Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program

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 03-19, Veterans receiving Individual Career Services (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 stated 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 veterans and eligible persons that may be served by a DVOP specialist and defined those categories of veterans and eligible persons (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:

The updated list of eligible veterans and eligible persons defined as having a SBE is provided 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:
  1. 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,
  2. 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 07-14 to:

1. Transitioning members of the Armed Forces who have been identified as in need of intensive services (now referred to as Individualized Career Services);
2. 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
3. The spouses or other family caregivers3 of such wounded, ill, or injured members.

DWD Policies 2019-03 and 2015-08 provide additional definitions of the populations of eligible veterans to be served by the one-stop delivery system partners, and can be accessed on DWD's active policies webpage at :  https://www.in.gov/dwd/compliance-policy/policy/active/.