Supporting the Employment of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness
Evidence | Publications

Supporting the Employment of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness

Implementation Study Report for the Evaluation of the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP)
Published: Sep 30, 2022
Publisher: Mathematica
Human Services Employment Veterans Federal Research and Evaluation
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Full Publication
Associated Project

Evaluating the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP)

Time frame: 2017-2022

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Labor

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy

Chief Evaluation Office

Authors

Samantha Batko

Mindy Hu

Alyse Oneto

Linda Rosenberg

Amy Rogin

Abigail Williams

Emily Rosen

Hande Inanc

Key Findings
  • On average, respondents of the HVRP grantee survey reported having eight strong partners that were critical to their program’s success in addressing participants’ needs for employment and supportive services. For employment-related services, 63 percent of grantee survey respondents reported these strong partnerships with Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG) staff, who provide employment-related services to veterans facing barriers to employment through the public workforce system’s American Job Centers (AJCs).
  • For supportive services, grantee survey respondents commonly reported strong partnerships with two temporary housing assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) (72 percent) and the Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program (54 percent). SSVF and GPD were especially important referral sources for HVRP.
  • In the grantee survey and site visit interviews, grantees reported screening potential veteran participants for work readiness, which could include determining whether a veteran was interested in pursuing employment or training. They indicated that barriers to employment, such as mental health and substance abuse challenges, prevented some veterans from enrolling in HVRP.
  • According to grantee survey respondents, site visit informants, and interviewed participants, HVRP helped veterans get hired quickly. A majority of grantee survey respondents (75 percent) reported that most participants were placed in employment within three months of enrollment.

Veterans often face complex challenges that put them at risk of experiencing homelessness. While multiple agencies seek to address homelessness among veterans, HVRP is the only program that focuses exclusively on providing employment services to veterans experiencing homelessness. The HVRP Evaluation, conducted for the Department of Labor, assesses HVRP’s impact on employment outcomes. It consists of two studies: (1) a quasi-experimental impact study using administrative data and (2) a complementary implementation study. The implementation study included: (1) a survey of all HVRP grantees from program year 2020 and (2) site visits to eight HVRP grantee communities that were deliberately selected to inform the impact study. Findings from the implementation study describe program outreach and enrollment processes; core components of the HVRP model that may drive participant outcomes; the role of partnerships in referrals, enrollment, and service provision; and the extent of services available to veterans who do and do not enroll in HVRP.

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