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Employment programs for people with psychiatric disability: the case for change
Author(s) -
Bill Anthea,
Cowling Sally,
Mitchell William,
Quirk Victor
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2006.tb00007.x
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , business , government (linguistics) , pension , wage , income support , work (physics) , mental health , state (computer science) , labour economics , actuarial science , economics , psychiatry , psychology , finance , economic growth , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , macroeconomics
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of disability employment policy in assisting people with psychiatric disability to find, or return to, paid work. We argue that the poor employment outcomes from current programs establish the need for a paradigmatic shift in the form of a state‐provided Job Guarantee (JG) for people with psychiatric disability. In the absence of measures to generate suitable jobs, forthcoming changes to the eligibility criteria for Disability Support Pension will create risks rather than opportunities. Under the JG, the Federal Government would maintain a ‘buffer stock’ of minimum wage, public sector jobs to provide secure paid employment for this highly disadvantaged group. The role of the state in this alternative model is two fold. First, the state must provide the quantum of JG jobs required. Second, the state must ensure the design of jobs is flexible enough to meet the heterogeneous and variable support needs of workers. This will require effective integration of the JG scheme with mental health, rehabilitation and employment support services.