Employment outcome for individuals with psychiatric disabilities has been a focus of empirical research over the past decade or so. The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature on the association between demographic and diagnostic factors and employment outcome, and to conduct meta analyses of the results of studies that report the association between these variables. Seventeen studies were included in these meta analyses. Results of the meta analyses tended to corroborate most of the significant findings found in the literature review. The authors review some of the issues for the meta-analyst interested in synthesizing research findings on employment outcome, including the challenges and limitations encountered in the published research currently available.

This article presents information on the characteristics and postschool outcomes of youth who participated in the Marriott Foundation's Bridges... from school to work internship program at seven national sites from 1993 to 1997. A comprehensive database of 3,024 participants was analyzed to determine the extent to which participant and programmatic variables predict post-school employment status at 6, 12, and 18 month follow-up intervals. Neither gender, race, or primary disability made a significant difference in employment status at six months post-internship. Work behaviors during the internship were highly predictive of postschool employment at 6 and 12 month follow-up intervals. A disparity between disability groups and racial categories was noted in post-school employment rates the further out from school exit. The implications of this program model and these findings for future research and practice are discussed.

Children and youths are being raised by grandparents in greater numbers than would be expected by choice or by chance. These new households represent a transfer of child‐rearing responsibilities from an absent or incapacitated parent to an older adult who could also be at risk for disability. This article discusses the implications of this trend for the helping professions, particularly as they apply to interventions required to assure the mental and physical stability of both grandparent and child.

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Allison Waterworth, a former supported employment specialist with the Back-To-Work Program of St. Luke's House, is currently pursuing her Psy.D. in Counseling at F.I.T. Booth Ripke is Supervisor of Transition Services at St.

This study examined predictors of postsecondary school success by analyzing a 5‐year database of 2,258 students with disabilities participating in the Marriott Foundation's “Bridges…from school to work” internship programs at 6 national sites. Discriminant analysis revealed that acceptance of a job offer was predicted by internship completion, numbers of hours worked, and days absent during the internship. Internship completion and acceptance of a job offer were predictive of follow‐up employment status. The implications of these findings for future research and practice with work‐bound students with disablilities are considered.

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Although postsecondary employment outcomes for transition-age youth with disabilities have improved over the past decade, minority youth with disabilities continue to lag behind their peers in achieving a job. This study of predominantly minority youth participating in the Marriott Foundation's Bridges From School to Work Program from 2000 to 2005 analyzed data for 4,571 urban youth to determine what factors are associated with securing employment, and the nature of the jobs that are secured. Findings indicated that 68% of the youth in the program secured a job, a rate considerably higher than the national average. Results of the study also indicate that gender, previous vocational experience, and receipt of Social Security benefits were among the significant factors predicting employment.