing up admission will have obtained stable housing at discharge. The unduplicated number of individuals who be served in Year 1 (60), Year 2 (60), Year 3 (60), Year 4 (60), and Year 5 (60) for a total of 300 over the five-year project period.

WestCare Tennessee (WCTN) is proposing to implement the Standing Together Program (STP) that will provide adults (18+) with severe mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring disorder (COD) with treatment and specialized supported employment services to assist them in choosing, acquiring, and maintaining competitive employment. The geographic catchment area is Cocke and Jefferson County in TN. WCTN will serve 180 clients during the five year grant, (Y1:25, Y2-4:40, YR5: 35 = 180 in total). The goals and objectives include: Goal 1: Increase access to evidenced-based supported employment programs for adults (18+) with SMI or COD to decrease mental health and/or substance misuse symptoms and reduce health disparities. Goal 2: Enhance the social and behavioral health functioning of adults (18+) with SMI or COD. (STP) will provide evidence-based programs to support individuals with SMI or COD to live independently and participate in the workforce. In partnership with Cocke County Jail and Detention Center, Jefferson County Justice Center, and Rural Medical Services, Inc., WCTN will work together with the partner agencies to serve adults released from jail that will move into a sober living program. To be eligible to participate in STP, the partner corrections institutions will refer individuals with an SMI or COD diagnosis to WCTN. WCTN currently provides individuals released from jail with cognitive behavioral treatment services as a continuation of their treatment plan. As part of the STP program, WCTN will also provide supported employment services for clients residing at TNJCAP and WCTN Second Chance Recovery House. WCTN also will provide case management and supportive services to support their goals towards independence, employment stability, and overall well-being.

The Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest (NARA NW) was founded in 1970 to provide recovery services to the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population in the Portland Metropolitan Area. Since its founding, NARA NW has expanded its services to 10 clinical and non-clinical sites in order to provide integrated, culturally appropriate care to Native communities. NARA NW provides primary healthcare, dental care, behavioral health services, and outpatient and inpatient substance use disorder treatment; along with wraparound care from food boxes and transportation to housing placements. Since 2015, NARA NW has provided Supported Employment Programming with IPS fidelity model implemented in 2018. Currently, NARA NW serves 50 individuals with Supported Employment Services, and through its partnership with SAMHSA, will expand its reach 130 unduplicated individuals over the life of the five-year program. In addition, NARA NW will hire and retain additional staff to provide full spectrum Supported Employment Services to support individuals with SMI and COD using the IPS fidelity model already in use in our programs. The overall goals of the Supported Employment Program are: 1) provide a person with SMI or COD specialized assistance in choosing, acquiring, and maintaining competitive employment; 2) Continue to engage in annual fidelity reviews and collaborate with senior leadership and the OCESE reviewers to improve services and maintain fidelity to the model and 3) Build and maintain collaborative relationships with current and prospective employers in order to mutually benefit Supported Employment participants and the community. NARA NW will meet the above goals by continuing its relationships with community partners (employers, Education entities, and integrated health care programs) to advocate and support Supported Employment clients through their interactions with these entities. We will also build a program training plan to roll out a training schedule for all NARA NW staff to ensure that this program implements all CLAS standards and other training to ensure high fidelity and quality services.

Community Alliance (CA), a CCBHC in Omaha, will expand its supported employment (SE) program and integrate SE services and principles throughout the organization through the Transforming Lives Through Supported Employment program. By serving 60 new, unduplicated clients annually and 300 over the course of the grant period, CA will reduce the unmet need for evidence-based SE among unemployed adult clients with SMI and COD by 50%. CA will use the grant as a springboard to develop a plan for meeting 100% of the need after the grant program ends. Members of the POF who currently receive clinical services at CA cope with very high levels of unemployment (87%). They also live in poverty: upon intake at CA, members of the POF have an average of only a little under $700 per month in income and one in four have no income at all. In a given year, only 8.5% of CA clients in the POF utilize current SE services, known as WorkSource. African American and American Indian clients are even less likely to gain access to SE services than are other clients. For the grant program, CA set significant goals for the POF, including a 100% increase in the number of adults in need who receive SE services; a concomitant 100% increase in the number of CA clients from the POF who become employed; a 50% reduction in self-reported unmet need for vocational services and supports; and a lowering of the unemployment rate from 87% to 65% among all adult clients at CA who have SMI or COD. The proposal outlines a feasible process of SE expansion and integration over the course of the five-year grant period, that includes the addition of four supported employment specialists, a peer employment support specialist, and a business/employer liaison to its existing SE program. Currently, half of WorkSource employment specialists are embedded in CA’s clinical teams, including First Episode Psychosis Care and Assertive Community Treatment, but through the grant program, CA will embed all new and existing employment specialists in six different clinical programs. CA will continue to embrace the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment and will use the grant funding to expand training for WorkSource staff and achieve higher implementation fidelity in areas where WorkSource previously was found to be weaker. Fidelity of implementation will be assessed by six months in Year 1 and annually thereafter. Data and information from fidelity reviews, goal and objective progress monitoring, and NOMS-based outcomes will be used within a quality improvement framework to enhance WorkSource program access, quality and outcomes, while reducing racial/ethnic and other disparities. CA will develop a Business Advisory Council which will work collaboratively with WorkSource to identify and develop an increasing array of competitive employment opportunities for WorkSource clients and, at the same time, meet the workforce needs of Omaha area businesses and organizations.