Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Wars

Disabled Veteran Outreach Program

Wars have always had an immediate effect upon the forces that take part in them. In particular the ones that are directly affected are the ones who fight them and the ones that come home injured or suffering from war disabilities. Their future in the work market is often placed in doubt. The present study will be conducted in response to concerns raised by unemployed disabled veterans returning from operations in the Middle East. It will consist in an evaluation of the "Disabled Veteran Outreach Program" undergone by the Government of the United States in order to address the problems of veterans who can no longer find suitable jobs as a result of disabilities suffered during combat.

Description of the Program

The Disabled Veteran Outreach Program is a federal initiative which aims "to provide intensive services to meet the employment needs of disabled and other eligible veterans; and, to provide maximum emphasis in meeting the employment needs of those who are economically or educationally disadvantaged, including homeless veterans and veterans with barriers to employment" (the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, n.d.). More precisely, it takes into account the difficulties encountered by veterans when coming back from the war. The Program in itself is developed as part of a wider initiative to assist veterans. In this sense, the Department of Labor is the coordinator for the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) and the Local Veterans' Employment Representatives Program (U.S. Dept. Of Labor., 2008).

The DVOP represents the result of a common effort to help the veterans be reintegrated in the workforce as a result of their return in the United States. As presented by the official sources, "Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists develop job and training opportunities for veterans, with special emphasis on veterans with service-connected disabilities. DVOP specialists provide direct services to veterans enabling them to be competitive in the labor market. They provide outreach and offer assistance to disabled and other veterans by promoting community and employer support for employment and training opportunities, including apprenticeship and on-the-job training" (U.S. Dept. Of Labor., 2008). This is an important aspect of the federal initiative because it allows soldiers who fought in the wars to reconsider their lives as they come back and at the same time it enables the government to help the families of the veterans through the opportunities offered to the veterans.

The Program is very relevant for a wider issue which is the assistance offered to veterans in general not only for finding a proper job. In this sense, there are several other problems which are addressed by the Government of the United States as a result of the wars in the Middle East. In this sense, the Dept. Of Veteran affairs "offers a wide range of benefits including two disability programs (compensation & pension) that pay monthly benefits to veterans with service-connected disabilities. Home loan guaranties, life insurance, education and training, vocational rehabilitation, and burial and survivor benefits are also available." (2008) Therefore, it can be said that there are several aspect the U.S. is trying to work on in order to improve the condition of the veterans; some include direct assistance such as life insurances and other benefits, while others take into account the job opportunities that can be offered to disabled veterans coming back from the wars in the Middle East.

Plan for analyzing the impact and process of the Program

Methods of data collection

The data used for the analysis of the impact and the processes conducted through this Program were collected from various official and unofficial sources. More precisely, the most important source was the Department of Labor and the governmental agencies that deal with the Program. Also, other research material such as working papers and news articles were used to complete the information on the situation of the program. Finally, precise data such as statistics were collected from the official information of the Government.

Questions for evaluation

Some of the most important aspects which must be taken into account when considering the precise process presented by the Program as well as the impact it has on the target are related to the veterans. More precisely, one question surrounding this research focuses on the exact process on which the Program is based on. Secondly, it is important to consider the triggering element for this Program and what is the current situation of the disabled veterans. Third, what are the results so far? Forth, what are the shortcomings of this Program and what are the factors that determine them? Fifth, what are the benefits of the program? Finally, what more can be done to improve both the Program in itself and the situation of the disabled veterans?

Literature review

The Program in itself started at the moment in which it was considered that disabled veterans have difficulty in finding a proper job at the moment when they come home from the battlefield. At a recent event related to the work and activity of the DVOP officers it was stated that "president Jimmy Carter, following his 1977 swearing-in ceremony, made one of the highest priorities of his administration the plight of hundreds of thousands of unemployed Disabled and Vietnam veterans then living in this country (...) as a result, the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, which began as a temporary offering, was started and 2,000 disabled Vietnam-era veterans were hired as DVOPs. Placed in 100 major cities across the country, they helped thousands of disabled veterans to return to work and lead normal lives." (Dept of Labor, 2007)

The beneficiaries of the Program are veterans who are defined according to the law. In this sense, eligible for this Program are "veterans and eligible persons with emphasis on Special Disabled veterans, disabled veterans, economically or educationally disadvantaged veterans, and veterans with other barriers to employment" (the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, n.d.) Therefore the category is not clearly defined precisely because there is always the possibility of a new situation to appear which is not immediately covered by the law but which must benefit from the Program.

The process of the Program takes into account a reintroduction in the labor force for disabled veterans. This is achieved through training and meeting several of the immediate needs of veterans. In this sense, the Program works with disabled veterans to "acquire proficient skill sets, obtain the needed assistance to successfully connect to an employer and apply those skills to the workforce (which) are fundamental to their ability to succeed in today's workforce environment" (House Committee on Veteran's Affairs, 2008). To this aim, the specialists working in the Program offer counseling, education, and training in order to be eligible for the current employment requirements.

Basis for the Program

The basis for the Program was established as stated before as a result of a presidential initiative. Nonetheless, there are several other documents and laws which enable the program to assist veterans, their families and any other factors that have been influenced by the loss of the full working capacity of the veterans. One of the most important acts however was the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 which not only gives consistency to the DVOP but also raises awareness of the eventual shortcomings of the initiative. More precisely, it "made a number of amendments to encourage Veterans access to services within an integrated one-stop service delivery system. A new section of the law established a priority of service requirement applicable to all Department of Labor programs offering employment and training related services" (Washington State Policies, 2003)

Current results

The results from the implementation of the Program aimed at helping those in need are rather mixed. Despite the fact that efforts have been made and that some results are visible, it is considered that much more needs to be done in order to address the issue of the veterans in a corresponding manner. Statistics have pointed out that 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 have or will increase these statistics in the coming years" (United States Government Accountability Office, 2007) According to other statistics however, the affirmative action which has been established by the U.S. government was effective for the 2005 fiscal year, as "the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) report highlights federal employment statistics in fiscal year 2005, and offers a look at year-over-year representation gains through comparisons with fiscal 2004 data. In 2005, veterans held 25% of all federal jobs; and 92,642 disabled veterans' occupied federal positions. In addition, federal agencies hired 31,024 veterans into full-time permanent jobs, an increase of 21.4% over fiscal 2004" (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2006).

A clear distinction however must be made in terms of the field of work the veterans find or do not find employment. In this sense, the first statistics mention more the private sector, whereas the second set of statistics mention the federal area of activity. This is important because it reflect the certain difficulties the government has to stimulate the employment of veterans in a line of work of their choice.

Other statistics mention that not only do a large number of veterans have a disability related to their position but rather the fact that they are part of a system which has a rate of unemployment too high for the United States. More precisely, "In 2007, the unemployment rate among veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces since September 2001 was 6.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. About 17% of these veterans, also called Gulf War-era II veterans had a service-connected disability in August 2007. The jobless rate for veterans of all eras combined was 3.8% in 2007. About 12% of all veterans had a service-connected disability in August 2007" (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006).

The general statistics however suggest a rather grim situation in the sense that "approximately 700,000 veterans are unemployed in any given month, and roughly 200,000 service members leave active duty and transition to civilian life each year, according to the Department of Labor (Labor)." (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2006) there are several factors to determine these shortcomings.

One of the main shortcomings of the program is the lack of full action rnage. In this sense, while the Government is able to allocate the funding and the way in which money is spent it is not possible for the government to also deal with the medium wages or the employment conditions for the ones taking part in the Program (United States Government Accountability Office, 2007). This is one of the major problems because it points out the fact that veterans are in the end conditioned by their employer regardless of the help offered by the Government.

Another shortcoming is the lack of coordination at the level of the states which are responsible for the implementation of the Program. More precisely, despite the fact that they are aware of the implications for the veterans, agencies from different states do not follow thoroughly the entire process of employment and often veterans remain to seek employment on their own. This is not necessarily a bad thing for the disabled veterans; yet it proves the limited capabilities of the government to improve the situation of its veterans.

Thirdly, there is a lack of information concerning the services provided by the government. In this sense, there are many veterans who are unaware of this opportunity and they are often left behind. This issue is being addressed at the moment. Thus, "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" (United States Government Accountability Office, 2007).

The benefits which result from this program are wide and diverse. An indirect benefit is the fact that it draws the attention on the actual needs of the veterans. One response has been the increase in the period for enrollment in special assistance programs to five years instead of two (Gulf Vets, 2008). Another major issue which resulted from this activity is that it offers veterans who are accustomed to the information provided by the government to actually come in touch with possible employees. Thus, they are again engaged on the labor market (Appel, 2008). Moreover, the affirmative action needed for the reconsideration of veterans as part of the labor force has extended to all parts of the government. For instance, the Federal Highway Administration is now actively engaged to support the employment of veterans and disabled veterans who seek reemployment (U.S. Dept. Of Transportation, 2004).

There are several aspects on which the Government can improve concerning the Program aiming to help the disabled veterans. On the one hand, the lack of information concerning the entire array of possibilities can enable former combatants to find a suitable job. Although this shortcoming is obvious in most cases, there are other cases as well which come to prove that more is needed to be done to support the veterans. In this sense, there have been cases in which former soldiers struggled to find proper jobs that would be compatible with their war injuries and after seeking several positions he was employed through the Program (Adams, 2008).