Jobs for Veterans State Grants Program

In Veterans’ Program Letters 03-14, Ch.1 and Ch.2, and 03-19, DVOP specialists facilitate individualized career services to veterans with barriers to employment and/or special training needs which include:

• Conducting a comprehensive assessment (minimum requirement)
• Developing an individual employment plan that is documented (minimum requirement)
• Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Case Management
• Coordinating supportive services
• One-on-One Career Counseling
• Providing short term pre-vocational services
• Group Counseling

Case Management and Tracking

The DVOP specialist is the DWD case tracker for veterans in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program (Title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, and Chapter 31). This program requires extensive follow-up, and the DVOP specialist must be allowed sufficient time to do the case management and intensive services to meet these requirements. The DVOP specialist works closely with the LVER & WorkOne Business Service. This is accomplished by collaborating together, along with the Veteran needing meaningful employment and Employers seeking to hire Veterans.

Team (BST) to ensure that veterans in Chapter 31 programs who are “job ready” receive priority in their job search and job referrals, as determined by the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) at the VA.

In accordance with Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS)

Technical Assistance Guide dated December 2008, DVOPs are required to complete a service every two weeks for the Chapter 31 Veterans that they are case managing. Typically, this service will also be recorded in the current State client tracking systems under the Chapter 31 Case Management selection.

The DVOP specialist is the WorkOne expert on programs available to assist SBE veterans in improving their skills so they can take the next step up in their careers. This would include workshops where the DVOPs is able to participate in, such as a LVER or AJC sponsored employment workshop where SBE or additional service population eligible may exist. Workshops are where the DVOP is able to provide over-the-shoulder and hands-on computer assistance, resume writing, interviewing skills, career exploration, all at no cost, to give you the competitive edge needed for a successful job search. The DVOP specialist is required to do outreach to target all veterans. DVOPs will coordinate outreach activities with their formal and functional managers to ensure maximum efficiency of the event.

In the event that a DVOP specialist does not have a full case-load of eligible veterans and eligible spouses, the DVOP specialist may perform additional outreach activities. For example, at such locations, this may include:

• Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) Services
• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP)
• VA Medical and other Centers
• Veterans’ Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC)
• Homeless shelters
• Civic and service organizations
• Community Stand Downs
• Military installations
• WIOA partners
• State Vocational Rehabilitation Services
• County Service Veterans Service Officer

Case Noting

Case notes for veterans in the Chapter 31 program are confidential and will be kept in the current State of Indiana client tracking system. Specific veterans’ disability data may not be recorded in any computer system. The only data that can be recorded is the percentage of disability rated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rapid Response for Dislocated Veterans

At a minimum, the DVOP should be a part of the Rapid Response Team at selected Rapid Response events for dislocated veterans, ensuring that SBE veterans are offered JVSG services.

Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER) Roles

In the Veterans’ Program Letter 03-14 and 01-18, the following are the mandated functions for the

Local Veterans' Employment Representative Staff:

1. As an integral part of the State's Labor Exchange System, LVER staff work with employers to promote veterans as job seekers who have highly marketable skills and experience.
2. LVER staff advocate for veterans to gain employment and training opportunities with business, industry, and community-based organizations. To accomplish this, LVER staff participates in a variety of outreach activities including, but not limited to:
   1. Planning and participation in job fairs.
   2. Coordinating with unions, apprenticeship programs, and business organizations to promote employment and training opportunities for veterans.
   3. Promoting credentialing and training opportunities for veterans with training providers and licensing agencies.
3. LVER staff establishes, facilitates, and/or maintains regular contact with employers to include federal contractors. They should coordinate with employer relations representatives as part of the WorkOne system to include veterans in their marketing efforts.
4. LVER staff provides and facilitates a full range of employment, Veteran Program and Priority of Service training, and placement services to meet the needs of priority veterans in targeted categories identified and approved in the WIOA Combined State Plan. These services may include, but are not limited to:
   1. Conducting job search assistance workshops in conjunction with employers.
   2. Providing job development opportunities.
5. LVERs serving in Federally Declared Major Disaster areas by the President of the United States and where VETS Assistant Secretary has determined circumstances appropriate are authorized temporary exception to the restricted LVER roles and responsibilities as outlined in VPL 03-14 and may provide direct individualized career services to disaster-affected veterans.

LVERs are an essential part of and fully integrated into the WorkOne network. They are included among the WorkOne partner staff, which consists of all staff employed by programs or activities operated by WorkOne partners that provide online and/or in-person workforce development or related support services as part of the workforce development system. The LVER should be integrated into the WorkOne Employment Team or Business Services Team (or equivalents). The specific responsibility of the LVER is to advocate for veterans for employment and training opportunities with businesses, industries, unions, and apprenticeship programs. An LVER may ask employers specifically to seek veterans for positions in their companies. Optimally, the employer would target specific positions for veterans with certain skills (based on the veterans’ military training/military occupational specialty). Under no circumstances will the LVER provide related services to non-veteran customers, unless the customer is an eligible spouse covered by priority of service.

The LVER staff must be able to inform the community of veteran services. LVER staff should be encouraged to attend meetings of the local Chamber of Commerce, area unions, and hiring events to promote all the WorkOne services, both as a networking tool and for the opportunity to speak about veterans’ programs. These services include Face-to-face review of IndianaCAREERConnect.com, direct referral to jobs (Both established jobs and job development), assistance looking for a job, developing a resume and preparing for an interview, referral to other federal, state and local agencies, information on Veteran's rights and employment benefits, assistance transitioning into civilian employment, training incentives and grants, guidance finding vocational training, post-employment counseling and Occupational skills assessment. These services provide Veterans with the necessary information they need to find and secure suitable employment and make the transition from the military to the civilian workforce. All representatives are honorably discharged service members that specialize in assisting in your employment needs.

Joint Responsibilities of DVOPs and LVERs: U.S. DOLVETS Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP)

To better serve the SBE homeless veteran population, the HVRP and the WorkOne American Job Center Indiana teams will collaborate together to:

1. Partner with AJC staff to properly enroll all HVRP participants, and
2. Ensure a staff member (WIOA or DVOPs) is present during the enrollment process to facilitate accurate reporting and strong working relationships.

It is also encouraged for HVRP awarded grantees and local WorkOne staff to share information on their services and ensure new staff members are fully trained on AJC services and enrollment requirements.

Therefore, when appropriate, DVOPs will be assigned to a current, local HVRP awarded grantee to facilitate this partnership and co-enrollment. When a DVOP is unavailable, a WIOA employee may be selected to fill this role. The WorkOne staff member assigned to facilitate co-enrollment will also be the primary point of contact to ensure HVRP grant requirements are accurately reflected in Indiana Career Connect. Additionally, LVERs will combine employment efforts with the identified AJC facilitator to connect co-enrolled HVRP clients to Employers and employment opportunities within the workforce envelope.

Outreach Accountability

In order to maintain accountability for time spent on outreach, each LVER and DVOP shall report the results of their outreach activities, including but not limited to travel logs in writing via e-mail or Outlook Calendar Shares to their WorkOne local management staff. If necessary, copies of these documents and schedules will be provided to formal State Managers, and/or functional managers when applicable.

These reports will be used by the LVER staff, Regional Operators, and the Workforce Development

Boards (WDB) to produce the required quarterly reports for the State Veteran Program Director and Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Services as required in Public Law 107-288 and VPL 01-15. Outreach activities will be reviewed by supervisors and those that are determined by the management team to be unproductive may be discontinued.

National Veterans Training Institute (NVTI)

All DVOPs and LVERs are required to attend veteran related courses at NVTI within 18 months of assignment or hire. Typically, most veteran representatives will attend at least two courses offered by NVTI. In some instances, the DWD State Veterans Coordinator may elect to send veterans’ representatives to additional courses based on career development.

Indiana Seamless Transition Program

In some instances, LVERs and DVOPs will be called upon to assist with the State of Indiana Seamless Transition Program for State National Guard and Military Reservists returning from deployment. This may include the Yellow Ribbon Program for returning deployed service members.

Negotiated Performance Measures

The State of Indiana Veterans’ Program negotiates Performance Targets with the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOLVETS) for the JVSG program which uses data metrics retrieved from Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) to report outcomes. The following entities are charged with the responsibility of meeting the VETS Negotiated Performance Targets: Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the State’s regional Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), the State Workforce Innovation Council (the State’s Workforce Investment Board), Regional Workforce.

DWD Policy 2019-03 further defines the required roles and responsibilities for Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP) specialists and Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVER) staff and their integration into WorkOne offices.