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Distinguished Congressional Committee Members:

On behalf of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (DWS), formerly known as the Arkansas Employment Security Department, and our director, Mr. Artee Williams, I wish to thank you for this opportunity to address this committee concerning our department’s ability to help serve returning military members and their dependents with employment assistance and training opportunities.

First, let me begin by explaining that the data contained in this testimony when relating to veterans is defined by DOL as those military members who have served for a minimum of 180 days or more on active federal duty and have not been released with a dishonorable characterization of service, or was released prior to 180 days due to having sustained a service-connected disability. The Department of Workforce Services information systems list all military members who seek assistance from our department as veterans, as defined previously, in the aggregate. Our information systems do not distinguish between service components, or whether the military member was considered National Guard or Reserve.

Currently, there is a wide array of services provided by DWS to all of our clients, veterans and non-veterans alike. Chief among these are: temporary wage replacement through unemployment insurance benefits (if deemed eligible), employment referral services, and Workforce Investment Act services. The Workforce Investment Act services are targeted to provide assessment and training that will lead to placement into suitable employment. Specifically, for recently separating military members returning from active duty, these services also include information regarding state veterans benefits that are available, educational/vocational resources that are available, assistance with filing claims for service connected disabilities, and assistance with obtaining copies of necessary military records. The specialized staffs within DWS, whose primary mission is to serve all veterans with employment services and training assessment needs, are our Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs) and our Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialists (DVOPs). These positions are funded through a grant from the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) of the United States Department of Labor.

As mandated by the Jobs for Veterans Act, our DVOPs serve all veterans primarily by providing core, intensive and referral to supportive services* to meet the employment needs of disabled veterans and other eligible veterans, with emphasis directed toward serving those who are economically or educationally disadvantaged, including veterans with barriers to employment. Our LVERs, on the other hand, primarily conduct outreach to employers, engage in advocacy efforts with human resource hiring executives to increase employment opportunities for veterans, encourage the hiring of disabled veterans, and generally assist veterans to gain and retain employment. Additionally, it is our LVER and DVOP staffs that facilitate and assist with the monthly Transition Assistance Program (TAP) briefing at Little Rock Air Force Base. This is currently the only DOL sponsored TAP workshop within the state.

*Core Services: Available to everyone at no cost and include basic outreach, interest assessment, job search and placement, access to labor market, training, support service information, and assistance in establishing eligibility for public assistance programs.
*Intensive Services: Job seekers who have been assessed to need more skills training or education for assistance in achieving self-sufficiency.
*Supportive Services: Transportation, childcare, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments that are necessary to enable an individual to overcome barriers to employment.

It is critical that all returning National Guard and Reserve component members attend the TAP briefing once they return from active duty. Particularly, if the members are not job attached*. This is our agency’s primary visibility to obtain a complete list of returning military members who may need employment assistance and/or training. As a matter of information and comparison, if you will look at Chart 1, which lists information concerning entered employment rates for the period April 1, 2004 through March 31, 2005 in Arkansas, and then compare this information with Chart 2, which shows the entered employment rate for veterans, with whom DWS has visibility, and who have been placed in employment, as compared to the overall aggregate. Arkansas has the third highest entered employment rate within our region.

*Job attached: Prior re-employment rights maintained by a deployed service member.
Arkansas Entered Employment Rate = 69.5%
[4/1/04 – 3/31/05]







 

Arkansas Veterans Entered Employment Rate = 66%
[4/1/04 – 3/31/05]
 

To help reduce the number of unemployed, it is imperative to maintain the employer funded public employment services system. This is particularly true for the rural areas of Arkansas where employers and job seekers rely on the Department of Workforce Services and the local One Stop Centers to obtain information on training and job placement.

The ability to provide job placement and training has a direct correlation to adequate staffing. During the last five years, we have seen a reduction of our veteran staffs fall to 28 full-time equivalent positions from a staff of 33. In Arkansas, we have 75 counties and maintain offices in 32 communities. We currently do not have the ability to maintain a veteran staff member in each of our local offices.

However, all of our local offices do include our Wagner-Peyser funded employment service staff, which serves all personnel to include veterans. Our Wagner-Peyser staff has also been adversely impacted by budget reductions. Over the past 10 years, we have experienced a reduction of 18 FTE budgeted staff, or a reduction of 18.3 % of available staff, to serve the public and the over 66,000 employers in Arkansas. Currently, we have just over 80 FTE employment services positions to serve in our 32 local offices across the state.

That said, DWS’ pledge to Congress and to the employers and citizens of Arkansas is to bring all available resources to bear, to include personnel and technology, in order to continue providing appropriate employment services and training opportunities to assist job seekers find productive high demand jobs. In that regard, like most states, we have had to rely on improved data systems to assist in helping serve our clients. We now have an automated system that allows all clients the ability to file for initial unemployment claims via Internet. Additionally, we have recently fielded an automated job service system that allows employers to place jobs online and job seekers to self-register and post resumes online. These systems will act as a force multiplier for our reduced staff to continue to provide professional services to veterans and non-veterans. However, continued reductions in Wagner-Peyser funding will have a negative effect on our agency’s ability to maintain a presence in the current 32 community locations.

Lastly, in Arkansas, DWS has a strong relationship with several partner agencies to include, but not limited to, the Department of Economic Development, Department of Workforce Education, Department of Veterans Affairs, and a very strong and positive relationship with each of the Local Workforce Investment Areas, their boards and One-Stop operators. As a result, returning veterans who need advice and assistance concerning information in regard to high demand occupations and available training assistance need only to visit one of our centers across the state. Together, with the service members MGIB and other resources that are available for the service members, and their spouses, the local DWS offices and the local One-Stop Centers are the right places to begin a new career for the returning veterans in Arkansas.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes my prepared remarks.