ABSTRACT
The events that led to the collaboration between the human services agency and the community colleges in San Mateo County are a mixture of legislative and agency-based circumstances. In the 1980s, the initiation of community-based care led the California State Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of Rehabilitation (DR) to develop partnerships to ensure that individuals with psychiatric illnesses were given appropriate supports to gain employment and rehabilitation. However, a study conducted by the DMH/DR’s Cooperative Programs and BEST (Building Employment Service Team) networks revealed a lack of trained staff to aid in such job placement and retention efforts.
