Project Lead Center
Ohio Regional Traumatic Brain Injury Model System
Project Start Date
10/01/2007
Project End Date
06/30/2011
Target Population(s)
Individuals with TBI and substance use disorders who are receiving supported employment services in an integrated treatment program.

The purpose of this project is to determine if deficits in decision making are associated with outcomes at 3, 6, and 12 months after initiation of supported employment services. While supported employment has generally been found to be an effective approach for most populations, unqualified effectiveness with all persons with TBI has not been found. It is possible that decision-making processes may influence effectiveness. If so, knowledge of an individual's decision-making processes could potentially assist the employment specialist in adapting the service to the individual. The original project protocol was a RCT of a financial incentive intervention administered during the first month of employment. Participants were individuals with TBI receiving supported employment services as a component of a substance abuse treatment program. Unfortunately, due in a large part to the poor economy, it has not been possible to recruit a sufficient number of subjects who have been able to find work; it is clear that we will not be able to accrue a sufficient sample to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. For this reason, we have deferred the completion of the intervention portion of the study. The intervention portion may be continued at a later date, if the economy improves sufficiently, funding is available, and the state of the science at that time continues to support the need for the study.