Integrating Supported Employment and psychosocial services in a Danish municipal context to enhance employment outcomes for young adults with less severe mental health problems

Beskrivelse

7,6% of Danes between the ages of 15 and 29 (76,600) is not in education, employment, or training. The Danish municipal job centres have the task of supporting young adults in entering education or employment. Job centres experience an increasing number of young adults with less severe mental health
problems who need psychosocial support. However, the variety of psychosocial interventions used in the municipalities differ geographically, and in how they are organised in the local job centres. The focus of our study is to understand, how psychosocial interventions are organised and integrated with
job support in the job centres. We investigate, caseworkers’ discretionary reasoning when referring to psychosocial interventions, collaboration with providers, the young adults’ opportunities for active participation in this process, and how organisational structures affect the perceived quality of the
job/educational and psychosocial support the young adults receive from the job centres.
The project is an intervention study based on a modified version of the Supported Employment (SE)/Individual Placement and Support (IPS). The empirical data is collected from three Danish job centres during a 4-years period, whereby qualitative interviews with sites’ management, project coordinators, and representatives from the psychosocial service providers are conducted. The study identifies two organisational models; model A describes a close integration between psychosocial and employment/education services within the job centres, and model B characterizes a parallel nature of cooperation, where caseworkers refer youth to psychosocial services. Preliminary findings suggest that the organisational structures play a substantial role in implementing the SE/IPS model.

Periode	15 jun. 2023
Begivenhedstitel	FORSA/NASSW 2023 CONFERENCE: “SOCIAL WORK IN CHANGING TIMES- CHALLENGES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES”
Begivenhedstype	Konference
Placering	Bodø, NorgeVis på kort
Grad af anerkendelse	International