AN EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS VETERANS ATFEATHERFIST TRANSITION LIVING ORGANIZATION, CHICAGO

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Executive Summary……………………………………………………………..3

II. Introduction……………………………………………………………………..4-5

III. Organization and Target Population……………………………………………..5

IV. Research Question and Goals……………………………………………………5-6

V. Literature Review………………………………………………………………...6-9 VI. Methodology and Study Design…………………………………………………..9-10

VII. Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………………11

VIII. Findings………………………………………………………………………......11-13

IX. Discussion………………………………………………………………………….14

X. Conclusion and Recommendations………………………………………………..14-15

XI. References…………………………………………………………………………..16

XII. Appendices………………………………………………………………………….17-19

Executive Summary

This study evaluated a job training and employment service program for homeless

veterans’ population at Featherfist Organization, a transition living facility in Chicago's

South Shore neighborhood.

The goal of the program is to transition homeless veterans into living a sustainable

independent lifestyle. As the program intended to address the perennial issue of

homelessness among veterans, the study sought how many homeless veterans have

benefited from the program and what factors have contributed to the program’s

success and failures.

While the success of the program was found to be due to factors such as program

adequate funding through grants from Department of Veterans Affairs, team of

dedicated staff at Featherfist and committed veterans who were willing to turn their

lives around for better, the organization does not have a way measuring the program’s

goal of sustainable independent living among those veterans that are able to secure job

upon completion of the training program.

Therefore, a six-month periodic follow-up by the organization is suggested as a

parameter of measuring whether that goal is being met by those veterans that

successfully completed the job training and able to secure employment.

.

Introduction and Background

Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates as

many as 154,000 veterans are homeless on a given night and about

twice as many are homeless each year (Kuhn and Nakashima 2008).

Unemployment among homeless populations is widespread, and

disproportionately so against the veterans, and the problem is

especially worse during economic downturns. As the federal

government continues to reduce troop level in Iraq and

Afghanistan and with current unemployment amongst veterans at

14%, more veterans will be returning home competing for jobs.

Failing to effectively address the high rate of unemployment

could add to the ranks of homeless veterans (Murray, 2011).

Organizations such as Featherfist Transitional Living

Organization, tailor their programs like Homeless Veterans'

Reintegration Program (HVRP) and other related federal programs

to helping homeless veterans. According to the Department of

Labor, the purpose of the HVRP is to provide services to assist

in reintegrating homeless veterans into meaningful employment in

the labor force and to stimulate the effective service delivery

systems that will address the complex problems that homeless

veterans face.

The program is conducted through Featherfist Employment and

Vocational Services (FEVS) program. The goal of the program is to

help the veterans acquire skills that help them live a

sustainable independent living through employment opportunities

or better educational advancement. The program duration for set

of participants is 12 weeks involving activities such as

familiarizing participants with computers, how to access the

internet, how to set up an e-mail address, how to perform basic

word processing and spreadsheet functions. Additionally, classes

are provided in household and personal budget management, basic

home maintenance, nutrition, locating furniture, understanding a

lease, landlord and neighbor relationships, among others. The

expected outcome for the program is the ability of the program

participants to transition out of the shelter into a sustainable

independent living.

Organization and Target Population

Featherfist is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization with a

mission to eliminate homelessness in the Chicago area. The

organization provides various social services that include job

training and employment referral services for mostly clerical

positions or provide p assistance to help these homeless folks

engage in advance educational opportunities. The organization in

essence, provides crisis intervention, housing assistance,

computer and job training, employment workshops and seminars

about the many benefits and services available to veterans. As

stated in their mission, the fist) and the feather is to give

“power and purpose to the homeless by helping them gain housing

stability, self-determination, self-sufficiency”.

The goal of this organization is to eradicate homelessness

through provision of myriad assistance to help homeless

population in their serving areas, transition into a sustainable

independent living. The study was however focused on the job

training and employment program for veterans’ population at

Featherfist Organization. The average stays of veterans at this

facility for those that secure employment upon successful

completion of the training, is between 8-12 months; and they

often referred by friends and family members.

Research Question and Goal

This research is focused on the impact of the educational

training and employment services initiatives employed by

Featherfist to transition the homeless veterans into a

sustainable independent living. The study was conducted to find

out how many veterans have benefited from the program and what

factors have contributed to the success or failure of these job

training and employment service program at Featherfist.

The hypothesis of this study was the belief that there

should be a direct relationship between the program’s success and

the number of veterans that are able to successfully secure and

hold employment for a period of six months; and in turn, requests

less assistance from Featherfist or similar aid organizations.

Literature Review

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently estimates as

many as 154,000 veterans are homeless on any given night (Kuhn

and Nakashima 2008). Employment services for homeless Veterans

are provided through a range of programs. The major one among

these programs is Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program

(HVRP), whose primary objective is to assist in various service

provisions that help reintegrate homeless veterans into long term

employment opportunities within the labor force. In its annual

report to congress, , the Department of Labor’s Office of the

Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training

reported a total of 13,446 veterans were served by the HVRP

grantees in program year (PY) 2007 (U.S. Department of Labor FY

2007 Congressional Report, 2008). 9,061, or 67%, were expected

to be placed in employment in the program year 2007. The

percentage of participants placed in employment has grown nearly

every year since PY2000, when 52.8% of veterans participating in

HVRP entered employment.

In PY 2004, the most recent year for which more extensive data

are available, of those who became employed, an estimated 64%

were still employed after 90 days, and 58% after 180 days (U.S.

Department of Labor FY 2007 Congressional Report, 2008 pp. 97).

While most homeless organizations have historically focused on

providing people with access to safe and affordable housing and

supportive services, usually addressing employment later in the

process, some reports suggest it may be effective and worthwhile

to offer employment at the earliest stages of engagement to help

people who are homeless develop trust, motivation, and hope (Min,

Wong, and Rothbard, 2004). Without any help or assistance, people

who are homeless often lack skills in stress management and

social interaction, independent living skills, and skills for

vocational engagement (Munoz, Reichenbach, and Hansen, 2005). In

addition, homeless young adults and youth experience high levels

of trauma and typically have poor educational and vocational

preparation (Barber, Fonagy, Fultz, Simulinas, and Yates, 2005).

In a study addressing the needs of homeless persons with

psychiatric disorders, addiction disorders, or both, Rosenheck

and Mares (2007) conducted a study to examine a low-intensity

training approach for implementing the individual placement and

support (IPS) model at nine Department of Veterans Affairs

programs and compared client outcomes before (phase 1) and after

(phase 2) the program was implemented. Mixed models were used to

compare quarterly employment outcomes over two years in phase 1

and phase 2, adjusting for significant baseline differences

(N=629). Overall, compared with veterans in the phase 1 group,

those in the phase 2 group had a better long-term work history at

the time of program entry and the authors concluded that a

sustained training program (STP); defined and designed as a

persistent and results oriented activities, can be used to

implement IPS model program.

Long, Rio, and Rosen (2007) found that the available

research on employment initiatives targeted to homeless people is

limited to descriptive reviews and qualitative studies that do

not provide hard evidence on the effectiveness of the employment

services. No specific evaluations have been done to determine

whether stays in transitional housing programs funded by the

Capital Grant and Per Diem program from VA increase the

likelihood that homeless veterans will become employed and the

research evidence about the effectiveness of programs in reaching

the homeless population with income support and in encouraging

employment and self-sufficiency while support is provided is

plainly weak (Long et al., 2007).

In a study conducted to expand the current knowledge

regarding the use of services by homeless veterans, James

Petrovich (2009) recruited a systematic sample from a low-demand

urban shelter and applied a strengths-based perspective (process

of continuous practice rather than a theory in order to minimize

the weaknesses by maximizing the strengths of the veterans) by

evaluating whether the personality construct of hardiness

(defined as the existential courage and motivation to turn

stressful circumstances from events and/or potential disasters

into growth opportunities), predicted utilization of assistance

services. The study, framed within the Behavioral Model of Health

Services Use, multiple linear regressions was used to evaluate if

hardiness predicted the use of five distinct assistance service

sectors by veterans who are homeless. For all service sectors,

need-based and/or enabling factors such as history of

homelessness, criminal history and substance abuse, statistically

significantly predicted the use of services. No predisposing

factor – including hardiness –predicted the use of services. For

the most part, access to medical, psychiatric, and substance

abuse services could be considered equitable as need-based

factors were predictive of use. Results indicated veteran and

non-veteran men who are homeless continued to be significantly

different in terms of basic demographic characteristics and not

statistically different in the use of assistance services. The

study concluded that with access to VA health care system, the

lack of statistical difference between the two groups might be

lack of motivation and possibly from perhaps, invincible service-

inflicted injury in homeless veterans might be the reason for

such difference.

The reviewed literature helped on how I conducted this

study; particularly, in the design of interview questions for my

qualitative data. Part of the questions sought to find out the

impact of engaging homeless veterans in some form of paid-

vocation or job, in addition to providing them other living

assistance needs while still living at Featherfist shelter

facilities. I also explored in this study, whether the

possibility of the individual veteran personalities’ issues such

as invincible service-inflicted wounds and/or substance abuse,

and not the inadequate job training might be preventing the

veteran from engaging in a sustainable independent living.

Methodology

Qualitative data aimed at answering the research questions for

this study was gathered through in-depth interviews at the

Featherfist Organization facility. Those interviewed were: the

Executive Director, Ms. Stacey Anewishki, the Director of the Job

Training, Mr. Terrance Steele and the Director of the Employment

Services and Facility Manager, Mr. Abraham House-el. Office

visits to the organization were done in February, 2011. This was

done to familiarize myself with the principals at the

organization and obtain preliminary information on the program.

The in-depth interview was however, conducted between April 19,

2011 and May 4, 2011 with a total of 6 interview sessions among

the principals of Featherfist organization. With proper

identification along with the recommendation letter letter from

the school, these experts agreed to voluntarily participate in

the study. Each interview session lasted between 30-50 minutes.

Additional qualitative data was gathered through direct

observation of two 30 minutes training sessions. The recorded

interview was transcribed and coded to allow for analysis.

The quantitative data for this study was directly provided

by Mr. Abraham House-el. The data included demographics, number

of years of military service, attendance, graduation rates and

the number of the homeless veterans that is able to secure and

hold employment for minimum of 12 months upon completion of the

training. The major variables in this study were homelessness,

veterans, job training, employment opportunities, personal traits

of the homeless veteran trainee and sustainable independent

living.

The dependent variables were: (1) successful completion of

the job training, (2) secure job within 60 days after the

completion of the training and (3) minimum of 12 months on the

job. The independent variables included training attendance,

training completion rate, application for job application(s),

employment history, education attainment level and veterans’

personality construct hardiness. The Program’s goal (sustainable

independent living) was measured by the number of veterans who do

not receive any form of support services such as monetary and/or

housing needs from Featherfist or other aids giving

organizations; upon completion of the training and job placement.

Study Design

I utilized the action research approach along with the logic

model in conducting this study. The resources such as financial,

man power, training, food and shelter provided by the Featherfist

were considered input. While the outputs considered were

veterans’ training attendance and mastering independent living

(SIL) skills. The ability of individual veterans to live a

sustainable independent living lifestyle upon completion of the

training was the expected outcome.

Figure 1: Research ModelInputs-------------------------------------Outputs----------------------------------- Outcomes

I like the figure and the proper title you gave it.

Limitations of this study

The limitation of my research was twofold. My reliance on

Featherfist for data regarding the program and the program

participants; there is a possibility of working with “doctored”

data.

I was limited by time constraint that made it impossible for me

to obtain permission from Institutional Review Board (IRB) to

interview the homeless veterans whom the job training program is

designed for. Also, the effectiveness of the Department of

Veterans’ case managers in helping those with learning

difficulties as a result of possible military service-inflicted

Financial Resources, Shelter, Food, Job and SIL SkillTraining supplied

Veterans’ Training Attendance and ability to master of job

Veterans able tosecure and maintain employment that leads to

injuries could not be ascertained because of VA privacy policy.

In light of these limitations, the result of this evaluation will

be limited to Featherfist Transition Living Organization. Very

good.

Findings

Quantitative Data

Of 91 all male homeless veterans (clients) that went through the

12-weeks program in organization’s operating year 2010, majority

(74%) were African Americans while Caucasian and Hispanics

accounted for 21% and 5% respectively with average age of 33

years old and eight years of military service.

Figure 1 descriptive title?

74

215

Percentage of Veterans

Population By RaceAfrican AmericanCaucasianHispanic

Source: Featherfist Transition Living Organization.

The attendance and graduation rates were 90% and 87%

respectively. The few among these homeless veterans (about

6%) that experienced learning difficulty, was as a result of

possible service-inflicted injuries such as brain injury and

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

According to the data furnished by the organization, 66

(84%) of those that successfully completed the job training

program did find jobs ranging from security positions to

truck drivers and one with Masters Degree actually got

employed as a high school teacher in one of Chicago Public

Schools. However, data obtained indicates that half of those

unemployed (9 persons or per cent?) are due to their past

criminal activities, and the remaining 4 are currently

enrolled in both 2-year and 4-year colleges while they still

live at the Featherfist housing facility.

Figure 2 Title?

Source: Featherfist Transition Living Organization

Qualitative Data

Aside from the job training that focus on reading, computer

training skill, resume writing that helps the veterans secure

employment; the training according to the Director, also

covers household and personal budget management, basic home

maintenance, nutrition, locating furniture, understanding a

lease, landlord and neighbor issues and counseling are

provided for locating schools, libraries, child care, local

police, fire, hospitals and health services, social and

recreational services, transportation, retail stores,

churches, and other important resources. Effectiveness of the

skills from the training were measured through post-training

course evaluation of the classes offered and frequent

“skills- role playing” to ascertain the skills necessary for

them to meet the program’s goals were adequately learned and

mastered. How may have completed the program successfully?

The job training success of 90% and 87% respective

attendance and graduation rates were found to be the result

of the structured and “buddy-assisted” training environment

at Featherfist. My observations in the classroom revealed

that, the pace of the training was somewhat slow, but the

military-style “buddy” system of assistance and help was

evident among the veterans.

The dropout rate was given to be between 10% and 20%. According

to the training director, the reasons for dropout was due to

myriad personal reasons ranging from less need for them to be in

the program and health related issues. The few (6%) that

experienced learning difficulties as a result of possible

military service-inflicted injuries were often referred to their

VA assigned case managers, whom the job training director

coordinates with, to get the necessary medical help for their

problems.

It was found that the program is well funded by the VA with

grants for outpatient care facilities required to address

homelessness among veterans in the Chicago area. According to

the Employment and Facility’s manager at Featherfist, the

program is being considered by VA as a model for other

shelter organizations with significant veterans’ population.

However, none of the principals interviewed at Featherfist

could provide any data that points to how the organization

measures how the program’s goal of sustainable independent

living are being met by those veterans who have successfully

completed the training program and able to secure employment.

Also, the impacts and effectiveness of VA’s case managers’

efforts on those veterans with learning disability could not

be ascertained because of the VA’s privacy policy.

Discussion

The findings in this study indicate that well-structured

training environment with committed staff at Featherfist

helped provide good learning atmosphere that encouraged these

veterans to commit themselves to staying in the program. The

possible explanation for the mostly African-American

population the study found could be because the organization

is located in the Chicago’s south side neighborhood, which is

predominantly populated by African Americans. The program’s

success regarding employment placement in an economic

downturn with unemployment rate hovering around 8.7% in

Chicago area is an indication that with committed human

capital resources, adequate funding and committed veterans,

the issue of homelessness among veterans is not

insurmountable, after all.

Though the program is well funded with committed staff at

Featherfist Transition Living Organization, the study did not

find whether any of the veterans that got employed upon

completing the job training program has gone on to live a

sustainable independent living lifestyle, which is the goal

of the program.

Although, the data indicates some of these veterans that

successfully completed the training did find jobs, but they

could still be relying on other aid organizations similar to

Featherfist for one form of help or the other regarding their

living standards. This is because Featherfist does not have

any means of tracking these veterans to ensure they are

adhering to all the 12-weeks training skills that help them

meet the program’s goal of sustainable independent living.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The findings in this study show that while Featherfist

Transition Living Organization is capable and successful at

operating a job training and employment service program that

helps homeless veterans get back on their feet, the fact that

the organization does not have ways of measuring the ultimate

goal of the program indicates that an important part of the

program is being neglected.

The organization should devise means such as utilizing VA

resources to follow up with veterans that completed the

program for at least every 6 months interval to ascertain the

program’s goal of sustainable independent living are being

met by these veterans upon successful completion of the job

training program and job placement.

The program should in-corporate the idea of employing

these veterans on a weekly rotation basis while undergoing

this training. This will help the veterans develop sense of

responsibility and good work ethics that is ultimately useful

for them when they are employed upon completion of the

program.

The organization should encourage VA to employ those that

performed very well in the training but are having

difficulties getting job in the private sector because of

their past criminal activities.

References

Min, S., Wong, Y. I., & Rothbard, A. B. (2004). Outcomes of shelter use among homeless persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 55(3), 284–289.

Barber, C. C., Fonagy, P., Fultz, J., Simulinas, M., & Yates, M. (2005). Homeless near a thousand homes: Outcomes of homeless youth in a crisis shelter. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(3), 347–355.

Rosenheck, Robert A. and Mares, Alvin S. (2007). Implementation of Supported Employment for Homeless Veterans with Psychiatric orAddiction Disorders: Two-Year Outcomes. Psychiatry Service, 58: 325 -333.

Munoz, J. P., Reichenbach, D., & Hansen, A. M. (2005). Project Employ: Engineering hope and breaking down barriers to homelessness. Work, 25(3), 241–52.

James McGuire. Closing a Front Door to Homelessness among Veterans. Journal of Primary Prevent (2007) 28:389–400. DOI 10.1007/s10935-007-0091-y. (accessed February 2, 2011).

Long, David; Rio, John; and Rosen, Jeremy, 2007. Employment and Income Supports for Homeless People. Paper presented at the National Symposium on Homelessness Research, March 1-2, in Washington, D.C., United States.

U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistance Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training, FY2006 and FY2007 Annual Report to Congress, May 21, 2008.

Petrovich, J. 2009. Hardiness and homelessness: A strengths basedperspective of service use by veterans who are homeless. PhD diss., University of Texas, Arlington.

Appendix A: Research Schedule

Timeframe TasksW eek 1 Revised research proposalW eek 2 Submitted research proposal and formulate expert questionsW eek 3 Peer critique interview questions and incorporated suggestion

from peers critique into my interview questionsW eek 4 Confirmed expert interview appointments/Expert interviewW eek 5 Expert InterviewW eek 6 Expert Interview with classroom observationW eek 7 Coded and compiled interview findingsW eek 8 Started work on posterW eek 9 Poster PresentationW eek 10 Submitted final research paper for peer reviewW eek 11 Proof-read and edited research paper for final submission

Appendix B: Interview Questions

Questions for the Executive Director of Featherfist Organization

1. Please, could you tell me about the program?

2. What are the demographics of the veterans that you get in this

program and how is the selection made? How do you get your

veteran population at this shelter?

3. Is there any involvement of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

or other governmental agencies involvement in this program? The

follow up to this question if VA or other government agency is

involved in the program: Is their involvement before or after

enrollment in the program? And if not, why are they not involved,

and are there plans to involve any government agency?

4. I know you have a lot of success stories on this program. How

does Featherfist measure success, I mean how do you know that a

veteran, having completed the job training program measures up to

the program goal of sustainable independent living?

5. What are the obstacles the organization has experienced or

typically experiences in the program?

6. Lastly, what tools does Featherfist have in place to conduct self

assessment of measuring their daily mission is in line with their

long term goals of eradicating homelessness in the Chicago area?

Questions for the Job Training Director

1. With the goal of helping the veterans transition into a

sustainable independent living, how do you as the director of

the training program, determine which/what lessons to teach that

will help the trainees gain employment upon completion?

2. Can you please talk about the attendance and graduation rates

of this training program?

3. Aside from job-specific training, what other training do you

give that is likely to be needed by these homeless veterans to

be successful in completing training and securing and

retaining employment?

4. Among these trainees, are there some that you often identify

to have any form of learning disabilities? And if so, what in

your opinion do think contributes to these obstacles to

learning among these homeless veterans?

5. What do you use as the parameters to measure the effectiveness of

the training?

Question for the Employment Services Director

1. What do you specifically do to help the veterans secure job

placement after the completion of the training and is the focus

on private sector, public sector or both?

2. As the employment service director, have you thought about the

idea of engaging homeless veterans in some form of paid-vocation

or job, in addition to providing them other living assistance

needs while still living at Featherfist shelter facilities? And

if that is the case, what is your experience with such program?

3. How many are able to secure and hold employment for minimum of

12 months upon completion of the training and what are the

obstacles to those that are not able to secure employment after

the training (if there is any)?

4. As the employment service director, do you have any follow up

support system in place to ensure individual’s success on the

job, and can you please talk about such support system?

.