Health and well-being of homeless veterans participating in transitional and supported employment: Six-month outcomes

Abstract

Abstract-Supported employment, specifically individual placement and support (IPS), improves competitive employment (CE) rates for individuals with serious mental illness, but has not shown greater improvement in non-vocational outcomes than other rehabilitation approaches. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers two types of vocational services, IPS and transitional work experience (TWE), but no study has compared the effectiveness of these approaches. This secondary analysis of data from a study of homeless veterans compared 6 mo improvement in diverse outcomes for five employment patterns: never worked, worked only in TWE, worked in TWE followed by CE, worked in CE without IPS, and worked in CE with IPS referral. Veterans referred to IPS were more likely to be competitively employed. Those who worked in CE (whether following TWE or with or without IPS referral) showed the greatest increase in days worked, employment income, and total income and the greatest decrease in public support income when compared with those who worked only in TWE or not at all. Veterans in TWE showed the greatest increase in residential treatment days, but there were no other differences in nonvocational outcomes between groups. There are multiple paths to CE, but few differences in non-vocational outcomes across employment experiences.

Reasons for job separations in a cohort of workers with psychiatric disabilities

“…The VR&E service currently provides employment services to an estimated 4.2 percent of veterans with psychiatric disabilities, including supported employment [53], and evidence demonstrates these services' effectiveness [54]. Our results support a vocational rehabilitation focus on enhancing workers' job satisfaction, helping them secure better paid positions, and providing them with career-building services even after employment to help them keep working or return more easily to work after separation from a job.…”

Occupational transition in the process of becoming housed following chronic homelessness

“…Productivity occupations, such as paid and unpaid employment, are likely to support the social and psychological integration of chronically homeless persons in mainstream society and should be a priority in support models. Individual placement and support (Leddy, Stefanovics, & Rosenheck, 2014), social enterprise (Ferguson, 2007), and supported and transitional employment (Marrone, 2005) have been demonstrated as effective interventions for helping homeless persons return to employment. Few studies have demonstrated the efficacy of employment models for chronically homeless persons.…”

Return-to-Work Outcome Rates of African American Versus White Veterans Served by State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

“…Frain et al (2010) pointed out that in 2007, between 12% and 23% of women were exposed to trauma in combat areas. Mental health issues can greatly impede African American veterans' participation in employment and career success (Boutin, 2011;Burke, Degeneffe, & Olney, 2009;Leddy, Stefanovics, & Rosenheck, 2014), and female veterans need the expertise of VR to successfully transition into employment (Atkins, 2011). In addition, mental illness has been associated with slower veterans' progress in the VR system (O'Connor et al, 2011).…”