Employment Support
Work That Fits Your Life. Support Beyond the First Day.
FCS · SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT
Work That Fits.
Support That Stays.
Your interests set the direction. Support can continue beyond the job offer.
Explore Employment Support ↗Your Interests
The kind of work you want to pursue.
Your Strengths
The skills and experience you bring.
Your Next Step
A practical plan for the search and beyond.
YOUR PATH THROUGH SUPPORT
Explore
Identify goals and the work that fits your life.
Connect
Applications, interviews and employer relationships.
Keep Growing
Workplace problem-solving and follow-along support.
WHAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARD
Meaningful Work and Greater Employment Stability.
Your goals shape the journey. Steps can overlap or change, and progress looks different for each person.
Start with What You Want from Work
Your interests, strengths and experience belong at the center of a job search. DHR’s FCS Case Managers help you explore possibilities and work through barriers to employment, whether you are returning to work, looking for a different direction or trying to keep a job through a difficult period.
From a Goal to Everyday Work
- Explore a direction: identify the kinds of work, schedule and setting that fit your goals.
- Build the search: work on résumés, applications and interviews, and make connections with employers.
- Plan for access: discuss transportation, workplace support needs and other practical barriers.
- Stay supported: address challenges after hiring, develop routines and work on job retention. Employer contact and disclosure are discussed with you.
- Understand the questions: get help finding benefits information and appropriate benefits-planning resources before making decisions about work and income.
The IPS Principles Behind FCS Employment
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) focuses on ordinary paid jobs in the community, chosen around a person’s preferences, with support during the search and after hiring. It avoids requiring a person to prove they are ready through lengthy preparation before pursuing work. DHR’s employment policies use IPS principles to guide services.
Learning from Our Practice
DHR participated in a baseline employment fidelity review in 2026. We are using that review to strengthen how employment services are delivered and documented. Fidelity measures how closely practice follows the model; it is different from an employment outcome or a guarantee of results.
Who May Qualify
FCS supported employment is for eligible Apple Health (Medicaid) participants age 16 and older with qualifying health needs and employment-related risk factors. Assessment and authorization are required. Wanting a job or having Medicaid alone does not automatically establish eligibility. A Case Manager can help explain the process.
Connect with the Employment Team
Services are available across Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Thurston and Mason counties, subject to eligibility and current capacity. Start an FCS referral and tell us about the work you want to pursue. If housing is also a concern, ask about both FCS services.
FCS funds employment support, not wages, and it does not guarantee a job. Your employment decisions remain yours.
What the Evidence Tells Us
Research on IPS supports its effectiveness in helping people with serious mental illness obtain competitive employment. That evidence supports the model; it should not be read as DHR’s placement rate, a promise to an individual participant or evidence that DHR has achieved a particular fidelity rating.
Learn More About the Approach
IPS Employment Center: research · HCA: FCS · Wellpoint: eligibility