UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the lead agency for the Continuum of Care, is preparing a local funding application that will leverage the greatest resources for the New Orleans community and is seeking project sponsors for a Supported Employment Initiative.
The full RFP announcement is available at this link: UNITY RFP 19-1 Supported Employment
The primary focus of this RFP will be the integration of supported employment for clients being served in existing PSH and RRH programs to assist homeless persons to obtain and maintain employment income, thereby assisting the goal of housing stability. All participants will be individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. Eligible programs must be participants in the CoC Coordinated Entry System. The service provider will be responsible for hiring and maintaining staff who will use evidence-based practices for supported employment.
UNITY is seeking 2-4 project sponsors to serve 15-60 clients at any moment with supported employment services. Project sponsors must agree to:
- Hire staff within 45 days of project start date.
- Staff and supervisor complete supported employment training.
- Attend mandatory meetings and trainings to reinforce the evidence-based practices.
- Timely complete and submit client assessments and reassessments (GPRA) as required by SAMHSA.
- Implement a sustainability plan to transition the project to other funding sources within four years of project start date.
- Increase employment of participants to reach over 50% employment rate.
- Achieve successful employment outcomes within 3-6 months of client enrollment.
If awarded through SAMHSA, project activities are expected to begin September 30, 2019 and end September 29, 2024.
Proposals must be submitted by noon, April 18, 2019 to proposals@unitygno.org.
Questions about the RFP should be sent to Valerie Coffin, Director of CoC Programs vcoffin@unitygno.org or 504-821-4496 x112.
FAQs:
What is the definition of Serious Emotional Disturbance?
Here is a SAMHSA webpage that provides additional guidance https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disorders
What is Supported Employment?
Supported Employment is an approach for people with serious mental illnesses that emphasizes helping them obtain competitive work in the community and providing the supports necessary to ensure their success in the workplace. The philosophy of Supported Employment is the believe that every person with a serious mental illness is capable of working competitively in the community. Rather than trying to sculpt consumers into becoming “perfect workers” through extensive pre-vocational assessment and training, consumers are offered help finding and keeping jobs that capitalize on their personal strengths and motivation. Employment supports are integrated with mental health services and include follow-along supports after employment is obtained.
https://store.samhsa.gov/product/supported-employment-evidence-based-practices-ebp-kit/sma08-4365
https://store.samhsa.gov/system/files/buildingyourprogram-se.pdf