A review of supported employment services for people with mental disabilities in Hong Kong

Background: Before 1993, vocational rehabilitation services in HongKong mainly adopted a prevocational training approach at the outset, before placing people with disabilities in competitive employment. In order to improve outcomes, particularly the rates of employment and job retention, supported employment (SE) was introduced and later endorsed by the Rehabilitation Development Coordinating Committee in 1995. Objective: SE is a vocational rehabilitation method based on the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model. It promotes high levels of integration with the clinical team to help people with disabilities obtain and maintain community-based competitive employment in their chosen occupation. Methods: This paper presents a review of literature on supported employment services for people with mental disabilities in Hong Kong and the growth since its development. Results: Results of local studies provide evidence that SE, although originally developed in the United States, is generalizable to Hong Kong. Conclusion: This article describes the development of SE in Hong Kong and the challenges of implementing it in a local context. Finally, it presents ideas for the future direction of SE in Hong Kong.