What works to support disadvantaged groups towards employment? - Technical report

Question 1

Scoping

Accepted Answer

The review began with a rapid scoping phase. The aim was to get a clear sense of the scale and nature of the evidence base. This began with a steering group made up of representatives from DWP, MoJ and MCHLG who decided the initial scope of the review. An initial literature search used Scopus (a large multi-disciplinary database of academic literature) and Google Scholar. It also involved reaching out to a range of academic and non-academic experts to ask for recommended literature. A short series of conversations were conducted with charities that represent each of the four main populations of interest. These conversations helped the research team to understand more about the current research and policy landscape and assist with identifying important literature.

Question 2

Systematic Review

Accepted Answer

Search strategy

The search for academic literature involved two separate elements:

Academic literature was searched for using complex search strings developed in partnership with an evidence search specialist, which were run on a series of different academic databases.

Grey literature was searched for by identifying relevant organisations and searching their websites using key terms. Key stakeholders and academics were also contacted for relevant sources.

Academic database search

The following academic databases were searched:

Scopus
Web of Science
EconLit
PsycInfo
ABI/INFORM
Business source premier
Proquest Dissertations & Theses

Table 1 shows the search string that was run on the Scopus database, generating 8,231 results. The same string was adapted for use on the other databases.

Table 1: Search Summary

1	TITLE-ABS ( “care leaver” OR “care leaving” OR “former foster” OR “care experienced” OR “looked after children graduate” OR “foster care alum” OR “residential care alum” OR “former* residential care” OR “former* residential childcare” OR ((leaving OR left OR transition) PRE/2 (“foster care” OR “out of home care” OR “residential care” OR “residential childcare” OR “residential child care” OR “looked-after”)) OR {Staying Put} OR {Staying Close}) OR AUTHKEY (“care leaver” OR “care leaving” OR “former* foster” OR “care experienced” OR “looked after children graduate” OR “foster care alum” OR “residential care alum” OR “former* residential care” OR “former* residential childcare” OR ((leaving OR left OR transition*) PRE/2 (“foster care” OR “out of home care” OR “residential care” OR “residential childcare” OR “residential child care” OR “looked-after”)) OR {Staying Put} OR {Staying Close})
2	TITLE-ABS (offender* or “ex-offender” or ((former or previous* or released OR re-entry OR reentry) W/2 (prison* or incarcerat* or jail* or corrections or correctional OR inmate)) or probation OR parole) OR AUTHKEY(offender or “ex-offender” or ((former or previous* or released OR re-entry OR reentry) W/2 (prison* or incarcerat* or jail* or corrections or correctional OR inmate*)) or probation OR parole)
3	TITLE-ABS((street W/2 (people or person* or individual* or population* or men or women or man or woman)) or (“hard to house” or “lack of housing” or “substandard housing” or “unstably housed” or underhoused or “under housed” or unhoused or squatter* or homeless* or houseless* or indigent or ((sleeping OR sleeper) W/2 rough) or “living rough” or “no fixed abode”)) OR AUTHKEY((street W/2 (people or person or individual* or population* or men or women or man or woman)) or (“hard to house” or “lack of housing” or “substandard housing” or “unstably housed” or underhoused or “under housed” or unhoused or squatter* or homeless* or houseless* or indigent or ((sleeping OR sleeper*) W/2 rough) or “living rough” or “no fixed abode”))
4	TITLE-ABS( ( ( alcohol* OR drug* OR substance* OR liquor) W/2 ( use OR using OR abus* OR addict* OR misus* OR dependen* ) ) OR ( chemical* W/0 ( dependen* OR addict* ) )) OR AUTHKEY( ( ( alcohol* OR drug* OR substance* OR liquor) W/2 ( use OR using OR abus* OR addict* OR misus* OR dependen* ) ) OR ( chemical* W/0 ( dependen* OR addict* ) ))
5	#1 OR #2 OR #3 OR #4
6	TITLE-ABS((employment OR vocation* OR “work placement” OR “job placement”) W/5 (barrier* OR outcome* OR sustain* OR support* OR intervention* OR program* OR facilitat* OR initiative* OR strateg* OR scheme* OR framework* OR approach) OR “housing first” OR “fair chance” OR “Individual Placement and Support”) OR AUTHKEY((employment OR vocation OR “work placement” OR “job placement”) W/5 (barrier* OR outcome* OR sustain* OR support* OR intervention* OR program* OR facilitat* OR initiative* OR strateg* OR scheme* OR framework* OR approach*) OR “housing first” OR “fair chance” OR “ Individual Placement and Support”)
7	TITLE-ABS(retrain* or “re-train” or retool or “re-tool” or ((“on-the-job” or vocation OR career* OR job or jobs or occupation* or work) W/2 (train* OR learn)) OR “job counselling” OR “employment counselling” OR “job counseling” OR “employment counseling” OR “work skill” OR “vocational skill” OR TVET or “Technical and vocational education and training” or apprenticeship or mentor* or internship* or upskill* or ALMP* or “active labour market program” or “active labor market program” or “active labour market polic” or “active labor market polic” or entrepreneur* OR “return to work” or reemployment OR “re-employment” OR “inclusive economy” or ((economic or labor or labour or economy) W/2 participat) OR “workplace reintegration” OR “social enterprise intervention”) OR AUTHKEY(retrain* or “re-train” or retool or “re-tool” or ((“on-the-job” or vocation OR career* OR job or jobs or occupation* or work) W/2 (train* OR learn)) OR “job counselling” OR “employment counselling” OR “job counseling” OR “employment counseling” OR “work skill” OR “vocational skill” OR TVET or “Technical and vocational education and training” or apprenticeship or mentor* or internship* or upskill* or ALMP* or “active labour market program” or “active labor market program” or “active labour market polic” or “active labor market polic” or entrepreneur* OR “return to work” or “inclusive economy” or ((economic or labor or labour or economy) W/2 participat) OR “workplace reintegration” OR “social enterprise intervention”)
8	#6 OR #7
9	#5 AND #8
10	TITLE-ABS-KEY({Care leavers Social Impact Bond} OR {Independent Living Program} OR {Independent Living Services} OR {Transition Support Services} OR {Moving Ahead Program} OR {Customized Employment Supports} OR { Community Restitution Apprenticeship-Focused Training} OR {Offender Accommodation Pilot} OR {Peer To The Future Programme})
11	#9 OR #10
12	1990 to present

Grey literature search

The following organisations were used in the grey literature search:

UK government and government agencies

GOV.UK
New Futures Network

UK national charities

The Growth Company
The Skill Mill
Working Chance
Become Charity
The care leavers association
Rees Foundation
Settle
Action on addiction
Turning Point
Movement to Work
MEAM (Making Every Adult Matter)
Clinks
Drive Forward Foundation
Forward Trust
Unite foundation
British Association for Supported Employment

Screening

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

The inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed to narrow the search to the papers most relevant to the research questions. These are set below:

Population: Inclusion

Geography: OECD countries only
Age: no defined age limit
Ex-offenders
Care-leavers
People with substance misuse problems
Homeless people

Population: Exclusion

Other disadvantaged groups who do not also belong to the specified four categories e.g. veterans.

Intervention: Inclusion

Interventions that actively aim to address underlying barriers to employment
Interventions that aim to provide the skills and resources to find and apply for work
Interventions that actively place people in work
To summarise: intervention must explicitly aim to improve employment outcomes ####Intervention: Exclusion

Interventions that address underlying barriers to employment, without focusing on employment outcomes

Outcomes: Inclusion

Education and skills training (only if this is explicitly related to job-skills or future employment)
Job applications
Job search abilities e.g. job search self efficacy index
Interviewing for jobs
Testing and assessments (only if these are explicitly related to gaining employment)
Work experience
Voluntary work
Entering employment
Sustained employment
Barriers to employment (N.B. This is for the care-leaver group only)
The following ‘soft’ outcomes but only if explicitly in relation to employment or part of an employment intervention:
- Wellbeing e.g. Short-Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (only if in relation to employment or part of an employment intervention)
- Health e.g. EQ-53-DL (only if in relation to employment or part of an employment intervention)
- Networks / social connection / isolation
- General self-efficacy e.g. ability to cope, resilience
- Attitudes towards work and life in general e.g. optimism, motivation, satisfaction / contentment
- Self-perception e.g. self-esteem, confidence
Addressing other barriers to employment e.g. housing, caring responsibilities, transport, financial stability/capability

Outcomes: Exclusion

Progression in work
Known barriers to employment e.g. mental health, housing, without focusing on their relation to employment
Employer attitudes, unless this is as part of an assessment of employment outcome

Study designs: Inclusion

Published after 1990
Experimental and non-experimental designs
Language: English, Spanish, French and German

Study designs: Exclusion

Published before 1990 
Non-systematic literature reviews
Study/review protocol

Title and abstract screening

All academic papers identified by the database search were manually screened by reviewing the titles and abstracts against the inclusion and exclusion criteria (above).

Two reviewers independently screened the title and abstract for a subset of studies. Any disagreements were resolved in a discussion with a third reviewer until a consensus was reached.

Amendment to inclusion criteria

During title and abstract screening, there was a total of 951 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Even if a substantial number of these studies had been subsequently screened out at the full text screening stage, this would have resulted in too many studies to include in the review within the time and budget available.

Therefore, further restrictions were made to the scope of the review. The decision was made to prioritise existing systematic reviews. The 951 studies were re-screened at title and abstract to identify these. Alongside existing reviews, the decision was made to include high-quality grey literature, since this was unlikely to have been included in the existing systematic reviews.

Once we had identified the existing systematic reviews and high-quality grey literature, we mapped out which interventions and populations were well covered in the literature, and which were not. Using this mapping, we returned to the 951 studies to select a small number of academic studies that filled gaps in the included literature. These generally focused on ex-offenders and care leavers.

Full text screening

Following this screening process, a final round of screening involved reviewing the full texts of each study to confirm that it met the inclusion/exclusion criteria.

After full-text screening, 77 studies were included in the review, including 47 systematic reviews, 13 academic primary research studies, and 17 non-academic studies.

Quality appraisal

Quality appraisal was conducted alongside full text screening. Our approach to quality appraisal was based on the Weight of Evidence framework (WoE), where studies were assessed by their relevance and quality (Gough, 2007^{[footnote 1]}).

A bespoke approach was developed for primary research and grey literature studies by using a range of existing heuristics, frameworks, and checklists, including the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists, and others^{[footnote 2]} . The choice of quality appraisal tool was tailored to the research designs of the included studies and included the following assessment heuristics and methodological detail.

Evidence reviews

Systematic reviews were given a score out of 11 based on the AMSTAR 2 check list^{[footnote 3]}. After receiving a numerical grade based on the checklist, scores were recoded to A, B or C.

All other types of evidence were given an A, B or C grade based on the quality of their specific methodologies.

Surveys

This was developed based on the ‘total survey error’ framework, developed by Groves^{[footnote 4]}. The framework identifies how survey quality is a function of the degree of error at multiple stages, including both ‘representation’ (sampling, non-response) and ‘measurement’ (construct validity, questionnaire design, data processing).

Survey quality

A	B	C
Either a census sample, or a random probability sample. Response rate is reasonable given the target population. Random probability samples are drawn from frames with good coverage, are stratified, and with weights applied. - The achieved sample is of a sufficient size to justify the conclusions made. - There is no clear reason to question the validity or reliability of the questionnaire, and there are no leading questions reported.	A high-quality survey, but with limitations, such as a low response rate, a limited sample frame, no stratification applied, no weights applied, slightly small achieved sample, limitations on questionnaire validity or reliability. - Alternatively, a high-quality non-probability survey. This would involve a sample drawn from a large panel, with detailed quotas and weights applied, a good questionnaire, and no clear indications of sample bias.	Either a poor census/ probability survey, or an average non-probability survey. For example, an opt-in survey with no quotas or weights applied, a small sample size, or a poorly written questionnaire. - Or, received a C score for methodological detail (see below).

Secondary analysis

Many of the factors included in the ‘total survey error’ framework (see above) are relevant to administrative data, including the distinction between ‘representation’ and ‘measurement’. This heuristic has been developed based on these principles.

Administrative data quality

A	B	C
A large dataset – for example, admin data from local police forces may not contain enough cases to allow robust comparisons between groups, whereas national data might. - The data has high levels of reliability and validity. This means that we can trust that the data is collected in a consistent manner – similar cases would be recorded in the same way at different times, or by different people. And we can trust that the data measures what it intends to measure – although to some extent this depends on how the data is reported. - There is little or no indication of significantly biased under or overreporting. - If the data is a time-series, then waves are fully comparable.	There are reasons to doubt the reliability and/or validity of the data. There may be a significant degree of subjectivity involved in data recording, or a time series might have a significant change in methodology. There may be some indication of biased under or overreporting. The data may not exactly measure what it is being used to explore.	The dataset is too small to allow generalisation or robust comparisons. There are strong reasons to doubt reliability or validity. There is good evidence of significantly biased under or overreporting. - Or, received a C score for methodological detail (see below).

Qualitative methods

This was developed from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Qualitative Studies Checklist^{[footnote 5]}.

Qualitative data quality

A	B	C
Clear justification of sample size. i.e. enough to reach saturation, enough to represent all important groups, all police forces, etc. - Clear justification of sampling strategy. i.e. whether, why, and how quotas were set, recruitment methodology. - Data collection method (interviews, focus groups, etc.) appropriate to research questions. Clear justification of the design of the research instrument. - Relationship between researcher and participants adequately considered (i.e. potential bias). - Clear description of the analytical approach, such as thematic analysis, narrative analysis, etc.	Lacking 1-2 features of an ‘A’ study.	Lacking >2 features of an ‘A’ study. Or, received a C score for methodological detail (see below).

Impact evaluation

We used the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale (SMS)^{[footnote 6]}. This scale ranks impact evaluation methodologies and considers the quality of their implementation. We have considered levels 5 and 4 to be ‘A’, level 3 to be ‘B’, and levels 1 and 2 to be ‘C’.

	A	B	C
Methodology	RCTs, natural experiments, discontinuity designs	Diff-in-diff with balancing (OLS, matching)	Diff-in-diff without balancing, before and after comparisons, correlation analysis, or no control group
Detail	Level 5: Reserved for research designs that involve explicit randomisation into treatment and control groups, with Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) providing the definitive example. Extensive evidence provided on comparability of treatment and control groups, showing no significant differences in terms of levels or trends. Control variables may be used to adjust for treatment and control group differences, but this adjustment should not have a large impact on the main results. Attention paid to problems of selective attrition from randomly assigned groups, which is shown to be of negligible importance. There should be limited or, ideally, no occurrence of ‘contamination’ of the control group with the treatment. Level 4: Quasi-randomness in treatment is exploited, so that it can be credibly held that treatment and control groups differ only in their exposure to the random allocation of treatment. This often entails the use of an instrument or discontinuity in treatment, the suitability of which should be adequately demonstrated and defended.	Level 3: Comparison of outcomes in treated group after an intervention, with outcomes in the treated group before the intervention, and a comparison group used to provide a counterfactual (e.g. difference in difference). Justification given to choice of comparator group that is argued to be similar to the treatment group. Evidence presented on comparability of treatment and control groups. Techniques such as regression and propensity score matching may be used to adjust for difference between treated and untreated groups, but there are likely to be important unobserved differences remaining.	Level 2: Use of adequate control variables and either (a) a cross-sectional comparison of treated groups with untreated groups, or (b) a before-and-after comparison of treated group, without an untreated comparison group. In (a),control variables or matching techniques used to account for cross-sectional differences between treated and controls groups. In (b), control variables are used to account for before-and-after changes in macro level factors. Level 1: Either (a) a cross-sectional comparison of treated groups with untreated groups, or (b) a before-and-after comparison of treated group, without an untreated comparison group. No use of control variables in statistical analysis to adjust for differences between treated and untreated groups or periods. Or, received a C score for methodological detail (see below).

Methodological detail

For each evidence source, we assessed how thoroughly the methodology has been described. For each methodological approach, criteria are set out below for determining whether the research falls into the ‘A’ category. The assessment of how thoroughly the methodology has been described will be done by determining what proportion of the ‘A’ criteria are fully described. Each evidence source will then be given a ranking from A (highest) to C (lowest) for the methodological detail.

A	B	C
There is enough information provided to determine the status of all or most of the criteria necessary for judging the evidence source ‘A’ on quality. For example, a non-probability survey would provide detail on the size of the panel, the size of the achieved sample, any quotas used, whether any weighting was used, and would show the questions that were asked. An evidence review would provide detail on the research questions, the search process, the inclusion criteria, any prioritisation or quality assessment made, and the approach to extraction and synthesis.	Less detail than A, but more than C. i.e. there is some description of some of the key elements of the design, but not enough to determine the quality of the research with a high degree of confidence.	There is little or no information provided about the research methods used. For example: the sources used for secondary data analysis are not provided; a non-probability survey does not describe how the survey was shared or promoted, or whether quotas were used; an evidence review has no discussion of the inclusion criteria; a qualitative study does not describe how or why interviewees were selected.

Data extraction and reporting

Based on an initial review of a subset of the prioritised papers, we developed a thematic framework. The framework was structured by the key themes included in the research questions. Members of the research team read the 81 papers in full and extracted relevant evidence for each theme. Evidence on each thematic area was summarised and used to populate the framework.

Upon data extraction, 4 of these papers were excluded after more detailed investigation revealed that their reporting of employment outcomes was too limited to justify inclusion.

This left 77 included papers:

13 independent studies
17 pieces of grey literature
47 systematic reviews

The extracted data was then organised by the type of intervention.

Evidence summary tables

For each category of intervention in the literature, the final report contains a table that summarises the evidence. These tables show the volume of high-quality evidence, whether there is evidence of positive impact for a given outcome category, and the recommendations for future research.

The following principles were followed when generating these tables:

Volume of evidence:

Low – no RCTs or good QEDs or high-quality TBEs with the relevant population or an overlapping population
Medium – several RCTs or good QEDs or high-quality TBEs with an overlapping population; one or two RCTs or good QEDs with the relevant population
High – several RCTs or good QEDs or high-quality TBEs with the relevant population
NA – the intervention doesn’t apply to the group

Evidence of impact. Does the evidence we have (regardless of the volume, quality or relevance of the evidence) show:

no evidence of impact on X outcome (i.e. there is at least some high-quality evidence, but it does not show any impact)
evidence of promise on X outcome (i.e. some statistically significant differences between treatment and control but not large, or only short term, or heterogeneity between studies, etc., giving some confidence in causal attribution but with caveats or caution)
evidence of positive impact on X outcome (i.e. consistent statistically significant differences between treatment and control across studies, giving good confidence in causal attribution)
NA (i.e. because the intervention doesn’t apply to the group, or because there is no evidence at all)

Future research:

No further research needed (because there is already a good amount of research on the topic and the conclusions are clear)
Higher quality evidence needed (because there is a small volume of high-quality evidence with the relevant population showing promising results, or a high volume of medium/low quality evidence with the relevant population showing promising results)
More directly relevant evidence needed (because there is a lack of evidence on the relevant population but good evidence of promise for overlapping populations, or because there is good evidence with the relevant population but in a very different place/context)
NA (because the intervention doesn’t really apply to the population)

Question 3

PRISMA chart

Accepted Answer

A PRISMA flow chart depicts the different phases of a systematic review. It maps out the number of studies identified, included and excluded and the reasons for exclusion.

Identification of studies via databases and registers

Identification:

15,886 records identified from databases; with 7,655 identified as being duplicates and removed before screening (duplicates removed with SR Accelerator)

Screening:

8,231 records screened at title and abstract; with 7,280 records excluded
951 records screened at second round of screening focusing on evidence reviews; with 870 records excluded
81 records screened at full text; with 34 records excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria
17 additional primary academic literature screened in at full text

Identification of studies via other methods

Identification:

108 records identified from Grey literature searching

Screening

108 records assessed for eligibility; with 62 records excluded for not meeting inclusion criteria and 29 records excluded based on quality

Included studies

77 studies were included in the review: 47 systematic reviews, 17 pieces of grey literature and 13 primary studies.

Evidence Overview

Evidence Reviews

Source	Country	Population	Interventions	Outcomes	Quality rating
Aubry, T., Bloch, G., Brcic, V., Saad, A., Magwood, O., Abdalla, T et al. (2020). Effectiveness of permanent supportive housing and income assistance interventions for homeless individuals in high-income countries: a systematic review. Lancet Public Health, e342-360.	USA	Homeless	Housing Employment Support	Being in employment and employment related earnings - Earnings and financial - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self -esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Physical health and healthcare	A
Bassuk, E. L., DeCandia, C., Tsertsvadze, A., & Richard, M. (2014). The effectiveness of housing interventions and housing and service interventions on ending family homelessness: A systematic review. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.	Multiple	Homeless	Housing - Health interventions including mental health - Case management and care plans - Substance misuse programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self-esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Physical health and healthcare - Community/social integration/mentorship	A
Bond, G. R., Drake, R. E., & Pogue, J. A. (2019). Expanding Individual Placement and Support to Populations With Conditions and Disorders Other Than Serious Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Individual Placement Support (IPS)	Being in employment and employment related	A
Carnemolla, P., & Skinner, V. (2021). Outcomes Associated with Providing Secure, Stable, and Permanent Housing for People Who Have Been Homeless: An International Scoping Review. Journal of Planning Literature, 467-635.	Multiple	Homeless	Housing	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	B
Connell, C., Furtado, V., McKay, E., & Singh, S. (2017). How effective are interventions to improve social outcomes among offenders with personality disorder: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 1-11.	Multiple	Ex-offenders	Health interventions inc. mental health - Community, Peer support and mentorship	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial	A
Connell, C., Birken, M., Carver, H., Brown, T., & Greenhalgh, J. (2023). Effectiveness of interventions to improve employment for people released from prison: systematic review and meta-analysis. Health and Justice, 1-18.	USA	Ex-offenders	Health interventions inc. mental health - Case management and care plans - Education/skills/training - Individual Placement Support (IPS) - Substance misuse programmes - Community, Peer support and mentorship - Employment Support	Being in employment and employment related	A
De Pass, T., Dada, O., Lund, J., John, J., & Kidd, S. A. (2023). A scoping review of housing stabilization interventions for youth experiencing homelessness. Children and Youth Services Review.	Multiple	Homeless	Housing - Population specific programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self-esteem etc. - Housing/independent living	A
de Vet, R., Luijtelaar, M. J., Brilleslijper-Kater, S. N., Vanderplasschen, W., Beijersbergen, M. D., & R. L. M., J. (2013). Effectiveness of Case Management for Homeless Persons: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Public Health, e1-1915.	Multiple	Homeless	Health interventions inc. mental health - Case management and care plans - Community, Peer support and mentorship	Earnings and financial - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	C
Doucet, M. M., Greeson, J. K., & Eldeeb, N. (2022). Independent living programs and services for youth ‘aging out’ of care in Canada and the U.S: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Housing/independent living	A
Eddie, D., Hoffman, L., Vilsaint, C., Abry, A., Bergman, B., Hoeppner, B et al. (2019). Lived Experience in New Models of Care for Substance Use Disorder: A Systematic Review of Peer Recovery Support Services and Recovery Coaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 1-12.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Substance misuse programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Physical health and healthcare - Engagement with/process of support programmes	C
Everson-Hock, E. S., Jones, R., Guillaume, L., Clapton, J., Duenas, A., Goyder, E et al. (2011). Supporting the transition of looked-after young people to independent living: a systematic review of interventions and adult outcomes. Child Care Health Dev.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Housing - Education/skills/training - Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Physical health and healthcare	A
Feather, J., Allen, D., Crompton, R., Jones, Z., Christiansen, A., & Butler, G. (2023). Transitional support interventions for care leavers: A scoping review. Children & Society, 1419-1879.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Case management and care plans- Health interventions inc. mental health - Housing - Education/skills/training - Employment Support - Community, Peer support and mentorship - Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Housing/independent living	B
Greeson, J. K., Antonio R. Garcia, F. T., Chacon, A., & Ortiz, A. J. (2020). Interventions for youth aging out of foster care: A state of the science review. Children and Youth Services Review.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Housing - Education/skills/training - Employment Support - Health interventions inc. mental health - Community, Peer support and mentorship	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g wellbeing, self-esteem etc.- Housing/independent living	A
Gypen, L., Vanderfaeillie, J., Maeyer, S. D., Belenger, L., & Holen, F. V. (2017). Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic-review. Children and Youth Services Review, 74-83.	Multiple	Care-leavers	N/A	Housing/independent living	C
Harrison, J., Krieger, M. J., & Johnson, H. A. (2020). Review of Individual Placement and Support Employment Intervention for Persons with Substance Use Disorder. Substance Use & Misuse, 636-643.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Individual Placement Support (IPS)	Being in employment and employment related	C
Heerde, J. A., Hemphill, S. A., & Scholes-Balog, K. E. (2018). The impact of transitional programmes on post-transition outcomes for youth leaving out-of-home care: a meta-analysis. Health and Social Care in the community, e15-e20.	USA	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc.	A
Hellström, L., Pedersen, P., Christensen, T. N., Wallstroem, I. G., Bojesen, A. B., Stenager, E et al. (2021). Vocational Outcomes of the Individual Placement and Support Model in Subgroups of Diagnoses, Substance Abuse, and Forensic Conditions: A Systematic Review and Analysis of Pooled Original Data. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 699-710.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Individual Placement Support (IPS)	Being in employment and employment related	A
Jones, L. (2019). Remaining in Foster Care After Age 18 and Youth Outcomes at the Transition to Adulthood: A Review. Journal of Language and Social Psychology.	USA	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse Housing/independent living - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	C
Keenan, C., Miller, S., Hanratty, J., Pigott, T., Hamilton, J., Coughlan, C et al. (2021). Accommodation-based interventions for individuals experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 1-93.	Multiple	Homeless	Case management and care plans - Housing - Substance misuse programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self-esteem etc. - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	A
Kim, M., Byrne, A. M., & Jeon, J. (2022). The Effect of Vocational Counseling Interventions for Adults with Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 1-11.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Substance misuse programmes - Employment Support - Education/skills/training - Health interventions inc. mental health	Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Earnings and financial - Recidivism/criminal activity	C
Krahn, J., Caine, V., Chaw-Kant, J., & Singh, A. E. (2018). Housing interventions for homeless, pregnant/parenting women with addictions: a systematic review. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness.	USA	Homeless	Housing - Case management and care plans	Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Engagement with/process of support programmes - Housing/independent living - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	A
Lakrouf, R., Roy, L., Arbaud, C., & Stich, C. (2024). Interventions for pregnant youth and young mothers experiencing homelessness: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 1-12.	Multiple	Homeless	Health interventions inc. mental health - Case management and care plans - Education/skills/training - Housing	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living	A
Lesnick, J., Abrams, L. S., Angel, K., & Barnert, E. S. (2023). Credible messenger mentoring to promote the health of youth involved in the juvenile legal system: A narrative review. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care.	USA	Ex-offenders	Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Engagement with/process of support programmes - Recidivism/criminal activity	A
Lindner, A. R., & Hanlon, R. (2024). Outcomes of youth with foster care experiences based on permanency outcome – Adoption, aging out, long-term foster care, and reunification: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Physical health and healthcare	A
Lohmeyer, B. A., McGregor, J. R., Crittenden, Z., & Hartung, C. (2024). Mentoring for care-experienced young people: A rapid review of program design. Children and Youth Services Review.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Community, Peer support and mentorship	Community/social integration/mentorship	B
Maglione, M. A., Raaen, , L., Chen, , C., & Gulrez Azhar, N. (2018). Effects of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder on functional outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 28-51.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Substance misuse programmes - Community/social integration/mentorship	Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Physical health and healthcare	A
Magura, S., & Marshall, T. (2020). The Effectiveness of Interventions Intended to Improve Employment Outcomes for Persons with Substance Use Disorder: An Updated Systematic Review. Substance Use & Misuse, 2230-2236.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Community, Peer support and mentorship - Substance misuse programmes - Employment Support - Individual Placement Support (IPS)- Education/skills/training - Case management and care plans - Health interventions inc. mental health	Being in employment and employment related	B
Marshall, C. A., Boland, L., Westover, L. A., Goldszmidt, R., Bengall, J., Aryobi, S et al. (2022). Effectiveness of employment-based interventions for persons experiencing homelessness: A systematic review. Health and Social Care, 2142-2169.	Multiple	Homeless	Housing - Health interventions inc. mental health - Case management and care plans - Individual Placement Support (IPS) - Employment Support - Substance misuse programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Engagement with/process of support programmes	A
Marshall, C. A., Boland, L., Westover, L. A., Marcellus, B., Weil, S., & Wickett, S. (2020). Effectiveness of interventions targeting community integration among individuals with lived experiences of homelessness: A systematic review. Health & Social Care in the Community.	Multiple	Homeless	Employment Support	Community/social integration/mentorship	A
Montgomery, P., Donkoh, C., & Underhill, K. (2006). Independent living programs for young people leaving the care system: The state of the evidence. Children and Youth Services Review, 1435-1448.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Housing/independent living	A
Newton, D., Day, A., Margaret Giles, J. W., Graffam, J., & Baldry, E. (2016). The Impact of Vocational Education and Training Programs on Recidivism: A Systematic Review of Current Experimental Evidence. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 187-207.	USA	Ex-offenders	Employment Support - Population specific programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Recidivism/criminal activity	B
Nuñez, M., Beal, S. J., & Jacquez, F. (2022). Resilience factors in youth transitioning out of foster care: A systematic review. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy , S72-S81.	USA	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	C
O’Donnell, R., Hatzikiriakidis, K., Mendes, P., Savaglio, M., R. G., Kerridgec, G et al. (2020). The impact of transition interventions for young people leaving care: a review of the Australian evidence. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 1076-1088.	Australia	Care-leavers	Case management and care plans - Education/skills/training - Health interventions inc. mental health - Community, Peer support and mentorship - Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Earnings and financial - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc.	A
Probyn, K., Engedahl, M. S., Rajendran, D., Pincus, T., Naeem, K., Mistry, D., & Martin Underwood, R. F. (2021). The effects of supported employment interventions in populations of people with conditions other than severe mental health: a systematic review. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 1-12.	Multiple	Substance misuse	Individual Placement Support (IPS) - Employment Support	Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Engagement with/process of support programmes - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	A
Reif, S., George, P., Braude, L., H, R., Dougherty, A. S., Ghose, S. S., & Delphin-Rittmon, M. E. (2014). Recovery Housing: Assessing the Evidence. Psychiatric Services, e401-402.	USA	Substance misuse	Substance misuse programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self-esteem etc. - Recidivism/criminal activity	A
Saldanha, S., Tavitian, N., Lehman, E., Carey, L., & Higgs, P. (2024). Effectiveness of the Housing First model among substance users: a scoping review. Housing Care and Support.	Multiple	Homeless	Housing	Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Substance misuse - Housing/independent living - Physical health and healthcare	C
Talbot, E. C., Völlm, B., & Khalifa, N. (2015). Effectiveness of work skills programmes for offenders with mental disorders: A systematic review. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.	USA	Ex-offenders	Education/skills/training - Employment Support - Substance misuse programmes - Health interventions inc. mental health	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. Recidivism/criminal activity	A
Taylor, D., Albers, B., Mann, G., Jane Lewis, R. T., Mendes, P., Macdonald, G., & Shlonsky, A. (2024). Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Policies and Interventions that Improve Health, Psychosocial, and Economic Outcomes for Young People Leaving the Out-of-Home Care System. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 3441-4293.	USA	Care-leavers	Housing - Education/skills/training - Health interventions inc. mental health - Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living -Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare	A
Thomas, Y., Gray, M., & McGinty, S. (2011). A Systematic Review of Occupational Therapy Interventions With Homeless People. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 38-53.	Multiple	Homeless	Health interventions inc. mental health - Education/skills/training	Being in employment and employment related	A
Walton, M. T., & Hall, M. T. (2016). The Effects of Employment Interventions on Addiction Treatment Outcomes: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 358-384.	USA	Substance misuse	Substance misuse programmes - Employment Support Individual Placement (IPS)	Substance misuse - Being in employment and employment related	C
Weightman, A. L., Kelson, M. J., Thomas, I., Mann, M. K., Searchfield, L., Willis, S et al. (2023). Exploring the effect of case management in homelessness per components: A systematic review of effectiveness and implementation, with meta-analysis and thematic synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews.	Multiple	Homeless	Case management and care plans	Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Substance misuse - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self-esteem etc. - Housing/independent living - Recidivism/criminal activity - Physical health and healthcare - Engagement with/process of support programmes	A
Whitworth, A., Baxter, S., Cullingworth, J., & Clowes, M. (2024). Individual Placement and Support (IPS) beyond severe mental health: An overview review and meta-analysis of evidence around vocational outcomes. Preventive Medicine Reports.	Multiple	Homeless	Individual Placement Support (IPS)	Being in employment and employment related	A
Wilson, D. B., Gallagher, C. A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2000). A Meta-Analysis of Corrections-Based Education, Vocation, and Work Programs for Adult Offenders. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.	USA	Ex-offenders	Education/skills/training - Employment Support - Population specific programmes	Being in employment and employment related - Recidivism/criminal activity	A
Woodgate, R. L., Morakinyo, O., & Martin, K. M. (2017). Interventions for youth aging out of care: A scoping review. Children and Youth Services Review, 280-300.	Multiple	Care-leavers	Housing - Education/skills/training - Employment Support - Community, Peer support and mentorship - Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Housing/independent living	B

Grey literature

Source	Country	Population	Interventions	Outcomes	Quality rating
Davey, C., Elsby, A., Erskine, C., Hill-Newell, M., Mon, L., Palmer, H et al. (2013). Evaluation of the Care Leavers Social Impact Bong (SIB) programme: Final evaluation report.	UK	Care-leavers	Education/skills/training - Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related	B
Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. (2013). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults.	Multiple	Ex-offenders	Education/skills/training	Recidivism/criminal activity - Being in employment and employment related - Education/skills/training	A
Dixon, J., Quilgars, D., & Wenham, A. (2021). Relationships First? The initial two years of Haringey Housing First Project for Care Leavers.	UK	Care-leavers	Housing	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Recidivism/criminal activity - Community/social integration/mentorship	B
Department for Work & Pensions. (2014). Evaluation of day one mandation of prison leavers to the Work Programme.	UK	Ex-offenders	Employment Support	Engagement with/process of support programmes - Being in employment and employment related	B
Foster, R., Small, L., Foster, S., Oonagh Skrine, G. H., & Turnbull, P. (2013). Evaluation of the Employment and Reoffending Pilot: Lessons learnt from the planning and early implementation phase.	UK	Ex-offenders	Employment Support	Recidivism/criminal activity - Being in employment and employment related - Education/skills/training	B
Gibb, J., & Edwards, A. (2017). From Care to Independence: Findings from research supported by The Big Lottery, conducted in partnership with The Prince’s Trust.	UK	Care-leavers	N/A	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Engagement with/process of support programmes	B
Harrison, D. N., Dixon, J., Sanders-Ellis, D., Ward, J., & Asker, P. (2023). Care leavers’ transition into the labour market in England.	UK	Care-leavers	Case management and care plans - Education/skills/training - Housing - Employment Support - Population specific programmes - Community, Peer support and mentorship	Being in employment and employment related	A
Hofman, J., Picken, N., Hutchinson, J., Harris, A., Stewart, K., & Disley, E. (2024). Process evaluation of the Individual Placement and Support for Alcohol and Drug Dependence (IPS-AD) trial.	UK	Substance misuse	IPS	Being in employment and employment related - Engagement with/process of support programmes	B
Hunter, S. B., & Huang, C. Y. (2014). Substance Use Treatment and Reentry (STAR) Program: Final Evaluation Report.	USA	Substance misuse	Health interventions inc. mental health - Case management and care plans - Education/skills/training	Community/social integration/mentorship - Recidivism/criminal activity - Housing/independent living - Being in employment and employment related - Education/skills/training - Substance misuse - Engagement with/process of support programmes	B
McCoy, S., & Kempton, O. (2018). More than bednights: An evaluation of the Nightstop Service.	UK	Homeless	Housing	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Physical health and healthcare	B
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. (2018). STRIVE Evaluation: Final report.	UK	Homeless	Education/skills/training - Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related	B
Mitchell-Smith, D. Z., Caton, D. S., & Potter, D. A. (2020). Shared Lives 16+(Pilot)	UK	Care-leavers	N/A	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Housing/independent living - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Physical health and healthcare	B
Mollidor, C., Bierman, R., & Akhurst, E. (2020). Evaluation of the Care Leavers Partnership: Southwark Council and Catch 22: Evaluation Report.	UK	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	N/A	B
Munro, E. R., Lushey, C., Maskell-Graham, D., Ward, H., & Holmes, L. (2010). Evaluation of the Staying Put: 18 Plus Family Placement Programme: Final Report.	UK	Care-leavers	Population specific programmes	Education/skills/training	B
Neagu, M., & Dixon, J. (2020b). The Fair Ways Staying Close Project: Evaluation report.	UK	Care-leavers	Case management and care plans - Housing	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Housing/independent living	B
Neagu, M., Centre, R., & Dixon, J. (2020a). The Portsmouth Aspiration Staying Close Project: Evaluation report.	UK	Care-leavers	N/A	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Community/social integration/mentorship - Housing/independent living - Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc.	B
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. (2024). IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes report.	UK	Care-leavers		Education/skills/training

Primary sources

Source	Country	Population	Interventions	Outcomes	Quality rating
Bretherton, J., & Pleace, N. (2019). Is Work an Answer to Homelessness? Evaluating an Employment Programme for Homeless Adults. European Journal of Homelessness, 59-83.	UK	Homeless	Employment Support	Education/skills/training - Being in employment and employment related - Engagement with/process of support programmes	B
Cook, P. J., Kang, S., Braga, A. A., Ludwig, J., & O’Brien, M. E. (2014). An Experimental Evaluation of a Comprehensive Employment-Oriented Prisoner Re-entry Program . Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 355-382.	USA	Ex-offenders	Employment Support	Recidivism/criminal activity - Earnings and financial - Being in employment and employment related	A
Furey, R., & Harris-Evans, J. (2021). Work and resilience: Care leavers’ experiences of navigating towards employment and independence. Child & Family Social Work, 404-414.	UK	Care-leavers	Employment Support	Psychological e.g. wellbeing, self esteem etc. - Community/social - integration/mentorship	B
Marsden, J., Anders, P., Shaw, C., Amasiatu, C., Collate, W., Eastwood, B et al. (2024). Superiority and cost-effectiveness of Individual Placement and Support versus standard employment support for people with alcohol and drug dependence: a pragmatic, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial. eClinicalMedicine, 1-16.	UK	Substance misuse	Individual Placement Support (IPS)	Being in employment and employment related - Earnings and financial - Substance misuse	A

Gough, D. (2007). Weight of Evidence: a framework for the appraisal of the quality and relevance of evidence. Research Papers in Education, 22(2), 213–228 ↩
Maryland Scientific Methods Scale Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Qualitative Studies Checklist: Qualitative Studies Checklist ↩
Bauer, Brenda S.; Azcoaga-Lorenzo, Amaya; Agrawal, Utkarsh; Fagbamigbe, Adeniyi Francis; McCowan, Colin (2022). AMSTAR-2 checklist. PLOS ONE. Journal contribution. ↩
Groves, R. M., & Lyberg, L. (2010). Total Survey Error: Past, Present, and Future. Public Opinion Quarterly, 74(5), 849–879. ↩
Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). (2024). CASP Qualitative Studies Checklist. CASP - Critical Appraisal Skills Programme ↩
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