BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2143
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Paul J. Cook, Chair
AB 2143 (Gilmore) - As Amended: April 6, 2010
SUBJECT : The Department of Veterans Affairs: consolidation of
services to veterans.
SUMMARY : This bill establishes the California Veterans
Services and Workforce Development Division within the
Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of coordinating
and administering veterans' assistance programs in the state,
and would require the division to perform various functions and
duties relating to the coordination and administration of
veterans assistance programs. Specifically, this bill :
1.Coordinates provisions benefits and assistance with the
California Department of Veterans Affairs and other state
agencies that to veterans to ensure that information about
veterans assistance programs and benefits is made available to
all state agencies that serve veterans in the state.
2.Allows the California Department of Veterans Affairs to
administer the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP) and the
Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP), in cooperation
with the Employment Development Department, by developing in
conjunction Employment Development Department a plan whereby
responsibility for the administration of Transitional
Assistance Program (TAP) and the Disabled Veterans' Outreach
Program (DVOP) shall be transferred from the Employment
Development Department to the division.
3.Ensures that other state agencies and officials that are
involved in the implementation and administration of veterans
services programs are informed when any changes in existing
programs are required, or new programs are established that
provide assistance and benefits to veterans, and require that
those agencies and officials report to the division when those
changes occur or new programs are established.
4.Collaborates with staff from other state agencies including,
but not limited to, the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency, the Employment Training Panel, the California
Workforce Investment Board, the State Department of Mental
AB 2143
Page 2
Health, the Department of General Services, the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, and representatives
of the University of California, the California State
University, and the California Community Colleges with regard
to the provision of veterans services and benefits.
EXISTING LAW :
1. Establishes the Department of Veteran's Affairs within
state government and sets forth its powers and duties,
including, but not limited to, administration of veterans
benefits programs. Also, existing law establishes within
the California Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans
Service Division.
2. Establishes the California Veterans Board within the
department and sets forth its powers and duties, including,
but not limited to its power to determine operational
policy for the department.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
Texas Outreach Model
In 2005, the United States Department Veterans Affairs sent $6
billion in funding to the state of California. Of this amount,
$2.66 billion was in the form of disability payments to
veterans. However, Texas, with a veteran population of only 1.7
million, collected 44 percent more in veteran disability
payments than California.
The genesis for the introduction of AB 2143 was the success of
the Texas model. In a span of only two years, Texas increased
the amount of veterans receiving federal benefits from 12.3
percent to 16.1 percent. As a result, Texas has the highest
compensation payout of the seven states with the largest veteran
populations.
In 2005, the Texas veteran workforce program ranked 32nd in the
nation in veteran employment and retention. The following year,
legislation was passed to transfer the program from the Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC) to the Texas Veterans Commission
(TVC). Today, Texas is considered to have one of the strongest
AB 2143
Page 3
veteran workforce and job training programs in the nation
ranking 86% in veteran employment retention, according to the
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S VETERANS EMPLOYMENT TRAINING SERVICE,
"Performance Outcomes by State" quarterly report ending June 30,
2009.
Texas' prior poor performance was attributed to a lack focus and
limited ability to provide direct assistance to unemployed
veterans. The veteran representatives at the Texas One Stops
served a variety of client groups including veterans. Once the
workforce programs were transferred, the TVC convened a veteran
stakeholder focus group to develop clear performance standards
and reporting requirements to help guide the program. In
addition, the veteran representatives at the One Stops were
directed to exclusively serve veterans as guided by the newly
established standards.
By the End of 2007 Texas' rankings in the Veteran Employment
Retention report had risen from 32% to 86%, 11th best state
program in the nation.
In 2007 Texas had increased the percentage of veterans receiving
benefits to 16.1%, as compared to the 12.3% of California
veterans who receive benefits. There are approximately 1.7
million Texas veterans, of those 273,852 were receiving
compensation or pensions, as opposed to California with 2.1
million veterans and only 258,923 receiving compensation or
pensions. Below is a chart that gives a more comprehensive
comparison of benefits from the top seven most veteran populated
states.
Job Training and Employment Service to Veterans
Currently, California receives $18 million dollars annually from
the United States Department of Labor to pay for approximately
180 workforce training staff. Assigned to positions within the
Employment Development Department, these federally funded staff
are dedicated to serving the needs of veterans. Some of the
staff are stationed in Sacramento, while others are spread
throughout the state at the Employment Development Department's
one-stop job centers.
The governor has also recently announced the creation of his
"Operation Welcome Home" for California veterans. Within that
effort is a plan for the Employment Development Department to
AB 2143
Page 4
hire 325 limited term employees beginning January 2010 to make
up the Cal-Vet Corps. The governor intends for these employees
to help newly discharged veterans access the benefits and
services they need to successfully enter the civilian workforce.
In addition to the efforts outlined above, the state currently
spends in excess of $500 million in a variety of job training
efforts. Those programs, while not targeted exclusively at
serving veterans, would be available for most veterans to
access, if they meet the eligibility requirements of the
programs.
The California Employment Development Department is responsible,
in coordination with the California Workforce Investment Board,
for administering a federal Department of Labor - Veterans
Employment Training grant. Disabled Veterans Outreach Program
operated under the federal rules and regulations but no state
regulations have been created to codify this program.
Through the Employment Development Department's One-Stop system,
veteran customers may elect self-service, facilitated self-help,
or staff-assisted one-on-one service. Most veterans are able to
use the self-service systems and will self-identify as veterans
to establish their eligibility for veterans' priority. The Local
Veterans Employment Representative and Disabled Veterans
Outreach Program staff members are available at One-Stop Career
Centers to provide facilitated self-help or staff-assisted
service to veterans who require additional assistance. Local
Veterans Employment Representative and Disabled Veterans
Outreach Program staff screen veterans for potential barriers to
employment and identify the need for additional services. At
each One-Stop center, LVER and DVOP staff will raise veterans'
issues, including efforts to expand information provided to
veterans regarding available services.
At the request of One-Stop partners, Local Veterans Employment
Representative and Disabled Veterans Outreach Program staff may
also be assigned to other locations that serve large veteran
populations; and case management services for veterans are
customer-focused and customer-driven. These include referrals
from the Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational
Rehabilitation and Counseling system. Veterans are provided
choices based upon need and the resources available to meet
those needs. When necessary and when appropriate, customers will
be assisted in accessing resources outside of the One-Stop
AB 2143
Page 5
systems.
The One-Stops, administered through local workforce investment
boards, are a statewide network of centers that provide
employment, education, and training services all in one
location. The One-Stops work with public and private non-profit
partners to provide their services. The One-Stops include
programs such as Job Services, Unemployment Insurance,
Vocational Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation including
services particularly targeted to veterans.
The Transition Assistance Program is a federal program that was
created to assist military personnel that are preparing to
separate or retire. This program is a cooperative effort
between Department of Labor's Veterans Employment Training
Service, the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs
(USVA). This program was instituted in 1990 and has provided
job preparation assistance to over 2 million separating and
retiring members of the military.
In FY 2008, following a strategic planning exercise with the
DOD, the USVA and representatives from private industry worked
on creating a standard Transition Assistance Program
presentation. If you are stationed within the U.S. the
Transition Assistance Program classes are given by local
DVOP/LVERs. When stationed overseas the DOD provides the
Transition Assistance Program classes. The curriculum covers
two-and-a-half days of classroom instruction and provides
information on a variety of topics from career assessment to
health issues.
The California Department of Veterans Affairs Operational
Capabilities
The mission of the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(department) is to serve these veterans and their families by
providing rehabilitative, residential, and medical care services
to the State's aged or disabled veterans; providing veterans
with direct low-cost loans to acquire
farms and homes; and providing veterans and their families with
aid and assistance in presenting their claims for federal,
state, and local veterans' benefits.
AB 2143
Page 6
The department does not consider its role to include providing
direct services that are already offered by other agencies;
rather, the services the department provides to veterans exist
within a
larger service delivery system that it relies its Veterans
Services Division to connect and coordinate with. This service
delivery system consists of a variety of key players that
provide direct services to veterans, including the federal VA,
certain state agencies, veterans' service organizations, and
counties.
The October 27, 2009 audit report published by the California
State Auditor identified the Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, the EDD, the Employment Training Panel, the Department
of Housing and Community Development, the Labor and Workforce
Development Agency, the Department of Mental Health, and the
Military Department as examples of other state entities that
might serve veterans. The audit findings found that the
California Department of Veterans Affairs has collaborated with,
or is making efforts to collaborate with, the all of these state
entities mentioned in this paragraph. However, there are few
formal agreements with the state entities that the Veterans
Services Division collaborates with. Therefore they are unable
to be accountable or hold any one accountable for the agreed
upon services and unable to ensure that these services could
continue despite staff turnover, changes in agency priorities,
or other factors that could erode collaborative efforts.
The Audit reveal shortcomings at the California Department of
Veterans Affairs
The October 27, 2009 audit report published by the Bureau of
State Audits found that the Department of Veterans Affairs
provides few direct services to veterans, outside of its
operation of the Veterans' Homes of California and the CalVet
Farm and Home Loan program, and that the department has
extremely limited interaction and few formal agreements with
other state agencies and departments that could provide
additional services to veterans if done in a coordinated and
efficient manner.
The 2009 audit additionally noted that the Department of
Veterans Affairs strategic plan covering the 2007-08 to 2011-12
fiscal years, inclusive, was incomplete and has not formally
assessed veterans' needs, has not included key stakeholders in
AB 2143
Page 7
its strategic planning process, and has not effectively measured
its progress towards meeting the goals and objectives identified
in the plan.
The 2009 audit additionally confirmed that California's veterans
participate in federal disability and pension benefits at rates
that are significantly lower than those in other states with
large veteran populations. These disability payments are paid
directly to the veterans and generate a significant contribution
to California's economy.
Employment Development Departments problem to adequately service
veterans
Although, the California Employment Development Departments is
in charge of 9 different programs that are suppose to provide
services to veterans only the DVOP/LVER program has accurate
numbers that can be used to evaluate the quality of service to
veterans. The Department of Labor-VETS programs has California
being ranked as 48th in job placement of veterans receiving
assistance and with one-in-nine veterans being unemployed.
Questions for Committee Members
Which department is best suited to deliver high quality job
training and employment services to veterans? The Employment
Development Department and the California Department of Veterans
Affairs are charged with helping veterans find services and both
a have shown they are challenged at meeting the requirements of
providing veterans quality service.
Should the California Department of Veterans Affairs be
entrusted to administer another program? This would put this
department in the business of providing a direct service outside
of the arena of the CalVet Home Loan Program and the
administration of the Veterans Home of California.
Should we consider giving all the job training and employment
programs to the California Department of Veterans Affairs,
instead of seeking improvement within the Employment Development
Division? The rational for giving this department an
opportunity to show it can properly provide direct services to
veterans can be applied to all the programs that provide
services to veterans. All these programs make up and continuum
of job services that veterans need to gain employment in the
AB 2143
Page 8
civilian world.
Related Legislation
AB 1372 (V.M. Perez) - Implements the Veterans Workforce
Accountability Act under the administration of the California
Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) for the purposes of providing
a method for the comprehensive outcome-oriented evaluation on
the effectiveness of the state's expenditures for veteran
workforce development programs.
AB 1569 (Committee on Veterans Affairs) - This bill would create
in state government the California Interagency Council on
Veteran Services and Programs, composed of specified members,
for the purpose of bringing together key state agencies and
departments, federal officials, legislative representatives,
local governments, and stakeholder organizations to ensure that
the state's programs that serve veterans are efficiently
administered and properly integrated with federal and local
government and other stakeholder organizations.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Post 140
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
Veteran of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America-CA State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Worthen / V. A. / (916) 319-3550