Identifying Barrriers to Employment After SUD Treatment

• identifies barriers to accessing good jobs with sustained employment for individuals with a history of SUD and discusses barriers by sector as well as highlights the behavioral health workforce, including the publicly-funded SUD treatment sector;
• makes recommendations that will inform both public awareness and public discourse about the need to focus efforts on the services, opportunities and models that support sustained recovery, namely good jobs that can help lift families and provide opportunities for career paths;
• identifies the unique needs and challenges that individuals living with SUD experience as they seek employment and strive to secure good jobs;
  and
• identifies employers’ perspectives of workforce needs and the barriers they face in recruiting, hiring, and retaining employees with SUD histories.

The JOBs project was funded through a grant from CA EDGE, whose focus is on improving California’s system of workforce education and training and removing the serious barriers that prevent so many Californians from getting the skills they need to succeed in the labor market.