1. IPS Supported Employment
Revised January 2014

2. Individualized Placement and Support (IPS)
IPS stands for individual placement and support.
The acronym “IPS” indicates the evidence-based approach rather than generic employment services.

3. IPS Supported Employment
Approach designed for persons with serious mental illness
Multiple research studies demonstrate superior outcomes
People who have access to IPS are two to three times more likely to obtain a job

4. Competitive Employment Rates in 20 Randomized Controlled Trials of Individual Placement and Support
Black bars indicate the percent of people in IPS programs who found competitive work. Red (and orange) bars indicate the percent who found competitive work in the control groups.
Study locations: New Hampshire, Alabama, Illinois, Connecticut, Australia, Hong Kong, California, Australia, South Carolina, Washington DC, Switzerland, California, 6 European Countries, United States, Quebec, Japan, Holland, Illinois, Maryland and the United Kingdom

5. Eight Principles of IPS
1: Zero exclusion criteria: Every interested person is eligible
Every person is encouraged to consider how work might affect his or her life.
People are not excluded from IPS due to symptoms, decisions about medication or other treatment choices, work history, substance use disorders, missed appointments with mental health practitioners, hospitalization history, personal presentation or other issues. IPS uses a strengths-based approach in that practitioners help people find jobs where their strengths (related to personality, values, resources, experience, training and skills) are maximized, and possible problems are minimized.

6. Eight Principles of IPS
2: Competitive jobs are the goal
Regular jobs at regular wages.
Jobs that anyone can apply for, regardless of disability status.
Competitive jobs are regular jobs in the community that anyone can apply for regardless of disability status. People from the IPS program earn the same wages as their co-workers in the same positions. The jobs do not have artificial time limits imposed by the IPS program. “Peer” positions are considered to be competitive because only a person who has mental illness is qualified for those jobs.

7. Eight Principles of IPS
3: Employment Services and Mental Health Services are Integrated
Employment specialists and mental health providers meet weekly.
Employment specialists ask mental health practitioners to share information about the illness or treatment that may be related to working. Employment specialists share information about the employment plan and current efforts with mental health practitioners. Team members brainstorm strategies that can be offered to help the person succeed at his or her goals.

8. Eight Principles of IPS
4: Benefits Planning is Offered
People are offered an opportunity to meet with a trained benefits planner before going to work and as they consider changes in their jobs.
Employment specialists or members of the mental health team may also offer to help people monitor and report their earnings as they work.

9. Eight Principles of IPS
5: The job search occurs rapidly
The employment specialist and/or job seeker makes face-to-face within a month of joining the IPS program.
People who want to work are not asked to complete any type of assessment, job readiness group, practice work assignment, or other prevocational activity. Instead, the employment specialist and job seeker begin to look for work right away because that is what most people prefer. If a person is not sure about a work goal, the prospective worker and employment specialist may visit different worksites to learn about different types of job.

10. Eight Principles of IPS
6. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers through multiple in-person visits to understand their business needs.
Employment specialists do not rely on internet job searches. Instead, they visit employers to learn about the workflow of each business and the employer’s hiring preferences. They aim to make a good job match that benefits both the employer and job seeker. By visiting employers regularly, employment specialists aim to introduce job seekers before job openings are advertised.
If a person does not want employers to know that he is receiving IPS services, the employment specialist can help with job applications, finding job leads, practicing interview questions, etc.

11. Eight Principles of IPS
7: Job supports are continuous
Job supports are provided for as long as the person needs and wishes to receive IPS services. Typically about a year.
Eventually, a mental health practitioner, such as a case manager, may be chosen to provide supports.
The type and intensity of job supports provided vary by person. Examples of job supports might include meeting someone after work to talk about her job, giving someone rides to work for the first week or two, family meetings to talk about how the job is going, wake-up phone calls, mental health treatment changes to support the job such as medication adjustments, meetings with supervisors for extra feedback, on-the-job coaching, help finding clothing or tools for a job, help reporting earnings to Social Security Administration or other entitlement systems, etc.

12. Eight Principles of IPS
8: Preferences are honored
Employment specialists strive to understand what preferences are most important to job seekers. Family members can add valuable information about job qualities or conditions might contribute to the person’s success.
Preferences may be related to type of job, work hours, job location, …

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Contact Information
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For more information about IPS supported employment, go to