Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Veterans with psychiatric disorders want additional career development services to support their recovery and pursuit of meaningful employment. However, no career counseling programs have been designed for this specific population. We developed the Purposeful Pathways intervention to fill this need.

Why open access to vocational services in substance use treatment matters: Commentary on Cosottile and Defulio (2020).

Objective: This article presents the argument that all veterans engaged in substance use treatment, regardless of current or recent use, should be allowed access to vocational services through Veterans Affairs (VA). This argument is presented as a commentary to Cosottile and DeFulio (2020), who argue for the VA to restrict veteran's access to work and Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) transitional work (TW) services to those who have demonstrated abstinence from substances.

Method: Our commentary provides an overview of relevant literature and programmatic considerations.

Vocational Rehabilitation in the Veterans Health Administration Polytrauma System of Care: Current Practices, Unique Challenges, and Future Directions.

Objective/purpose: Veterans and service members (V/SMs) with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and comorbid conditions are treated in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Polytrauma System of Care (PSC). These V/SMs comprise a unique population with distinct needs for restoring community reintegration, including participation in meaningful employment. Low employment rates after TBI vary and are influenced by many factors.

Helping veterans achieve work: A Veterans Health Administration nationwide survey examining effective job development practices in the community.

Objective: Veterans Health Administration vocational services assist veterans with mental illness to acquire jobs; one major component of these services is job development. The purpose of this study was to characterize the nature of effective job development practices and to examine perceptions and intensity of job development services.

Method: A national mixed-methods online survey of 233 Veterans Health Administration vocational providers collected data regarding frequency of employer contacts, perceptions of job development ease/difficulty, and effective job development practices when dealing with employers.