Research Briefs
NCHV provides concise, practical briefs on the latest research and reports relevant to HVRP grantees. These research briefs highlight critical insights from new and emerging research, tools, data, and resources from the field that can benefit and improve HVRP grantee programs. These summaries will provide information and additional reading materials that can directly impact HVRP grantee service delivery models.
Employment & Training:
Brief 2: Recognizing Work as a Priority in Preventing or Ending Homelessness
Brief 6: BLS Employment Situation of Veterans - 2012
Brief 11: The Labor Market Trajectories of 20-24 Year Old Veterans
Brief 28: The impact of prior deployment experience on civilian employment after military service
Brief 55: Supported Employment - Assessing the Evidence
Brief 76: Job Coaching and Success in Gaining and Sustaining Employment Among Homeless People
Brief 90: Consumers With Major Depressive Disorders: Factors Influencing Job Placement
Brief 105: Civilian Employment Among Recently Returning Afghanistan and Iraq National Guard Veterans
Brief 106: Are Male Veterans at Greater Risk for Nonemployment than Nonveterans?
Brief 108: The Impact of Financial Resources on Soldier’s Well-Being
Brief 118: Employment Situation of Veterans — 2016
Supportive Services:
Brief 3: The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual (VetSEd)
Brief 20: Stand Down - Overview, Models, and Funding Sources
Brief 31: Effectiveness of Permanent Housing Program FY 2012 Report
Brief 42: Military Sexual Trauma Among Homeless Veterans
Brief 50: Transitioning Home: Comprehensive Case Management for America’s Heroes
Brief 52: Preliminary Evaluation of PTSD Coach, a Smartphone App for Post-Traumatic Stress Systems
Brief 61: SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
Brief 65: Trauma-Informed Care: A Paradigm Shift Needed for Services With Homeless Veterans
Brief 66: Health Care Utilization Prior to Loss to Care Among Veterans With Serious Mental Illness
Brief 68: Trust in Health Care Providers: Factors Predicting Trust Among Homeless Veterans Over Time
Brief 69: Differences in health-related quality of life in rural and urban veterans
Brief 77: Financial Motivation to Work Among People With Psychiatric Disorders
Brief 78: Trauma-Informed Care for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Building Workforce
Brief 81: The Need for Social Workers
Brief 95: Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Veterans
Brief 98: Homelessness in a National Sample of Incarcerated Veterans in State and Federal Prisons
Brief 120: Examining Social Support in a Rural Homeless Population
Brief 121: Homelessness and Hunger
Brief 123: Obesity Among Chronically Homeless Adults: Is It a Problem?
Brief 125: Socioeconomic Status and Obesity
Housing:
Brief 21: Best Practices for HVRP Grantees - Housing Services
Brief 38: Housing First Implementation Brief - April 2014
Brief 59: Introducing Housing First in a Rural Service System: A Multistakeholder Perspective
Brief 60: Estimating Cost Savings Associated With HUD-VASH Placement
Brief 116: Unsheltered Homelessness Among Veterans: Correlates and Profiles
Female Veterans:
Brief 22: Homeless Female Veterans - Overview of Current Literature and Research
Brief 23: Risk Factors for Homelessness among Women Veterans
Brief 34: "Homelessness and Trauma Go Hand-in-Hand": Pathways to Homelessness among Women Veterans
Brief 37: Homeless Women Veterans: Actions Needed to Ensure Safe and Appropriate Housing
Brief 104: Being a Female Veteran: A Grounded Theory of Coping With Transitions
Brief 107: Patient-Centered Mental Health Care for Female Veterans
Brief 111: Barriers to Psychosocial Services among Homeless Women Veterans
OIF/OEF Veterans:
Brief 33: Student Veterans: A National Survey Exploring Psychological Symptoms and Suicide Risk
Brief 36: Factors associated with suicidal ideation in OEF/OIF veterans
Brief 39: Gender Differences Among Veterans Deployed in Support of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Brief 73: Homelessness and Money Mismanagement in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
Brief 91: Percieved Stigma and Barriers to Mental Health Care Utilization Among OEF-OIF Veterans
Brief 96: Homecoming of Soldiers Who Are Citizens
Brief 101: A New Disability for Rehabilitation Counselors
Brief 113: Disability, employment, and income: are Iraq/Afghanistan-era U.S. Veterans Unique?
Aging Veterans:
Brief 47: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk of Dementia among U.S. Veterans
Brief 93: Correlates of Frailty Among Homeless Adults
Legal:
Brief 24: Helping Veterans With Mental Illness Overcome Civil Legal Issues: Collaboration Between a Veterans Affairs Psychosocial Rehabilitation Center and a Nonprofit Legal Center
Business:
Brief 9: The Business Case for Product Philanthropy
Brief 32: Business Strategies that Work: A Framework for Disability Inclusion
Other:
Brief 8: The Age Structure of Contemporary Homelessness
Brief 10: For Many Injured Veterans, A Lifetime of Consequences
Brief 1: Veterans’ Employment and Training: Better Targeting, Coordinating, and Reporting Needed to Enhance Program Effectiveness
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Quick Takeaways
- To ensure government resources are used efficiently, the Secretaries of Labor, VA, and DoD should incorporate DoD’s employment assistance initiatives into the agreements that guide interagency coordination.
- To enhance transparency and accountability for achieving results, the Secretary of Labor should consistently report both performance goals and associated performance outcomes for each of its veterans’ employment and training programs.
- To assess veterans’ employment programs’ effectiveness, Secretaries of Labor and VA should, to the extent possible, determine the extent to which veterans’ employment outcomes result from program participation or are the result of other factors.
- Labor should ensure that DVOP’s provide veterans who have significant barriers to employment with the array of intensive services they need to succeed.
- Labor should focus LVER’s time on cultivating relationships with employers in the community.
- Labor should ensure that the rest of the staff at federally funded American Job Centers across the country understands their responsibility to veterans.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Government Accountability Office. (2012). Veterans’ Employment and Training: Better Targeting, Coordinating, and Reporting Needed to Enhance Program Effectiveness. Washington, DC: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-29.
Brief 2: Recognizing Work as a Priority in Preventing or Ending Homelessness
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Quick Takeaways
- Rapid access to jobs, “no wrong door to employment,” improves long-term stability of homeless individuals.
- Job training and employment programs work best for homeless people when they are combined with supportive services and housing.
- Provide jobs that include flexible readiness criteria, schedules, and tasks that can engage homeless job seekers who want to work quickly and may help them shun lengthy work preparation programs.
- Continua of Care plans and Ten-Year Plans to End Homelessness must include strategies to help homeless people meet their financial needs through income support programs and through employment and training services.
- Cross-training of staff develops practitioner alliances and increases the efficiency of programs in each system. Collaborations among diverse partners with diverse interests can leverage more in the way of resources, knowledge, and expertise than any one sector working alone.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Shaheen, Gary and Rio, Rohn. (2007). Recognizing Work as a Priority in Preventing or Ending Homelessness. J Primary Prevent, 28, 341–358. doi: DOI 10.1007/s10935-007-0097-5 | Link to report
Brief 3: The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual (VetSEd)
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Quick Takeaways
- Evidence-based Supported Education (SEd) programs developed for working with individuals with serious mental illness can be adapted to working with young student veterans with mental health conditions.
- Case management and peer support activities should be provided separately but as part of a veteran-centric coordinated case management model that includes all relevant individuals in the veteran's education plan.
- While completing education and training programs, income plans should be flexible, allowing the veteran to engage in full-time or part-time work depending on need, interest, and time management skills.
- Some outreach strategies have shown promise in reaching and maintaining contact with younger veterans, including cautious and selective usage of social media and Assertive Outreach strategies.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Ellison, M.L., Mueller, L., Henze, K., Corrigan, P., Larson, J., Kieval, N.E., Sawh. L., & Smelson, D. (2012). The Veteran Supported Education Treatment Manual (VetSEd). Bedford, MA: ENRM Veterans Hospital, Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, and Economic Research: www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/Center/VetSEd_Manual_Version_FINAL.pdf
Brief 4: Findings from the District of Columbia Traumatic Brain Injury Needs and Resources Assessment
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Quick Takeaways
- 64.8 percent homeless participants reported a history of head trauma.
- 150,000-180,000 U.S. military personnel has returned with at least a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).
- Employment is necessary to help TBI survivors regain their independence; broader array of employment opportunities needed, including volunteer opportunities.
- The vast majority (85 percent) of the homeless adults with a history of brain injury was found to be unemployed.
- Lack of training among service-providers showed to be a major gap.
- Download the full brief.
Report: DC Department of Health (August 2010). Findings from the District of Columbia Traumatic Brain Injury Needs and Resources Assessment of: Homeless Adult Individuals, Homeless Shelter Providers, TBI Survivor and Family Focus Group, TBI Service Agency/Organizations. Washington, DC: http://www.nchv.org/images/uploads/DC_TBI_Report.pdf
Brief 5: Inmate Reentry Programs: Enhanced Information Sharing Could Further Strengthen Coordination and Grant Management
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Quick Takeaways
- More than two-thirds of state prisoners are rearrested for a new offense within 3 years of release, and about half are re-incarcerated.
- The majority of inmates need assistance with things such as job skills, vocational training, education, substance abuse treatment, and parenting skills.
- Between 40 and 54 percent of former inmates were not able to obtain employment within 7 to 10 months of release.
- Federal Interagency Reentry Council publishes research and reports to help programs enact promising practices into their reentry programs, including veterans-focused materials.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Government Accountability Office. (2012). Inmate Reentry Programs: Enhanced Information Sharing Could Further Strengthen Coordination and Grant Management. Washington, DC: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-93.
Brief 6: BLS Employment Situation of Veterans - 2012
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Quick Takeaways
- 21.2 million veterans ages 18 and over in 2012
- Approximately 35 percent of Gulf War era II veterans reported that they had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, or both. These veterans had an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent, not statistically different from Gulf War era II veterans who served elsewhere (11.3 percent).
- About 3 million veterans, or 14 percent of the total, had a service-connected disability.
- 9.9 percent unemployment for Gulf War era II veterans
- 20.4 percent unemployment for ages 20-24 veterans, compared to 15.0 percent for nonveterans
- 8.3 percent unemployment for all female veterans, compared to 7.7 percent for female nonveterans
- Download the full brief.
Report: Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). 2012 Employment Situation of Veterans. Washington, DC: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.toc.htm.
Brief 7: Transitioning to the Civilian Workforce: Issues Impacting the Reentry of Rural Women Veterans
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Quick Takeaways
- Women veterans seeking employment in rural areas often face several challenges, such as geographical barriers, limited employment opportunities, and a lack of childcare resources within their respective communities.
- These women veterans may face additional challenges from a complex set of issues, including untreated physical and psychological disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from combat, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), or other traumas associated with military service.
- Other struggles women veterans face include negative experiences during military service, self-perceptions that they are not veterans if they did not serve in combat, and lack of awareness by employers and the larger community that women are veterans and bring valuable leadership skills to the workplace.
- Recommendations to improve programs include redesigning jobs and expanding telecommuting opportunities, establish and track rural employment metrics, reevaluate and re-communicate the role and structure of the state DVA offices, and form veteran-centered partnerships and collaborations.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Renteria Szelwach, C., Steinkogler, J., Badger, E.R., and Muttukumaru, R. Transitioning to the Civilian Workforce: Issues Impacting the Reentry of Rural Women Veterans. Washington, DC: Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 26(3), 2011, pp. 83-112. | Link to report
Brief 8: The Age Structure of Contemporary Homelessness
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Quick Takeaways
- Single adults who are homeless are mainly comprised of persons born during the latter part of the baby boom era whose high risk for homelessness has continued as they have aged.
- Adults in sheltered families show no indication of any progressive aging of the heads of households.
- The health problems faced by the single adult homeless population means that health care providers will increasingly be required to provide care for chronic conditions.
- The homeless assistance system needs to be prepared to address the housing needs of an aging homeless population.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Culhane, D.P., Metraux, S., Byrne, T., Stino, M., and Bainbridge, J. The Age Structure of Contemporary Homelessness: Evidence and Implications for Public Policy. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 00, No. 0, 2013, pp. 1-17. | Link to report
Brief 9: The Business Case for Product Philanthropy
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Quick Takeaways
- A well-managed philanthropy program can enhance a corporation’s public image, which in turn encourages employee engagement and motivation, attracts customers, and cultivates a friendlier regulatory environment.
- Stockholders value philanthropy programs due to their positive impact on the company’s bottom line, particularly when businesses communicate the financial and employee performance value of philanthropy programs.
- Philanthropic programs can serve as “team building” activities that can offer employees the opportunity to meet some of their psychosocial needs in the workplace as well as gain functional skills through taking on extra responsibility.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Ross, Justin M. and McGiverin-Bohan, Kellie L. (2012). The Business Case for Product Philanthropy. School of Public & Environmental Affairs, Indiana University: Bloomington, IN. | Link to report
Brief 10: For Many Injured Veterans, A Lifetime of Consequences
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Quick Takeaways
- Veterans who suffered major service-related injuries are more than twice as likely as their veteran counterparts to say they had difficulties readjusting to civilian life.
- Veterans who suffered major service-related injuries are almost three times as likely as other veterans to report they have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Among all veterans, those who were seriously injured while serving are less likely than other veterans to be employed full time and more likely not to have a job.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Morin, Rich. (2011). For Many Injured Veterans, A Lifetime of Consequences. Pew Research Center, Washington, DC: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/11/08/for-many-injured-veterans-a-lifetime-of-consequences/.
Brief 11: The Labor Market Trajectories of 20-24 Year Old Veterans
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Quick Takeaways
- High levels of unemployment arise from multiple causes, including lack of job opportunities and lengthened search for jobs.
- The basic employment pattern show increasing employment and decreasing unemployment for all veterans over time.
- Many veterans return to the military as their main employer.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Dan Black and Julia Lane; Report on Task 1: The Labor Market Trajectories of 20-24 year old veterans. NORC, Chicago, IL: http://www.dol.gov/vets/research/trajectories_rev.pdf.
Brief 12: Workforce Reinvestment Act: Innovative Collaborations between Workforce Boards and Employers Helped Meet Local Needs
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Quick Takeaways
- Six factors that contribute most to collaboration are: focusing on urgent needs, leadership, leveraging resources, employer-responsive services, minimizing administrative burden, and demonstrating results.
- Challenges associated with collaboration stem from: 1) employers having limited interaction with and knowledge of local workforce boards, and 2) workforce boards lacking the time and resources necessary to reach out to employers.
- Workforce-related initiatives should look to fund their projects using multiple sources. Of the 14 initiatives examined in this report, all relied on funding from more than one provider.
- The GAO report recommended that DOL provide a better way of finding information on resources and funding opportunities for local organizations with workforce initiatives. Since the writing of this report, Labor’s workforce systems website, www.Workforce3one.org, looks to have been updated to offer a repository of information on workforce-related issues.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Government Accountability Office. (2012). Workforce Reinvestment Act: Innovative Collaborations between Workforce Boards and Employers Helped Meet Local Needs. Washington, DC: http://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587809.pdf.
Brief 13: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Employment in Veterans Participating in Veterans Health Administration Compensated Work Therapy
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Quick Takeaways
- Individuals with substance use diagnoses or who were homeless at program entry were more likely to be employed at discharge, while receipt of public support income and severe mental illness decreased the likelihood of being competitively employed.
- Veterans with a history of homelessness when last in the community had an increased likelihood of competitive employment at discharge.
- Veterans that served in the post-Vietnam era and had PTSD were less likely than those with PTSD who served in the Vietnam era to work competitively at discharge.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Resnick SG, and RA Rosenheck. 2008. "Posttraumatic stress disorder and employment in veterans participating in Veterans Health Administration Compensated Work Therapy". Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development. 45 (3): 427-35.
Brief 14: Employment Status of Patients in the VA Health System: Implications for Mental Health Services
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Quick Takeaways
- Veterans in the study with bipolar disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, or a substance use disorder were more likely to be unemployed, disabled, or retired than employed.
- Disabled VA patients had the highest rates of service-connected disabilities and the greatest number of medical comorbidities.
- Rates of all mental disorders were highest in the disabled population; substance use disorders were highest among the unemployed.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Zivin K, AS Bohnert, B Mezuk, MA Ilgen, D Welsh, S Ratliff, EM Miller, M Valenstein, and AM Kilbourne. 2011. "Employment status of patients in the VA health system: implications for mental health services". Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.). 62 (1): 35-8.
Brief 15: Employment Status of Veterans Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Quick Takeaways
- Only 28% of veterans reported any earnings and the same percentage reported any days of paid work during the past 30 days.
- Many persons in the sample were employed throughout the study; however, substantial turnover occurred.
- Of the 2,072 veterans in the sample receiving a disability pension, 17% had any days of paid work at baseline, slightly lower than the percentage of the overall sample (28%), but still indicating labor market engagement in this population.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Humensky JL, N Jordan, KT Stroupe, and D Hynes. 2013. "Employment status of veterans receiving substance abuse treatment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs". Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.). 64 (2): 177-80.
Brief 16: Trends and Risk Factors for Mental Health Diagnoses Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Using Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care, 2002-2008
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Quick Takeaways
- Active duty veterans younger than 25 years had higher rates of PTSD and alcohol and drug use disorder diagnoses compared with active duty veterans older than 40 years.
- The youngest active duty veterans (aged 16-24 years) were at higher risk for all new mental health diagnoses and problems (except depression) than were active duty veterans older than 40 years.
- The analyses showed a distinct difference based on age in mental health diagnoses between active duty and National Guard and Reserve veterans entering the VA health care.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Charles R. Marmar, et al. "Trends and Risk Factors for Mental Health Diagnoses Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Using Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care, 2002-2008." American Journal Of Public Health 99, no. 9 (September 2009): 1651-1658. SPORTDiscus with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed June 25, 2013)
Brief 17: Implementation of Supported Employment for Homeless Veterans With Psychiatric or Addiction Disorders: Two-Year Outcomes
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Quick Takeaways
- Measures at both the client-level and site level suggest IPS implementation was successful at most, but not all, sites.
- Comparison of participants in the two phases on baseline measures showed that participants in phase 2 had fewer lifetime years of homelessness, were more likely to have worked in the previous three years (but not in the previous 30 days), and had fewer psychiatric symptoms and better physical health.
- Although at follow-up veterans in phase 2 had a greater average number of days housed than veterans in phase 1, there were no significant differences in other clinical outcomes on any other measure (mental health status, psychiatric symptoms, substance abuse, general health, and social support).
- Download the full brief.
Report: Robert Rosenheck, M.D., Alvin Mares, Ph.D.; Implementation of Supported Employment for Homeless Veterans With Psychiatric or Addiction Disorders: Two-Year Outcomes. Psychiatric Services. 2007 Mar;58(3):325-333.
Brief 18: Effects of structured vocational services in ex-offender veterans with mental illness: 6-month follow-up
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Quick Takeaways
- The chances of getting hired are approximately 40 percent worse for those with a felony history than for those without and unemployment rates have been found to be 15-25 percent higher.
- Actual rates of homelessness for those released are as high as 50 percent for state prisoners released to urban areas. In dually diagnosed populations, employment, not chronic mental illness, was predictive of prolonged homelessness.
- The results demonstrate that staff-led, formatted vocational group programs with manuals can improve vocational outcomes for veterans with felonies.
- Download the full brief.
Report: LePage JP, Lewis AA, Washington EL, Davis B, Glasgow A. Effects of structured vocational services in ex-offender veterans with mental illness: 6-month follow-up. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2013;50(2):183–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2011.09.0163
Brief 19: Perceptions of Homelessness in Older Homeless Veterans, VA Homeless Program Staff Liaisons, and Housing Intervention Providers
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Quick Takeaways
- Over 15% of the homeless are 51 years of age and older, and the numbers of homeless over the age of 65 are expected to double by 2050.
- The report identified 10 major themes from an analysis of the transcripts, four from the veterans’ focus groups and six from the VA staff liaisons and housing intervention providers.
- Compared with younger veterans, older veterans have less social support, greater employment challenges, more significant health care needs, and motivation to change.
- Download the full brief.
Report: Victor A. Molinari and Lisa M. Brown and Kathryn A. Frahm and John A. Schinka et. al. "Perceptions of Homelessness in Older Homeless Veterans, VA Homeless Program Staff Liaisons, and Housing Intervention Providers." Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 24, no. 2 (2013): 487-498. http://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed June 25, 2013).
Brief 20: Stand Down - Overview, Models, and Funding Sources
- This brief explores the background, outcomes, development models, ideas for services and partners, and funding resources. In addition, throughout the brief are links to additional reports and materials to learn more. Stand Down is designed to help the nation’s 57,849 homeless veterans on any given night “combat” life on the streets through a “hand up, not hand out” philosophy. Events include a wide array of services and resources depending on local capacity and the needs of the veterans who attend.
- Download the full brief.
Brief 21: Best Practices for HVRP Grantees - Housing Services
- One of the core services to help organizations reach employment goals is access to appropriate and progressive housing alternatives that meet the needs of the veteran. HVRP grantees recognize the reciprocal, beneficial relationship between employment and housing for veterans participating in their programs. Participants must have access to affordable housing that meets their specific needs, and grantees meet this need