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August 6, 2014
MISSION: The West Michigan Veterans Coalition is collaboration between local military friendly organizations that provide support, information, and resources to veterans and their families, employers, and other organization throughout West Michigan. We are a part of the Michigan Veterans Community Action Team providing the no wrong door community-based veterans system of care.
Education Employment Healthcare Quality of Life
YT
VCAT Leadership ForumRegion 4
August 6, 2014
Michigan’s Veteran PopulationSome Basics
Michigan’s veteran population is one of the largest in the United States, ranking 11th in 2013
Michigan’s Veteran PopulationSome Basics
The U.S. veteran population, in general, is older than the general U.S. population.
In Michigan, over half of veterans are
aged 65 or older.
Michigan’s Veteran PopulationEra of Service
Michigan’s veteran population is older than that of the U.S. veteran population as a whole, with a significantly higher proportion of Vietnam veterans residing in the state.
Michigan Veterans Affairs AgencyMission
To serve as the central coordinating point,
connecting those who have served in the
United States Armed Forces and their families,
to services and benefits throughout the State of Michigan.
Michigan Veterans Affairs AgencyVision
Putting Michigan on the path to be the most veteran-friendly state, by:
Providing the advice and assistance veterans need as they transition through the chapters of their lives;
Creating a “no wrong door” customer service culture; and
Advocating for and on behalf of veterans and their families.
Region 4’s Veteran PopulationSome Basics
Region 4’s Veteran Population15% of Michigan’s Veteran Total Vet Population
MVAA PriorityIncrease Rate of Fully Developed Claims
MVAA PriorityImprove Per Capita GDX in Michigan
Region 4 GDX2013 Growth
Region 4 GDXTotal and by Category of Spending
Kent County GDXTotal and by Category of Spending
MVAA ActionServices Available to Veterans
• One Stop Shop– MichiganVeterans.com
– 1-800- MICH-VET
– Benefits Counseling
– Education
– Employment
– Healthcare
– Quality of life
• Emergency Assistance– Michigan Veterans Trust Fund (MVTF)
– Michigan Veterans Homeowners Assistance Program (MiVHAP)
• Veteran Homes
• Community Pilots
MVAA ActionInitiatives & Programs: the Numbers
Michigan Veteran Community Action TeamCommunity Pilots
• Two Michigan Veteran Community Action Team (MiVCAT) pilots
• Regions 4 and 10
• Connect service partners together to improve coordination and collaboration
• “No Wrong Door”PILOT
PILOT
The MiVCAT ModelAn Overview
Federal Veteran Service Partners
State Veteran Service Partners
City/County Veteran Service Partners
Community Veteran Service
Partners
Informal Support Network
Veterans and their Families
• Complete comprehensive assessments of pilot community assets, needs, challenges, experiences, and recommendations for working collaboratively to serve veterans.
• Create sustainable community collaborative programs, effectively implementing the “no-wrong-door” concept supporting veterans and their families.
• Achieve measured progress in effective collaboration and delivering services and benefits to veterans.
• Create repeatable processes and capture best practices to enable rollout to other communities and regions.
Michigan Veteran Community Action TeamRationale Behind Model
Michigan Veteran Community Action TeamMeaningful and Measurable Outcomes
Like the VCAT pilots in San Diego and San Antonio, Michigan’s pilot programs are focused on outcomes that are both measurable and meaningful to assess the effectiveness of MiVCAT efforts.
• Lower vet unemployment
• Higher utilization of vet services
• Dedicated and focused homeless veteran strategy
• Collaborative environment that attracts new partners
• Community directed goals and objectives
MVAA PriorityCreate Wrap Around Veteran Services
MiVCAT goals ….
• Roll out regional collaboratives in all ten prosperity regions
• Routinize communications between the state and regional VCATs
• Ensure that the Michigan Veterans Resource Service Center and all MVAA communications link veterans to federal benefits, state programs and local resources
• Dedicate committed personnel to work with each region and serve as a part of the VCAT
• Improve coordination with other state departments and agencies i.e. MDHS, MDCH, WDA and MEDC
• Increase integration of accredited veteran service officers into the network
• Utilize AmeriCorps staff to round out targeted outreach efforts
• Organize focused events that concentrate resources and maximize time for veterans and service providers
Upcoming MVAA Events in Region 4Michigan Veteran Expo
Two-day event for veterans and their family members to explore employment, education, healthcare and
quality of life programs and opportunities.
When: September 5 & 6, 2014
Where: DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids
Sign up today – information in your packets!
Saturday Only Special Program
Hiring Our Heroes Job Fair• Resume writing support
• On-site interviews with employers ready to hire veterans
Upcoming MVAA Events in Region 4REBOOT Workshop
15-day course of progressive training, designed to build upon the participants’ military training, skills and experience and
comprehensively address the personal, social and professional aspects of military-to-civilian life transition.
When: September 22 – October 10, 2014
Where: Grand Rapids Area
Enrollment ProcessEnrollment to the REBOOT Workshop is by on-line application only, with additional registration and location information coming soon. REBOOT is free for accepted applicants, with MVAA covering the $2,500 workshop fee.
Sign up at michiganveterans.com/reboot
• Year 2010–2013Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids
Goodwill Industries - Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program
Grand Valley State University
Grand Rapids Housing Urban Development
Health Care for Homeless Veterans
Kent County Department of Veterans Affairs
Michigan Rehabilitation Services
VA- Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
VetCenter
In the beginning…Grand Rapids Veterans Forum
319 South Division Street, Grand Rapids
The next step…
Michigan Veterans Community Action Team2014 –
West Michigan Veterans Coalition
• Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency & Altarum Institute
• Advisory Board
• Subcommittees: Education, Employment, Healthcare, Quality of Life
V e t e r a n C o m m u n i t y A c t i o n T e a m
West Michigan Veterans CoalitionVeterans Community Action Team
Education: Co-Chairs – Jonathan Highman and Amy Gould
Employment: Co-Chairs – Brandi McBride and Michael Poyma
Healthcare: Co-Chairs – Elena Bridges and Carrie Roy
Quality of Life: Co-Chairs – Debra Unseld and Jerry Petorvich
West Michigan Veterans CoalitionFuture Process Map
West Michigan Veterans Coalition
Questions?
Michigan Veterans Community Action Teams Project (MiVCAT)Community Assessment Finding
August 6, 2014
Presentation Objectives
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Share a summary of the findings from Altarum’s community assessment
Use the community assessment findings to identify opportunities for your VCAT
Begin to think about what the West Michigan Veterans Coalition can do to take advantage of the opportunities
identified in the community assessment
What data were collected for the community assessment?
Census and VA data
Interviews with veteran service providers and advocates (30 individuals interviewed mostly in October 2013 and most in person)
Web-based survey of providers (73 West Michigan providers from 58 organizations)
Survey of Veterans in Kent County (1145 responses)
Focus groups with Veterans in February 2014 (2 groups each of OEF/OIF Veterans, Vietnam-era Veterans, and Women Veterans for a total of 6 groups with 58 Veterans)
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Goals for the Data Collection
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Hear from a wide range of providers and veterans
Use data collection methods that allow for asking lots of individuals some
questions and smaller groups questions that allowed more detailed responses
Make sure we reach groups that are harder to reach (women Veterans,
Veterans who are/have been homeless, OEF/OIF Veterans)
Goals Were Achieved!!
36
Context
You are currently one of two regional Michigan VCATs
Next year will see the formation of four more regional Michigan VCATs
Opportunities (and challenges) abound in Michigan and in Veterans support in general
37
38
Veterans in West Michigan Prosperity Region 4
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Findings from the Interviews, Surveys, and Focus Groups
Veterans Rely on Providers and Other Veterans for Information
41Source: Veterans Source of Information Question, MI-VCAT Veterans Survey
Need for More Help Navigating the Service System
42
I think when it comes to federal benefits—a claim or education—those are a little easier to know and find out once you get out. When it comes to community agencies, what Goodwill can offer, what Michigan Works can offer, Michigan Veterans Trust Fund, all these different programs, no one knows about or it’s pieces of information that isn’t
coming together—when it comes to community Veteran resources, I think those are a lot more difficult for the average Veteran. — OEF/OIF Group
When a person tells you that, “The Veterans Trust Fund? Oh, you don’t qualify.” Instead of suggesting you go across the hall, they just say you don’t qualify for here. So what does a Veteran do? Gets back in the elevator, goes
down, and [you have] missed an opportunity. — Vietnam Era Group
They give you packets, but sometimes give you numbers and send you all these different ways and you get frustrated to the point
where you are like, “You know what? I give up; it’s not worth my effort” because you’ve already made so many phone calls. You just kind of get frustrated and just give up. — Women Veterans Group
Reason For Not Receiving Services and Benefits (Kent County)
8%
8%
8%
9%
9%
10%
12%
13%
14%
15%
16%
21%
28%
29%
30%
40%
49%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
I was not well enough to apply
I was not well enough to access
I was afraid others would find out
I could not take time off work
I did not have transportation
I would have had to travel too far to apply
I would have had to travel too far to access
I felt embarrassed
It was too much paperwork
The process took too long
It was too time consuming
I needed help to figure out process
I was not eligible
I did not know how to get info
I did not know where to go
It was difficult to figure out how to get
Other reason did not receive benefits or services
Kent County (N=316)
Veterans Would Like to See the Peer Support System Strengthened
44
Nothing better than Veterans passing info to other Veterans. We [Buddy to Buddy] do groups and share
information. — Vietnam Era Group
Speaking from the standpoint of smaller communities, implementing certified peer-support specialists [would
be a good way to do outreach for Veterans]. If every smaller town had something like what I’m [trying to do] there; I facilitate at Vet to Vet, If every small town had that, then everybody would have a place to go to find
out what they need to know. — OEF/OIF Group
Other Key Outreach Findings
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Veterans and providers indicated that a wide range of different outreach strategies are needed (mailings, TV, internet, personal contact)
Outreach strategies should emphasize the wide variety of support available to help Veterans at different points and stages of life (Veterans shouldn’t have to wait till they have a crisis to find out)
There needs to be outreach strategies that target specific groups of Veterans including women Veterans and those who have had a bad experience with the system or whose issues were not being addressed when they left the military
Veterans Think a Variety of Outreach Strategies are Needed
46
I think that is something we need to have in place. A system that [is]constantly in contact. For the younger generation I think that is going to be email, some kind of application [you] can just plug into. For the older Vets, Vietnam era things like that, I think there has got to be a different support
system for them. — OEF/OIF Group
You are finding out about opportunities either by happenstance, or it is too late, or all money is gone or some
other crazy reason that could be avoided, we want to be more proactive with ourselves and Veterans. We see where the
system has failed quite a few people. If we don’t deal with the core of what the problem is; making sure services [are]
connected and people get information and people are actually helping us do what we need to do it is going to be a revolving
circle. — OEF/OIF Group
Outreach: Possible Opportunities
What can be done to help Veterans understand how to access the variety
of services available to them?
How can the coalition partners support the development of an effective peer support system?
Are there opportunities for service providers to collectively develop
outreach strategies?
47
Education Benefits
West Michigan colleges and universities have done some excellent work in becoming Veteran friendly
Veterans knew of other Veterans who didn’t know about such benefits or were reluctant to seek information (in the Veterans survey just under 40 percent of Veterans reported knowing some or a lot about such benefits)
Veterans often do not know about the opportunity to get educational credit for their military experience
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Education Benefits: Possible Opportunities
What can be done to encourage other educational institutions to be as Veteran-friendly as Davenport
University?
What can be done to ensure that Veterans are accessing a high quality
institution and maximizing the benefits from their education assistance?
Can opportunities be created for interested student Veterans to play a leadership/support role in the larger
Veterans community?
49
Employment
Veterans vary in how much they know about translating their military experience into language that will appeal to a civilian employer
Most Veterans know about government hiring preferences for Veterans but they do not necessarily know how to navigate the hiring system for U.S. government jobs
Michigan Works can be helpful but its Veteran Employment Specialists can only serve Veterans who meet certain eligibility requirements, same with VA employment/education support programs
50
Employment
Veterans are frustrated by their experience at the typical job fair
The people there [at job fairs] are more just getting their name out there. They don’t hire them [Veterans]. It’s a PR [public relations] campaign.— Women Veterans Group
Overwhelming. Went from table to table and kept repeating the same thing over and over again; just overwhelming. — Women Veterans Group
51
Employment: Possible Opportunities
How and where can support be provided to Veterans on employment issues (e.g., better resumes, effective Federal employment applications,
thoroughly trained Veteran support specialists)?
How can Veterans be better informed about the employment support that is available?
What can be done to develop or support more Veteran-friendly job fairs?
52
Health Care
Veterans find the VA bureaucracy frustrating but have more positive things to say about the quality of care and how the VA has changed over the years though some Veterans may still be reluctant to access the system.
Is this the same VA? The answer is no, it’s a lot more caring of an organization, more personalized, more friendly, supporting, but I would not have known about it if it hadn’t have been for that experience. When I talked to other Vietnam Vets, they haven’t had anything to do with the VA, they won’t. —Vietnam Era Group
53
Health Care: Mental Health
It can take a long time to get a mental health appointment (two to three months). Many Veterans don’t know about alternative options such as the VA’s Vet Center
Veterans with less than honorable discharges may have trouble accessing care:I tried Network 180, but they looked at me and said, “You’re a Vet. You should get services from them,” but with my discharge I can’t. — OEF/OIF Group
Many Veterans have concerns about the extent of medication use to treat mental health conditions and are not aware that they can influence their treatment options
54
Health Care: Possible Opportunities
What can coalition partners do to support efforts within the VA to improve customer service?
What can be done to help Veterans access and navigate the health care system including the
mental health care system?
What can be done to help Veterans be effective advocates for themselves and/or others?
55
Quality of Life: Scope
A broad category encompassing a wide range of issues and services such as: housing assistance and support for homeless Veterans; support with the VA pension and compensation application and appeals process; support for Veterans involved with the criminal justice system; emergency economic assistance; and recreation opportunities
56
Quality of Life: Findings
Veterans are often in crisis before they are connected to the wide range of support services available for them
Veterans have faced challenges with turnover among Veterans Service Officers
There is support within the local criminal justice system for Veterans, but there may be opportunities for further growth and development in this area
Veterans outside Grand Rapids face additional challenges accessing services and navigating the system
57
Many female Veterans in particular have experienced military sexual trauma and had very negative experiences with the way the response to the trauma was hanled
Quality of Life: Possible Opportunities
How can the coalition partners work to better inform Veterans about the various services out there
through outreach and more Stand Down-like events directed at all Veterans?
How can coalition partners strengthen outreach to the police and the criminal justice system, including support for Veterans courts and
transition programs?
How can coalition partners ensure rural and female Veterans receive the support they
need?
58
How have assessments like this been used?
Community assessment in San Diego brought the issue of veterans transition from
military to civilian life to the forefront
Clear from interviews and focus groups that existing transition process was not working
Coalition tackled the idea and came
up with the Veterans Transition Assistance Program
(VTAP)
Outcomes: Process improved, strong leadership shown
from a new generation of
veteran leaders
59
Breakout Instructions
60
Purpose is to identify priorities, strategies, and action steps for key
focus areas related to Veterans services
After lunch we will break up into groups to discuss these
In order to plan for breakouts we would like those of you who will
participate to select the group you are likely to participate in
First task after lunch: Priority setting
61
Priorities are the main topic or topics you want to address in the area
It is impossible to solve every problem and issue so you should think about what
makes sense for this coalition to tackle and vote for your highest priorities
Second Task SMART Objectives
S is for specific
M is for measureable
A is for achievable
R is for realistic
T is for time-bound
62
Examples of SMART objectives
By March 1, 2015 at least 10 colleges and universities will have implemented a new Veteran friendly policy
By August 1, 2015 the West Michigan VCAT will have developed a checklist for Veteran-friendly job fairs/outreach events and a process for endorsing and publicizing the ones that meet these criteria
By August 1, 2015 the West Michigan VCAT will have developed a web-based directory of trained peer support counselors that can help Veterans navigate the Veteran service system
63
Final Task
Develop a list of the action steps needed to achieve those objectives
For all these tasks, start with your highest priority area, go to your 2nd
highest priority area if you have time
64
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Priority Area:
Objective (make it SMART):
Actions Needed to Achieve Objective When will it be completed by? Who Needs to Work on It?
Questions?
66
Five Groups
Outreach (informing Veterans about how to access and use services)
Education
Employment
Health care (including mental health)
Quality of life (other resources and services including housing assistance and support for homeless Veterans; support with the VA pension and compensation application and appeals process; support for Veterans involved with the criminal justice system; emergency economic assistance; and recreation opportunities)
67
Please join your group if you plan to participate in the afternoon breakouts
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