The effect of violent crime history on success rates of individualized placement and support

ABSTRACT

Individualized Placement and Support–Supported Employment (IPS–SE) has been shown to be successful assisting those with mental illness and/or substance use disorders who have histories of incarceration find employment. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a hybrid IPS–SE program for working with individuals with violent and non-violent offenses. This study compared two cohorts of U.S. veterans with histories of prison incarceration, 60 receiving IPS–SE plus a vocational group and 59 receiving group only. Follow-up was six months. Those receiving IPS–SE had superior employment outcomes compared to those receiving group alone within both those convicted of violent and non-violent offenses. The findings here highlight the benefits of IPS–SE across the type of crimes convicted.

KEYWORDS:

• Veterans
• incarceration
• employment
• supported-employment
• violent crimes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the VA Office of Research and Development, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service award number (RX000484).

Notes on contributors

James P. LePage

James P. LePage is the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at VA North Texas Health Care System and a Professor within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Jason D. Flake

Jason Flake is a research associate at VA North Texas Health Care System.

William B. Martin

William Blake Martin is a graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at the University of Texas Southwestern.

Daisha J. Cipher

Daish J. Cipher is an Associate Professor in the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Nursing and Health Innovations.

April M. Crawford

April Crawford is a Senior Research Coordinator with the Dallas VA Research Corporation.

Edward L. Washington

Edward L. Washington is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor at VA North Texas Health Care System.

Lisa Ottomanelli

Lisa Ottomanelli is a Psychologist with the VHA Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling at the University of South Florida in Tampa.