AF was a small-group, one-week program in which participants (veterans with felony histories) described their work aspirations, drafted resumes, and discussed employment challenges. After AF, participants moved into IPS, a program founded on a set of core principles—including small caseloads and rapid job searches—with the intention of helping people find and keep jobs. During IPS, supported employment specialists (SESs) provided individual job search services and worked with local employers to find positions for participants.

As part of the VA’s IPS program, an employment specialist worked with a larger team of clinicians and support staff to integrate mental and physical health treatment into the employment services of veterans experiencing homelessness. The employment specialist assessed participants’ vocational abilities and helped tailor an accelerated job search based on their strengths and preferences.

TWE, part of the VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program, helped participants develop work restoration plans and provided a rehabilitative work setting within the VA, other federal agencies, or private businesses in the community. After their participation in TWE, participants moved into CE, during which they could receive standard VA services (including the VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance).

TWE, part of the VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program, helped participants develop work restoration plans and provided a rehabilitative work setting within the VA, other federal agencies, or private businesses in the community. After their participation in TWE, participants moved into CE, during which they could receive standard VA services (including the VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance).

CE participants were military veterans who found unsubsidized jobs in the competitive market on their own. They received the standard VA services, including VA health care, education benefits, home loan assistance, disability compensation, and vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance, but no specific employment-focused intervention. Veterans could receive the standard services indefinitely.