Data Note #43, 2013
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By Stephanie Wallace and Frank A. Smith.
Data Source: FY2002–-2011 Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Uniform Reporting System (URS)
The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) provides guidance and technical assistance to decision makers at all levels of government on the design, structure, content, and use of mental health information systems. The goal is to improve the quality of mental health programs and service delivery. CMHS operates the only program in the nation that focuses on the development of data standards that provide the basis for uniform, comparable, high-quality statistics on mental health services. This makes it a model in the health care statistics field. Data is stored in the Uniform Reporting System Output Tables.
State mental health agencies provide a wide range of supports, including rehabilitation services and vocational and pre-vocational training, as well as supported and competitive employment supports. This Data Note explores how states vary in number and percentage of individuals who are employed among those served in Community Mental Health Programs (CMHPs), i.e., programs with all services provided in the community, rather than in an inpatient setting. It also explores national trends that occurred from 2002 to 2011.
"Employed" is defined as competitively employed1 (full- or part-time) at the last CMHP assessment available during the reporting year. Figure 1 shows an overall downward trend in employment for individuals served in CMHPs from 2002 to 2011. Despite a peak of 23% in 2008, the percentage of individuals served in CMHPs who are employed has since declined to 19.6% in 2011.
The number and percentage of individuals in CMHPs who were employed in each state is presented in Table 1. In 2011, the percentage employed varied from 6.9% in Maine to 43.9% in Wyoming. The wide range in number and percentage of individuals employed is not necessarily indicative of success or failure when making comparisons among states. Factors such as the percentage of people served in CMHPs for whom employment status is known can affect the numbers and percentages reported. These differences suggest a need for further research to identify the factors responsible for such wide variation, and to determine successful strategies for gaining employment outcomes for people served in CMHPs.
Figure 1. Percentage of people served who are employed (number of states = 40) 
Raw Data in google spreadsheet
|
State |
Number of people served by CMHPs* |
(A) Number of people employed |
(B)Percentage of people served who are employed (B/A) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
AK |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
AL |
75,276 |
8,176 |
10.9 |
|
AR |
40,639 |
8,474 |
20.9 |
|
AZ |
101,212 |
16,686 |
16.5 |
|
CA |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
CO |
55,180 |
12,164 |
22.0 |
|
CT |
43,543 |
8,779 |
20.2 |
|
DC |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
DE |
3,576 |
756 |
21.1 |
|
FL |
183,325 |
28,554 |
15.6 |
|
GA |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
HI |
5,545 |
577 |
10.4 |
|
IA |
21,386 |
6,600 |
30.9 |
|
ID |
6,121 |
1,192 |
19.5 |
|
IL |
94,819 |
18,092 |
19.1 |
|
IN |
60,957 |
11,744 |
19.3 |
|
KS |
36,840 |
10,771 |
29.2 |
|
KY |
90,805 |
14,630 |
16.1 |
|
LA |
35,069 |
3,802 |
10.8 |
|
MA |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
MD |
74,410 |
12,479 |
16.8 |
|
ME |
10,455 |
726 |
6.9 |
|
MI |
62,528 |
19,623 |
31.4 |
|
MN |
15,684 |
2,354 |
15.0 |
|
MO |
22,704 |
2,465 |
10.9 |
|
MS |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
MT |
3,700 |
539 |
14.6 |
|
NC |
162,513 |
27,659 |
17.0 |
|
ND |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
NE |
18,053 |
5,156 |
28.6 |
|
NH |
26,146 |
8,542 |
32.7 |
|
NJ |
266,556 |
75,012 |
28.1 |
|
NM |
9,743 |
2,298 |
23.6 |
|
NV |
19,893 |
3,270 |
16.4 |
|
NY |
423,953 |
96,639 |
22.8 |
|
OH |
68,867 |
10,582 |
15.4 |
|
OK |
48,144 |
9,200 |
19.1 |
|
OR |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
PA |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
RI |
18,701 |
3,482 |
18.6 |
|
SC |
45,580 |
5,681 |
12.5 |
|
SD |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TN |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
TX |
171,905 |
23,774 |
13.8 |
|
UT |
29,368 |
5,878 |
20.0 |
|
VA |
68,911 |
12,879 |
18.7 |
|
VT |
10,029 |
2,208 |
22.0 |
|
WA |
72,244 |
6,596 |
9.1 |
|
WI |
11,917 |
2,907 |
24.4 |
|
WV |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
WY |
12,343 |
5,419 |
43.9 |
|
All states with data (n = 40) |
2,528,640 |
496,365 |
19.6 |
*This column includes only people for whom employment status was known at the time of data collection.
Suggested Citation
Wallace, S., & Smith, F. A. (2013). People served in community mental health programs and employment. Data Note Series, Data Note 43. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston, Institute for Community Inclusion.
Acknowledgments
This is a publication of StateData.info, funded in part by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#90DN0295).
1Competitive employment is defined as a community job that any person can apply for, in integrated settings (and in regular contact with workers without disabilities), that pays at least minimum wage.