From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Programs That Help Veterans Obtain Civilian Employment 

Description: The federal government has made a commitment to help
military servicemembers find employment, and offers a number of career
assistance programs. However, a recent review by GAO found gaps in how
agencies assess these programs to see if they are working. We talk to
Cindy Brown Barnes, an expert on employment training programs, about a
new report on these programs. 

Related GAO Work: GAO-20-416, Military and Veteran Support: Performance
Goals Could Strengthen Programs that Help Servicemembers Obtain Civilian
Employment

Released: July 2020


[Intro Music]

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] A significant number of servicemembers are
transitioning to civilian life. And trying to get meaningful employment. 

[Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report. Your source for
news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. I'm
Holly Hobbs. 
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, during the next four
years more than a million servicemembers will transition from military
to civilian life. The federal government has made a commitment to help
military servicemembers find employment, and offers a number of career
assistance programs. However, a recent review by GAO found gaps in how
agencies assess these programs to see if they are working. Today we talk
to Cindy Brown Barnes, an expert on employment training programs, and a
director in our Education, Workforce and Income Security team. Thank you
for joining us, Cindy. 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] Thank you for having me. 

[Holly Hobbs:] So, Cindy, how effective are these career assistance
programs for military servicemembers and veterans? 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] Of the 45 programs across the federal government,
most reported that they had set performance goals, and about a dozen had
also evaluated their programs. For example, the Department of Labor
reported setting goals for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.
And this is a program which reintegrates homeless veterans into
meaningful employment within the labor force. Their goals were to place
69 percent of the participants in jobs at an average wage of $12.50 per
hour. And they said that both of their goals were met in fiscal year
2016. And another example--the VA evaluated its Vocational,
Rehabilitation and Employment Program and found that veterans who got a
job after completing the program reported a median income that was
$18,000 higher than veterans who did not complete the program. However,
eight programs reported having no goals or specific performance targets.
So, for those eight programs, we don't know whether they achieved their
intended purpose. 

[Holly Hobbs:] So you've outlined some of the types of programs. What
services are there under these programs? 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] The 45 programs generally provided three kinds of
services. Education--and these education services including professional
certifications and licensees, and to maintain those certifications and
licensees. They included employment services--and these employment
services include things such as job search assistance, job readiness and
training, job referrals, and on-the-job-training aspects. They also
included self-employment. And what we saw was with self-employment
services there was training in business fundamentals, and in developing
a business plan. For example, 25 programs of them offered educational
counseling, 22 offered resume assistance, and 12 offered mentoring. We
also found that the programs were spread across 11 agencies, and they
frequently overlap with each other by providing similar services to
similar populations.

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[Holly Hobbs:] So it sounds like there are a lot of programs available
to servicemembers to find employment. But that the federal government
may not be assessing how effective these programs are. Cindy, what do
agencies risk by not tracking the outcomes of their programs? 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] A significant number of servicemembers are
transitioning to civilian life and trying to get meaningful
employment--as are a number of veterans, spouses, and dependents. Given
that the 45 programs span 11 agencies, and they operate programs in same
broad areas, it's important to monitor whether these programs are
achieving the intended level of performance. Otherwise, the agencies
risk not knowing which programs are underperforming and need improving;
and they also would not know how best to allocate the limited resources
that are available. 

[Holly Hobbs:] And last question. What's the bottom line of this report? 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] The bottom line is there are a lot of programs
designed to help servicemembers and veterans obtain civilian employment.
And the federal government has invested about $14 billion in these
programs. So agencies need to be more systematic about monitoring
performance and demonstrating that their programs are effective. 

[Holly Hobbs:] That was Cindy Brown Barnes talking about GAO's recent
review of federal programs used to help military servicemembers and
veterans find civilian employment. Thank you for your time, Cindy. 

[Cindy Brown Barnes:] It was a pleasure. Thank you. 

[Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To
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For more from the Congressional Watchdog, the U.S. Government
Accountability Office, visit gao.gov.

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