Costs of operating a supported work program for traumatically brain-injured individuals

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of costs associated with a return-to-work program emphasizing a supported employment approach for persons who had sustained severe traumatic brain injuries. This analysis spans almost three years. Results indicated that a mean of 237.8 hours of staff intervention time was required to achieve job stabilization, at a cost of +6896. Ongoing follow-along and support services averaged 1.64 hours per week at a cost of +47.56. Over 68% of total staff time and costs were expended in job-site training and advocacy efforts. Application of these findings to state-level and agency-level policies should be weighed against individual characteristics and needs of clients, program design, and outcomes which clients achieve as a result of services.