About the Study
In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) and commissioned contractor Mathematica and its subcontractors, the Urban Institute and Social Policy Research Associates, to conduct the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Evaluation.
The evaluation includes a quasi-experimental impact study using administrative data and a complementary implementation study. The implementation study aimed to provide context to help interpret the findings of the HVRP impact study, which is using a matched comparison group design to compare key employment-related outcomes for HVRP participants with the outcomes of similar veterans experiencing homelessness who did not participate in HVRP. The impact study analyses are ongoing, and completion is expected in 2024.
HVRP, which is administered by the Department of Labor’s VETS, is the only federal program that focuses exclusively on providing employment services to veterans experiencing homelessness. VETS administers HVRP through competitive grants to state, local, and tribal governments; local Workforce Development Boards; private for-profit and nonprofit organizations; and community organizations to provide employment services and develop effective service systems. In June 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced PY 2023 awards totaling more than $58 million for 159 grantees; this included 72 grantees in the first year of a possible three-year grant and 87 grantees in their second or third grant year.
This DOL-funded study was a result of the annual process to determine the Department’s research priorities for the upcoming year. It contributes to the labor evidence base to inform Employment and Training programs and policies and addresses Departmental strategic goals and priorities.
- Supporting the Employment of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Implementation Study Report for the Evaluation of the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) (December 2022)
- HVRP Evaluation Brief: The Experiences and Perspectives of Veterans Participating in the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) (December 2022)
- HVRP Evaluation Brief: Co-Enrollment of Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants in a Program at an American Job Center (December 2022)
- HVRP Evaluation Brief: Services Provided to Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants at American Job Centers (December 2022)
- HVRP Evaluation Brief: Providing Public Employment Services to Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Gaps and Opportunities (December 2022)
- Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program Evaluation (Evaluation Design Pre-Specification Plan, August 2021)
- Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program Evaluation Addendum (Addendum, March 2024)
- What are the impacts of HVRP on homeless Veterans’ employment and earnings? Do HVRP employment-related outcomes vary based on characteristics of those served, the programs or grantees, or of the community in which the program operates?
- What are the types and combinations of programs, approaches, or services provided under the HVRP grant program?
- How are the programs implemented? What factors or conditions influence implementation (i.e., partnerships, strategies, participants, infrastructure, data management, technical assistance)? What challenges arise in implementation, and how were those challenges overcome? What implementation practices appear promising or important to the success for program?
- How are systems and partnerships built and maintained? What factors influence the development and maintenance of the systems and partnerships?
- Develop and conduct impact and implementation study based on the most rigorous evaluation design feasible.
- Document, communicate and present the results of the evaluation and analysis.
Key takeaways from four products based on the implementation study data—“Supporting the Employment of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Implementation Study Report for the Evaluation of the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP)”, “The Experiences and Perspectives of Veterans Participating in the Homeless Veteran’s Reintegration Program (HVRP),” “Co-Enrollment of Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants in a Program at an American Job Center,” and “Providing Public Employment Services to Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Gaps and Opportunities”:
- 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 AJCs. The majority of grantee survey respondents (58 percent) also listed employers as strong HVRP partners.
- 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. Interviewed HVRP participants also reported receiving a variety of other VA services, such as permanent housing, employment services, and health care.
- 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.
- Site visit grantees highlighted the importance of hiring case managers who could relate to veterans and provide participants with a positive experience. Interviewed veterans expressed trust and respect in their working relationships with their case managers.
- Consistent with the DOL requirement that HVRP participants co-enroll in an AJC program, more than 90 percent of grantee survey respondents reported that at least some of their participants received employment and training services at the AJC. This requirement was most often met through JVSG services, particularly those provided by JVSG’s Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists, with 56 percent of grantee survey respondents reporting that a majority of their participants were co-enrolled in JVSG services. The site visits revealed that grantees that provided a full complement of employment and other services to veterans perceived less need to co-enroll HVRP participants at the AJC than grantees with fewer in-house services.
- 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. Fifteen veterans who reported getting a job through HVRP noted that staff connections helped them quickly find jobs, but 13 of these veterans noted that the jobs did not match their interests or experience.
- Site visits with grantees and their partners identified opportunities for HVRP in the following areas: (1) coordination with other public workforce development programs, (2) expansion of HVRP eligibility to other veterans, (3) emphasis on veterans’ skills and interests for employment opportunities, and (4) coordination with the homeless response system.
Key takeaways from “Services Provided to Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants at American Job Centers” based on data stored in the Workforce Integrated Performance System:
- HVRP participants who co-enrolled in the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service were observed to have longer enrollment spells at AJCs than other veterans experiencing homelessness who enrolled in the Wagner-Peyser Employment Service. These HVRP participants also received more of some types of AJC services, including individualized career services, staff-assisted career guidance services, individual employment plans, and services from a DVOP specialist.
- HVRP participants who had prior involvement with the justice system, had a disability, were receiving public benefits, or attained a higher education level had longer enrollment spells and received more of some types of services at AJCs than HVRP participants without those characteristics.
Report
Batko, S., Hu, M., Oneto, A., Rosenberg, L., Rogin, A., Williams, A., Rosen, E., and Inanc, H. (2022). Mathematica. Supporting the Employment of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Report on the Evaluation of the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
Brief
Batko, S., Oneto, A.D., Rogin, A., and Williams, A. (2022). Urban Institute. Experiences and Perspectives of Veterans Participating in the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP). Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
Brief
Rosenberg, L., Hu, M. (2022). Mathematica. Co-Enrollment of Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants in a Program at an American Job Center. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
Brief
Johnson, M., Hartog, J., Espinoza, A., Taylor, V., Schochet, P., and Rosenberg, L. (2022). Mathematica. Services Provided to Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Participants at American Job Centers. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
Brief
Negoita, M., Sarver, M. (2022). Social Policy Research Associates. Providing Public Employment Services to Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Gaps and Opportunities. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
One-Pager
Mathematica. (2022). Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) Evaluation. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
Project Duration: 84 Months
Contract End Date: July 2025
Contractor: Mathematica Policy Research, with Urban Institute and Social Policy Research Associates
For More Information: ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov
Find more research in DOL's Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) and the CLEAR Veterans Topic Area page.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy. CEO’s research development process includes extensive technical review at the design, data collection and analysis stage, including: external contractor review and OMB review and approval of data collection methods and instruments per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Institutional Review Board (IRB) review to ensure studies adhere to the highest ethical standards, review by academic peers (e.g., Technical Working Groups), and inputs from relevant DOL agency and program officials and CEO technical staff. Final reports undergo an additional independent expert technical review and a review for Section 508 compliance prior to publication. The resulting reports represent findings from this independent research and do not represent DOL positions or policies.