Independence Project

November 12, 2021 updated by: Westat

Independence Project: An Intensive Employment Program for Veterans With a Disability Transitioning From the Armed Services

The Independence Project is a study to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive employment intervention for young veterans with disabilities recently separated from military service. The study is a randomized controlled trial comparing an intensive employment model (National Career Coach Program) to usual community employment services available to unemployed veterans recently separated from active duty (Local Community Resources Program). The investigators will evaluate if people who receive the National Career Coach Program have better employment outcomes and reduced Veterans Disability Compensation participation than people who receive the Local Community Resources Program.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Tens of thousands of veterans with disabilities transition from military service each year, often destined for lives dependent on disability insurance and disengaged from community life. The personal and societal costs of not helping these veterans re-integrate into civilian life are enormous, including suicides, addiction, family problems, and rapidly increasing costs to the Veterans Disability Compensation Program (VDC).

The current project is an evaluation of the National Career Coach Program to assist veterans as they transition to civilian life. Instead of existing veteran services (including the VDC) that emphasize brokenness and pay veterans small amounts based on what they cannot do, this innovative program emphasizes strengths and abilities by front-loading intensive support, motivation, human-capital investment, and incentives to help veterans become permanently engaged in meaningful work, thereby boosting morale, positive identity, and community integration.

The design of this study is a randomized controlled trial comparing an intensive employment model (National Career Coach Program) to usual community employment services available to unemployed veterans recently separated from active duty (Local Community Resources). The investigators will enroll 250 participants over an 12-month period, randomly assigning them to the two conditions and following them over a three-year period. The primary outcome domains are competitive employment and VDC disability benefits.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

229

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New Hampshire
      • Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States, 03766
        • Westat

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 42 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Former or current US Armed Service members.
  • Enlisted rank at time of separation.
  • Under 45 years old.
  • Completed at least six months of active duty.
  • Received or will receive honorable or general discharge.
  • At time of enrollment, their Expiration of Term of Service is within six months prior to separation or within 12 months post-separation.
  • Completed an application for a Veterans Disability Compensation (VDC) rating and waiting determination, or, if the VDC rating has been determined, awarded a disability rating between 30% to 90%.
  • If currently on active duty, no intention to reenlist or to accept an existing offer for a permanent job upon separation; if already separated from active duty, currently unemployed (or employed in temporary job).
  • Expressed desire to work in a competitive job within 3 months of separation (if on active duty) or within 3 months (if separated from active duty).
  • Willing to participate in either of the two employment approaches including attendance at a scheduled introductory class.
  • Consent to research procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: National Career Coach Program
This program has four main components: a 4-day in-person introductory seminar held in Alpharetta, GA, up to 18 months of job coaching provided by telephone and Skype, a human capital fund to pay for expenses of securing a job (e.g., travel, clothing, computers, professional organization fees), and an opportunity for two years to earn a bonus for employment earnings above a certain level.
Intensive employment services as described above.
Active Comparator: Local Community Resources Program
Consists of referral to three local face-to-face service providers offering veterans training, financial assistance, and paid work experiences: The Department of Veterans Affairs Compensated Work Therapy Program, the state Vocational Rehabilitation program, and the Department of Labor America's Job Center.
Usual employment services as described above.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Total Earnings
Time Frame: 36 months
Amount earned from competitive employment as reported by IRS administrative earnings data
36 months
Veterans Disability Compensation rating and benefits
Time Frame: 36 months
Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities, which assigns a percentage from 0% to 100%, the higher the value the more significant the disability
36 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gary R Bond, PhD, Westat
  • Principal Investigator: Robert E Drake, PhD, Westat

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 1, 2018

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

July 1, 2022

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 2, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 31, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

June 1, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 15, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 12, 2021

Last Verified

November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • WPN: 18-148

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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