Skip to sections below

Share this program

PrintEmail

Summary

AF plus IPS gave veterans who were formerly incarcerated a space to discuss their career goals and challenges, and worked to help them find and keep jobs. This evaluation directly compared AF plus IPS to a separate program, AF only, to understand which of the two programs might be more effective; a distinctive feature of AF plus IPS was its rapid, individualized job searching assistance.

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. IPS lasted until the participant found a job, but participants could choose to receive ongoing support from the SESs after they were employed. The target population for this program included veterans who were formally incarcerated and: (1) had at least one felony conviction; (2) had been diagnosed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs with a substance use disorder, mental illness, or both; (3) expressed a desire for competitive employment; and (4) provided consent. AF plus IPS was implemented in Dallas, TX.

The effectiveness of AF plus IPS when compared to AF only indicates the effect of being referred to a set of services that includes those unique to AF plus IPS, or how much better the offer of AF plus IPS met participants’ needs than the offer of AF only. Individuals in AF only participated in the one-week AF program and did not receive the additional services associated with IPS.

90070-Study of About Face
Populations and employment barriers: Military veterans
19459- Individual Placemen
Populations and employment barriers: Military veterans

Effectiveness rating and effect by outcome domain

View table definitions

Scroll to the right to view the rest of the table columns

Outcome domain Term Effectiveness rating Effect in 2024 dollars and percentages Effect in standard deviations Sample size
Increase earnings Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable $11,737 per year 0.322 84
Long-term Cannot assess support
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase employment Short-term Little evidence to assess support favorable 2% (in percentage points) 0.042 84
Long-term Cannot assess support
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Decrease benefit receipt Short-term Cannot assess support
Long-term Cannot assess support
Very long-term Cannot assess support
Increase education and training All measurement periods Cannot assess support

Effectiveness ratings

  • Well- supported
  • Supported
  • Mixed support
  • Not supported
  • Insufficient evidence
  • Cannot assess support

Studies of this program

Study quality rating Study counts per rating
High High 1
Low Low 1
Back to top

Implementation details

Characteristics of research participants
Black or African American
68%
White, not Hispanic
27%
More than one race
1%
Hispanic or Latino of any race
4%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

State(s) where implemented

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY Canada

Pathways to Work refers to programs by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some program names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.