Evidence-based supported employment
Evidence-based supported employment (EBSE - also known as individual placement and support or IPS) involves an employment consultant providing intensive, individual support to help people find paid employment. Support for both the employee and employer is provided for as long as it’s needed.
EBSE is not a rigid model; instead it calls for flexibility, creativity and customised approaches by employment consultants, using principles validated by rigorous research.
Blueprint's EBSE learning and development programmes
Our EBSE facilitators have been trained by Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Centre and continue to work alongside Dartmouth and Dr Geoffrey Waghorn of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research to stay at the forefront of developments in evidence-based supported employment.
We offer the following employment courses.
- Employment as a Health Intervention - two-hour seminar introducing the theory and principles behind EBSE.
- Evidence Based Supported Employment 1 - one-day interactive training workshop where learners are encouraged to develop an individual actionplan to implement their learning from the workshop within their own workplace.
- Evidence Based Supported Employment 2 - interactive training workshop focused on supporting learners to improve their skills in working with individuals using the EBSE philosophy.
We also offer a range of employment EBSE workshops tailored to suit the needs of your business. Please contact Miranda Lintott for more information.
EBSE fidelity review
A fidelity review is a quality improvement review which assesses practice against the evidence-base and makes recommendations for service improvements. It is only through conducting a fidelity review that it is possible to determine if the clinical team and employment team are working together to implement the eight principles of evidence-based supported employment.
A fidelity review consists of two experienced reviewers visiting the agency/agencies for two days to observe practice, understand processes and talk to the key staff involved in the delivery of the supported employment service including service users/clients. It is strengths based, aimed at understanding how a programme can better align with practices that work to deliver better outcomes.
What happens during a fidelity review?
A fidelity review uses the standardised fidelity scale, developed by Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, which has been specifically adapted for Australia and New Zealand.
A trained Blueprint for Learning fidelity reviewer will visit your service over several days and talk to staff and clients. A snapshot will be captured of the current practices they observe and what they actually see evidence of, as opposed to what is intended or planned for the future. The reviewer will talk to everyone involved in the service, such as the:
- clients/service users (and families if appropriate)
- clinicians in the clinical team
- employment consultant who works with that team.
The reviewer will then collate his or her findings into a report, with comments from the service, and allocated a fidelity score. Detailed feedback about the service will be provided.
The fidelity scale, as a tool for development, can and should be incorporated into a service's regular processes of internal review including supervision of employment consultants. A service actively using the fidelity scale on a regular basis is likely to score more highly in a fidelity review. Research shows that higher fidelity EBSE services deliver better employment outcomes. Best practice recommends a fidelity review occurs annually.
For more information
For workshop dates or more information on Blueprint’s evidence-based supported employment training and the fidelity review please contact Miranda Lintott.