October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which recognizes the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities, past and present, and looks ahead to building the inclusive workforce of the future. This week is also Mental Illness Awareness Week, organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Previous NIDILRR-funded research has shown that work is important to people with serious mental illness – it has personal meaning and it promotes recovery. Research has also shown that people with serious mental illness face can barriers to finding and keeping a job, contributing to less than 40% of adults with these conditions in full time employment.

Current NIDILRR-funded research and development is exploring what may cause these disparities in employment and developing interventions and resources to support people with mental illness at every stage of their employment journey:

• Internet Assisted Career-Oriented Soft-Skills Training for Transition Age Youth: A Randomized Controlled Trial is conducting a randomized controlled trial of an intervention for young people (16-24) to learn the work-related soft skills they’ll need throughout their careers.
• Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE): Creating Economic Self-Sufficiency is also testing a program to help young adults in post-secondary education to minimize disruptions in their education, aim for degree completion, and head toward competitive employment.
• The Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center explores factors that contribute to successful transition for young people with serious mental illness and develops interventions and other resources to support that transition.
• Reclaiming Employment: Self-Employment Resources for Mental Health Service Users develops and evaluates an online platform to support individuals with serious mental illness in pursuing entrepreneurship and self-employment.
• Enhancing Supported Employment Services for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities to Address Workplace Prejudice and Discrimination develops an intervention titled Managing Workplace Prejudice and Discrimination (MWPD) and tests its effectiveness in increasing the employment outcomes of people with psychiatric disabilities receiving Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities conducts a coordinated program of research and knowledge translation projects and activities that builds on existing evidence-based supported employment and improves employment outcomes for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Our Research In Focus series has explored NIDILRR-funded research in employment and serious mental illness:

• Adults with Psychiatric Disabilities and PTSD Share the Barriers They Experience to Employment
• Black Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness Experience Barriers to Vocational Growth, Find Support from Vocational Counselors Who Seek to Understand Their Needs
• For Youths with Mental Health Disorders Who Were Involved with the Criminal Justice System, Education is Critical for Job Success
• Self-Employment May Be a Promising Path to Build Income for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

Explore more NIDILRR-funded research in employment and serious mental illness in the Program Database. You may also want to explore these resources from the grantee community and elsewhere to ensure that workers with mental illness are part of the inclusive workforce.