According to the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 44.7 million adults in the US over the age of 18 (18.3%) experienced a mental illness in 2016.[¹] “People with mental illness are the largest and fastest growing group of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) beneficiaries.”[²] For people with mental disabilities, employment can be a fundamental component of recovery and essential for a good quality of life.[³] Employment helps individuals gain self-esteem, financial reward, social relationships, a sense of purpose/achievement,[⁴] and hope.[⁵]

Unfortunately, people with mental and/or IDD who desire to work face many barriers and challenges, such as lack of employment supports, fear of losing government benefits, inadequate funding, misaligned policies, stigma and discrimination.[⁶]

Our goals at People With Disabilities Foundation (PWDF) are the destigmatization of mental, developmental, and/or IDD and the total integration of people with them into the whole of society. We offer multiple educational resources related to employment towards this end:

Workshops and Training Videos

We provide workshops (at least 25 to 35 to-date) to educate the public on topics such as SSDI and SSI work incentive programs and employment discrimination to ensure access and independence for individuals with mental and/or IDD. PWDF also provides guidance to employers in accommodating these individuals in the workplace. PWDF produces professional training videos related to employment. We show the videos at conferences with a follow-up Q&A session with an attorney and also sell these training videos as educational tools. We have produced two training videos related to employment:

• Understanding Employees and Job Applicants with Psychiatric Disabilities

Reviewer Prof. Joseph E. Havranek, Ed.D., CRC, opined that this video has various audiences: it can be used as an introduction to the ADA in general, as well as specific to psychiatric issues, and it can be used to teach the general public, as well as people working in the field of mental health services.

• Accommodating Employees and Job Applicants with Psychiatric Disabilities in the Workplace

Reviewer Prof. Joseph E. Havranek, Ed.D., CRC, opined that this video provides an excellent presentation of the accommodation process for job applicants with psychiatric disabilities, either singly or in conjunction with a physical impairment and that it is an important tool for enabling people with psychiatric impairments to have equal access to employment.

“This training video is a straightforward approach to learn more about accommodating the psychiatric disabled population in the workforce,” Claudia Center, currently Senior Staff Attorney in the Disability Rights Program of the national ACLU and former Staff Attorney, San Francisco Legal Aid Society/Employment Law Center.  She said “It fills a void for training pertaining to the rights of people with psychiatric disabilities in the workplace.”

Please visit our online store for a complete list of available training videos: http://www.pwdf.org/category/online-store/

Public Awareness Seminars

PWDF holds public awareness seminars to educate a wide variety of people who have different roles in ensuring access and independence for people with mental and/or IDD. The seminars are open to the public at no cost. The audience typically includes people with disabilities, their families, friends and allies, the general public, and professionals in the fields of law, mental health, social services, education, vocational rehabilitation, and human resources. Our speakers include professionals with expertise on the topic and people with psychiatric and/or IDD to share their own experiences and to ensure people with disabilities are heard.  Seminar videos are available on our YouTube channel.

We recently (June 2018) held our 17th free public awareness seminar and 3rd regarding employment, titled “Employment Support Frameworks for People with Psychiatric, Intellectual, and/or Developmental Disabilities (P/IDD) with an Emphasis on Transitional Age Youth (TAY).” This seminar has the following segments:

Segment 1 – Reasonable Accommodations for Employees and Job Applicants with Psychiatric/Intellectual/Developmental Delay Disabilities (I/DD). Employee and Employer Rights and Obligations Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LAPwTrE_64&feature=youtu.be

Segment 2 – Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Programs (age 15-24 years) for attaining vocational goals to maximize independent living. Individualized plans, including assessment of functional limitations, skills and vocational goals and reasonable accommodations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_nK6zPIUyM

Segment 3 – Social Security Disability Work Incentive Rules for Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckRxTzsd5Qw&feature=youtu.be

Previous Seminars

PWDF’s first employment seminar, titled “Accommodating Employees and Job Applicants with Psychiatric Disabilities in the Workplace,” was held on April 6, 2001. This seminar featured training to small and large businesses, vocational rehabilitation providers, attorneys, people with psychiatric disabilities, and other interested parties. The segments of the seminar are available on our YouTube Channel:

Segment 1 – Federal and State Legal Framework: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhi3U4vYarE

Segment 2 – Psychiatric Factors and Diagnosis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlZTq_FoNE8

Segment 3 – Legal Rights and Obligations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqwYGP1nvFU

Segment 4 – Vocational Factors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9apqe1a5z8

PWDF’s second employment seminar, held in 2009, was titled “Understanding Employment Issues for People with Psychiatric and/or Developmental Disabilities.” This seminar covered mental disorders in the workplace, reasonable accommodations, employment as part of recovery, updates on the ADA, and the Mental Health Parity Act. The segments of the seminar are available on our YouTube Channel:

Segment 1 – Legal Standards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBp8TBXecJI

Segment 2 – Common Disorders in the Workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED0ge9zQvrw

Segment 3 – Mental Health Treatment & Recovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0rLOjFtF8c

Segment 4 – Supportive Employment and Q & A Panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl3I90fNMNQ

Equal access to employment is so important to individual recovery and destigmatization of mental and/or IDD that PWDF has made it a focus of our efforts during our 18-year history. We will continue to produce educational events and materials for the benefit of the whole of society.

PWDF Profile