- Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
Boston/Roxbury — Jonathan Delman, PhD, JD, an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a Stoneham Mass. resident, has been awarded a highly competitive 2019 Switzer Distinguished Research Fellowship. The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) awards only two of these $80,000 fellowships annually, and will fund Dr. Delman’s research to understand and address racial disparities in the delivery of employment and education services to young adult African Americans with mental illnesses. For this study, Dr. Delman and his team will conduct open ended interviews with 34 Black young adults in Massachusetts who have used vocational support services, and will hold focus groups with several vocational services teams.
The problem is serious-- Blacks with mental illnesses who are receiving vocational services are less likely to attain successful jobs outcomes than Whites. Young adulthood (ages 18–30) is when mental illnesses are most likely to emerge, including diagnoses of bipolar disorder, major depression, and schizophrenia; and Blacks are disproportionately represented in this group. However, people of color with disabilities are less likely to be accepted for vocational services than Whites, and if accepted for services are less likely to receive training and have their cases closed successfully. Blacks, including young adults, have felt that jobs suggested by vocational counselors do not fit their skill sets and that counselors fail to consider race relations with employers in preparing them for work. Black young adults with mental illnesses are further hampered in their vocational quest by poverty, discrimination, and court involvement.
Dr. Delman is himself a person who lives with a serious mental illness, having struggled as a young person through transition to adulthood. He attributes a great deal of his mental health recovery to his finding work as a researcher and evaluator 20 years ago. According to Dr. Delman “There are significant disparities in both the delivery and outcomes of vocational services in favor of Whites over Blacks. This is not necessarily the result of counselors’ intent to discriminate, but instead counselors’ unconscious bias, stereotyping Blacks as not having the sense of responsibility and capability necessary to find and hold a job… There is also systemic discrimination through which societal realities such as low performing urban schools and laws that tend to criminalize Black people impede the efforts of Black young adults to work and go to school.
The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health has supported Dr. Delman in his efforts. According to Commissioner Joan Mikula: “Jon was talking and thinking and studying the young adult population 20 years ago before it became a cohort for specific focus. His deep understanding of individuals with mental illness, coupled with his academic/research background, has enabled us to focus on practical interventions to improve employment outcomes for young adults.”
Dr. Delman emphasizes the need for research that identifies the mental health service preferences of particular populations [e.g., racial/ethnic, age], in order to identify which services will be responsive to their needs. “Employment is critical to recovery and living independently, the goals of most people with mental illnesses. Listening to people with mental illness about their particular needs has led to the development of better interventions that lead to greater health outcomes.”
More Information
Contact Jonathan Delman
Email: jondelman@comcast.net
Phone: 617-877-4148
Funding source: National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research grant 90SFGE0001
About Switzer Research Fellowship Program
The purpose of the Switzer Research Fellow Program is to build research capacity by providing support to highly qualified individuals, including those with disabilities, to perform research on rehabilitation, independent living, and other experiences and outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Distinguished Fellowships require an individual must have seven or more years of research experience in subject areas, methods, or techniques relevant to disability and rehabilitation research and must have a doctorate, other terminal degree, or comparable academic qualifications.
About Dr. Delman
Jonathan Delman, PhD, JD, is an Assistant Research professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Transitions to Adulthood Research Center (ACR), and Vocational Specialist at the SPOT Young Adult and First episode programs in Boston. At the Transitions ACR, Dr. Delman conducts research and development on vocational and peer services, and oversees technical assistance on these topics. Dr. Delman was recently awarded by NIDILRR Switzer Distinguished Fellowship to coordinate a study on the vocational preferences of African American young adults with mental health conditions. He is a 2008 winner of a Robert Wood Johnson Health Leadership award for advancing the quality of care for young adults with mental illnesses.
Dr. Delman is himself a person with lived experience of mental illness and first episode treatment, as well as an advocate and participatory action researcher who believes that research should meet the expressed needs of the community and directly impact policy and practice. Relevant recent papers/guides include: Effectively Employing Young Adult Peer Providers: A Toolkit, Factors Supporting the Employment of Young Adult Peer Providers: Perspectives of Peers and Supervisors, Facilitators and Barriers to the Active Participation of Clients with Serious Mental Illnesses in Medication Decision, and Employment and Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions: Increasing Employment and Career Opportunities.
