By ANN RICHARDS
The successful reintegration of young soldiers into the civilian workforce is the focus of two grants recently awarded by the C.S. Mott Foundation. Multi-year grants to link returning and seriously wounded veterans with educational, training and job counseling services were made to AMVETS National Service Foundation and the National Organization on Disability (NOD) in Washington, DC.
Just over a year ago, AMVETS -- a national service organization founded in 1944 to assist veterans returning from World War II --- hosted the National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans in Chicago, Illinois. The event was held "because of the concerns that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans in particular were not getting the benefits they had earned and deserved," according to Peter L. Giusti, chief development strategist for AMVETS National Service Foundation, headquartered in Lanham, Maryland.
Of special concern were veterans under the age of 45, many of whom struggle to access educational benefits or meaningful employment as they transition back into civilian life.
"These veterans are more educated, more racially diverse, and include more women than the previous generation of veterans and yet they continue to lack the employment opportunities and relevant job training they need," Giusti said.
For those soldiers injured or permanently disabled in recent conflicts, the challenges of accessing career support services are even more difficult, often complicated by months of hospitalization, rehabilitation and because of their youth, little labor market experience outside the military.
Since 2004, the Mott Foundation has funded efforts to reduce barriers to employment, focusing on transitional jobs for clients facing multiple barriers to employment. In 2007, the Foundation provided almost $2 million in funding for this purpose. While the bulk of this programming has focused on low-income workers, the unemployment rate for new veterans, which is double the rate for non-veterans of the same age, prompted the Foundation to extend its support to this population.
AMVETS National Service Foundation will receive $75,000 each year over two years to support its Workforce Project for Young Veterans. Utilizing its network of trained national service officers, who are accredited by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, AMVETS will focus on reform of three federal programs: the Transition Assistance Program, the Disabled Transition Assistance Program, and compliance with veterans preference laws and other regulations that affect employment of those serving in the armed services. The Workforce Project for Young Veterans is the result of recommendations issued in a 55-page Action Plan following AMVETS' national symposium.
Mott funding also will support the U.S. Army's Wounded Warrior (AW2) Program. Set up by the U.S. Congress to assist the more than 1,500 veterans severely wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, AW2 will partner with NOD to set up an education, training and employment component that will be initiated early in a veteran's rehabilitation process. NOD will use a multi-year grant totaling $300,000 to assist the Army to design, test and implement the employment strategy for AW2 participants.
"NOD has spent nearly a year planning this demonstration, conducting focus groups with severely injured soldiers and their families at Walter Reed Hospital and in the field. We hope this initiative will enable the soldiers to use their unique talents by productively contributing to the society they served so unselfishly and bravely" said Michael R. Deland, NOD's president. He added that service men and women and family members identified employment and financial challenges among their greatest concerns upon returning to civilian life. NOD plans to set up demonstration programs at three sites, utilizing career specialists who will work one-on-one with severely wounded soldiers and provide ongoing assistance and support as needed for up to three years after soldiers return home.
Currently, there are approximately six million young veterans in the U.S. Recent military conflicts have resulted in major changes in the needs of the military and veterans alike, according to the AMVET report. The joblessness rate among veterans ages 20-24 was more than 10 percent in 2006, at least double the national average for all adult workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.