United States Government Accountability Office

GAO Testimony 

Before the Subcommittee on Economic 

Opportunity, Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs, House of Representatives

HOMELESS VETERANS

Job Retention Goal Under 

Development for DOL’s 

Homeless Veterans’ 

Reintegration Program 

Statement of Cynthia A. Bascetta 

Director, Health Care 

For Release on Delivery

Expected at 2:00 p.m. EDT

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

 

GAO-05-654T 
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

May 4, 2005

HOMELESS VETERANS

Job Retention Goal Under Development 

for DOL’s Homeless Veterans’ 

Reintegration Program 

Highlights of GAO-05-654T, a testimony 

before the Subcommittee on Economic 

Opportunity, Committee on Veterans’ 

Affairs, House of Representatives 

The Department of Veterans Affairs 

(VA) has estimated that as many as

250,000 veterans may be homeless 

on any given day. Many other

veterans are also considered at risk

for homelessness because of 

poverty, lack of support from

family and friends, and precarious 

living conditions in overcrowded or 

substandard housing. One federal 

program designed to help these

veterans is the Department of

Labor’s (DOL) Homeless Veterans’ 

Reintegration Program (HVRP)—a

grant program that provides 

funding for employment and 

training services for homeless 

veterans. GAO was asked to assist

the subcommittee with its 

consideration of HVRP

reauthorization by providing 

information on DOL’s 

(1) expenditures on HVRP grants

and (2) measures and goals for

assessing the effectiveness of 

HVRP. GAO reviewed VA and DOL 

documentation that included the 

amounts DOL expended for HVRP

as well as information on HVRP 

grantees and performance goals. 

GAO also interviewed DOL 

program officials. 

DOL’s expenditures for HVRP grants have increased from $9.5 million in 

fiscal year 2000 to over $18 million in fiscal year 2004. For fiscal years 2005 and 

2006, DOL estimates that it will expend over $20 million on HVRP grants each

year. Currently, DOL oversees 79 HVRP grants that help provide employment

and job training services for homeless veterans. 

DOL Actual and Estimated Expenditures on HVRP Grants for Fiscal Years 2000-2006 

In program year 2003 (July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004), 63 percent of 

homeless veterans enrolled in HVRP funded programs entered employment, 

which exceeds the 61 percent entered-employment goal in DOL’s fiscal year 

2006 budget. DOL recently reported that for program year 2003, 35 percent 

of employed veterans served through the program retained their jobs for 180 

days. However, DOL is in the process of developing a performance goal for 

this job retention measure. This goal along with the entered-employment 

goal will help DOL, Congress, and others evaluate the impact that HVRP has

on homeless veterans. 

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-654T.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Cynthia A. 

Bascetta at (202) 512-7101. 
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

We are pleased to be here today to discuss employment and job-training 

services for homeless veterans through the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 

Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP). HVRP is a grant 

program that funds employment and training services for homeless 

veterans, as part of DOL’s overall efforts under the Veterans’ Employment

and Training Service (VETS). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has 

estimated that as many as 250,000 veterans may be homeless on any given

day. Many other veterans are also considered at risk for homelessness 

because of health problems such as substance abuse and mental illness, 

poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and precarious living 

conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing. Multiple federal 

agencies such as VA, DOL, and the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) administer programs that serve homeless veterans. 

To assist the subcommittee with its consideration of HVRP 

reauthorization, my testimony today provides information on DOL’s 

(1) expenditures on HVRP grants and (2) measures and goals for assessing 

the effectiveness of HVRP. 

During the course of our work, we examined DOL’s HVRP grant 

expenditures for fiscal years 2000 through 2004 and its projected budgets 

for 2005 and 2006. We reviewed our past work on federal efforts to address 

the needs of homeless veterans, including related veteran employment and 

training services. (See Related GAO Products at the end of this statement.) 

We also reviewed VA and DOL agency documentation that describes the 

services provided to homeless veterans, interviewed DOL program 

officials, and made a site visit to an HVRP grantee that provides training,

education, and housing services in Baltimore, Maryland. DOL provided us 

with information on HVRP grantees, participants, and performance 

measures. However, we did not perform independent verification of its 

data. We discussed the information contained in this statement with DOL

officials, who agreed with its contents. We performed our work in April 

2005 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 

standards. 

In summary, DOL’s expenditures for HVRP grants have increased from 

$9.5 million in fiscal year 2000 to over $18 million in fiscal year 2004. For 

fiscal years 2005 and 2006, DOL estimates that it will expend over 

$20 million on HVRP grants each year. Currently, DOL oversees 79 HVRP

grants that help provide employment and job training services for 

homeless veterans. In program year 2003 (July 1, 2003, through June 30, 

Page 1 GAO-05-654T
2004), 63 percent of homeless veterans enrolled in HVRP funded programs 

entered employment, which exceeds the 61 percent entered-employment 

goal in DOL’s fiscal year 2006 budget. DOL recently reported that for 

program year 2003, 35 percent of employed veterans served through the 

program retained their jobs for 180 days. However, DOL has not developed 

a performance goal for this job retention measure, but plans to do so for 

2007. Moreover, DOL has not provided the Congress with statutorily 

required reports on program effectiveness. 

VA has estimated that one-third of homeless adults have served in the 

armed forces and as many as 250,000 veterans may be homeless on any 

given day.1

 Further, according to VA, about 45 percent of homeless 

veterans have mental illnesses, and slightly more than 70 percent have 

alcohol and drug abuse problems. 

Background 

Under VETS, DOL administers specific programs and activities designed to

help veterans obtain employment and training assistance. DOL carries out

its responsibilities through a nationwide network that includes staff in 

each of its 10 regions and staff in state offices. VETS funds three types of

grant programs to support veterans—HVRP, the Jobs for Veterans’ State 

Grants Program, and the Veterans Workforce Investment Program. HVRP 

is the only VETS program specifically targeted to homeless veterans. 

HVRP was initially authorized in 1987, as part of the Stewart B. McKinney 

Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney Act).2

 Congress passed the McKinney 

Act in part because of concerns that the needs of homeless people were 

not being met beyond their immediate needs for food and shelter.3

 The 

McKinney Act was the first comprehensive law designed to address other 

needs of homeless people such as physical and mental health care, 

education, and job training. Currently, HVRP is authorized under the 

Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001 (HVCAA), 

which provides that the Secretary of Labor shall conduct programs to 

 1

VA bases its homeless veteran population estimate on the Urban Institute’s analysis of a 

1996 survey of homeless clients and providers conducted by the Census Bureau: 

Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve, Technical Report prepared by the 

Urban Institute for the Interagency Council for Homelessness, Sept. 1999. 

2

See Pub. L. No. 100-77, § 738, 101 Stat. 482, 530-31 (1987). 

3

The act’s definition of homeless includes individuals who lack a fixed, nighttime residence 

and whose primary nighttime residence is either a supervised temporary shelter, 

institution, or a place not ordinarily used for sleeping. 

Page 2 GAO-05-654T
provide job training, counseling, and placement services to expedite the

reintegration of homeless veterans into the labor force.4

HVRP grants are intended to address two objectives: (1) to provide 

services to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into meaningful 

employment within the labor force and (2) to stimulate the development of 

effective service delivery systems that will address the complex problems 

facing homeless veterans. There are four types of grants that are 

administered under HVRP—urban, non-urban, intermediary, and grants to 

serve previously incarcerated veterans. DOL awards urban grants to 

applicants that provide services in the 75 most populated cities and nonurban grants to applicants that provide services in smaller cities and rural 

areas. Additionally, DOL awards grants to intermediaries that award a 

substantial portion of their grants to eligible local grass roots 

organizations to provide employment and training services. Finally, DOL 

awards Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition Program grants for serving only 

previously incarcerated veterans at risk of homelessness. 

Various organizations, for example state and local agencies, private 

industry, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive grants under 

HVRP. DOL assesses each application and awards grants based on a 

number of factors including applicants’ strategies for employment and 

retention of employment, and program design as it relates to job training, 

counseling, mentoring and other assistance to expedite the reintegration 

of homeless veterans into the labor force. Currently, there are 79 active

grants. 

Grantees are required to provide an array of services utilizing a case 

management approach that directly assists homeless veterans and 

provides critical linkages for a variety of supportive services available in

their local communities.5

 Job placement, training, career counseling, and 

resume preparation are among the services that are provided by grantees. 

Supportive services such as referral to medical and substance abuse 

treatment; provision of or referral to temporary, transitional, and 

 4

See Pub. L. No. 107-95, § 5, 115 Stat. 903, 909-10 (2001). 

5

Case management is a client-centered approach for the delivery of intensive services. Case 

management is designed to prepare and coordinate comprehensive employment plans for 

participants, to help ensure access to the necessary training and supportive services, and to

provide support during program participation and after job placement. 

Page 3 GAO-05-654T
permanent housing; and transportation assistance are also provided to 

help meet the needs of homeless veterans.6

Prior to fiscal year 2003, HVRP grants included 1 additional year of 

optional funding after the year of award. Beginning in fiscal year 2003, 

DOL awards grants for one year, with the option of additional funding in 

each of the next two years based on grantee performance and the 

availability of funds.7

 DOL does not guarantee additional funding for 

option years when it awards HVRP grants. 

DOL Expenditures on 

HVRP Grants Have 

Increased Since Fiscal 

Year 2000 

DOL expenditures for HVRP grants increased from $9.5 million in fiscal 

year 2000 to over $18 million in fiscal year 2004. During fiscal year 2000, 

DOL awarded $9.5 million for 54 HVRP grants to provide employment and 

training services for 7,800 homeless veterans. During fiscal years 2001 

through 2003, DOL spent about $17.5 million annually to fund 81, 62, and 

77 grants, respectively, to serve about 14,000 homeless veterans each year. 

In fiscal year 2004, DOL spent about $18.6 million for HVRP grants—most 

of it for urban and non-urban grantees. It was also the first year that HVRP 

provided grants to intermediaries and, during that year, DOL expanded 

grants specifically to serve previously incarcerated veterans—$900,000 for 

intermediaries and $1.5 million for the Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition 

Program.8

 HVRP is projected to grow modestly in fiscal years 2005 and 

2006 from fiscal year 2004 funding levels. DOL estimates that it will spend 

about $20 million annually on HVRP grants for fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

(Figure 1 shows DOL actual and estimated expenditures on HVRP Grants 

for fiscal years 2000-2006.) 

 6

Transitional housing is generally housing in which homeless persons live for up to 24 

months and receive supportive services that enable them to live more independently.

Permanent housing is long-term community-based housing and supportive services for 

homeless persons with disabilities. The intent of this type of supportive housing is to 

enable this special needs population to live as independently as possible in a permanent

setting. 

7

HVRP grants are made for a program year that runs from July 1 to June 30. 

8

DOL reports that a demonstration grant was provided to serve previously incarcerated

veterans in fiscal year 2003. 

Page 4 GAO-05-654T
Figure 1: DOL Actual and Estimated Expenditures on HVRP Grants for Fiscal Years 

2000-2006 

0

5

10

15

20

25

2000 2003 2004 2001 2002 2005 2006

Estimate Estimate

Dollars in millions

Source: DOL.

DOL Has Established an 

Entered-Employment 

Goal; an EmploymentRetention Goal Is Under 

Development 

For program years 2004 and 2005, DOL set an entered-employment goal of 

58 percent for HVRP—defined as the percent of enrolled eligible 

participants who were placed in jobs or otherwise obtained employment 

as a result of grantee services. The Advisory Committee on Homeless 

Veterans and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans also use 

entered-employment rates as a measure of the effectiveness of HVRP.9

DOL’s 2006 budget indicates that it plans to increase this goal to 61 

percent. DOL reported to us that for program year 2003, the most current 

year for which data are available, HVRP grantees enrolled 13,060 homeless 

 9

The Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans is comprised of experts in the treatment

of mental illness, substance use, housing alternatives, and vocational rehabilitation; 

representatives from community service providers with qualifications to deal effectively 

with care and treatment services for homeless veterans; veterans service organizations; 

advocates of homeless veterans and other homeless individuals; previously homeless 

veterans; and state veterans affairs officials. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 

is a nonprofit organization that serves as a resource for a network of nearly 250 

community-based service providers and local, state and federal agencies that provide 

emergency and supportive housing, food, health services, job training and placement 

assistance, legal aid and case management support for hundreds of thousands of homeless 

veterans each year. 

Page 5 GAO-05-654T
veterans and placed 8,191, or 63 percent, in employment—a rate that 

exceeds both DOL’s current entered-employment performance goal and its 

goal for next year. 

Sustained employment is another measure of program effectiveness. DOL 

recognizes that it is necessary to evaluate and measure this long-term 

result.10 HVRP grantees must follow-up 90 and 180 days after placement to

determine whether a veteran is in the same or similar job and must 

obligate sufficient funds prior to the end of the grant performance period 

to ensure that follow-up activities are completed and reported to DOL. 

These 90 and 180 day follow-ups are fundamental to assessing the success 

of the program, according to DOL. 

However, while DOL requires grantees to measure and report on the 

effectiveness at 90 and 180 days after placement, it has not established a 

performance goal for employment retention for the program—the percent 

of veterans placed in employment who retain their jobs. DOL’s data for 

program year 2003 show that while grantees achieved a 59 percent 

retention rate at 90 days, the rate dropped to 35 percent at 180 days. An 

employment-retention goal would provide DOL a better basis for assessing

whether grantees are providing or referring homeless veterans to the 

services necessary for them to retain employment. Understanding why job 

retention drops could help develop effective interventions and provide 

information for establishing future performance goals. According to DOL, 

it plans to establish a performance goal for employment retention for 

fiscal year 2007. 

The Congress has specifically recognized the importance of assessing the 

outcomes of services provided to homeless veterans by requiring DOL to 

report every two years on the effectiveness of HVRP. While DOL has taken 

some steps, it has not provided the required reports. DOL officials told us 

that the department plans to issue its first report to the Congress by the 

end of fiscal year 2005. Providing this information to the Congress will 

help with its oversight of the program and with its deliberations regarding 

program reauthorization. 

 10See 70 Fed. Reg. 15899, 15901 (Mar. 29, 2005): Department of Labor, Veterans’

Employment and Training Service, Urban Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program 

Grants for Program Year 2005: Initial Solicitation for Grant Applications. 

Page 6 GAO-05-654T
Concluding 

Observations 

Because employment retention is crucial to the overall success of 

transitioning veterans from homelessness, it is important that DOL 

continue to develop a realistic performance goal for employment retention 

to help assess the success of HVRP. Establishing such a longer-term goal 

for the program may help ensure that grantees provide veterans with 

longer-term follow up services necessary to retain employment. This goal

along with the entered-employment goal will help DOL, Congress, and 

others evaluate the impact that HVRP has on homeless veterans. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I will be pleased to 

answer any questions that you or other members of the subcommittee may 

have. 

For further information regarding this testimony, please contact 

Cynthia A. Bascetta at (202) 512-7101 or Michael T. Blair, Jr., at 

(404) 679-1944. Michael Tropauer also contributed to this statement. 

Contacts and 

Acknowledgments 

Page 7 GAO-05-654T
Page 8 GAO-05-654T

Related GAO Products 

Veterans’ Employment and Training Service: Flexibility and 

Accountability Needed to Improve Service to Veterans. GAO-01-928. 

Washington, D.C.: September 12, 2001. 

Homeless Veterans: VA Expands Partnerships, but Homeless Program 

Effectiveness Is Unclear. GAO/HEHS-99-53. Washington, D.C.: April 1, 

1999. 

Homelessness: Coordination and Evaluation of Programs Are Essential. 

GAO/RCED-99-49. Washington, D.C.: February 26, 1999. 

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