Madam Chair Herseth Sandlin, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee:

Good morning, my name is Todd Kolden, Administrator, with the South Dakota Department of Labor. One of the programs I administer for the department is Veterans’ Services. I also serve as an active member of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Veterans Affairs Committee; and I am the State Employment Chairman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). It is my honor to appear before this committee today on behalf of South Dakota Secretary of Labor Pamela Roberts to present the views of the South Dakota Department of Labor (SDDOL) regarding the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshop and to discuss any questions or issues you may have. As we feel all benefits owed to veterans are important, my testimony this morning will focus primarily on TAP.

In order for TAP to be successful the partnerships between the Department of Defense (Ellsworth AFB), VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E), South Dakota Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, US Department of Labor/Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (USDOL/VETS), and the SDDOL need to be solidly in place. I’m pleased to say these partnerships are well established in South Dakota and have been instrumental in the success of TAP facilitated at Ellsworth AFB. Without these solid partnerships, veterans attending TAP would not be receiving the full benefit of transition services they richly deserve. South Dakota’s current TAP Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), dated February 1, 2008 includes Ellsworth AFB, USDOL/VETS, SDDOL, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. However, we do ask your assistance to ensure these partnerships can continue to function successfully.

The importance of our Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialists and Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVER) is not only serving veterans in the local office but also conducting outreach. One of the best opportunities for outreach is during the facilitation of TAP workshops. In South Dakota, our DVOP Specialists and LVER’s facilitate approximately 80 percent of the TAP workshop and 25 percent of the Disabled TAP (DTAP) workshop which is conducted approximately 16 times each year. On average our workshops average between 25-30 participants. The majority are Air Force personnel, but members of other services, including the National Guard and Reserve often attend. TAP is also available to spouses and they are strongly encouraged to attend. Often through a TAP workshop, transitioning service members develop a one-on-one working relationship with a DVOP Specialist or LVER which enhances a successful transition. For those service members leaving South Dakota, we provide a DVOP/LVER contact for the states which they are relocating to.

As this subcommittee is aware, there has been discussion to make TAP workshops mandatory for active duty service members and to facilitate TAP workshops for Guard and Reserve components before transitioning or retiring from military service. SDDOL feels it should be mandatory for active duty personnel since many of these service members have been in the military for more than four years and most likely have been serving since a fairly young age. Many have probably never held a civilian job, and this transition will be an abrupt change. For Guard and Reserve components, SDDOL feels this should be made mandatory coming from the command level. In other words, it should be mandatory for the Adjutant Generals of each state to inform their units about the TAP workshops and allow them the opportunity to attend a TAP workshop if they desire by sending them on no-cost TDY (or TAD) orders. As you know, many of these individuals may already have jobs they are returning to and may not have a desire or need to attend TAP. But again, they should at least be given the opportunity. In South Dakota, SDDOL made this request nearly five years ago to the Adjutant General and thanks to the partnership we have established, there is an informal agreement in place and this was recently affirmed with the new Adjutant General. Currently, there are full-time Guard members attending TAP when they retire or separate. DOL/VETS reports that about 60 percent of our service members are attending TAP, and a goal of 80 percent has been set to be achieved over the next few years. We support this initiative and feel making TAP mandatory by these means will help bolster this percentage and more importantly, the successful transition of service members. Of note, for those service members who are assigned to Ellsworth AFB and unable to attend TAP prior to separation, one of our DVOP’s will provide an abbreviated TAP presentation at the mandatory Pre-Separation briefing. While this is not meant to replace TAP, it does provide valuable and needed information to separating personnel. We always encourage participation in the full TAP workshop. If this is not possible, usually due to individual time constraints or short-notice separations, we recommend attendance at a TAP workshop at the nearest military facility when they complete their move.

Another example of the strong partnership is reflected by who facilitates a TAP workshop. Being job-ready after attending TAP and leaving the military is very important, but it’s not the only service that takes place. During the TAP workshop we have the following services presented:

• Finances
• Labor Market/Services Overview
• Personal Appraisal
• Job Search Techniques
• Employment Applications
• Resume/Cover Letter (including work groups and each service member leaves the workshop with a resume in hand)
• Interview Process (including the opportunity for mock interviews)
• VA Benefits
• County Veterans Services
• Vet Center
• A one-half day Disabled TAP workshop is facilitated for service members who have or may have service-connected disabilities, focusing on the benefits available to them (including Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, etc).

As you can see, TAP informs service members not only about how to get ready to make the transition and receive benefits, but also what they are entitled to and how to go about receiving these benefits. Again, we feel this instills the importance of the partnerships involved to successfully assist in the transition of our service members.

I would like to share my personal experience with TAP. When I retired from military service, I was given the opportunity to attend TAP. The information I learned and the resources I was provided helped me immensely and immediately. TAP assisted me in the seamless transition from military to civilian life as I had employment waiting for me when I retired. It also assisted in ensuring all of my benefits were in place prior to my transition and what to do and where to go if I required further assistance. I feel the TAP workshop is one of the best resources we currently have for our service members who are making the transition from military to civilian life and for Guard and Reserve individuals who want to make a career change.

Finally, I would like to mention that often times an important part of transition is training separated service members so they can enter a particular employment field. Some of you might remember or are aware of, the Service Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act (SMOCTA) of 1992, which was an act that provided funding for training service members after separating from military service and was highly successful in South Dakota. Recently, HR 6272, which would re-authorize SMOCTA was marked up by this subcommittee and forwarded to the full committee for consideration, I urge your continued support.

Again, I want to thank the subcommittee for allowing me to testify. This concludes my testimony and I would be happy to discuss or respond to any questions you may have regarding TAP or Veterans’ Services in South Dakota.