AB 1509, as amended, Fox. Veterans: transition assistance.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans.
This bill would require, bybegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Julyend insert 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of any statebegin delete within the previous 18 monthsend delete, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
end insert
2begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertCalifornia veterans should receive ample resources and
3information to assist their transition into civilian life. Though
4California is home to nearly 1.9 million veterans, California
5veterans utilize fewer benefits than their peers at the national level.
P2 1Further, 50 percent of post 9/11 veterans experience difficulty
2transitioning to civilian life and are experiencing higher rates of
3
disabilities than previous generations of veterans. Young post 9/11
4veteransend insertbegin insert also experience higher unemployment rates than their
5civilian counterparts.end insert
6(b) The Federal “Transition Assistance Program Goals, Plans
7and Success” (TGPS) Program, formerly known as the Transition
8Assistance Program, was created in 1990 to inform and assist
9veterans in understanding their Department of Veterans Affairs
10(VA) benefits. However, TGPS workshops provide information
11specific to the state where a veteran is immediately ending his or
12her service and not to the location of permanent residence.
13Veterans who were planning to move to California after their
14service do not receive information about how to best coordinate
15their VA benefits with existing
California benefits. A California
16specific transition assistance program would ensure that all
17veterans residing in California receive the resources and
18information they need to successfully transition into civilian life.
Section 90 is added to the Military and Veterans Code,
21to read:
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insert Bybegin delete Januaryend deletebegin insert Julyend insert 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans
23Affairs shall develop a transition assistance program for veterans
24who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United
25States or the National Guard of any statebegin delete within the previous 18 . The program shall be designed to assist veterans
in
26monthsend delete
27successfully transitioning from military to civilian life in California
28and to complement the transition program offered by the
29Department of Defense. The program shall include, but shall not
30be limited to,begin insert the following end insert California-specific transition assistance
31begin delete information, Californiaend deletebegin insert information: end insert higher education benefits
32and program information, vocational training assistance,
33begin delete apprenticeship programs,end deletebegin insert small business resources and information,
34health care programs and services, mental health
resources and
35information,end insert military sexual trauma (MST) resources and
36information, and housing information.
37(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department utilize
38its existing personnel and other resources, including its existing
39internet-based CalVet Internet Web site, to disseminate this
40information.
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