Disabled Veterans' Employment
Additional Planning, Monitoring, and Data Collection Efforts Would Improve Assistance
Gao ID: GAO-07-1020 September 12, 2007
To better assist veterans with service-connected disabilities seeking employment, in 2005, the Departments of Labor (Labor) and Veterans Affairs (VA) signed an agreement to coordinate employment services for disabled veterans. Around the same time, VA rolled out a redesigned employment program for these veterans, known as the Five-Track program, which also established an employment coordinator position and job resource labs. To help Congress understand the status of these initiatives, GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the progress in implementing the 2005 agreement and challenges to implementation, (2) the status of implementation of VA's Five-Track program and challenges posed by recently returning veterans, and (3) the role of employment coordinators and job resource labs in serving veterans. To obtain this information, GAO interviewed Labor and VA officials and national veterans' service organizations, and conducted site visits in five states.
Labor and VA have implemented some elements of their agreement to coordinate efforts, but face challenges executing the agreement on the state level and lack a complete plan for implementing and assessing the progress of the agreement. Labor and VA have implemented one element of the agreement--establishing three joint work groups--but have only partially implemented or taken no action on the others. In addition, all five states we visited had implemented at least some elements of the agreement that need to be carried out on the state level, but faced challenges implementing others. Labor and VA have not developed an implementation plan that includes long-range time frames and benchmarks to measure progress. Further, Labor and VA have not fully assessed state actions to implement the agreement and may not have provided states with sufficient guidance. While VA has mostly implemented its Five-Track employment program for disabled veterans, the employment needs of newly returning veterans may pose challenges. VA officials have completed a pilot study, trained staff, distributed orientation materials, and deployed employment coordinators, but other components remain in process. Some officials expressed concerns that employment programs for disabled veterans--including the Five-Track program--may not be prepared to meet the needs of participants returning from recent conflicts, who VA predicts will be more likely than previous returning veterans to have certain disabilities, such as those associated with traumatic brain injuries. VA has begun efforts to address these needs. VA employment coordinators and job resource labs in the five states we visited provided employment assistance to a limited number of veterans and some of their functions were available elsewhere. Employment coordinators provided direct employment services for veterans and also performed job development and outreach activities. However, employment coordinators we met with provided limited services to veterans outside their local areas, and similar services were available elsewhere. Job resource labs provided some additional resources for veterans, but according to some staff, not many veterans are using the labs. Job resource labs also appeared to duplicate other available services.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director:
Team:
Phone:
GAO-07-1020, Disabled Veterans' Employment: Additional Planning, Monitoring, and Data Collection Efforts Would Improve Assistance
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Report to Congressional Committees:
United States Government Accountability Office: GAO:
September 2007:
Disabled Veterans' Employment:
Additional Planning, Monitoring, and Data Collection Efforts Would
Improve Assistance:
Disabled Veterans' Employment:
GAO-07-1020:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-1020, a report to congressional committees.
Why GAO Did This Study:
To better assist veterans with service-connected disabilities seeking
employment, in 2005, the Departments of Labor (Labor) and Veterans
Affairs (VA) signed an agreement to coordinate employment services for
disabled veterans. Around the same time, VA rolled out a redesigned
employment program for these veterans, known as the Five-Track program,
which also established an employment coordinator position and job
resource labs. To help Congress understand the status of these
initiatives, GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the progress
in implementing the 2005 agreement and challenges to implementation,
(2) the status of implementation of VA‘s Five-Track program and
challenges posed by recently returning veterans, and (3) the role of
employment coordinators and job resource labs in serving veterans. To
obtain this information, GAO interviewed Labor and VA officials and
national veterans‘ service organizations, and conducted site visits in
five states.
What GAO Found:
Labor and VA have implemented some elements of their agreement to
coordinate efforts, but face challenges executing the agreement on the
state level and lack a complete plan for implementing and assessing the
progress of the agreement. Labor and VA have implemented one element of
the agreement”establishing three joint work groups”but have only
partially implemented or taken no action on the others. In addition,
all five states we visited had implemented at least some elements of
the agreement that need to be carried out on the state level, but faced
challenges implementing others. Labor and VA have not developed an
implementation plan that includes long-range time frames and benchmarks
to measure progress. Further, Labor and VA have not fully assessed
state actions to implement the agreement and may not have provided
states with sufficient guidance.
While VA has mostly implemented its Five-Track employment program for
disabled veterans, the employment needs of newly returning veterans may
pose challenges. VA officials have completed a pilot study, trained
staff, distributed orientation materials, and deployed employment
coordinators, but other components remain in process. Some officials
expressed concerns that employment programs for disabled
veterans”including the Five-Track program”may not be prepared to meet
the needs of participants returning from recent conflicts, who VA
predicts will be more likely than previous returning veterans to have
certain disabilities, such as those associated with traumatic brain
injuries. VA has begun efforts to address these needs.
VA employment coordinators and job resource labs in the five states we
visited provided employment assistance to a limited number of veterans
and some of their functions were available elsewhere. Employment
coordinators provided direct employment services for veterans and also
performed job development and outreach activities. However, employment
coordinators we met with provided limited services to veterans outside
their local areas, and similar services were available elsewhere. Job
resource labs provided some additional resources for veterans, but
according to some staff, not many veterans are using the labs. Job
resource labs also appeared to duplicate other available services.
Figure:
Pictures of VA Job Resource Labes: Detroit, Michigan, and Sioux Falls,
South Dakota.
Source: GAO.
What GAO Recommends:
To ensure the implementation of their agreement and the efficient and
effective use of resources, GAO recommends that Labor and VA develop a
comprehensive plan to implement their agreement and undertake
additional guidance and monitoring efforts, and that VA review the role
of the employment coordinator, and assess the use of the job resource
labs. The agencies agreed with our recommendations.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1020].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Cynthia M. Fagnoni at
(202) 512-7215 or fagnonic@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Labor and VA Have Implemented Some Elements of Their Agreement, but
Data-Sharing Restrictions, Staffing Limitations, and Lack of a
Comprehensive Plan Pose Challenges:
VA Has Mostly Implemented Its Five-Track Employment Program for
Disabled Veterans, but the Types and Severity of Recent Veterans'
Disabilities May Pose Challenges:
While Employment Coordinators and Job Resource Labs in the Five States
We Visited Provided Employment Assistance to Some Veterans, Similar
Services Were Available Elsewhere:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Labor:
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs:
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
Related GAO Products:
Tables:
Table 1: Key Elements of National Memorandum of Agreement between Labor
and VA:
Table 2: Selected Labor and VA Initiatives Designed to Enhance Services
for Program Participants Returning from Recent Conflicts:
Table 3: Examples of Services Provided by Employment Coordinators and
Others in the Five States We Visited:
Table 4: Site Visit Locations and Key Selection Criteria:
Figures:
Figure 1: Five-Track Employment Model:
Figure 2: Implementation of Elements of Agreement between Labor and VA
in the Five States We Visited:
Figure 3: Five-Track Program Implementation Components and Completion
Status:
Figure 4: Photographs of VA Job Resource Labs:
Abbreviations:
DVOP: Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program:
DVET: state VETS program director:
LVER: Local Veterans' Employment Representative:
UI: unemployment insurance:
VETS: Veterans' Employment and Training Service:
VA: Department of Veterans Affairs
VRE: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
September 12, 2007:
The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka:
Chairman:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
United States Senate:
The Honorable Bob Filner:
Chairman:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
House of Representatives:
In 2005, an estimated 55,000 of the 2.5 million veterans with service-
connected disabilities were actively seeking employment, and current
military operations in the Middle East may raise that number in the
coming years. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helps disabled
veterans find employment through the Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment services (VRE), and the Department of Labor (Labor) does so
through the Veterans' Employment and Training Service programs (VETS).
The two agencies serve many of the same veterans, and as we have
previously reported, an effective relationship between them is
important in giving disabled veterans the best chance for successful
outcomes.
In October 2005, Labor and VA signed a national memorandum of agreement
to coordinate efforts in advancing the employment opportunities for
disabled veterans. Although the agencies have historically had an
agreement, this most recent one was aimed at further improving
collaboration and coordination. While the national offices of Labor and
VA have overall responsibility for implementing the agreement, many of
the activities set out in the agreement take place on the regional,
state, and local levels. Although the missions of Labor's and VA's
employment programs to serve disabled veterans are similar, the
organizational structure of each is somewhat different: VA administers
its programs through 57 regional offices staffed by federal employees,
while Labor administers its programs through grants to state workforce
agencies.
Around the same time the agreement was signed, VA rolled out a
redesigned employment program aimed at standardizing rehabilitation
services for veterans with service-connected disabilities, known as the
Five-Track program. The program is intended to serve any disabled
veteran who meets the eligibility requirements. Both Labor and VA
provide services to Five-Track program participants, and these services
are covered by the agreement. As part of the Five-Track program, VA
established the employment coordinator position to provide veterans
with assistance preparing for and finding employment. The program also
included provisions for each VA location to install a job resource lab
with computers, Internet access, and other materials for veterans to
use in their career exploration and job search.
You have asked us to study the progress Labor and VA are making toward
implementing these initiatives. To address this request, we examined
the following questions: (1) What progress has been made in
implementing the agreement signed by Labor and VA in 2005 to coordinate
efforts to serve disabled veterans, and what challenges are the
agencies facing in implementing the agreement? (2) What is the status
of the implementation of VA's redesigned employment program for
veterans with service-connected disabilities, known as the Five-Track
program, and what challenges are posed by recently returning veterans?
(3) What role do employment coordinators and job resource labs have in
the employment and training of disabled veterans, and how have they
affected the job search experiences of these veterans, given other
available resources?
To answer these questions, we conducted interviews with Labor and VA
officials and representatives of national and local veterans' service
organizations. We also conducted site visits to five states--Alabama,
California (San Diego Region), Illinois, Michigan, and South Dakota--
where we met with VA and Labor staff, state workforce agency officials,
and program participants, and toured job resource labs and one-stop
career centers. We selected a mix of states based on the following
criteria: (1) dispersion across the four VRE geographic areas (Eastern,
Central, Southern, and Western), (2) both pilot and nonpilot sites for
the Five-Track program, (3) states with large and small veteran
populations, and (4) states with a history of greater and lesser
coordination between VA and Labor at the state and local levels, which
we determined based on input from Labor and VA officials, veterans'
service organizations, and other sources. We conducted our work from
November 2006 through September 2007 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
Labor and VA have carried out some aspects of their agreement signed in
October 2005 to coordinate services, but difficulties in sharing
information, staffing limitations, and the lack of a comprehensive plan
for guiding and measuring the progress of the agreement pose challenges
to full implementation. Of the elements that need to be implemented by
the national offices, Labor and VA have fulfilled one, partially
implemented four, and have not taken action on the others. National
officials have established three joint work groups, and these groups
have begun efforts on their designated tasks, including proposing a set
of shared performance measures. In addition, each of the five states we
visited had taken actions that would further the implementation of the
national agreement. All five states had a mechanism for referring VA
clients to Labor's VETS program, located within the state workforce
agency, for employment services. All of these states had also entered
into an agreement with Labor and VA concerning the provision of
services to disabled veterans. However, some of these states faced
challenges implementing certain elements of the agreement. For
instance, the agreement calls for both parties to share unemployment
insurance wage data, but we were told in one state that state law
forbids the state workforce agency from sharing an individual's wage
data with VA. In addition, the agreement provides for a state workforce
agency staff member to be colocated at VA or provide itinerant coverage
to VA clients, to the extent it is appropriate and feasible. However,
we were told that not all state workforce agencies feel they have a
sufficient number of veterans' representatives to implement this
provision. To date, Labor and VA have not developed a complete plan for
implementing the agreement that outlines long-term time frames and
benchmarks by which progress at both the national and state levels
could be gauged, nor have they made plans for taking action if states
do not take steps to implement the elements of the agreement. As of
July 2007, the agencies had not fully assessed the extent to which
states have carried out activities in which they have a role, and it
was unclear whether the agencies have provided states with sufficient
direction on implementation.
VA has implemented most of its Five-Track employment program for
disabled veterans, but the particular employment needs of newly
returning veterans may pose challenges. In implementing the program, VA
officials have completed a pilot study, trained regional staff on the
Five-Track model, distributed orientation materials, and deployed 74
employment coordinators nationally. However, some components of the
program are still in process. Specifically, not every location has
established a job resource lab, the official program manual has not
been distributed, and some features of the related Web site are still
in development. In addition, some staff expressed concerns about
whether employment programs for disabled veterans--including both VA's
Five-Track program and Labor's VETS programs--are prepared to meet the
needs of participants returning from recent conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, who are surviving with serious injuries that may have been
fatal in past conflicts, such as those associated with traumatic brain
injuries. VA has made initial efforts to address these needs. For
example, VA told us it has made training materials related to the needs
of recently returning veterans available to VA staff and has appointed
a liaison in each regional office to coordinate services for veterans
in medical treatment facilities. Labor has made similar efforts.
While employment coordinators and job resource labs in the five states
we visited provided veterans with employment assistance, they did not
reach all eligible veterans and some of the functions they performed
were duplicated elsewhere. Employment coordinators provided direct
services to individual veterans, including assisting with job search
activities and helping with employment plans, and also performed
outreach to businesses and community organizations to market VA
programs and disabled veterans. However, while the employment
coordinator position description provides for an array of employment
services for veterans across each VA region, employment coordinators we
met with offered only limited services to veterans outside their local
areas. Additionally, some of the responsibilities of the employment
coordinators were similar to those of other workforce agencies' staff.
For example, in some places both employment coordinators and workforce
agency staff were available to provide labor market information and
résumé writing assistance to veterans. Job resource labs provided some
additional resources for veterans, such as increased opportunities for
one-on-one job search assistance from VA staff, but according to staff
in some of the states we visited, not many veterans were using the
labs. As with employment coordinators, job resource labs appeared to
duplicate other available services. For example, we were told that the
computers and other materials in the job resource labs were readily
available to many veterans elsewhere, such as one-stop career centers
or public libraries.
To ensure the implementation of their agreement and the efficient and
effective use of resources, GAO recommends that Labor and VA develop a
comprehensive plan to implement their agreement and undertake
additional guidance and monitoring efforts, and that VA review the role
of the employment coordinator, and assess the use of the job resource
labs. In their comments on GAO's draft report, Labor and VA agreed with
our recommendations.
Background:
Labor and VA have had a long-standing relationship formalized by
agreements acknowledging their mutual concern and responsibility for
helping veterans with service-connected disabilities transition to the
civilian workforce. Their past efforts to coordinate and collaborate
have faced difficulties, however. In 2005, at the recommendation of a
VA task force and encouragement of congressional staff, the two
agencies forged a new memorandum of agreement. In this agreement, the
agencies agreed to share information, including wage data, and
establish and maintain management information systems to enable
accurate yearly reporting. The agreement also called for three joint
work groups to develop performance measures to assess partnership
program results, design a training curriculum, and establish joint data
collection, analysis, and reports. In addition, the agreement outlined
means to promote cooperation and eliminate duplication of efforts
between the agencies. These include developing an approach to serving
veterans that involves both VA and state workforce agency staff from
the early stages, advising all VA clients about the employment services
offered by the state workforce agency, and establishing an effective
process for referring VA clients who are seeking employment to the
state workforce agency. While many of the specific elements of the
agreement need to be implemented at a national level within Labor and
VA, other activities, by their nature, would take place on the state or
local level.[Footnote 1] The agreement provides for separate
memorandums of agreement, containing common goals and measures, to be
executed among Labor, VA, and the states. Table 1 summarizes the key
elements of the national agreement, the specific actions to which Labor
and VA agreed, and the level at which implementation generally would
occur.
Table 1: Key Elements of National Memorandum of Agreement between Labor
and VA:
Key elements of agreement: Joint work groups;
Specific actions: Establish three joint work groups to address: (1)
shared performance measures; (2) training curriculum design; (3) joint
data collection, analysis, and reports;
Level of implementation: National.
Key elements of agreement: Performance measures;
Specific actions: Both parties agree to establish performance measures;
Level of implementation: National.
Key elements of agreement: Management information systems;
Specific actions: Both parties agree to establish and maintain
management information systems;
Level of implementation: National.
Key elements of agreement: Yearly reporting;
Specific actions: Both parties agree to accurate yearly reporting.
Yearly reports will include number of VA program participants; number
of VA participants referred to state workforce agency; and, of those
referred, number registered for employment services, number entered
suitable employment, and number maintained suitable employment for 180
days or more;
Level of implementation: National and State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Staff evaluations include partnership
activities;
Specific actions: In evaluating performance of their respective staff
members, managers from both organizations will consider documented
effectiveness of partnership activities between VA staff and state
workforce agency staff;
Level of implementation: National and State/local.
Key elements of agreement: State-level memorandums of agreements;
Specific actions: Both parties will establish and monitor common goals
and measures within each memorandum of agreement executed with state
partners. Corrective action will be taken when goals are not met;
Level of implementation: National and State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Information sharing;
Specific actions: All information from interviews, counseling, testing,
and assessment will be used by each agency with consent of participants
and in accordance with applicable privacy laws;
Level of implementation: National and State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Unemployment insurance (UI) wage data;
Specific actions: Both parties will share information and data accessed
from UI wage records and other administrative wage records, as may be
available to each agency, in accordance with applicable privacy laws;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Team approach beginning early in the
rehabilitation process;
Specific actions: Labor and VA agree to enable local representatives
from both parties to take a team approach to job development and
placement activities beginning as early as possible in the
rehabilitation process;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Advise of state workforce agency benefits;
Specific actions: All VA participants will be advised of the benefits
of registering for employment assistance and will be encouraged to
register with their state workforce agency;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Referral process;
Specific actions: Participants and local representatives from both
organizations are required to establish and maintain an effective
mechanism for referral and service delivery;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Key elements of agreement: Point of contact;
Specific actions: Labor will appoint a point of contact for the
provision of employment services who will work closely with the VA
staff located in each VA regional office's service area;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Key elements of agreement: State workforce agency staff colocated at
least part-time in VA office;
Specific actions: To the extent feasible and appropriate, a state
workforce agency staff member or other designated individual will be
colocated or otherwise provide itinerant coverage to VA participants;
Level of implementation: State/local.
Source: GAO analysis.
Note: The state/local column includes actions taken by state or local
VA or Labor offices and actions taken by state workforce agencies.
[End of table]
Around the same time the national agreement was signed, VA rolled out
the Five-Track employment program aimed at standardizing rehabilitation
services for veterans with service-connected disabilities and providing
a greater focus on employment options early in the rehabilitation
process. The five employment tracks from which veterans can select are
reemployment with their previous employer, rapid access to employment
through job readiness preparation and training opportunities, self-
employment, employment through long-term services that include
education programs and formal training leading to employment, and
independent living services for those who are currently unable to work
due to their disabilities. These tracks were available prior to the
rollout, but the program changed the way they were presented to
veterans. The Five-Track program was piloted in four regional offices
starting in October 2004, and a national rollout began in November
2005.[Footnote 2] Figure 1 describes the Five-Track model.
Figure 1: Five-Track Employment Model:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
As part of the Five-Track program, VA established the employment
coordinator position and drew up plans to install job resource labs.
The position description for the employment coordinator contains duties
aimed at providing veterans with assistance preparing for and finding
employment. These duties include helping veterans make informed choices
about their employment track, assessing veterans' readiness to seek
employment, and assisting veterans with job networking, development,
and placement. The position description also includes responsibilities
for marketing the VA program to employers and developing partnerships
with other agencies to assist veterans with employment services. Also
as part of the Five-Track program, VA allocated funds for each location
to install a job resource lab with computers, Internet access, and
other materials for veterans to use in their career exploration and job
search. VA made plans to have employment coordinators in most of its 57
regions, and a job resource lab in each regional office and in every
satellite location.
Although the missions of Labor's VETS and VA's VRE programs to provide
employment assistance to disabled veterans are similar, the
organizational structure of each is somewhat different. VA administers
its VRE programs through regional offices--roughly one in each state,
with multiple offices in larger states--and its staff are federal
employees. The regional offices have some autonomy in deciding the
operations of the office, including their working relationships with
the Labor programs and the state workforce agency. Labor administers
its programs through the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and
the Local Veterans' Employment Representative (LVER) program, which are
funded by a grant from Labor to the state workforce agencies. DVOP
specialists and LVER staff are employees of the state and are typically
housed in state employment service offices. Although there is evidence
LVER staff and DVOP specialists often perform similar duties,[Footnote
3] the DVOP specialist's role was designed to provide intensive
services to veterans with employment barriers, including those with
disabilities, while the LVER staff role was designed to market veterans
to employers. Labor provides oversight and monitoring of the state
grants through a state VETS program director (DVET) in each state.
The Labor and VA programs serve similar clientele, but there are
differences in eligibility requirements and the measure of successful
completion. To participate in VA's VRE program, the veteran must have
disabilities that affect a minimum percentage of daily activities, as
determined by VA, and must have an employment handicap related to the
disability. In addition, there is a time limit for receiving services,
generally 12 years following the date the veteran was discharged or
separated from the military or received a disability percentage rating
from VA. The primary outcome measured by VA's VRE program is whether
the veteran obtained and maintained suitable employment, that is, work
that is within a veteran's emotional and physical capabilities and
consistent with the veteran's abilities, aptitudes, and interests. By
contrast, any veteran who was discharged because of a service-connected
disability or who served more than 180 days and was not dishonorably
discharged can receive services through Labor's programs. The primary
outcome measured by Labor is whether or not the veteran entered
employment, without requiring determination of suitability.
VA and the state workforce agencies--including DVOP specialists and
LVER staff--work together on the local level. In many states, DVOP
specialists work with veterans who have completed their VA training to
help them find employment. The process by which these referrals are
made is not determined nationally; it is left up to VA regional
officials to develop local policies and procedures. In addition, some
state workforce agencies provide VA staff with state unemployment
insurance wage data to verify the employment status of their clients.
Additionally, many VA regional offices have a DVOP specialist colocated
in the office at least part of the time. However, cooperation between
Labor and VA has historically been better in some states than in
others, reportedly in part because of variation in the number and
quality of services provided by DVOP specialists. As a result, VA's VRE
Task Force concluded in its 2004 report that VRE should consider using
DVOP specialist services as one of many options to help its clients,
and not view the DVOP specialist as the sole provider of employment
services.[Footnote 4]
Labor and VA Have Implemented Some Elements of Their Agreement, but
Data-Sharing Restrictions, Staffing Limitations, and Lack of a
Comprehensive Plan Pose Challenges:
Labor and VA have fulfilled some elements of their agreement to
coordinate efforts, but the agencies face a variety of challenges to
fully executing the agreement, including the lack of a comprehensive
plan for implementing the agreement and measuring progress. The
national offices of Labor and VA have implemented one of the elements
of the agreement for which they are responsible, have begun to address
four elements, and have not taken action on the others. All of the
states we visited had taken action to implement some of the elements of
the national agreement, but faced challenges implementing others due to
state privacy laws, staffing limitations, and other obstacles. In
addition, Labor and VA lack a long-term plan for implementing the
agreement that includes timelines and benchmarks against which progress
can be judged, as well as procedures for dealing with states that are
not carrying out activities in which they have a role. Further, the
agencies have provided states with limited guidance on implementation.
As of July 2007, the extent of nationwide implementation was uncertain
because the agencies had not thoroughly reviewed the implementation of
the agreement at the state level.
Labor and VA Have Established Joint Work Groups and Taken Some Steps
toward Implementing Other Elements of Their Agreement:
Labor and VA have fully implemented the element of their agreement that
calls for the establishment of joint work groups composed of staff from
both agencies. The agencies have formed three joint work groups to
address issues related to shared performance measures, staff training,
and joint data collection, with the goal of improving the quality of
employment services and suitable job placements for veterans with
disabilities. According to a Labor official, the implementation of the
agencies' agreement revolves around the efforts of these work groups.
The work groups met for the first time in April 2006, 6 months after
the agreement was signed. In January 2007, they conducted a survey of
Labor and VA field staff in 24 states to gather preliminary information
about the working relationship between the agencies at the local level
and identify areas needing improvement. On the basis of the survey
results, the work groups plan to launch a pilot project in eight
regional offices in August or September of 2007 to explore new
strategies to improve the partnership between Labor and VA. Labor and
VA officials expect to complete the pilot project in January 2008, and
plan to make recommendations thereafter regarding the implementation of
these strategies nationwide, but the work groups have not yet made
definitive recommendations for program changes.
Four of the elements that Labor and VA are responsible for
implementing--staff evaluations, yearly reporting, performance
measures, and monitoring of state-level memorandums of agreement--are
in process but not yet completed. The agreement between Labor and VA
calls for agency managers to consider the effectiveness of partnership
activities between VA and the state workforce agency when evaluating
staff. Although Labor has implemented such standards for state VETS
program directors, these provisions are not specifically outlined in
the performance standards for other VETS program staff or for VA staff.
The agreement also calls for the agencies to have yearly reports that
include measures of the number of VA program participants referred to
the VETS program who registered for state workforce agency services,
the number of participants who entered suitable employment, and the
number of participants who maintained suitable employment for 180 days
or more. While the agencies are collecting data on most of these
measures, they are not currently collecting data on the last
measure.[Footnote 5] With regard to performance measures, one of the
joint work groups has started to develop new shared measures to better
assess partnership activities between the two agencies. For example,
one proposed measure is the percentage of veterans referred from VA to
VETS program DVOP specialists who receive an employment services
assessment within 30 days. In addition, the agreement calls for the
agencies to monitor common goals and measures within memorandums of
agreement executed at the state level and stipulates that corrective
action will be taken when such goals are not met. According to
information provided by VA, the agency obtained copies of state-level
agreements from all but one of its 57 regional offices in June 2007,
but officials have not yet reviewed the agreements for common goals and
measures.
Labor and VA have not yet acted on the other elements of their
agreement related to information sharing and management information
systems. The agreement calls for the agencies to share information
about veterans, including all information from interviews, counseling,
testing, and assessment. In addition, the agreement stipulates that the
agencies will develop and maintain management information systems that
enable accurate yearly reporting. Although Labor and VA officials told
us they are considering the possibility of establishing national data-
sharing practices and a joint management information system through
which information could be shared, no action has been taken on the
national level.
The Five States We Visited Had Implemented Some Elements of the
Agreement, but Faced Challenges to Full Implementation, Including Data
Sharing and Staffing Issues:
The 5 states we visited had all implemented a number of the elements of
the agreement between Labor and VA, including advising veterans of the
benefits of registering for state workforce agency services,
establishing a referral process, establishing state-level memorandums
of agreement, and appointing VETS points of contact for VA staff. All 5
states had processes in place whereby VA advised program participants
of the benefits of registering for employment services with the state
workforce agency. All of the states we visited had also established a
process for referring veterans from VA to the state workforce agency
for employment services, although the process was not the same in every
state. In addition, all 5 states we visited had a memorandum of
agreement between the regional VA office serving the state, the state
VETS program director, and the state workforce agency to coordinate
their services for disabled veterans. All of the states had recently
revised their state agreement or were in the process of doing
so.[Footnote 6] All 5 states we visited had also appointed a VETS
program contact person for VA staff, and a national Labor official told
us that all 50 states have appointed such points of contact. Figure 2
summarizes the implementation of the elements of the agreement in the 5
states we visited.
Figure 2: Implementation of Elements of Agreement between Labor and VA
in the Five States We Visited:
Key state-level elements of agreement: Advise of state workforce agency
benefits;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: fully implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Referral process;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: fully implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: State-level agreement;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: fully implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Point of contact;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: fully implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Begin team approach early in
process;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: partially implemented;
Michigan: partially implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Yearly reporting;
Alabama: partially implemented;
California: partially implemented;
Illinois: partially implemented;
Michigan: partially implemented;
South Dakota: partially implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Unemployment insurance wage data;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: not implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Workforce agency staff colocated
at least part-time at VA;
Alabama: fully implemented;
California: fully implemented;
Illinois: fully implemented;
Michigan: not implemented;
South Dakota: fully implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Information sharing;
Alabama: partially implemented;
California: partially implemented;
Illinois: partially implemented;
Michigan: partially implemented;
South Dakota: partially implemented.
Key state-level elements of agreement: Staff evaluations include
partnership activities;
Alabama: not implemented;
California: not implemented;
Illinois: not implemented;
Michigan: not implemented;
South Dakota: not implemented.
[See PDF for image]
Note: A Michigan state workforce agency official told us the agency
plans to have a staff member colocated on a part-time basis at the VA
regional office beginning in summer 2007.
[End of figure]
All five states included key VA and state workforce agency staff in the
rehabilitation process, but not all states fully coordinated the Labor
and VA programs by involving DVOP specialists early in the process as
outlined in the agreement between Labor and VA. Typically, VA clients
seeking employment would meet with a VA counselor, VA employment
services staff, and a DVOP specialist from the state workforce agency.
However, the states varied in terms of the point at which the DVOP
specialist became involved. In three of the states we visited, DVOP
specialists provided assistance to veterans soon after they entered the
VA program, typically by presenting labor market information to
veterans to incorporate into their vocational rehabilitation plans. In
the two other states we visited, DVOP specialists did not typically
meet with veterans until they had neared the end of their VA training
programs or were otherwise prepared to seek employment. In one of these
states, we were told that this was due to negative past experiences in
providing veterans services from both VA and DVOP specialist staff at
the same time.
The five states we visited were collecting data on all but one of the
yearly reporting measures outlined in the agreement between Labor and
VA, and staff identified challenges to implementing this remaining
reporting measure. In all five states, agency staff told us that they
were gathering data on the number of VA program participants referred
to the VETS program, and of those referred, the number who registered
for state workforce agency services and the number who entered suitable
employment. In these states, VA staff said that they tracked program
participants for 60 days after they obtained suitable employment, and
we learned that state workforce agencies tracked veterans for varying
lengths of time. However, none of the states were tracking the number
of VA program participants who maintained suitable employment for 180
days or more. In four states, some agency staff told us that they would
face challenges implementing this additional reporting measure, and
staff in three states said that this was because following up with
veterans for 180 days would likely require additional staff time and
resources.
In four states, workforce agencies were able to share UI wage data with
VA, but in one state, they faced challenges sharing such data because
of state laws. UI wage data are managed by the states.[Footnote 7]
According to VA officials, if agency staff want to use this
information--for example, to verify that a client is employed--they
need to obtain the data from the state workforce agency. In Illinois,
VA and the state workforce agency had signed a shared data agreement
that allowed the workforce agency to provide VA with UI wage data. In
Alabama, state workforce agency staff told us that they had given VA
staff direct access to their database, which contained UI wage
information. In California's San Diego region, VA and the state
workforce agency had developed a centralized process in which VA sent
UI wage data requests to the state workforce agency headquarters. And
in South Dakota, workforce agency staff told us that they were able to
share UI wage data with VA, but said that they rarely received requests
for such data. However, in Michigan, we were told that they were unable
to share UI wage information because state law prevents the workforce
agency from sharing an individual's wage data with VA.
Staffing limitations prevented some states from having a full-time
colocated DVOP specialist at the VA office, although most had at least
part-time coverage from an itinerant DVOP specialist. The agreement
states that to the extent feasible and appropriate, a DVOP specialist
or other designated individual will be colocated at the VA office or
will otherwise provide itinerant coverage to VA participants. Only one
of the five states we visited had a full-time colocated DVOP specialist
at the VA office. Three of the other states we visited had part-time
colocated DVOP specialists, but one state had no coverage at the VA
office at the time of our visit. VA staff in the states with a DVOP
specialist on site part-time told us that such an arrangement was
useful, and staff in two states said that they would like to increase
the amount of colocation time per week. However, officials in three
states told us that funding constraints limited the number of workforce
agency staff and thus the workforce agency's ability to share a DVOP
specialist with the VA office. National VA officials also told us that
fluctuating state budgets made it challenging for states to commit to
providing a colocated DVOP specialist from year to year.
None of the five states had fully implemented the information-sharing
element of the national agreement between Labor and VA, and staff in
all five states told us that some of this information sharing was
unnecessary. The agreement states that both agencies will share all
information about veterans gathered from interviews, counseling,
testing, and assessment. VA staff in the five states we visited told us
that they did not regularly share all of the information outlined in
the agreement with the state workforce agency, and staff in all states
said that it is not necessary to share all information about veterans
in order to help them find employment. In all five states, VA staff
shared a standardized, but limited, set of information with the state
workforce agency when referring a veteran for employment services. For
example, in one state, VA staff told us that this standardized set of
information included the veteran's contact information, employment
goal, and level of education, as well as general information related to
the veteran's barriers to employment. However, VA staff in all five
states told us that they did not regularly share specific information
about veterans' disabilities with state workforce agency staff, and
staff in two states said that this was a result of privacy concerns.
None of the five states we visited were using partnership activities
specifically to evaluate staff, as outlined in the agreement between
Labor and VA, and some officials said it would be impractical. In the
three states that had a centralized referral process and thus had
minimal contact between state workforce agency and VA staff, some local
agency staff stated that it did not make sense to evaluate staff on the
effectiveness of their partnership activities. In all five states, we
were told that staff evaluations contained a general category related
to teamwork or cooperation, but did not include specific performance
measures to evaluate DVOP specialists and VA staff on the effectiveness
of their partnership activities. In one state, workforce agency
managers told us that they were considering implementing specific
performance measures related to the effectiveness of partnership
activities.
Labor and VA Have Not Developed a Comprehensive Plan to Guide
Implementation, and Have Not Fully Assessed Data on Implementation:
Labor and VA lack a comprehensive plan for implementing their
agreement, and have not set benchmarks or long-term time frames for
implementation. While Labor and VA have designed a pilot project,
agency officials have not developed a plan to guide the full
implementation of the agreement. Although the joint work groups have
set short-term time frames for the pilot project, and plan to make
recommendations regarding pilot project expansion in May 2008, the
pilot project plan does not include long-term time frames for the
implementation of the agreement, and Labor and VA officials told us
that they considered implementation to be a work in progress. In
addition, the pilot project plan does not outline steps for taking
action when states do not implement the agreement.
It is unclear whether national VA and Labor officials have provided
sufficient direction to states on the implementation of the agreement.
In one state, workforce agency staff told us that guidance from
national officials on implementing the agreement was lacking. Both
agencies sent letters to regional and state officials notifying them of
the agreement, but have done very little to assist with implementation.
A national VA official told us he has discussed implementation in
conference calls with VA program managers and employment services
staff, but a national Labor official told us his agency has not done
any follow-up. In addition, the agreement calls for the agencies to
take corrective action when common goals outlined in state-level
memorandums of agreement are not met. However, both VA and Labor
officials told us that they have not yet defined steps for corrective
action. Labor also told us that it does not have much leverage to
induce state workforce agencies to implement the agreement given its
limited authority over such agencies.
Further, as of July 2007, Labor and VA had not yet fully assessed state
actions to implement the agreement, so the extent to which the national
agreement has been implemented across all states was unclear. The
agencies collected some data on states' activities in the January 2007
survey of agency field staff conducted by the joint work groups. VA
officials told us that the survey identified several areas for improved
collaboration between the agencies, including clarifying definitions of
terms, increasing staff training, and facilitating communication among
staff. However, the results cannot be used to understand the extent of
nationwide implementation because the survey only included about half
of the states and did not cover all aspects of the national agreement.
In June 2007, VA conducted a second survey asking all of its 57
regional offices to submit copies of their state-level memorandums of
agreements to national VA officials, and received these agreements from
all but one regional office. A VA official told us that the agency
plans to review these agreements to assess their alignment with the
national agreement and offer assistance to states that are having
difficulties, but it had not done so as of July 2007.
VA Has Mostly Implemented Its Five-Track Employment Program for
Disabled Veterans, but the Types and Severity of Recent Veterans'
Disabilities May Pose Challenges:
Although VA has almost fully implemented the Five-Track employment
program, the agency may face challenges serving the employment needs of
recently returning veterans because of the types and severity of their
disabilities. VA officials told us that they have fully implemented
four of the seven components of the Five-Track employment program and
the other three components are mostly complete. VA officials have noted
that many recently returning veterans have serious injuries and they
anticipate higher caseloads as increasing numbers of veterans apply for
program benefits. In response to these challenges, VA has taken some
initial steps to address the specific employment and training needs of
these veterans, and Labor has made similar efforts.
VA Has Implemented Most of Its Five-Track Employment Program for
Disabled Veterans, but Some Components Are Still in Process:
According to VA, officials have completed most of the seven components
needed to implement the Five-Track program. While four components have
been completed, three other components remain in process. Figure 3
shows the seven components of the Five-Track program and their
respective completion status.
Figure 3: Five-Track Program Implementation Components and Completion
Status:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
VA officials told us that three of the initial components of the new
Five-Track employment program--the national distribution of orientation
materials, the pilot study, and introductory staff training--have been
fully implemented. According to VA, officials have also completed the
distribution of Five-Track orientation materials nationally, including
a new video and a booklet that describes program eligibility
requirements. VA officials have also distributed information nationally
on each of the five tracks to employment-- reemployment, rapid access
to employment, self-employment, employment through long-term services,
and independent living services. In October 2004, VA officials began a
pilot study in four regional offices to test several proposed
components of the Five-Track program. At the pilot study's completion
in September 2005, VA issued a status report based on the study results
and made some changes to the program before beginning the full launch a
few months later. VA also completed introductory training for VRE staff
members nationwide on the Five- Track program, between February and
April of 2006. The VA staff who received this national training were
expected to return to their local offices and train other staff on the
program. According to VA, the training included simulated case
management exercises and a review of the logistics and application of
the new job resource labs.
VA has also hired and trained employment coordinators. This position
was developed to revamp the existing employment specialist position and
provide more direct assistance to veterans with job readiness and job-
seeking skills, as well as helping them with job placement. Training
for employment coordinators began in November 2005, and a few months
later, 52 employment specialists were reclassified as employment
coordinators. Since then, VA national officials have hired additional
employment coordinators, and as of April 2007 there were 74 employment
coordinators nationally.[Footnote 8] Qualifications for the employment
coordinator position include knowledge of marketing concepts, thorough
knowledge of the VRE program and its objectives, and diverse
presentation skills. Of the 6 employment coordinators we spoke with, 3
had prior experience providing employment assistance to veterans,
either as a DVOP specialist or an employment specialist.
Information provided by VA shows that the agency has mostly completed
the implementation of 160 job resource labs. The job resource labs were
intended to be a supportive tool to help VA staff provide veterans with
employment resources and job readiness assistance. As of April 2007,
144 labs (90 percent) labs were operational, although some were
utilizing borrowed computers.[Footnote 9] Sixteen of the labs (10
percent) were further postponed due to construction issues, lack of
appropriate space, difficulty securing Internet access, or
complications obtaining computers. Before providing funding, VA
conducted a survey of its field offices to assess existing resources.
Then, between June and September 2006, VA provided field offices
funding to purchase noncomputer items such as furniture and books. VA
transferred $1.5 million to the VA Office of Information and Technology
for procurement of 359 computers, but there were delays in obtaining
them. VA officials told us the computers should be available in summer
2007.
According to VA, officials have begun to implement a new employment
resource Web site and a program manual, but they are not yet completed.
VA launched the employment resource Web site, known as vetsuccess.gov,
in 2005 to be a new supportive tool for veterans and VA staff.
Currently, veterans may access the Web site via the Internet and can
utilize the site to view program videos, employment resources,
employment search links, and information about VA partner
organizations. VA is planning to install additional interactive
features on the Web site, including a log-in option that would allow
veterans to post résumés and employers to search and view them.
However, a VA official told us the installation has been delayed
indefinitely until security concerns can be resolved. Additionally, as
part of the Five-Track program implementation, VA officials plan to
distribute a program manual to staff. However, a VA official told us
the agency is postponing the release of the manual until the employment
Web site features have been completed and can be included as part of
the manual.
Agencies Have Taken Initial Steps to Address Challenges Posed by
Employment Needs of Recent Veterans because of the Types and Severity
of Their Disabilities:
Officials in some states we visited raised concerns about the ability
of employment programs--including the Five-Track program--to address
the needs of severely disabled program participants returning from
recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to VA officials,
many recently returning veterans have multiple and severe disabilities,
such as speech, hearing, and visual impairments as well as loss of
limbs and brain injuries, and behavioral issues due to the stress of
combat. Additionally, veterans from recent conflicts are surviving with
more of these serious injuries that would have been fatal in past
conflicts, a fact that can present major challenges to providing
training and securing appropriate job placements. For example, VA
officials in one state told us that from their experiences assisting
veterans with traumatic brain injuries, they have found that these
veterans may find it difficult to filter their thoughts and actions and
may act and speak inappropriately, making employment placement more
difficult. In addition, VA officials anticipate increased caseloads
because of expanded outreach efforts to veterans and service members
separating from the military, and increasing disability claims from
veterans of recent conflicts.
To address these challenges, VA told us that officials have developed
programs to provide additional resources for recently returning
veterans to receive employment services. VA officials have an early
outreach program, Coming Home to Work, to provide civilian work
experience to eligible service members pending medical separation from
active duty at military treatment facilities. VA has also designated a
particular individual in each VA regional office to coordinate
vocational rehabilitation and employment case services for recently
returning service members located in military treatment facilities.
According to VA, officials have also made training available to staff
on the specific disabilities that may be more prevalent among recently
returning veterans. The agency has developed training materials on
traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and transferable work skills,
which an official told us have been made available to VA counselors and
employment coordinators through VA internal satellite broadcasts and
other means. Additionally, VA plans to develop an online training
curriculum that would include training specific to the needs of
recently returning veterans that will be available to VA staff. In
addition to training, a VA official told us the agency used internal
staff meetings and conference calls to address the immediate concerns
of VA staff related to recently returning veterans.
Labor has also taken some initial steps to address the challenges of
serving severely disabled Five-Track program participants returning
from recent conflicts, and we were told staff who work with these
veterans have access to VA training. Labor has a program, called
Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines (REALifelines), to provide
individualized job preparation, counseling, and reemployment services
to veterans seriously injured in recent conflicts. VETS program staff,
including DVOP specialists and LVER staff, can also access the National
Veterans' Training Institute VETS NET online newsletter, which often
includes links to information on serving recently returning veterans.
In addition, VA told us that state VETS program directors have access
to training materials related to the needs of recently returning
veterans such as traumatic brain injuries and amputations. Similarly,
VA told us that state workforce agency staff will also have access to
its planned online training curriculum, including courses specific to
the employment needs of recently returning veterans. A list of selected
VA and Labor initiatives related to addressing the employment needs of
recently returning veterans is in table 2.
Table 2: Selected Labor and VA Initiatives Designed to Enhance Services
for Program Participants Returning from Recent Conflicts:
Initiative: Programs;
Description: Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines--Labor
program providing individualized job training, counseling, and
reemployment services to veterans seriously injured in recent conflicts.
Initiative: Programs;
Description: Coming Home to Work--VA outreach program providing
civilian work experience to VRE-eligible service members pending
medical separation.
Initiative: Programs;
Description: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Case
Coordinators--coordinate VRE services for recently returning service
members located in military treatment facilities.
Initiative: Staff training;
Description: Recent VA staff training on amputation, traumatic brain
injuries, and blast injuries.
Initiative: Staff training;
Description: Distribution of training materials to VRE regional offices
and state VETS program directors.
Initiative: Staff training;
Description: VA planned development of online curriculum that will be
available to VA and Labor staff.
Initiative: Staff resources;
Description: National Veterans' Training Institute VETS NET online
newsletter.
Initiative: Staff resources;
Description: Regular internal VA staff meetings and conference calls.
Source: GAO analysis.
[End of table]
While Employment Coordinators and Job Resource Labs in the Five States
We Visited Provided Employment Assistance to Some Veterans, Similar
Services Were Available Elsewhere:
Employment coordinators and job resource labs in the five states we
visited provided employment services to veterans, but some of these
services were available elsewhere. Employment coordinators generally
provided direct employment services to veterans and performed job
development activities and outreach to employers and the community.
Despite the fact that the employment coordinator position description
outlines a variety of services to be provided to veterans across each
VA region, these activities were largely limited to their local areas.
In addition, employment coordinators performed some services that
duplicated other available resources. Although job resource labs
afforded some additional opportunities for VA staff to assist veterans
with employment activities, they generally were not used by many
veterans. Job resource labs also provided some resources that veterans
were able to access elsewhere.
Employment Coordinators Performed Direct Services, Job Development, and
Outreach in Their Local Areas and Duplicated Some Other Available
Resources:
The employment coordinators in the five states we visited provided some
direct assistance to veterans. The services to veterans included
helping with veteran employment plans, résumé preparation, interview
preparation, and job search activities. In addition, employment
coordinators with whom we spoke typically provided veterans and VA
counselors with labor market information, which generally included
average salary, to assist veterans in selecting potential career
fields. Other duties varied by state and included managing the referral
process to DVOP specialists, conducting follow-up with veterans after
they have been placed in employment, arranging for the distribution of
a stipend given to veterans during their employment search, and
focusing on providing services to veterans who were having difficulty
finding employment. One employment coordinator reported that she
assisted employers with making workplace accommodations for disabled
veteran employees who were participants in the VA program, while two
others reported that they had not had the opportunity to provide such
accommodations. In one case, the employment coordinator had carved out
the specific role of assisting veterans with federal job applications.
Most of the employment coordinators we met with also performed some job
development and outreach activities. These activities included
promotion of VA programs, developing partnerships with businesses and
other agencies, and marketing and providing VA employer incentives. For
example, an employment coordinator in one state we visited told us she
partners with other agencies to obtain employment leads for veterans
and another employment coordinator told us that he markets an incentive
program to employers through which VA pays half of the veteran's salary
for the first 6 months of employment. Some employment coordinators also
told us they conduct presentations about VA at community events.
Employment coordinators in the five states we visited primarily
provided services to veterans in their local areas, even though VA
originally intended that they provide a variety of employment services
across each VA region. In the five states we visited, the employment
coordinators seldom traveled to offices outside their local area, and
when some did, they met with a much smaller number of veterans. VA
staff in several locations told us the lack of face-to-face contact
with an employment coordinator disadvantaged some veterans. For
example, VA staff in one office without an employment coordinator on-
site found communication via phone and e-mail to be less effective in
providing employment services to veterans than in-person interactions.
Similarly, an employment coordinator in another state told us that
veterans outside her local area do not receive the same level of
services from her as those located in her immediate area. VA
acknowledged it was not aware of the extent to which employment
coordinators were able to work with veterans outside their local areas.
In addition, VA national officials acknowledged that the current number
of employment coordinators is not enough to provide a full array of
employment services to all program participants, as they had originally
intended when they wrote the position description. They told us they
tried to compensate for this deficiency by assigning employment
coordinators to offices in the most populous areas and expected that
state workforce agency staff would serve veterans in other locales. In
one state, the employment coordinator was stationed over 200 miles away
from the office we visited and was only able to provide services for 15
of the approximately 300 veterans served in that office at the time of
our interview. The employment coordinator, VA counselors, and some
veterans in this state told us they considered local DVOP specialists
to be the primary employment services providers for program
participants.
According to veterans and VA staff in the five states we visited,
employment coordinators provided some unique services to veterans in
their local areas, but other services were also available from
alternative sources. Employment coordinators provided some services
that were not available elsewhere, such as marketing VA employer
incentives, promoting the VA program through networking and ongoing
contacts with employers, distributing veterans' employment search
stipend, and assisting with employer accommodations. However, according
to veterans and VA staff in the five states we visited, some of the
direct services provided by employment coordinators were similar to
those offered by others. For example, according to some VA staff and
veterans, college career centers, DVOP specialists, and VA contractors
all provide veterans assistance with résumé writing and interviewing
techniques. Additionally, some veterans and VA staff told us that both
employment coordinators and state workforce agency staff can assist
veterans and VA counselors with labor market information. Similarly, in
two states we visited employment coordinators were available to provide
more services to veterans who were having difficulty finding
employment, while DVOP specialists were also responsible for
facilitating services for veterans with special employment needs. One
veteran told us he met with the employment coordinator daily for
assistance with résumé and interview preparation and obtaining
employment leads while also working with a DVOP specialist weekly.
The outreach activities employment coordinators conducted were also
sometimes performed by others. In some states we visited, both
employment coordinators and DVOP specialists marketed to employers on
behalf of disabled veterans in the VA program by identifying employer
hiring contacts and obtaining information on job vacancies and hiring
prerequisites. Similarly, in some states employment coordinators and
DVOP specialists performed job development activities, such as
fostering partnerships through participation in job fairs and
networking with local businesses. VA staff in two states told us that
state workforce agency staff often performed job development and
outreach activities. Although Labor and VA national officials
acknowledged some similarities between the employment services
performed by employment coordinators and those available to program
participants elsewhere, VA officials have not collected information on
the full extent of the duplication nationally. A summary comparing the
services provided by employment coordinators and employment services
available elsewhere in the states we visited is in table 3.
Table 3: Examples of Services Provided by Employment Coordinators and
Others in the Five States We Visited:
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Conduct follow-up with veterans after they have been placed in
employment;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators,DVOP specialists;
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Assist with résumé and interview preparation;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists,
Contractors and school career centers.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Provide general assistance with job search activities;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists,
Contractors and school career centers.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Provide labor market information;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Provide employment assistance specifically to hard-to-place veterans;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Coordinate distribution of employment search stipend;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Assist veterans with employment plans;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists.
Employment coordinator duties: Direct services provided to VA clients;
Assist employers with providing accommodations for VA clients;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators.
Employment coordinator duties: Job development and outreach;
Promote VA program through networking and ongoing contacts with
employers;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators.
Employment coordinator duties: Job development and outreach;
Develop partnerships with businesses and state and federal agencies;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists.
Employment coordinator duties: Job development and outreach;
Market VA incentives to employers, such as subsidized internships and
wage subsidies;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators.
Employment coordinator duties: Job development and outreach;
Establish contact with specific employers to be aware of job
opportunities and job qualifications;
Selected providers: Employment coordinators, DVOP specialists.
Source: GAO analysis.
Note: A checkmark indicates that services were provided in at least one
of the states we visited. Employment coordinator activities were
typically limited to those veterans in their local areas. The
employment coordinators we interviewed in California were responsible
only for the San Diego region, and the employment coordinator for Sioux
Falls, South Dakota was stationed in Fargo, North Dakota.
[End of table]
Job Resource Labs Provided Additional Opportunities to Assist Veterans,
but They Appeared to Play a Minor Role and Duplicated Resources
Available Elsewhere:
Job resource labs provided equipment and materials that VA staff used
to assist veterans with employment-related activities, but the labs
were not typically staffed throughout the day. All of the labs in the
five states we visited were equipped with computers that had Internet
access, desks, printers, and employment resource libraries. The number
of computers available for veterans' use in the labs ranged from one to
four. All of the labs also had at least three additional resources such
as copiers, fax machines, informational pamphlets, job postings, and
televisions and DVD players located directly in the lab or available
for use elsewhere in the office. According to the veterans and VA staff
in the five states we visited, the job resource labs were used
primarily to conduct Five-Track program orientation and to allow for
veterans to engage individually in career exploration activities. In
three of the states we visited, the labs were also used as a meeting
space, for example, to host workshops and veteran employment networking
groups. The labs sometimes also served as an office for the part-time
colocated DVOP specialist or as an extra space to conduct activities
such as mock interviews. We were told VA staff were available to assist
veterans as needed, but only one of the labs we visited was staffed
throughout the day. Although some veterans were able to use the labs
with minimal guidance, others told us they needed the assistance
provided by VA staff when they were first introduced to the labs.
Figure 4 shows photographs of a sample of the job resource labs we
visited.
Figure 4: Photographs of VA Job Resource Labs: Anaheim, California;
Montgomeryy, Alabama; Huntsville, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois.
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
Veterans in the five states we visited did not typically use the labs
for any activities other than those that were part of the program
orientation. VA staff in the five states we visited told us the labs
were not used by many veterans. Four of the labs we visited tracked
usage informally, and a month of data from these labs showed as many as
34 veterans using one lab and as few as 3 using another. Additionally,
none of the veterans we spoke with used the labs regularly or more than
a few times during the program. For example, 1 veteran said he only
used the lab to occasionally look at his grades online and another
veteran used printed resources in the lab once to prepare for an
interview. Some of the low levels of usage may be explained by factors
associated with the lab. In two of the states we visited, the labs had
only been operational for 2 months or less. In three other sites, VA
staff lamented that the labs were housed in buildings that were not
conveniently located or required security searches to enter. While VA
officials told us they plan to assess the usage and effectiveness of
the job resource labs nationally, they have not done so yet because
they are waiting for all labs to have permanent computers.
Veterans and VA officials told us that program participants have access
to equipment and materials similar to those in the job resource labs at
other locations. In the five states we visited, job resource labs
provided veterans with some additional VA services, for example, one-
on-one computer assistance from VA staff and the opportunity to network
with other VA participants. However, according to veterans and VA
counselors with whom we spoke, veterans typically had computer and
Internet access available at home, school, the public library, or the
local one-stop career center. Similarly, one veteran told us he used
printed materials found in the job resource labs, such as résumé and
interviewing technique books, at his local one-stop career center.
While some veterans and veteran service organization representatives we
spoke with found that having access to resources at multiple locations
allows veterans more flexibility, some also told us the labs were
duplicative of most of the basic resources available at local one-
stops, such as computers, printers, faxes, printed materials, job
postings, and brochures.
Conclusions:
VA staff and their counterparts in Labor are charged with the
responsibility of helping veterans achieve the best possible employment
outcomes--each in their own capacity but also in cooperation with each
other. Given their similar missions and clientele, and to ensure the
seamless delivery of services and efficient use of resources, it is
critical that these agencies work together effectively. The October
2005 agreement between Labor and VA stated that both parties commit
themselves to active cooperation and coordination in meeting the goals
of the agreement. However, without additional efforts--developing a
comprehensive plan that outlines long-range time frames and benchmarks
for its implementation, thoroughly reviewing implementation at the
state level, providing guidance to states, and outlining plans for
taking action if states do not implement the agreement--it is difficult
to determine the extent to which the agreement has been implemented or
what, if any, progress has been made toward its goals. In addition, VA
officials were not fully aware of how the employment coordinator
position was serving veterans outside of the employment coordinator's
local area. As a result, VA may not be providing all veterans in a
regional office's jurisdiction with equal access to the full array of
services from an employment coordinator. Furthermore, Labor and VA have
not collected systematic information on employment coordinators and job
resource labs to help eliminate all duplication in the delivery of
needed employment services and provide a seamless employment
transition. Without this information, there may be unnecessary
duplication of services, which is not in keeping with the agreement.
Finally, VA has not examined the usage or effectiveness of the job
resource labs nationwide, and as a result, VA may end up spending money
to sustain a resource that few veterans are using.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To ensure the complete and timely implementation of the agreement, we
recommend that the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs direct VETS and VRE to take the following actions:
* develop a written plan for the full implementation of the agreement
that includes long-term time frames, benchmarks by which to track
implementation at the state level, and plans for taking action in
instances when states are not fully implementing the agreement;
* provide additional direction to the states on implementing the
agreement, including examples of promising practices from states, such
as strategies for sharing information;
* provide technical assistance to states that are facing difficulties
implementing the agreement; and:
* collect and assess complete information on the progress of the states
in implementing the agreement using well-designed and appropriate
methodology, such as a systematic review of state-level memorandums of
agreements or a comprehensive survey of all locations.
To ensure the employment coordinator role is being used in the most
effective and efficient way possible without duplication of other
available services, we recommend that the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, direct VRE to
take the following actions:
* determine how best to use the employment coordinator in serving
veterans located outside the employment coordinator's local area;
* undertake additional efforts to review how the employment coordinator
role has been carried out at the regional level, especially vis-à-vis
staff of other workforce agencies;
* determine how this position could best be used in light of other
services available to VA program participants; and:
* modify the national employment coordinator position description
accordingly.
To ensure that resources spent on job resource labs are used
efficiently and effectively, we recommend that the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs direct VRE to undertake additional efforts to:
* review the number of veterans using the job resource labs and ways in
which veterans are using them;
* assess and offer regional offices direction on how the labs could be
better used; and:
* determine whether there are additional opportunities to coordinate
with other agencies and organizations, such as local one-stop career
centers.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided a draft of this report to Labor and VA for their review and
comments. In their comments, the agencies agreed with our
recommendations. The agencies said they would work together to develop
a plan to fully implement the agreement that focuses on time frames and
benchmarks and would implement a systematic review of state-level
agreements. Both agencies also said they will continue to develop joint
training for improving the coordination and delivery of employment
services for veterans with disabilities. In an effort to provide
technical assistance to states that are facing difficulties
implementing the agreement, Labor said it would review possible ways of
providing VA confirmation that a client is employed without actually
providing personal wage data. In addition, VA said it will continue to
evaluate the effectiveness of the employment coordinator position and
develop methodology to assess how the job resource labs are used. The
Department of Labor's comments are in appendix II and VA's comments are
in appendix III.
We will send copies of this report to the Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, other relevant congressional committees,
and other interested parties and will make copies available to others
upon request. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on
GAO's Web site at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
A list of related GAO products is included at the end of this report.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me at (202) 512-7215. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of this report. Staff acknowledgments are listed in appendix IV.
Signed by:
Cynthia M. Fagnoni, Managing Director:
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Our overall research objectives were to describe the status of the
implementation of the October 2005 memorandum of agreement between the
Department of Labor (Labor) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
aimed at coordinating efforts to advance the employment opportunities
for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and to describe the
status of the implementation of VA's Five-Track employment program,
with a particular emphasis on the role of employment coordinators and
job resource labs. To address these objectives, we conducted interviews
with national Labor and VA officials and national representatives of
veterans' service organizations. We also visited five states, where we
met with Labor, VA, and the state workforce agency officials and staff,
and toured job resource labs and one-stop career centers. During our
site visits, we spoke with veterans who were past or current
participants in VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment services
(VRE) and local representatives of veterans' service organizations. In
addition, VA provided us with information on the number of job resource
labs that were completed, the number still in process, and the reasons
for the delays. Finally, we reviewed prior GAO reports and other
relevant documentation. We conducted our work from November 2006 to
September 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards.
Interviews with National Labor and VA Officials:
We interviewed national Labor and VA officials to determine the status
of implementation of the agreement, in particular, time frames for
completion and any challenges to implementation. With VA officials, we
also discussed the status of the implementation of the Five-Track
program, including any implementation challenges that remain, and the
roles of employment coordinators and job resource labs in the
employment and training of disabled veterans.
Site Visits:
We conducted site visits in five states--Michigan, Alabama, Illinois,
South Dakota, and California. California is divided into three VA
regions; we visited only the San Diego region. We selected a mix of
states based on the following criteria: (1) dispersion across the four
VRE geographic areas (Eastern, Southern, Central, and Western), (2)
both pilot and nonpilot sites for the Five-Track program, and (3)
states with large and small veteran populations. Table 4 lists our
selected site visit locations and summarizes these selection criteria
for each state. In making our selections, we also factored in the
states' reputation for coordination between Labor and VA at the state
and local levels, which we determined based on input from national
Labor and VA officials and other sources.
Table 4: Site Visit Locations and Key Selection Criteria:
State: Michigan;
Locations visited: Detroit;
VRE geographic area: Eastern;
Was a Five-Track pilot site: yes;
Has large veteran population (500,000 or more veterans in state): yes.
State: Alabama; Locations visited: Montgomery Huntsville;
VRE geographic area: Southern;
Was a Five-Track pilot site: yes;
Has large veteran population (500,000 or more veterans in state): no.
State: Illinois; Locations visited: Chicago;
VRE geographic area: Central;
Was a Five-Track pilot site: no;
Has large veteran population (500,000 or more veterans in state): yes.
State: South Dakota; Locations visited: Sioux Falls;
VRE geographic area: Central;
Was a Five-Track pilot site: no;
Has large veteran population (500,000 or more veterans in state): no.
State: California (San Diego region); Locations visited: San Diego El
Cajon Anaheim;
VRE geographic area: Western;
Was a Five-Track pilot site: no;
Has large veteran population (500,000 or more veterans in state): yes.
Source: GAO.
Note: Veteran population of states is based on 2000 Census data.
[End of table]
In each state, we met with VA regional office staff and officials from
Labor and the state workforce agency. At VA regional offices, we spoke
with VA counselors, employment coordinators, and regional office
management. We also toured the job resource labs. In each state, we
also spoke with either the state VETS program director or assistant
director assigned to the region. In addition, we met with staff and
officials from the state workforce agency, including Disabled Veterans'
Outreach Program specialists. We visited one-stop career centers in
four states and met with local office managers in three of these. In
some cases, we followed up on our interviews by phone, e-mail, or in
person to collect additional information.
In two of the states, we visited locations that have satellite offices
of the VA regional office. In California, we visited Anaheim, which is
a satellite location of the San Diego VA regional office. There, we met
with the VA vocational rehabilitation counselor and state workforce
agency local office management and staff. We also observed the job
resource lab. We chose Anaheim based on its proximity to San Diego,
which was one of our site visit locations. In Alabama, we interviewed
VA and state workforce agency staff in Huntsville, a satellite location
of the Montgomery VA regional office, and also visited the job resource
lab. We selected Huntsville based on the recommendation of a Montgomery
VA official and its proximity to a GAO field office.
Interviews with Veterans and Veterans' Service Organizations:
To gain additional perspectives on the implementation of the agreement
and the Five-Track program, on each of our site visits, we met with
veterans who were currently participating in the Five-Track program or
who had recently completed training through VA's Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment program. We also spoke with local
representatives of veterans' service organizations. In addition, we
conducted phone interviews with representatives of a number of
veterans' service organizations who are based in the Washington, D.C.
area.
Status of Job Resource Lab Implementation:
VA provided us with a list of the job resource labs and the status of
their implementation. From this list, we calculated the total number of
labs, the number of labs that were completed, and those that were still
in process. We also categorized and sorted the reasons for delays in
implementing the labs that were not yet complete. We assessed the
reliability of the VA data and determined it was suitable for the
purposes of this report. The information provided by VA was current as
of May 2007.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Labor:
U.S. Department of Labor:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and
Planning:
Washington, D.C. 20210:
August 6, 2007:
Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director:
Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Mr. Nilsen:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft report titled
"Disabled Veterans' Employment: Additional Planning, Monitoring and
Data Collection Efforts Would Improve Assistance" (GAO-07-1020). The
Department of Labor (DOL) generally concurs with the findings of this
report. DOL is pleased that the report indicates that the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) and DOL have made progress in improving
coordination between the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
(VR&E) Program, carried out by the VA, and the Jobs for Veterans Grants
to State Workforce Agencies, administered by the Veterans' Employment
and Training Service (VETS).
Our comments are structured within the framework of the Recommendations
for Executive Action included in the report. DOL is responding to the
recommendations directed jointly to the Secretary of Labor and the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as well as those recommendations
directed to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor. DOL is not responding to recommendations directed
solely to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
1. GAO recommendation: Develop a written plan for the full
implementation of the agreement that includes long-term time frames,
benchmarks by which to track implementation at the state level, and
plans for taking action in instances when states are not fully
implementing the agreement.
VETS concurs with this recommendation. VETS staff will continue to work
with the VR&E staff at the National level--with active involvement from
our joint workgroups in the field--to develop an interagency plan to
fully implement the action items contained in the 2005 Memorandum of
Agreement (MOA). VETS and VR&E will focus on timeframes and benchmarks
to track implementation of state level memorandums of agreement, and
jointly develop technical training to ensure the delivery of
coordinated quality employment services to veterans with disabilities.
Our joint goal is to implement the online and computer-based training
modules for VETS, VR&E, and state staff in FY2008.
2. Provide additional direction to the states on implementing the
agreement, including examples of promising practices from states, such
as strategies for sharing information.
VETS concurs with this recommendation. VETS, in cooperation and
coordination with VR&E, will review the existing local MOAs and survey
results to determine best practices as well as provide guidance to the
states on how to best share infonnation to the extent practical and
within existing provision of law. One area to be reviewed is the
sharing of Unemployment insurance wage records. Since it is imperative
that VR&E know of successful employment outcomes, VETS will coordinate
with VR&E to review possible alternatives to the actual release of wage
record data that may be prohibited from sharing by various state
privacy laws. One
possible example is the possibility of providing VR&E confirmation that
a VR&E client is employed without actually providing personal wage
record data. Additionally, in order for Disabled Veteran Outreach
Program (DVOP) specialists to be able to assist veterans in obtaining
suitable employment, it is imperative that VR&E provide as much
information as possible regarding disability(ies), work restrictions,
functional limitations and other pertinent information that will assist
the DVOP in assuring, to the extent possible, suitable employment
opportunities are pursued.
3. Provide technical assistance to states that are facing difficulties
implementing the agreement.
VETS concurs with this recommendation. See response to 2 above.
4. Collect and assess complete information on the progress of the
states in implementing the agreement using well-designed and
appropriate methodology, such as a systematic review of state level
memorandums of agreements or a comprehensive survey of all locations.
VETS concurs with this recommendation. VETS will work with VR&E to
undertake a review of the surveys recently completed to determine best
practices and provide technical assistance to those states where
implementation of local MOAs has been problematic. We will ask our
state directors to review and assure local MOAs are consistent with the
National MOA to the extent feasible. This will be done on an annual
basis or as needed predicated on staff or circumstance changes. Revised
or amended MOAs will be required to be sent to the National Office of
VETS.
5. Determine how best to use the employment coordinator in serving
veterans located outside the employment coordinator's local area.
While this is a VR&E function, VETS will work with VR&E to identify the
appropriate personnel, i.e. DVOP within the state or contiguous states
as appropriate to assist with employment services.
We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this report.
Signed by:
Charles S. Ciccolella
[End of section]
Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs:
THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS:
WASHINGTON:
August 3, 2007:
Mr. Sigurd R. Nilsen:
Director:
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues :
U. S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, NW:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Mr. Nilsen:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reviewed the Government
Accountability Office's draft report, Disabled Veterans' Employment:
Additional Planning, Monitoring, and Data Collection Efforts Would
Improve Assistance (GAO-07-1020). We agree with your findings and
concur with your recommendations.
The report provides specific recommendations in areas where VA is
continuing to develop new strategies and effectiveness measures that
will assist us in improving employment services to veterans with
disabilities. The key provisions of the Memorandum of Agreement between
the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs require ongoing
coordination between the two agencies, and VA is actively pursuing them.
The enclosure provides detailed responses to your recommendations. VA
appreciates the opportunity to comment on your draft report.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
R. James Nicholson
Enclosure
[End of section]
Enclosure:
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):
Comments to Government Accountability Office (GAO) Draft Report,
Disabled Veterans' Employment: Additional Planning, Monitoring,
and Data Collection Efforts Would Improve Assistance;
(GAO-07-1020):
To ensure the complete and timely implementation of the agreement,
GAO recommends that the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs direct VETS and VRE to take the following actions:
* develop a written plan for the implementation of the agreement
that includes long-term time frames, benchmarks by which to track
implementation at the state level, and plans for taking action in
instances when states are not fully implementing the agreement;
* provide additional direction to the states on implementing the
agreement, including examples of promising practices from states, such
as strategies for sharing information;
* provide technical assistance to states that are facing difficulties
implementing the agreement; and
* collect and assess complete information on the progress of the states
in implementing the agreement using well-designed and appropriate
methodology, such as a systematic review of state level memorandums of
agreements or a comprehensive survey of all locations.
Concur - The Department of Veterans Affairs will meet with the
Department of Labor to review the existing Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA), Pilot Project Plan, and recently completed field station survey
of local agreements. VA will work with Labor on developing a national
plan to implement fully the agreement, with specific attention to
timeframes, benchmarks, technical training, and implementing a
systematic review of State level MOAs. VA will continue to coordinate
with Labor on the MOA Pilot Project, with anticipated completion in
the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Concurrent with the Pilot Project,
Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) and VA's
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service (VR&E) will continue
to develop joint online and computer-based training modules in fiscal
2008 for improving the coordination and delivery of quality employment
services for veterans with disabilities.
To ensure the employment coordinator role is being used in the most
effective and efficient way possible without duplication of other
available services, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, direct VRE to
take the following actions:
* determine how best to use the employment coordinator in serving
veterans located outside the employment coordinator's local area;
* undertake additional efforts to review how the employment coordinator
role has been carried out at the regional level, especially vis-à-vis
staff of other workforce agencies;
* determine how this position could best be used in light of other
services available to VA program participants; and
* modify the national employment coordinator position description
accordingly.
Concur - The employment coordinator is a new position developed to
support the Five-Tracks to Employment Process service delivery system
to all field stations. In addition to new hires, previous employment
specialists on staff were converted to their new roles in February
2006. Since the employment coordinator is a relatively new position, VA
will continue to evaluate its effectiveness.
To ensure that resources spent on job resource labs are used
efficiently and effectively, GAO recommends that the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs direct VRE to undertake additional efforts to:
* review the number of veterans using the job resource labs and ways in
which veterans are using them;
* assess and offer regional offices direction on how the labs could be
better used;
* determine whether there are additional opportunities to coordinate
with other agencies and organizations such as local one-stop career
centers.
Concur - As noted in the report, VR&E planned to issue a new
implementation manual for the Job Resource Labs, but it was delayed
pending the full delivery of computer desktops and the full
customization of the new employment Web site, [hyperlink,
http://www.vetsuccess.gov]. Based on the final delivery of the computer
workstations, VR&E will issue a comprehensive Job Resource Lab manual
in fiscal 2008. VR&E previously released to all field stations training
materials and training videos (e.g., Introduction to the Job Resource
Lab, and separately, Introduction to the Portable Job Resource Lab).
VR&E is preparing for release in September 2007 an updated
"Introduction to the Job Resource Lab," training video. VR&E
will also develop a new data collection and effectiveness methodology
for all Job Resource Lab locations in fiscal 2008 to assess how the
labs are used and to avoid duplication of resources or joint agency
efforts.
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Cynthia M. Fagnoni, (202) 512-7215 or fagnonic@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director:
Heather Hahn and Kathryn Larin, Assistant Directors:
Anne Welch, Analyst-in-Charge:
Caitlin Croake and Amber Yancey-Carroll also made significant
contributions to this report in all facets of the work. In addition,
Walter Vance assisted in the review of external data and in developing
site visit selection criteria; Elizabeth Curda and Gregory Whitney lent
subject matter expertise; Doreen Feldman and Jessica Botsford provided
legal support; Letisha Jenkins and John Ortiz assisted with data
collection; and Charles Willson provided writing assistance.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Labor Could Improve
Information on Reemployment Services, Outcomes, and Program Impact. GAO-
07-594. Washington, D.C.: May 24, 2007.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Labor Should Take Action to Ensure
Performance Data Are Complete, Accurate, and Accessible. GAO-06-496.
Washington, D.C.: April 25, 2006.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Greater Accountability and
Other Labor Actions Needed to Better Serve Veterans. GAO-06-357T.
Washington, D.C.: February 2, 2006.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Labor Actions Needed to
Improve Accountability and Help States Implement Reforms to Veterans'
Employment Services. GAO-06-176. Washington, D.C.: December 30, 2005.
Workforce Investment Act: Labor and States Have Taken Actions to
Improve Data Quality, but Additional Steps Are Needed. GAO-06-82.
Washington, D.C.: November 14, 2005.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Preliminary Observations on
Changes to Veterans' Employment Programs. GAO-05-662T. Washington,
D.C.: May 12, 2005.
Workforce Investment Act: States and Local Areas Have Developed
Strategies to Assess Performance, but Labor Could Do More to Help. GAO-
04-657. Washington, D.C.: June 1, 2004.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Flexibility and
Accountability Needed to Improve Service to Veterans. GAO-01-928.
Washington, D.C.: September 12, 2001.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Proposed Performance
Measurement System Improved, but Further Changes Needed. GAO-01-580.
Washington, D.C.: May 15, 2001.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Strategic and Performance
Plans Lack Vision and Clarity. GAO/T-HEHS-99-177. Washington, D.C.:
July 29, 1999.
Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Assessment of the Fiscal
Year 1999 Performance Plan. GAO/HEHS-98-240R. Washington, D.C.:
September 30, 1998.
Veterans' Employment and Training: Services Provided by Labor
Department Programs. GAO/HEHS-98-7. Washington, D.C.: October 17, 1997.
Vocational Rehabilitation: Better VA Management Needed to Help Disabled
Veterans Find Jobs. GAO/HRD-92-100. Washington, D.C.: September 4, 1992.
FOOTNOTES
[1] VA refers to its main VRE offices in the states as regional
offices. For the purposes of this report, we discuss actions taken by
VRE officials located in regional offices as taking place on the state
level, unless otherwise noted.
[2] The four pilot sites were Detroit, Michigan; Montgomery, Alabama;
Seattle, Washington; and St. Louis, Missouri.
[3] GAO, Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Labor Could Improve
Information on Reemployment Services, Outcomes, and Program Impact, GAO-
07-594 (Washington, D.C.: May 24, 2007).
[4] VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Task Force, Report to
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: The Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Program for the 21st Century Veteran (Washington, D.C.:
2004).
[5] According to a 2006 VA report, the agency is developing targets for
outcome measures on the percentage of program participants who are
employed one quarter and three quarters after program exit.
[6] According to information provided by VA, all but one of the
agency's regional offices have established formalized memorandums of
agreement with VETS partners within their states, but only 40 of these
agreements have been updated since Labor and VA signed the national
memorandum of agreement in October 2005.
[7] Each state maintains UI wage records to support the process of
providing unemployment compensation to unemployed workers. The records
are compiled from records submitted to the state each quarter by
employers and primarily include information on the total amount of
income earned during that quarter by each of their employees.
[8] As of April 2007, 48 VA regional offices were staffed with at least
one employment coordinator. The nine regional offices without
employment coordinators were Wilmington, Delaware; Boise, Idaho;
Wichita, Kansas; Togus, Maine; Jackson, Mississippi; Reno, Nevada;
Manchester, New Hampshire; Manila; and White River Junction, Vermont.
These offices had other staff providing employment services in addition
to their assigned duties.
[9] Information provided by VA included one lab that was located in a
state workforce agency one-stop center. VA data characterized the lab
completion status as not applicable; therefore we did not include the
lab as part of our analysis.
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Congressional Relations:
Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, JarmonG@gao.gov:
(202) 512-4400:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
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Washington, D.C. 20548:
Public Affairs:
Susan Becker, Acting Manager Director, Beckers@gao.gov:
(202) 512-4800:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street NW, Room 7149:
Washington, D.C. 20548: