Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program

As the designated State Workforce Agency (SWA), DWD is in the process of preparing the 2020 – 2024 Plan, in accordance with the established timelines for submission. Service to veterans is a priority in all of Indiana’s WorkOne offices. DWD continues to work with each region to highlight and drive priority of service to veterans, and, most significantly, to drive an overall focus on helping veterans in Indiana achieve full employment.

JVSG funds are provided to states to fund two staff positions: the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program Specialist (DVOP) and the Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER). These positions are fully integrated into the WorkOne offices. The DVOP’s role is to provide individualized career services to veterans with significant barriers to employment (SBE) through case management; the LVER’s role is to facilitate employment opportunities and advocate on behalf of veterans with employers.

WorkOne offices take a coordinated approach to serving eligible veterans in order to help them overcome barriers to gaining or maintaining employment. The DVOP specialist is the WorkOne expert on programs available to assist veterans with SBE in improving their skills, helping them take the next step up in their careers. The DVOPs provide individualized career services (intensive services) within Indiana’s case management model to eligible SBE veterans. The DVOP delivers these services as part of an integrated service delivery system in accordance with the requirements of VPL 03-14. As outlined within IAW VPL 03-14 and GO Memo 01-18, 50% of Veteran receiving ICS will receive these services through the case management framework, which is defined as a receipt of a comprehensive assessment and a written plan at a minimum. DVOPs maintain an active caseload of veterans with SBE, as determined by the local needs of veterans presenting an SBE during assessment of self-attestation to WIOA/Wagner-Peyser staff. DVOPs provide a comprehensive assessment and a written plan, based on an Objective Assessment Summary (OAS) in the Indiana’s case management system (Indiana Career Connect) on all case managed clients.

VPL 03-19: This document describes additional populations eligible to receive services provided by DVOP specialists. VPL 03-14 and TEGL 19-13 state that under 38 U.S.C. 4103A(a)(l)(C), the Secretary of Labor may identify additional groups of veterans who are entitled to receive intensive services from DVOP staff. Vietnam-era veterans have been added to the list of populations already identified as being eligible to receive services from DVOP specialists. 

VPL 03-14 and TEGL 19-13. That guidance limits the populations of eligible veterans and eligible persons  that may be served by a DVOP specialist and defined those categories of eligible veterans and eligible persons (to include TSMs, caregivers, spouses) who are being prioritized because they have Significant Barriers to Employment (SBE).

The populations described in this section are eligible to be served by DVOPs, in addition to those populations described in VPL 03-14, VPL 03-14 Change 1 and VPL 03-14 Change 2.

DOL’s employment programs, including JVSG, WP, and WIOA programs, individualized career (intensive services) are provided to both unemployed participants who require such services to obtain employment and to employed participants, who require such services to obtain or retain employment leading to self-sufficiency. In accordance with U.S.C. 4103A(a), DVOPs must provide intensive services to eligible veterans and eligible persons to meet their employment needs, prioritizing service to special disabled and other disabled veterans, as defined by  U.S.C. 4211, and to other eligible veterans in accordance with priorities determined by the Secretary of Labor. The statute also requires that DVOPs place maximum emphasis on assisting veterans who are economically or educationally disadvantaged.

An eligible veteran or eligible person is determined to have a Significant Barrier to Employment (SBE) if he or she attests to belonging to at least one criteria below:

• A special disabled or disabled veteran, as those terms are defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211 (l) and (3 ); Special disabled and disabled veterans are those:
  • who are entitled to compensation ( or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or,
  • were discharged or released from active duty because of a service ­connected disability;
• A homeless person, as defined in Sections 103(a) and (b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a) and (b)), as amended;
• A recently-separated service member, as defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211(6), who has been unemployed for 27 or more weeks in the previous 12 months, i.e. the term of unemployment over the previous 12 months remains 27 weeks; however, the requirement of27 consecutive weeks is eliminated;
• An offender, as defined by WIOA Section 3 (38)1, who is currently incarcerated or who has been released from incarceration, i.e. the expanded definition of SBE includes any eligible veteran or eligible person who is currently or was formerly incarcerated by removing the within the last 12 months requirement;
• Lacking a high school diploma or equivalent certificate; or
• Low-income individual (as defined by WIOA Section 3 (36))2
  • In addition to the above clarifications to the definition of SBE, the following guidance is provided to improve the identification and support of disabled veterans.
  • In accordance with prior guidance, the determination of disability under the SBE definitions must be made solely on the basis of self-identification. Note that any individual who separated from active duty because of a service-connected disability qualifies as a disabled veteran regardless of the number of days of active duty served, as does any veteran with a disability rating provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (or a military Service issued disability determination) as described in 38 U.S.C. § 4211(1). An individual who attests to having a disability claim pending with the VA should be considered to have an approved claim for the purposes of determining SBE.

•                Special Populations

           Veterans aged 18-24.

  Veterans aged 18-24 possess limited civilian work history which can make transitioning to the civilian labor force difficult. Based on this fact, veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 may benefit from individualized career services provided by a DVOP specialist.

           Vietnam-era Veterans.

           Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 4211, the term "Veteran of the Vietnam Era" is an eligible veteran any part of whose active military, naval, or air service was during the Vietnam era I The Bureau of Labor Statistics and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data indicate that there are still a sizeable number of Vietnam-era Veterans in the workforce, and many face difficulty in finding and maintaining employment.

                                   Served any part of active duty military, naval, or air service during the Vietnam era (02/28/1961 – 05/07/1975).

           Eligible Transitioning Service Members), Spouses, and Caregivers

           In annual appropriation bills since the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, Congress authorized NSG grants to support services as described in VPL 07-4 to:

• Transitioning members of the Armed Forces who have been identified as in need of intensive services (now referred to as Individualized Career Services);

  • Members of the Armed Forces who are wounded, ill, or injured and receiving treatment in military treatment facilities (MTF) or warrior transition units (WTU); and
  • The spouses or other family caregivers3 of such wounded, ill, or injured members.

This guidance is meant to limit the number of eligible veterans and eligible persons who DVOP specialists serve. Limiting DVOP specialists to serving only the eligible veterans and eligible persons who meet the criteria. While the DVOP specialists' provision of intensive services (individualized career services) to these veterans and eligible persons may include some core services, serving a more limited population will allow DVOP specialists enough time to devote a majority of their time to providing intensive services. The veterans who do not fall into one of the categories that are served by DVOP specialists are eligible to be served by other AJC Staff, including WIA, WP, and other AJC program staff. WorkOne uses the Veteran Self Attestation as the means to identify SBE Veterans, which are spread throughout the caseload of the WorkOne case managers. Those Veterans being identified as being most in need of DVOP services are referred to the DVOP for individualized career services. This limits the number of SBE Veterans being served by the DVOP.

WorkOne offices take a coordinated approach to serving eligible veterans in order to help them overcome barriers to gaining or maintaining employment. The DVOP is the WorkOne expert on programs available to assist veterans with SBE in improving their skills, helping them take the next step up in their careers. The DVOPs provide intensive services within a case management model to eligible veterans. The DVOP delivers these services as part of an integrated service delivery system in accordance with the requirements of VPL 03-14. DVOPs maintain an active caseload of veterans with SBE as determined by the local needs of veterans presenting SBE during assessment of self-attestation to WIOA/Wagner-Peyser staff.

Upon entry an individual is welcomed by staff and then staff identify those eligible veterans or eligible persons with significant barriers to employment (SBE) and/or other additional service population criteria eligible to be served by Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program specialist (DVOPs) as found in current VPLs. Then they direct those eligible veterans or eligible persons with SBEs and or other additional service population criteria to the (DVOPs) for assistance with intensive services (Individualized Career Services) and case management. The DVOP is not to perform intake duties or point of entry functions for non-SBE veterans or any functions normally assigned to other AJC partner staff or other automated procedures, thereby detracting from their ability to provide services, case management, or outreach duties related to meeting the employment needs of eligible veterans and eligible persons. Additionally, under no circumstances will the LVER perform any of these functions. In the event that a DVOP Specialist is not available, the veteran or eligible person should be referred to the appropriate Wagner-Peyser or Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) staff in addition to scheduling or referring to an available DVOP specialist by appointment. Under normal operating circumstances, all WorkOne customers are greeted by the welcome team and moved on to the appropriate staff for assistance.

DVOPs also reach out to eligible veterans that have been served by the WorkOne system who may have completed a self-registration in Indiana’s case management system (Indiana Career Connect) or are being co-case managed and/or receiving services by other WorkOne staff, to prevent unsuccessful outcomes among SBE veterans. The DVOP reaches out to assist the WorkOne partner staff, because the DVOP is the WorkOne expert on programs available to assist veterans with an SBE in improving their skills and helping them take the next step up in their careers. In the event that a DVOP specialist does not have a full case-load of eligible veterans and eligible persons who meet the SBE criteria, the DVOP specialist may perform additional activities, in the order specified below:

1. Review all open case files reflected in the State of Indiana’s case management system (Indiana Career Connect) of current participants with a SBE or in a priority category and perform case management duties; and
2. Conduct relationship building, outreach and recruitment activities with other service providers in the local area, to enroll SBE and priority category veterans in an AJC.

LVERs are the outward-facing branch of JSVG. These positions are integrated into the WorkOne Employment Team or Business Services Team (or equivalents) and advocate for employment and training opportunities for veterans with businesses, industries, unions, and apprenticeship programs. LVER staff work closely with veteran service organizations (VSOs) throughout the state to promote employment and training services available to veterans. LVERs work closely with employers, unions, trade organizations, apprenticeship programs and other business and community groups to promote veteran hiring, training and development, and career advancement. LVERs in Indiana also partner with the Economic Opportunity Corporation, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate veterans’ employment in the state.

Additional details regarding the policy and procedures applicable to DVOPs and LVERs providing services to or on behalf of veterans are included in DWD Policy 2019-03 available via DWD's active policies website at: https://www.in.gov/dwd/compliance-policy/policy/active/.