Career Development

Career Development Services also offers our clients comprehensive and personalized support as they participate in career-oriented activities both independently and in groups. Based on each client’s level of need and desired support, we offer services ranging from employment preparation groups and career coaching to assistance with attaining full-time employment in the local community. As our clients participate in Career Development services, they also receive one-on-one vocational counseling and support. All these components work in tandem to ensure that the needs and goals of our clients are being met in the program.

Sanctuary Centers is an accredited vendor for the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR). DOR has chosen to work with our experienced Career Development Specialists who are sensitive to the unique needs of those living with a mental illness.

What to Expect

Sanctuary Centers strongly believes in empowering our clients to gain consistency and purpose in their lives. We envision the community integration and self-sufficiency of a career as an excellent route to this empowerment. To this end, Career Development Services provides our clients with the knowledge and resources they need to obtain the training, education, and assistance necessary to secure a rewarding position in the local Santa Barbara workforce.

Program Goals

Specific, thoughtful goals are a necessary component of a successful job search.

• Sanctuary Centers intends to increase each client’s personal empowerment, independence, and self-sufficiency as they train, learn, and interview for jobs in their community.

Services Include

Our Career Development Services are designed to support clients in developing the skills, confidence, and resources they need to pursue and maintain meaningful employment. Below is a summary of our offerings:

Vocational Assessment

We provide vocational assessments to help clients understand their current strengths, skills, abilities, and interests. This process includes a one-on-one interview with a Career Development Specialist and may involve the World of Work Inventory (WOWI) or other assessments, depending on each client’s specific needs. Results are shared with both the client and their Department of Rehabilitation Counselor to support tailored service planning.

Employment Services

Employment Services focus on equipping clients with the skills required to find and retain suitable employment. Services include:

• Intake: Gathering work history, educational background, skills, and interests to help clients establish clear employment goals.
• Employment Preparation & Job Development: Offering training in job-seeking, resume writing, interviewing, and networking, as well as education about the local labor market.
• Placement: Assisting with job placement by connecting with employers on the client’s behalf.
• Retention: Teaching skills to support long-term job retention, including effective workplace communication, stress management, self-advocacy, and accommodation requests.

Personal, Vocational, Social Adjustment (PVSA)

PVSA services help clients address barriers to employment and improve skills needed for sustained employment. This instruction is provided individually or in groups and covers areas such as:

• Resource Acquisition: Assistance with obtaining essential resources like identification, interview attire, housing, and benefit applications.
• Budgeting: Training clients to manage finances effectively, covering expenses tracking, bill payments, and saving strategies.
• Interpersonal Skills: Teaching essential communication skills, such as conflict resolution, assertiveness, and active listening, to foster positive relationships.
• Positive Work Attitudes and Habits: Building work readiness through topics like punctuality, productivity, initiative, and stress management.
• Managing Mental Health in the Workplace: Supporting clients in identifying and navigating symptoms of mental illness that may impact work performance and identifying coping strategies and accommodations for success in the workplace.

Our Career Development Specialists are committed to delivering these services with the utmost respect and support, guiding each client toward their unique employment goals.

We also offer additional services for those participating in our Mental Health Inpatient Care and Mental Health Outpatient Care programs:

• Our program team assists with clients’ public resource needs, such as public transportation, Social Security benefits, Medicare and Medi-Cal benefits, etc.
• Our team also offers our clients support in maintaining a healthy level of activity in the community to prevent regression into past unhealthy patterns.

State and Federal Entitlements/Benefits

Sanctuary Centers understands the importance of financial resources as it relates to access to medical care for our clients on their path to independence. This is especially true of clients when they may not be ready for paid employment. We also empathize with the frustration and confusion that people often experience while applying for entitlements.

Entitlement and benefit programs provide clients with the opportunity to access the financial and medical resources they need to survive. With these resources, clients can continue their medical care while they build their financial independence and self-reliance. Additionally, entitlements can be carried into the future, where they work as a “safety net” to ensure a baseline of financial, medical, and housing security for clients as they grow.

For clients who are interested and eligible, Sanctuary Center’s Career Development Services offers assistance and guidance around applying for the following state and federal benefits:

• Social Security Disability Insurance
• Supplemental Security Income
• Medi-Cal Medical Benefits
• Medicare Medical Benefits
• Food Stamps

When assisting with the application process, our caring and experienced Career Development staff educates every eligible client about their qualified entitlement programs. Our Career Development Staff then helps each client as they complete and submit all appropriate application materials. Whenever needed, the staff also aids the client in completing and submitting any required medical documentation. If a client needs help resolving and clarifying any issues that surface throughout the process, our staff is glad to be of assistance.

Simply applying and even qualifying for benefits is not the end of the process, however. Once benefits are secured, our dedicated Career Development staff also educate each client about Social Security’s “Work Incentives” so that clients can return to work with a clear understanding of how their growing independence and productivity will impact their benefits.

How Much Does It Cost for Career Development Services?

Career Development services are already included in Mental Health Inpatient Care.

In our Mental Health Outpatient Care program, a Career Development Individual Session is $90 per session (private pay). Career Development Groups may range from $65 to $100 per session (private pay). We also offer flat fee service packages that may include Career Development services.

Sanctuary Centers also offers these services at no cost through the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR). Click here to apply for DOR services.

Private Pay

Contact Us (805) 569-2785

Getting Started With Career Development Services

Department of Rehabilitation Applicants

If you are interested in these or other vocational services, contact the Santa Barbara Department of Rehab at 805-560-8130, or fill out the simple application HERE and tell them Sanctuary Centers sent you!

• Apply for Department of Rehabilitation services.
• Upon meeting with a DOR Counselor, request to work with Sanctuary Centers to complete the World of Work Inventory (WOWI), for employment services to secure paid employment, or both!