Competitive employment outcomes among veterans in VHA therapeutic and supported employment services programs

Abstract

Objective: The study assessed whether receiving specific types of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Therapeutic and Supported Employment Services (TSES) between fiscal years (FYs) 2006 and 2010 (a time frame that encompasses the Great Recession) was associated with obtaining competitive employment among veterans with mental illnesses. Methods: The sample included 38,199 veterans discharged from the VHA's TSES program in FY 2006 through FY 2010. On the basis of program monitoring forms completed by TSES clinicians and workload data, veterans were classified as having received one main type of employment service: supported employment (SE), transitional work in the community (TWcommunity), transitional work in a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center (TW-VA), incentive therapy or sheltered workshop (IT/SW), and no main type of employment service. Results: Compared with veterans who received TW-VA, those who received SE (odds ratio [OR]=1.25) or TW-community (OR=1.24) were more likely to be competitively employed (p