Veteran Transition Screener (VTS): A personalized empirical approach to assessing well-being during the military-to-civilian transition.

What is it about?

Data findings from a longitudinal study prompted the development of the online Veteran Transition Screener (VTS) with the aim of equipping veteran-serving providers (e.g., career services, mental health counselors, social workers) with real-time data reports on clients’ assimilation status during the military-to-civilian transition (MCT). Data and recommendations from the domains of employment, education, finances, health, and social relationships are provided, as well as identified risk factors associated with poorer transition outcomes ( i.e., adverse childhood experiences, combat exposure, military sexual trauma, and moral injury [MI]). This longitudinal effort established that some post-9/11 veterans struggle to assimilate when they leave the military and enter the MCT phase. The analyses of this work resulted in cumulative risk factor models and confirmation that the first few years of the MCT are key intervention points. This sparked an effort to find a practical application for the longitudinal data findings, and the empirically-based screener was created, VTS differs from existing screening tools in two primary ways: (1) VTS comprehensively assesses well-being versus the narrow focus of most screeners, which focus solely on health, singular problematic issues (e.g., intimate partner violence), or immediate social needs (e.g., utilities, housing); and (2) VTS employs the predictive validity of the longitudinal data validity to link risk factors to outcomes, so evidence-informed support recommendations can be provided to ease MCT.

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Why is it important?

MCT is a major life transition, and it is defined as “a period of preparation, reintegration, and adaptation that all military personnel enter as they approach release from service” (Pedlar, 2019; Karre et. al, 2024). The VTS affords individualized support and targeted intervention to augment a veteran’s successful MCT by presenting a risk profile and tailored recommendations from research that inform providers’ decisions about research-informed program components for delivery or referrals. VTS adopts personalized medicine’s assertion that real-time data can be used to individualize the selection of effective interventions. This functionality allows recommendations to alert providers to inequalities and disparities in the use of program and supports. For example, females are less likely to use VA home loans, tangible supports of non-VA scholarships, and housing programs. They are also at increased risk when gender is combined with race and ethnicity, ACEs, and MST. This is salient as the percentage of women and people of color in the military has increased. The VTS, as a freely available, online tool, could be integrated into a variety of existing systems (e.g., Veterans Treatment Courts, Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program, veteran-serving organizations for employment or education support) to supplement current assessment practices (e.g., intake processes; clinical or medical records).

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