The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of Supported Employment (SE) is an evidence-based practice that leads to successful employment outcomes for people with serious mental illness. Customized Employment (CE) represents the evolution of supported employment as a strategy to also facilitate employment outcomes for people with the most significant disabilities. Interagency Collaboration is another strategy that facilitates successful employment outcomes for people with the most significant disabilities as demonstrated by research. The literature indicates that supported employment (IPS and CE) services along with interagency collaboration are practices that increase the employment outcomes for individuals with the most significant disabilities. However, the practical application and implementation of these three services/practices is limited in the Southern region of the United States. This study looked at the perceptions held by and practices used by mental health and other rehabilitation professionals regarding the employment of individuals with serious mental illness at two sites in Alabama.Results of this study provide a rich description of the sample as well as the participants' knowledge of IPS. A statistically significant association was identified for acceptance, support and value of an employment specialist among mental health team members, and a statistically significant relationship between responses for perceptions and practices of mental health professionals related to the employment of people with serious mental illness.iii Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge and express my sincere gratitude to my committee members -

Post-school outcomes are measured by how successful students are integrating into their communities as productive citizens. Halpern's [10] "quality-of-life" transition outcomes were examined in this study using a mixed method research design of quantitative and qualitative measures. This study investigated a post-school outcomes survey administered in a southeastern state for the academic years 2003-2006 of former students who received special education services while in high school. The majority of the participants who provided data for both the survey and focus group methodologies had high incidence disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, mental retardation, and emotional disturbance). Results from each data analysis method supported the findings of the other and each method contributed to the understanding of quality-of-life attainment as perceived by participants. Overall, the results of this mixed methods study illustrate that the use of focus group methodology compliments the post-school outcomes survey results by revealing the many reasons for participants' responses by answering how and why questions.

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In this study, the authors investigate the perceptions of general educators, special educators, and school counselors on the topic of overrepresentation of minorities (specifically, African American) in special education programs. The study took place in a rural school district in south central Alabama, where overrepresentation of African American students in the category of mental retardation had been identified as a chronic problem by the Alabama State Department of Education. Participants took part in focus groups that were held separately for each identified group (e.g., general educators: n = 5; special educators: n = 4; and school counselors: n = 4). Qualitative data collected from the focus groups were examined using content analysis, resulting in the identification of multiple overlapping themes related to overrepresentation. These themes included a lack of family involvement, misinterpretation of assessment results, a lack of understanding of overrepresentation, and unclear ideas about disability characteristics. Findings from the data include a discussion of variables related to systematic bias and susceptibility to disability labeling. Implications for professional development and educator training are presented.