Spinal cord injury combined with felony history: effect on supported employment for Veterans

Abstract

In this secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial comparing supported employment with treatment as usual, we sought to evaluate the study incident rate of legal involvement and subsequent effects of legal involvement on employment among 157 job-seeking Veterans with spinal cord injury. The supported employment vocational rehabilitation program, called the Spinal Cord Injury-Vocational Integration Program, adhered as closely as possible to principles of supported employment as developed and described in the individual placement and support model of supported employment for persons with mental illness. Rates of misdemeanor and felony arrests and convictions were analyzed, and their relationship to finding employment was evaluated. Findings indicate that 47% had been arrested and 25% had been convicted of a felony. Overall, those who found employment had fewer average arrests and were significantly less likely to have been convicted of a felony. Future directions and limitations are discussed.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT00117806.

Keywords: Veterans; crime; ex-offender; outcomes; social reintegration; spinal cord injury; supported employment; unemployment; vocational rehabilitation; vocational services.