Planning a statewide project to convert day treatment to supported employment

Mental health consumers' expressed needs for vocational services are better served by supported employment than by traditional day treatment programs, but most states have had difficulty shifting their services. This paper describes the efforts of the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals to convert day treatment programs to supported employment services, including attempts to build a consensus of stakeholders for the new paradigm to develop funding mechanisms to support the new programs, and to train personnel to staff the new programs Initial results are extremely positive in all three areas, and vocational outcomes in two mental health centers that have converted their programs are excellent, with over half of the clients experiencing competitive employment.