The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
defines SE as processes and philosophies facilitating
competitive work in integrated work settings for
individuals with the most severe disabilities (i.e.,
psychiatric, mental retardation, learning disabilities,
traumatic brain injury) for whom competitive employment
has not traditionally occurred. The SE model
encourages work, social interaction, and integration
within individuals’ community and is a means of
increasing personal independence through competitive
employment [7]. Work may be performed on a full or
part-time basis, and wages must be consistent with the
standards of the Fair Labor Standards Act and wages
paid to other workers with similar job functions [8, 23].
To examine the efficacy of SE, Bond and colleagues
operationalized the components of SE and implemented
a standardized model known as Individual Placement
and Support (IPS) [9]. IPS is an approach to VR
that integrates employment specialists into community
mental health clinical teams and includes vocational
goals as a core component of the care planning process.
The primary focus of IPS is on helping people gain
jobs in community employment as quickly as possible,
in positions that are congruent with the employee’s
preferences, and without protracted prevocational training.
According to the IPS model, SE is provided to
anyone who wishes to work, regardless of employability
or work readiness. In addition, benefits counseling
and unlimited, ongoing support enables persons with
disabilities to maintain employment and develop their
careers.