Workforce participation of parents of children and youth with mental health difficulties: the impact of community services and supports

ABSTRACT

This study explored the effects of demands related to caring for children and youth with mental health difficulties and of resources in community ecologies including health services, schools, neighborhoods, and social supports, on parental workforce participation. Through secondary analysis of U.S. data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, we found that when children’s mental health issues were more severe, parents experienced frustration with their ability to get services and spent more time providing health care, they were less likely to be employed. Community factors were critical: employed parents reported more frequent contact from the school system, and fewer days that their child missed school. When family members spent more time providing and arranging for health care, were frustrated in their attempts to get services, and reported children missing more school, they cut back their work hours or stopped working. We concluded that parent workforce disengagement patterns were related to demands of exceptional care and to the lack of available community resources. As employers struggle to retain talented workforces, the diversity of employees raising a child or youth with a disabling health condition must be acknowledged, and community supports strengthened.

KEYWORDS:

• Community resources
• disability
• exceptional care
• life course fit
• health care
• mental health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Claudia Sellmaier is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington Tacoma. Dr Sellmaier’s research focuses on economic stability and work life fit at the intersection of gender and disability.

Lisa M. Stewart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at California State University Monterey Bay.

Eileen M. Brennan is a Research Professor of Social Work at Portland State University and is affiliated with the Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures, Regional Research Institute for Human Services.

Additional information

Funding

The research and preparation of this manuscript were supported by a grant from the National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, and from the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services [NIDILRR grant 90RT5030]. The views expressed in the article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.