WASHINGTON – United States Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Angus King are pushing the Department of Labor (DOL) to change eligibility criteria for veterans looking to enter the workforce. In a letter to Assistant Secretary James Rodriguez, they urged the DOL to categorize transitioning service members as eligible for career services programs funded by Jobs for Veterans State Grants (JVSG).
The JSVG program provides federal funding to State Workforce Agencies, allowing them to hire staff to provide veterans and eligible persons facing barriers to employment with individualized career and training-related services. The programs also help employers fill open positions with job-seeking veterans. Transitioning servicemembers are currently ineligible to participate in JVSG programs because they aren’t yet formally considered “veterans.”
“A transitioning servicemember who is not designated as lacking career readiness standards, and who proactively reaches out to local career center supported by a JVSG funded staff member to prepare for their transition, are ineligible to receive the full suite of services that are otherwise provided to veterans with significant barriers to employment. This gap in providing much needed employment services for transitioning servicemembers can and should be easily fixed by changing the eligibility criteria to include all transitioning servicemembers up to 6 months prior to their separation,” wrote the senators.
“Each year, approximately 200,000 servicemembers transition out of military service into civilian life,” continued the senators. “This period is a precarious time for servicemembers full of uncertainty for themselves and their families. Among the many stressors experienced by transitioning servicemembers is the challenge of finding a job.”
“We therefore request that you change the eligibility criteria for the Jobs for Veterans State Grant, and finding other ways to improve the servicemember transition experience. Ensuring a fulfilling career is a critical step in transitioning out of the highly structured military way life, and the Department of Labor has an important role to play in providing the training and assistance that servicemembers require to do so,” concluded the senators.
Read the letter here.
