Employment following recovery from substance use disorder: A demographic analysis of the CORE Program

Individuals recovering from substance use disorder face employment barriers. Vocational rehabilitation assists individuals through education, skill development and connection creation to employers and community resources. Participant characteristics correlating with success or failure lack clarity.

Deidentified demographic data were retrospectively collected from 2020 and 2021 calendar years, including gender, race, ethnicity, county of residence, and referral source. Information left blank was termed non-designated data. Data were analyzed for correlation of being enrolled vs unenrolled and discharged from the program (voluntarily or involuntarily) vs attaining employment. Calculations were with t-test, Chi-square, or Fisher's exact tests, using a P value < 0.05 for significance.

Referred participants (n = 1273) enrolled at a 53.34% rate. No differences were seen in race (P = 0.75) or ethnicity (P = 0.31). Enrolled patients (n = 679) had twice as long a recovery time (1.19 vs 0.528 years), were more male (53.62% vs 47.57%; P = 0.03), and self-referred (9.72% vs 5.11%; P = 0.002). They had a 35.35% employment rate with average wages of $10.69/hour (122% of minimum wage). No differences were found between discharged and employed groups for gender (P = 0.14), race (P = 0.85) and ethnicity (P = 0.63). Employed participants were self-referred more (13.75% vs 7.52%; P = 0.009). Non-designated demographic data did not correlate with the discharged cohort for gender (P = 0.66), but did for race (P < 0.00001), ethnicity (P = 0.01), and county of residence (P < 0.00001).

Occupational readiness can be identified by the completeness of demographic data upon program enrollment. Identifying reasons for non-designation and impacting individuals at risk for failing to gain employment early is essential to optimize vocational rehabilitation.