A review of the effectiveness of VA's vocational rehabilitation and employment program : hearing before the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, Thursday, February 27, 2014.
In 2004, the Vet. Affairs' Vocational Rehab. and Employment (VR&E) program was reviewed by a Task Force. It recommended numerous changes, in particular focusing on employment through a new Five-Track service delivery model and increasing program capacity. Since then, VR&E has worked to implement these recommendations. This report determines: (1) how the implementation of the Five-Track Employment Process has affected VR&E's focus on employment; (2) the extent to which VR&E has taken steps to improve its capacity; and (3) how program outcomes are reported. The author interviewed officials from VR&E, the 2004 Task Force, and vet. org.; visited 4 VR&E offices; and surveyed all VR&E officers. Includes recommend.
Veterans with disabilities face special challenges to finding employment- resulting, for example, from the veterans' physical or mental health, or negative attitudes or stereotypes on the part of some employers. VA's VR&E program aims to help veterans with disabilities obtain and maintain suitable employment-compatible with their disabilities-through services such as training and job search assistance. The VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 directed GAO to review the program. GAO examined (1) the outcomes for veterans seeking employment through the program, and (2) the progress VA has made in addressing critical management issues. GAO reviewed relevant laws, regulations, and guidance as well as recent studies; reviewed various program management criteria; analyzed VA administrative data on veterans who entered the program between fiscal years 2003 and 2012; interviewed staff at the VA central office and 8 regional offices; interviewed a random but nongeneralizable sample of 17 program participants; and analyzed data from a VA survey of participants.
A review of VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program : hearing before the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, first session, Wednesday, July 8, 2015.
" The IL "track"-one of five tracks within VA's VR&E program-provides a range of benefits to help veterans with service-connected disabilities live independently when employment is not considered feasible at the time they enter the VR&E program. These benefits can include counseling, assistive devices, and other services or equipment. GAO was asked to review issues related to the IL track. This report examines (1) the characteristics of veterans in the IL track, and the types and costs of benefits they were provided; (2) the extent to which their IL plans were completed, and the time it took to complete them; and (3) the extent to which the IL track has been administered appropriately and consistently across regional offices. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed VA administrative data from fiscal years 2008 to 2011, and reviewed a random, generalizable sample of 182 veterans who entered the IL track in fiscal year 2008. In addition, GAO visited five VA regional offices; interviewed agency officials and staff; and reviewed relevant federal laws, regulations, and agency policies and procedures. "
A study gathered information on the estimated population eligible to be served by the federal-state vocational rehabilitation (VR) program. It contrasted those accepted and those not, described services clients received, and evaluated the program's outcomes. The study found that, in national surveys in the 1980s, 14-18 million people reported work limitations that made them potentially eligible for VR, but a much smaller group was actually served by the state-federal VR program: in any one year, 5-7 percent of those potentially eligible. Those accepted were generally similar to those who applied, except that those accepted were much more likely to be classified as having a severe disability. Most VR clients received only modest services. Less than half received any type of education or training services, the total value of purchased services averaged only $1,573 per client, and just under half received purchased services costing less than $500. States purchased more services for clients with physical than with mental disabilities, more for clients with severe than with nonsevere disabilities, and more for White clients than for Black, Hispanic, or American Indian clients. Evaluation of long-term outcomes found that rehabilitants' gains in employment and earnings faded after about 2 years. (Appendixes include a list of major disabling conditions of VR clients, racial differences on variables, regression analyses for long-term outcomes, 19 references, and a glossary.) (YLB)