Helping Youth on the Path to Employment

Previous controlled trials in mature adult subjects has consistently demonstrated that Supported Employment interventions (i.e., Individual Placement and Supports) elicit benefit for those with mental health conditions in getting and keeping productive work. Similarly, previous research demonstrates that Supported Education has efficacy in helping young adults with mental health conditions in their academics. However, to date, no evidence-based practice exists which combines both supported education and supported employment interventions into a single model that has efficacy and utility for young adults with serious mental health conditions. Supported Education has been fruitful for navigating academics, but hasn't demonstrated efficacy for supporting young adults with their careers, and Supported Employment programs, like IPS, have shown poor efficacy for helping young adults, as it was designed to assist mature adults. Therefore, the HYPE Model will become the first evidence-informed intervention to combine Supported Employment and Supported Education paradigms in an effort to help young adults with mental health conditions successfully navigate college so they can move into a primary labor market career and attain economic self-sufficiency. Furthermore, this study will be employed from within the university setting itself, on the college campus, and will be embedded directly in either Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) (i.e., Office of disability services) or Office of Counseling Services.

Inclusion criteria

• be between 18-30 years of age
• able to speak and read English fluently
• cognitively capable of providing informed consent and participating in study activities;
• enrolled in a minimum of six credits at a campus-based accredited college (two year or four-year programs)
• intending to enroll in a minimum of four semesters of college courses with the expectation of being continuously enrolled
• have had at least one prior academic disruption during a college academic semester - (e.g., withdrawal from postsecondary institutions; academic probation; not meeting satisfactory academic progress; or a prior leave of absence) prior to study enrollment
• currently have a diagnosed mental health condition by a licensed mental health provider under the DSM-V Axis 1 diagnoses (schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, attention deficits and disruptive behavior disorders) or have been deemed eligible for ADA protections due to a disabling mental health condition - (e.g., receiving state vocational agency services, SSI/DI benefits, or postsecondary accommodations).

Exclusion criteria

• have received or are receiving supports consistent with HYPE in the past year;
• have had no impact to academic success in college (i.e. disruption);
• have a secondary autism spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury, or other neurodevelopmental or neurocognitive disorder affecting cognition;
• are currently incarcerated prisoners;
• are unable to speak or read English fluently;
• are under age 18 or require a legal guardian to provide informed consent;
• lack the cognitive capability to provide informed consent on their own