July 9, 2007

Employment for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

In our public meetings throughout the state at the end of last year, our affiliates identified employment for people with psychiatric disabilities as one of their top issues. Based on that feedback, the MHANYS Board of Directors agreed to make employment one of the agencies’ top priorities.

Through our contract with the New York State Office of Mental Health for the Consumer and Business Outreach Program, our project director, Samantha Phillips, has worked closely with several Mental Health Association (MHA) affiliates across New York State to spread the word about the successful model of the Business Advisory Councils. These Councils provide partnerships between MHA’s, local businesses, recipients of services and county government to identify strategies for hiring people with psychiatric disabilities.

The employment rate for people with psychiatric disabilities is the highest of any disability group. Rates of unemployment are consistently between 80% to 85%. The real disconnect is that most recipients of services want to work and often list employment as their top priority. If we are serious about tackling unemployment issues than we have to be innovative in responding to that need. We are working closely with OMH and our colleagues at NYAPRS and the New York Rehabilitation Association to come up with some innovative practices.

One area in recent months that has come to our attention through the New York State Department of Labor is the aggressive use of tax credits in Empire Zones for hiring people with disabilities. Very few employers know about this practice and yet several thousand dollars in tax credits would be available for any employer who hires an individual with a disability in an Empire Zone. Last month, I had an opportunity to testify before the Assembly Economic Development Committee on this issue

We also recently had an opportunity to spend some time talking with Mental Health Weekly about employment strategies for people with psychiatric disabilities. The article from the MH Weekly is listed below.

NY Advocates Push for Employment of People with MI
Mental Health Weekly, July 9, 2007

New York State mental health advocates are working to bring to the attention of providers and employers the need for employment opportunities for people with mental illness. According to advocates, depending on the study and region of the country, about 85 percent of people with mental illness are unemployed.

Glenn Liebman, chief executive of the Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc., presented testimony during a New York State Assembly hearing last month about issues related to employment opportunities in the state.

Liebman spoke to lawmakers about the state’s Empire Zone program, which was created to stimulate economic growth through a variety of state tax incentives designed to attract new businesses to New York and to enable existing businesses to expand and create more jobs. Currently, there are more than 100 empire development zones throughout the state, he said.

According to Liebman, the empire zones provide an opportunity for people with disabilities, including individuals with mental illness, to be provided with employment opportunities. Employers whose businesses are located in areas throughout the state designatedas empire zones and who hire people with disabilities can receive up to $3,000 in state tax credits and $2,500 in federal tax credits, he said.

“The unemployment rate for persons with psychiatric disabilities is between 80 and 85 percent across the country in the last decade, if not longer — these numbers are unacceptable,” said Liebman. “One of the key objectives of the Mental Health Association is to create better employment options and opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities — there is a great disconnect.”

The unemployment rate for people with mental health disabilities is “unacceptable,” said Liebman. “One of the evidence-based practices in the mental health field is supported employment programs.”

“If we are going to incentivize people with psychiatric disabilities to be hired, we have to look at best practices out there, which is supported employment,” noted Liebman. “There should be more resources developed to support employment for people with psychiatric disabilities.”

During his testimony Liebman pointed to a 1999 study from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors that found that nearly 70 percent of people with psychiatric disabilities want to be employed. He also noted statistics from another study which indicated that more than 80 percent of people who suffer from clinical depression recover and live productive lives in the community.

“People with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia also recover in numbers well over 60 percent,” said Liebman. “People are recovering every day. Employment is a key component of that recovery process.”

Making Employment A Priority

The New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) has also made it a priority to seek employment opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities.

NYAPRS has partnered with MHA of New York as well as the New York State Office of Mental Health to raise the attention of providers, peers and employers around the need for employment of people with mental illness.

Harvey Rosenthal, NYAPRS executive director, said advocates are encouraged by the priorities placed on employing people with mental illness by New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer and New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) Commissioner Michael F. Hogan, both of whom are involved in collaborative efforts with stakeholders, providers and state agencies to advance this issue.“

We believe it’s essential for a successful employment strategy to involve the Office of Mental Health, the Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Office of Temporary Disability Assistance and the Department of Labor,” he said. “The interagency focus on employment is what’s needed — we’re working for that.”

Rosenthal added, “Our efforts mirror what’s going on all over the country.”

“Providers are getting better at supporting people’s desire to get back to work,” Mathew Mathai, NYAPRS deputy director, told MHW.

“We want to encourage it.” Mathai said that the NYAPRS is working to identify national best practices to bring to the state. Washington state and Maryland have embarked on successful collaborative efforts to employ people with mental disabilities, he noted.

“We’re helping providers transform their attitude and relationship with consumers to be more about supporting recovery with employment,” said Mathai.