Drug and alcohol use as barriers to employment : a review of the literature

This report contains the findings of a literature review commissioned as part of a larger research project concerned with estimating the number of drug and alcohol users in private households in Britain and with identifying their barriers to work. The literature and programme review found few examples of employment service programmes for substance users and even fewer, which had been evaluated. All support programmes combined employment with treatment services, either through external linkages or internal provision. Successful programmes were found to have established a high level of inter-agency co-ordination, collaboration and communication, thus generating a climate of trust between support service providers as well as between providers and substance users. Employment service providers had in-depth knowledge of drug- or alcohol-related issues (health, behaviour etc.), as well as close links with the local labour market. Support for substance users involved one-to-one case management, continuity of support after placement, relapse prevention and referrals to other support services (e.g. benefits/financial; childcare; transport). Successful support dealt with a range of personal and perceptual problems that substance users articulated, including the risk of a profound distrust between users and support workers. Support work benefited from workers skilled in developing users’ social and communication skills as well as their confidence and assertiveness. Flexibility and diversity of support (e.g. financial advice) and the development of realistic short- and medium-term goals were critical to successful intervention. Organisational and spatially integrated provision of treatment and employment services appeared to increase the effectiveness of interventions providing they improved mutual understanding and the referral of substance users between task groups. Such integration enabled greater continuity of one-to-one support and thus improved the rapport between clients and service providers

Earnings Top-up : staff views

Background The Department of Social Security introduced Earnings Top-up (ETU) on a pilot basis in October 1996. ETU was an income-related, in-work benefit. It aimed to encourage single people and couples without dependent children to take up work or stay in work of 16 hours a week or more. The pilot ran for three years in eight areas: four received Scheme A ETU at a lower rate; and four matched areas received Scheme B ETU at a higher rate. Four additional matched control areas did not receive ETU. The areas covered four different types of labour market. ETU was operated in the pilot areas through Benefits Agency (BA) and Employment Service (ES) offices, and was centrally processed and administered by the BA in liaison with ES. The design of the evaluation of the pilot integrated three complementary approaches: two quantitative impact studies conducted by the Institute for Employment Research (IER) and the Policy Studies Institute (PSI), and a process evaluation using qualitative methods carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP). Staff panels of BA and ES staff were held each year in the eight pilot areas and the central administration unit. Reports on earlier meetings were published in an Interim Report (Vincent et al 2000). This is the report on the third round of meetings held early in 1999, it also makes comparisons with the meetings earlier in the pilot

Evaluation of Education Maintenance Allowance Pilots : Leeds and London first year evidence

This report refers to findings from the first year of the EMA pilot in Leeds and London, which was September 1999 to August 2000

Drug and alcohol use as barriers to employment : final report

Part of the government’s strategy for ‘Tackling drug misuse’ is to assist ‘people who have graduated from drug treatment programmes into the labour market’ (UKDAC, n.d., p.26). In June 2002, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the Centre for Research in Social Policy to undertake a study of the support needs of substance users, including drug, alcohol and drug and alcohol users, in Britain. The study also sought to estimate the number, and describe the demographic and socio-economic characteristics, of substance users who are claiming social security benefits and living in private households

Drug and alcohol use as barriers to employment : a review of the literature

This report contains the findings of a literature review commissioned as part of a larger research project concerned with estimating the number of drug and alcohol users in private households in Britain and with identifying their barriers to work. The literature and programme review found few examples of employment service programmes for substance users and even fewer, which had been evaluated. All support programmes combined employment with treatment services, either through external linkages or internal provision. Successful programmes were found to have established a high level of inter-agency co-ordination, collaboration and communication, thus generating a climate of trust between support service providers as well as between providers and substance users. Employment service providers had in-depth knowledge of drug- or alcohol-related issues (health, behaviour etc.), as well as close links with the local labour market. Support for substance users involved one-to-one case management, continuity of support after placement, relapse prevention and referrals to other support services (e.g. benefits/financial; childcare; transport). Successful support dealt with a range of personal and perceptual problems that substance users articulated, including the risk of a profound distrust between users and support workers. Support work benefited from workers skilled in developing users’ social and communication skills as well as their confidence and assertiveness. Flexibility and diversity of support (e.g. financial advice) and the development of realistic short- and medium-term goals were critical to successful intervention. Organisational and spatially integrated provision of treatment and employment services appeared to increase the effectiveness of interventions providing they improved mutual understanding and the referral of substance users between task groups. Such integration enabled greater continuity of one-to-one support and thus improved the rapport between clients and service providers

Disability in the workplace : employers' and service providers' responses to the DDA in 2003 and preparation for 2004 changes

This research explores how employers and service providers are responding to both previous and forthcoming provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995. This report presents findings based on around 2000 telephone interviews and case studies of 38 employers and service providers. Both the telephone survey and the case studies focused on the workplace rather than the overall organisation, although managers at Head Office were also interviewed for the case studies. By focusing on the local workplace rather than the overall organisation it was possible to talk to line managers rather than HR specialists at Head Office and get at actual practice rather than policy. The research was carried out by the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University, with the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB)