{"id":9544,"date":"2020-11-04T15:47:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T20:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/?page_id=9544"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:51:17","slug":"supported-employment-and-education","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/cecmh\/unc-institute-for-best-practices\/assertive-community-treatment-act\/resources\/supported-employment-and-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Supported Employment and Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams encourage individuals to consider recovery goals that involve getting a job and\/or returning to school, and then help them in those efforts. Research has shown the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment to be the evidence-based practice for helping people succeed with competitive employment goals. To this end, ACT should have at least one Employment and Education Specialist who leads efforts to provide employment and education services, with an emphasis on IPS practice philosophy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following the principles of the IPS model, ACT Employment Specialists promptly begin working with individuals who express interest in returning to work and operate with a “zero exclusion” approach. One of the first activities may be completing a Career Profile, which may take several visits and helps capture the person’s preferences, wishes, dreams, and past experiences and skills. Employment Specialists also assess preferences around disclosure, which in turn can determine the type and level of involvement of the Employment Specialist. The actual job search is person-centered and ideally takes advantage of previous and new job development activities. Once the person has a job, a plan is created and enacted for providing ongoing support, which may include on-the-job coaching. Employment Specialists are also expected to have a foundational knowledge of how work may impact benefits, as well as available work incentive programs. The ACT team as a whole helps deliver a range of employment and educational services and supports.<\/p>\n

The Employment Specialist on ACT may differ from someone within a stand-alone IPS program in two major ways: 1) Along with the team, the Employment Specialist may direct some efforts toward engaging people around the idea of work, as having accurate knowledge of how work impacts benefits can be particularly helpful in this regard, as well as basic motivational interviewing skills; and 2) As an Employment and Education Specialist, there is effort toward helping people return to school if that is their goal (within IPS, the Employment Specialist may rely on the mental health team to assist more around school goals).<\/p>\n

Employment and Education Specialists on ACT will have minimal impact if they are not working within their area of specialty. We recommend that at least 80% of their time in a given week (daily team meetings aside) be spent delivering a broad range of employment and educational services.<\/p>\n

Learn More<\/strong> about the Supportive Employment and Education Services and the role of the SEE Specialists through these resources<\/a>. Be sure to also visit our IPS resources<\/a>.
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Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams encourage individuals to consider recovery goals that involve getting a job and\/or returning to school, and then help them in those efforts. Research has shown the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment to be the evidence-based practice for helping people succeed with competitive employment goals. 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