1.3: Employment
Provide all service-disabled veterans with the opportunity to become employable and obtain and maintain employment, while
providing special support to veterans with serious employment handicaps.
Other Information:
Purpose and Outcomes: The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program provides services and assistance necessary
to enable veterans with service-connected disabilities and employment handicaps to become employable. The program also provides
independent living services for severely disabled veterans who do not have employment potential. VA expects the number of
program participants to remain stable during the planning period. The impact from legislation or economic shifts may affect
the number of program participants. At the end of FY 2002, there were 69,600 program participants. The purposes and outcomes
of the VR&E program are to: • Enable service-connected disabled veterans to become employable and to obtain and maintain suitable
employment; • Enable service-connected disabled veterans to achieve a level of independence in daily living; and • Meet the
rehabilitation needs of serviceconnected disabled veterans. The primary source population for vocational rehabilitation is
recently discharged veterans who are adjudicated to have a service-connected disability. Sustainable employment is the desired
outcome of the vocational rehabilitation process. During FY 2002, over 16,408 veterans ended their participation in a rehabilitation
program. Of these, 62.2 percent successfully completed the rehabilitation program (47.5 percent ended with employment and
14.7 percent ended with independent living). VA’s performance target for successful rehabilitation is 70 percent by FY 2008.
Strategies and Processes: The following is a discussion of issues facing the VR&E program and VA’s strategies and processes
to address these issues and achieve this objective. Veterans’ access to VR&E information and benefits is critical to the success
of the program. By its very nature, the VR&E program requires a close relationship between VA personnel and veterans, almost
always involving face-to-face contact. This relationship hinges on veterans having easy access to VA personnel. However, veterans
sometimes must travel great distances to see their case managers. The strategies used in this program are designed to improve
access for veterans through use of technology and partnerships that result in an improved quality of life for veterans. VA
will implement the following strategies to assist service-disabled veterans to become employable, achieve maximum independence
in daily living, and receive world class-service delivery: • VA will continue to provide veterans with easy access to information
and the opportunity to obtain benefits and services at a convenient time and place; • VA will maximize direct contact with
veterans through the case management approach and the use of information technology and improved workforce skills. This effort
will result in improved customer satisfaction, improve cycletimes for claims processing, and improved accuracy; and • VA will
build or enhance partnerships with the Department of Labor and other organizations to improve the coordination of employment
services. VA will enhance outreach to veterans with disabilities through alliances with other Federal agencies. Stakeholder
involvement is critical in the determination and development of outcomes for all VA benefit programs. To date, VA has developed
interim outcomes for the VR&E program and will finalize these program outcomes and develop performance measures and targets
based on further analysis and consultations with our stakeholders. External Factors: Economic Conditions – Program participation
and successful attainment of rehabilitation goals are closely related to the national economy and the employment market.
Indicator(s):
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