Veterans' Supplemental Study Staff Interviews

VETERANs’ supplemental STUDY OF

the WIA GOLD STANDARD EVALUATION

American Job Center Staff Discussion Guide

LWIA/American Job Center: ____________________________________

Respondent Name/Position: ____________________________________

Interview Date/Time: ____________________________________

Interviewer: ____________________________________

A. Introduction to the Study

Hi, my name is [xxx] from Mathematica Policy Research/Social Policy Research. Thanks for agreeing to participate in this discussion.

As you know [local area] has been participating in the National WIA Evaluation. As part of that study, we are exploring the partnerships developed as a result of WIA and how the workforce system identifies and provides services to the area’s veterans. Your input will be really useful.

Just a couple of things before we start…

I would like you to know that the project team has received approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct this study (OMB Control Number xxxx-xxxx). We could not conduct this session without that approval. Your responses are completely voluntary and will be used for research purposes only.

We will not share your comments today with anyone outside the immediate study team at Mathematica. Our report will describe the experiences and viewpoints expressed, but comments will not be attributed to specific individuals.

I would like to record our discussion so I can listen to it later when I write up my notes. No one outside the immediate team will listen to the tape. If you want to say anything that you do not want taped, please let me know and I will be glad to pause the tape recorder. Do you have any objections to being part of this interview or to my taping our discussion?

This full discussion will last about 60 minutes. Once again, thank you for participating. Do you have any questions before we get started?

B. VETERAN MODULE

1. When would a customer walking in the center for the first time be identified as a veteran? Who is responsible for making this determination?

1. Once identified as a veteran, what are the next steps for that customer? How does this differ from the process for a non-veteran customer?

Probes:

• Is the customer informed about POS? If so, when and by whom?

• Does the veteran meet with a different sequence of staff than a non-veteran customer? If so, please explain.

3. What about POS eligible spouses? How and when are they typically identified and certified, and what are their next steps?

4. What information/documents are required to certify the customer as a veteran? For POS?

Probe:

• Does verification/certification of veteran status depend on the services the customer is requesting? Please explain.

5. Do veterans receive an orientation to the services available to them? If so, please describe. If not, how do veterans learn of the available services?

Probe:

• Do veterans receive an orientation to services that is different from what others receive? If so, please describe how it is different.

6. Do veterans and eligible spouses typically come to the American Job Center with some familiarity with services available to veterans, including POS? If so, from where/who do they tend to receive the information?

Probes:

• To what extent do they receive information from their military base (for those recently discharged), veterans’ service organizations [VSOs], the internet, and/or friends?

• Please tell me about any outreach you do (out-stationing, brochures, and so on).

• Do other staff at the American Job Center conduct any outreach? Please describe.

7. Once enrolled, do veterans work with an assigned case manager or specific types of staff? How are these assignments made? How does this differ from the process for other American Job Center customers?

8. How is POS implemented in practice? Please explain how a veteran receives priority of service when he/she first contacts the workforce system. (This could be at a center, at home on a computer, or by some other means.)

Probes:

• How is the intake and flow different for veterans than for non-veteran customers?

• What is your role in POS?

• Do veterans have priority for job openings that are posted? If so, please describe how this works. Are veterans’ resumes flagged in the system? Do employers see an indicator of any kind that the person is a veteran?

• If a veteran requests training services, how are they served? What occurs if the LWIA/center has a waiting list?

9. To what extent do you (as American Job Center staff member) work with the local area’s LVER and/or DVOP to meet the needs of your veteran customers? With WIA, ES, or other partners? In what ways do you work together?

Probes:

• To what extent do you serve the same veteran customers that the center’s DVOP, LVER, and/or WIA staff serve?

• Do you communicate about individual veterans? About what? How often?

10. Do you provide services to veteran customers that differ from the services you provide to civilian customers? If so, please describe.

11. How do you help veterans translate their military experiences, training, and jobs to civilian opportunities? Do you use specific tools? What are they? How do you find out about these tools?

12. How do you or your American Job Center track services provided to veterans and POS eligibles and the services they receive? What information is tracked? Who has access to this information?

Probe:

• Are veteran services tracked separately for ES, Veterans’ State Grants, and WIA?

• Is information about veterans reported in separate systems for ES, WIA, and Veterans’ State Grants? If so, are there any links between systems?

• Are staff from the various programs able to see each other’s notes?

13. To what extent do you believe you are providing services to veterans using unique or innovative strategies? Please explain. Have these strategies been developed at the local level or state? Please explain.

14. What have been the challenges to working with veterans?

15. How do you know if you are successful with your veteran customers? What is the process for following-up with them?

Center Staff Guide 4