The Supported Employment Programme of the General Directorate of Mental Health of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires has been running for the last five years. Its purpose is to help adults with severe mental illness obtain and maintain competitive work in the community and provide the support necessary throughout the entire process and follow-up after successful inclusion. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had upon the Programme and to analyse the main causes of clients’ drop-off despite the fact the modifications were put in order to keep running the service during the lockdown.

Retrospective analysis of case records of the Supported Employment Programme from 1 January 2020 to 31 December of 2020.

Different variables were analysed to identify the main causes of dropout. Between them, variables related to the digital divide, fear of COVID-19, and increased economic vulnerability.

At the beginning of 2020, the programme had 51 users and received 11 referrals throughout the year, of whom 8 users were finally admitted. Therefore, 59 users entered this sample, 40.7% were women (n=24) and 59.3% were men (n=35). Mean age 40.4, ranging from 18 to 65 years of age (sd = 11.6). No significant differences were found in sex, age, or level of instruction between participants. The dropout rate after the lockdown was introduced reached 50.3% (n = 30), and there were no significant differences between those who left the programme and those who continued, with respect to sex, age, or level of instruction. Significant differences were found between these two groups in access to Technology (T= –6.158 p<0.000); Digital illiteracy (T–3.247 p<0.003); fear of getting COVID-19 (–7.616 p<0.000). However, having obtained a job through the programme was a protective factor against leaving, and only one user out of nine who got a job through the programme dropped out. This difference was at the significant level (T=2.671 p<0.05).

Even though, in an attempt to keep the Programme running during the strict lockdown that was imposed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving the face-to-face interviews to remote ones through digital platforms did no guarantee the access to service. The digital divide was one of the main causes of dropout of users. It is important to point out the protective value that had to have obtained a job through the programme against leaving.