Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is one of 72 programs currently available at Family & Children’s Services (FCS), and according to Alicia Wells, FCS Program Supervisor for what is the largest IPS team in the state, “IPS is for everyone.” Considering the fact that FCS’s IPS program has helped literally thousands of individuals pursue their education and career goals – goals they may never have been able to reach otherwise – she seems to be onto something.
IPS, Individual Placement and Support, is an evidence-based, best practice, high fidelity approach to obtaining and retaining employment and education. IPS is embedded within all the adult outpatient programs at FCS, and all clients have an employment specialist who helps them with employment and education needs. FCS’s IPS program continues to grow and evolve both internally, adding new staff and two new supervisors since the beginning of 2024, and externally, adding new clients and employers to their cadre of stakeholders. The IPS staff has grown from three employees in 2019 to 20 in 2024. This growth comes as a direct result of a significant increase in client load, from 60 clients in 2019 to up to 500 clients in 2024, and around 70% of current clients are employed or in school. Wells hopes that she and her team of Employment Specialists “work ourselves out of a job” in the program’s pursuit to empower clients with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the job market.
While job placement is a key function of IPS, services are not about merely pointing unknown clients to unvetted jobs. At FCS, IPS Employment Specialists engage with clients personally to find out what their dream jobs are and what their career goals are as well as their interests, aptitudes, skills, and abilities. They then provide a highly personalized placement recommendation to employers with the intention of initiating a rewarding tenure that is fulfilling to both employee and employer and that maintains not merely a minimum wage but a livable wage.
Employment Specialists are the key to creating a satisfying dynamic between employee and employer. Beyond merely reviewing career sites and making job placements, Employment Specialists help clients write and edit resumes. They facilitate mock interviews, help clients obtain clothing for interviews, and help clients get the job-related supplies they need (e.g., welding masks, boots, etc.). They also work with employers, visiting potential job sites, assessing company culture, and determining the specific needs and wants of Tulsa-based companies.
“Everything is individualized,” says Wells – a truth that is made evident in the detailed assessments clients are asked to complete during their first session with their Employment Specialists. Inadvertently, the concept of “individualized service” also extends to the employers with which IPS works. Employers who choose to work with IPS have a good idea of the nature and character of those whom they hire even before they come on board since employers have already been able to have multiple conversations with Employment Specialists about their potential new hires. Employers can make more educated decisions about new hires, and, in times of need, employers have an advocate in IPS.
While IPS’s placement and support services are critical for job seekers – especially for those with serious mental illnesses and disabilities – IPS provides so much MORE than just vocational direction. The program also supports clients in their educational pursuits, helping people with student aid forms, helping with enrollment, reviewing degree sheets, helping position people to finance their schooling, helping with education-to-career goals, advocating with schools and teachers, participating in IEP meetings, and even helping clients pay for GED exams.
Wells says that the only criteria for becoming involved in FCS’s IPS program is “interest.” The program is specifically designed for people who need intensive services, and clients must be willing to meet with their Employment Specialists each week. Clients may be active in psychosis or addiction – IPS works in tandem with therapists and clinicians at FCS for a more whole-person approach to care. This approach also helps inform decisions of fit and appropriateness of specific jobs for specific clients.
After having worked in inpatient settings for 5 years, Wells concludes that she is particularly happy to now be leading FCS’s IPS program. “It’s all the fun things about case management,” she says, from getting to know clients better in an environment that allows for substantial interactions to engaging in her community and making “real connections” both internally and externally.
Learn more about how IPS has positively impacted the Tulsa community in IPS Broadens Clients’ Horizons.
Meet IPS’s New Supervisors
As the IPS program continues to grow, the program’s management has necessarily grown with it. Enter: Jessica Lucero and Joe Michela. These two new supervisors have what IPS Program Supervisor, Alicia Wells, calls a “yin and yang” partnership. Both were internal hires – they both shifted to their current supervisory roles in February 2024 – and both are taking an active role in the program’s evolution.
Jessica has already made her mark in the program, lending a discerning eye and skillfully placing clients at locations that simply fit both the client and the employer. She often interfaces with employers personally, on their turf, in order to better understand potential employment culture with the goal of informing placement decisions.
Joe, a former IPS Employment Specialist, is very familiar with IPS processes. Like Jessica, Joe is not satisfied to merely sit at a desk. He is frequently out in the community building relationships with community partners and engaging employers to advocate for IPS clients.
Both Jessica and Joe are aligned in their goals to strengthen the Tulsa community, engage personally with local employers, and learn from employers what IPS and its clients can do better. Then, they go back to treatment teams at FCS with insights that help team leaders provide FCS clients with a holistic, individualized experience. MORE than simple job placement and MORE than therapy in isolation, FCS administers whole-person care with the help of programs like IPS and talented supervisors like Jessica and Joe.
