12th Conference EUSE Lisbon 2015

1. “ Improving Diversity through
Supported Employment ”

2. Quality Label for
Supported Employment
(SE) Services
Ervan Rached
hosted by:
In association with:

3. Supported Employment in Switzerland
Initial position
• Longstanding an successful practice of vocational
integration according to SE for psychiatric patients
• More recently: Changes in legislation and policy of the
Swiss social insurance: “Vocational integration instead
of social welfare”
• Increased funding of programmes and measures of
vocational integration
• growing importance of SE as a model for a great diversity
of target groups, such as: disabled people, long-term
unemployed people, migrants, young people (supported
education), people with mental disabilities

4. SE and the consequences of its success
•More organisations from different sectors of vocational
integration are practising SE, or considering the introduction
of SE.
•At the same time: pressure on costs, SE as a model not
sufficiently established, danger of a degradation of the model
SE and of a lowering of standards.

5. Project idea
• What is the understanding of SE in the institutions
practising vocational integration?
• What is SE, what is not?
• Supported Employment Schweiz (SES) as a national
umbrella organisation is expected to give answers.
• Idea of creating a Quality Label for SE Services
• The aim: durable quality assurance for SE services
• Creating a practical evaluation system; “practical” means:
adapted to a diversity of target groups and local and
national peculiarities
• Introduction and dissemination of a Quality Label for SE
Services

6. Pilot study
January - May 2014
• Based on interviews with experts on SE and vocational
integration in Switzerland
• Needs analysis for a SE Quality Label
• Information about quality standards
• Finding of an adequate procedure
Results
• Uncertainty about SE quality standards
• Danger of degradation of the model SE
• Need for practical guidelines and for quality standards
• Recommendation to start the project “Quality Label for SE
Services”

7. The Project “Quality Label for SE Services”
Sources for SE quality standards
•IPS Fidelity Scale
•European Supported Employment Toolkit (EUSE)
•The Project “Quality Label for SE Services- or “the IPS Fidelity
Scale revisited” , i. e. “IPS Fidelity Scale PLUS”
Adapting the criteria of the IPS Fidelity Scale to diverse
target groups-but interventions have to be minimized.
PLUS: Additional Criteria, derived from the European
Supported Employment Toolkit, which are operationalized,
completing the quality labels criteria.

8. Process
3 subsequent Workshops
•Participants: 9 professionals, practising vocational
integration (SE), representing a wide range of target
groups: People with handicaps, psychiatric patients, long
term unemployed people, young people, migrants
•2 project leaders
•3 SE experts as consultants
•Further external experts

9. Revisiting the IPS Fidelity Scale- part 1
• Workshop I
• Which criteria do not apply to other, diverse target groups,
and should be therefore adapted, or omitted?
• Which criteria do not apply to the actual, local context, and
should therefore be adapted, or omitted?
• Workshop II
• Which additions are needed in order to make the
evaluation system applicable to a diversity of target
groups?
• Source for additional criteria: European Supported
Employment Toolkit

10. Revisiting the IPS Fidelity Scale- part 2
• Workshop III and subsequent work
• Reassessment and synthesis of the results of WS I and II
• Creation of a prototype of an evaluation document
• Evaluation of this prototype by experts
• Practical tests (“on road tests”) of the prototype by the
workshop participants within their institutions
• Analysis of the results and finalisation of the new SE
evaluation system

11. IPS Fidelity Scale PLUS
- a glimpse into the
prototype
Service Providers- part 1
•→The NEW level “Service Providers” includes the addition of
reference values, derived from the European Supported
Employment Toolkit (Swiss-German translated version).
•Definition principles and aims of SE, such as: commitment to
competitive employment, “first place, then train”, proactive
process, individualized and long-lasting services,
individuality, respect, self-determination, informed, choice,
empowerment, confidentiality, flexibility, accessibility
•process following the 5 stages of SE
•Sources of evidence: conception

12. IPS Fidelity Scale PLUS
- a glimpse into the
prototype
• Service Providers- part 2
• Service Providers and their self-conception
Service providers have a self-conception that is based on the
principles of SE. They recognise explicitly the
principles of SE as their concept and method and
communicate them to the stakeholders.
Service Providers and specific target groups
They provide a target group specific implementation
concept, respecting the reference model SE.
Specifications are made transparent and are being
explained.
• Sources of evidence: conception

13. IPS Fidelity Scale PLUS
- a glimpse into the
prototype
• Service Providers-part 3
Service Providers –professionalism and quality
• Service Providers dispose structures and resources
meeting the requirements of SE.
• Evidence-based assessment and development of SE
• Yearly management-review – providing the operating
figure and defining the need of action
• Sources of evidence: quality management systems,
management review

14. Staffing- part 1
• Mainly following the IPS Fidelity Scale-but:
• →Additions to “Staffing”: Profile of qualification for job
coaches, with high self- and social competence and
methodological expertise: counselling, assessment, career
planning, data management, training and development,
broad knowledge about social security (law), education,
labour market, acquisition, marketing, negotiation,
mediation
• Practical experience with different fields of functions,
ideally target group specific knowledge
• Importance of a good “team-mix” (target groups)
• Continuous professional training
• Sources of evidence: conception, human resource
strategy, job profiles

15. Staffing- part 2
• Case load
• A maximum of 20 simultaneous cases (annual average
for a 100% operating level)
• One job coach per client for all five stages of SE
• A monthly minimum of six hours spent for/with a client
• For particular tasks- internal or external support is
possible- but:
• Overall responsibility and decision-making power remain
with the job coach.
• The job coach is the attachment figure
• Sources of evidence: conception, internal controlling,
management review

16. Organisation-part 1
• Conceptualised cooperation with all players
• The service provider secures continuous cooperation
(stages, needs) with all players.
• Optimal use of inter-institutional and interdisciplinary
cooperation, and of the cooperation with employers.
• The definition of this cooperation (all relevant aspects
included) is part of the service provider’s conception.
• Sources of evidence: conception, cooperation agreements,
management review

17. Organisation-part 2
• Cooperation within the job coaching team
• Joint consideration, i. e. supervision, discussions within
the team
• Standards are defined in the conception. Structures and
resources to meet them are being provided.

18. Organisation-part 3
• Zero exclusion criteria
• All individuals interested in SE have access to SE stage 1,
“Engagement”…
• but if…
• A funding is not guaranteed
• B lack of working capacity, or vindicabelness
• ...exclusion is possible, with alternative measures being
recommended.

19. Organisation-part 4
• Clarifying work practice
• an extra step may be introduced:
• Clarifying work practice…..if there are doubts about a
client’s working capacity, or vindicabelness
• Indications and general framework must be clearly
defined.
• Coached work practice, preferably in the general labour
market (max. 4 weeks)
• Sources of evidence: conception, written agreements,
statistics, collection of alternative measures, management
review

20. Services- part 1
• Introductory practice
• an extra step may be introduced:
• introductory practice (“a first glimpse”) during stages 2
and 3 of SE, i. e. during “vocational profile” and “job
development”
• in the general labour market only
• clear indications, defined in the conception
• Duration: not more than 3 days
• No payment required
• Sources of evidence: conception, practice agreements
(between all players), statistics, management review

21. Services- part 2
• Operative practice
• Operative practice duration: up to 3 months
• in case, a permanent employment may be expected: up
to 6 months
• An operative practice must be paid by a regular,
performance-linked wage.

22. Services- part 3
• Job search and starting work
• Job search must be initiated within one month (stage 3,
“Job development”) after the action plan agreement (stage
2, “Vocational Profile”).
• Any conceptual divergence has to be described and
explained.
• Job coaches need the clients approval (from stage 3 on)
to contact the employer.

23. Services- part 4
• The service provider’s strategic aim is long-term
employment in the general labour market.
• Exceptions: Practices (clarifying work practice,
introductory practice, operational practice)
• No fixed term employments of less than 6 months are
accepted. Clients with fixed term employments are
proactively supported by the job coach to find a solution.
• In case of job loss- support by the job coach, if desired by
the client.
• Sources of evidence: conception, assessment of
employment sustainability, , statistics, management review

24. Services- part 5
• Sustainability of vocational integration by operative and
external support
• SE provider promotes the sustainability of vocational
integration, i. e.: preservation of employment and
vocational development
• First year of employment: min. 6 contacts between job
coach and client (job coach initiated)
• Second to fifth year of employment: one interview per
year, assessment of the integration’s sustainability
• If asked by the client, or the employer, the job coach
becomes active.

25. The Project Quality label for SE Services
Work in progress
Ongoing practical tests of the current prototype-
leading to a finalized prototype (Summer 2015).
The future label will monitor the observance of MINIMUM
STANDARDS of SE for a diversity of target groups,
answering the question: “Is it Supported Employment-
YES/NO?”
It is not an evaluation, like the IPS Fidelity Scale,
answering the question “How well is SE practised”?

26. Obrigadissimo!
Thank you!
Quality Label for Supported Employment (SE) Services
a project by
Swiss national organisation for
Supported Employment
Project team: Claudio Spadarotto, Ervan Rached (project managers); Annelies
Debrunner, Marco Dörig, Hans-Ulrich Nydegger (consultants)