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News
Vocational Services Program Reports Record
Success
For more
information, contact Kate Hutchinson at: 530-758-2160
DAVIS, CA - January 31, 2003: Yolo Community Care Continuum's Vocational Services Program successfully placed more clients in jobs during 2002 than in any other year of its 22-year history. This year marked the highest job retention rate as well. The YCCC Vocational Services Program works with clients experiencing a mental illness to help them find and keep jobs in the community. Jobs range from truck driving to sales, janitorial services and clerical work.
In 2002 the program provided employment services to 80 clients, many of whom were clients in this program for two years or more. Twenty-five clients were placed in the program's supported employment positions for the first time in 2002, and 84% of those hired had successfully retained their jobs at year-end.
Also in 2002 the Vocational Services Program started its AB344 Program to provide employment services in West Sacramento for homeless persons experiencing a mental illness.
The program's staff provides basic training, finds job openings, develops collaborative arrangements with employers, assists clients with resumes and interview skills, and then provides any coaching needed to help clients retain their new jobs. Each placement is specifically designed to meet the needs of a particular client. Follow-up assistance is also provided to ensure that employment is successful over the long term. The Vocational Services Program even runs its own small business, Proclean, a janitorial service contracting with many businesses and office buildings in Yolo County.
"We have wonderful employers to work with, as well as great job developers and job coaches," said Vocational Services Program Director Jeff Burnham. "Ultimately, this success is a result of their skills and the clients' determination to achieve their goals."
The list of local employers helped make 2002 such a successful year included Strelitzia Flower Company. "We have been involved with the Vocational Services for a long time," said Strelitzia Flower Company owner Dean Labadie. "We even have one employee who has been with us for seven or eight years,"
Mervyn's is another business that hires employees through the Vocational Services Program. Store Team Leader Jim Dawidczik commented, "The benefits of this program include getting someone for a specific time period, someone we can count on to be loyal to their job. We are often able to carve out a job with specific tasks appropriate for that employee. And we are able to fulfill one of our key objectives, which is to form local partnerships as a neighborhood store within the community."
Another organization working closely with the program is United Way of Woodland. "We contract with ProClean for their janitorial services," commented United Way of Woodland Executive Director Pamela Vargas. "We've had a wonderful experience with the services of ProClean, and they have done an outstanding job."
All Things Right and Relevant (R & R Thrift) also provides employment opportunities through the YCCC Vocational Services Progam. President Ruth Shumway said, "We are proud of our employment relationship with Vocational Services, in particular of the longevity of our employees. Some employees have been with us for as long as five years."
The Vocational Services Program is based in Davis, and includes weekly job clubs (support services) in West Sacramento and Woodland as well. and Davis. Support groups focus on topics such as work options, training, and work-related behaviors, and co-worker relationships. Also available are peer support groups in which the peer support workers receive advocacy and on-going support services from the Vocational Services Program team.
The YCCC Vocational Services Program is certified by the State Department of Rehabilitation and by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Funding is provided by a variety of sources, including the United Way of Woodland. Individuals may be referred to Vocational Services through the Yolo County Department of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services or the State Department of Rehabilitation. The criteria for admission are a psychiatric diagnosis of mental illness and a desire to work.
About Yolo
Community Care Continuum (YCCC):
YCCC is a non-profit agency that has been providing a continuum of community-based
care for county's residents with mental illness for over 20 years. Clients
receive the counseling and advocacy services they need to stabilize their
conditions, and then learn how to manage their illnesses in order to return
to their homes in the community. YCCC offers a continuum of care that
extends from crisis care services to supported housing and supported employment.
YCCC was founded by a group of parents who wanted a home-like environment for their young adult children who had been diagnosed with mental illnesses too severe to be cared for at home. They envisioned a place where their children would receive professional and compassionate treatment in the community where they grew up, where families could remain together, and their children could live as productive a life as possible. The services developed became a statewide model of mental health care, the Yolo Community Care Continuum.
For more information on YCCC, interested parties are invited to call YCCC Vocational Services Program Director Jeff Burnham, or YCCC Executive Director Kate Hutchinson, at (530) 758-2160.