Case managers' perceptions of consumer work readiness and association with pursuit of employment

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether case managers' perceptions of consumers' work readiness-in the areas of the individual consumer's hygiene, social skills, medication adherence, psychiatric symptoms, and substance use-influence pursuit of employment. METHODS A cross-sectional survey study design was used to assess the role of staff perceptions in consumers' pursuit of employment. A hierarchical generalized linear model with a logit link function was used to analyze data from 1,556 consumers nested within data for 113 case manager caseloads. RESULTS Case managers' perception of work readiness was significantly associated with pursuit of employment. CONCLUSIONS The clients of case managers with less stringent criteria for pursuing employment were more likely to take positive steps toward employment.