Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
LePage, J. P., Lewis, A. A., Washington, E. L., Davis, B., & Glasgow, A. (2013). Effects of structured vocational services in ex-offender veterans with mental illness: 6-month follow-up. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 50(2), 183-191. doi:10.1682/JRRD.2011.09.0163 [Full About Face vs. self-study]
Highlights
- This study examined the impact of About Face (AF) vocational classes on competitive employment.
- In this nonexperimental study, the authors used statistical analyses to compare the employment outcomes of two groups of justice-involved veterans: (1) those who participated in the AF classes (full AF program) and (2) those who did not take the classes but had access to the AF manual to study on their own (self-study program). The authors collected monthly data from participants in person or over the phone.
- The study revealed significantly higher competitive employment among justice-involved veterans in the full AF program (40.7 percent hired) than in the self-study condition (11.9 percent hired). The study also showed that justice-involved veterans in the full AF program worked more months on average than justice-involved veterans in the self-study condition (1.37 months vs. 0.16 months).
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the AF program; other factors likely contributed to the findings.
Intervention Examined
About Face
Features of the Intervention
The AF program was a week-long, in-person class with a vocational specialist covering the topics in the AF manual. The program included mock interviews, discussion of how to present legal history, resume creation, practice with cold-calling employers, interview preparation, and discussion of employment goals and strategies. The class in the study involved 20 hours of classroom time with individualized support for justice-involved veterans. The class took place at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
Features of the Study
In this nonexperimental study, the authors compared the outcomes of two groups of justice-involved veterans: (1) those who participated in the AF classes (full AF program) and (2) those who did not take the classes but had access to the AF manual to study on their own (self-study program). Twenty-seven justice-involved veterans received the full AF program, and 42 justice-involved veterans received the self-study program. The authors collected monthly data from participants in person or over the phone.
Findings
Employment
- The study revealed significantly higher competitive employment among justice-involved veterans in the full AF program (40.7 percent hired) than in the self-study condition (11.9 percent hired).
- The study also showed that justice-involved veterans in the full AF program worked more months on average than justice-involved veterans in the self-study condition (1.37 months vs. 0.16 months, which was statistically significant).
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors did not show that the two groups of justice-involved veterans—those who received the AF classes and those who did not—were similar in terms of gender and pre-intervention employment. Since gender and work history are related to the outcome (competitive employment), the differences between the two groups on these two variables could have biased the study results. The authors did, however, show that the two groups of justice-involved veterans did not differ significantly based on criminal history.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the authors did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the AF program; other factors likely contributed to the findings.