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Veterans Employment Committee
November 18, 2015: 10:00 AMTBA for information contact Auta Main auta.m.main@maine.gov
AGENDA State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) Veterans Employment Committee (VEC) November 18, 2015 (10:00am ? 12:30pm) Location: MDOL, Commerce Center, Frances Perkins Room Fred Webber, SWIB Chair Welcome and Opening Remarks Fred Webber Around the Room Introductions Fred Webber/ALL Approval of Meeting Notes from July 15, 2015 Meeting (No notes from July 15, 2015 meeting FYI) Fred Webber/ALL Next Steps for Proposed One Stop Web Portal for Service Members, Veterans and their Families - Letter from Steve Wallace - Discussion Fred Webber/ALL Nominations for new SWIB VEC Committee Chair - Discussion SWIB VEC Members Updates All Dates for 2016 SWIB VEC Meetings Meeting Dates, Wednesdays, 10am ? 12:30pm, Location TBD 2016: January 13, March 16, May 18, July 20, Sept 21, Nov 16 Fred Webber Miscellaneous / Adjourn
Meeting Minutes from SWIB Veterans Employment Committee MDOL, Commerce Center, Frances Perkins Room 18 November 2015, 10:00am ? 12:00pm
Member Attendees: Bob Traill, Bonney Staffing, Nathaniel Grace, Maine State Consultant, Military One Source, Joseph Sousa, Executive Director, ESGR Maine Committee, Adria Horn, Director, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services
Guests & Interested Party Attendees: COL Andrew Gibson, Director of Deployment Cycle Services, ME ARNG, Bill Fox, RVCP Program Manager, MDOL, Robin Doody, HR Director, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Julie Rabinowitz, Communications Director, MDOL
Staff: Auta Main, MDOL BES Veterans Program Manager
Agenda and Discussion Topics:
MDOL Staff ? Auta Main: Welcome and Opening Remarks • Auta opened the meeting with round the room introductions.
MDOL Staff ? Auta Main: No meeting notes from the July 15, 2015 meeting. No approval needed.
MDOL Staff ? Auta Main: Introduction and History of Maine One Stop Web Portal work completed by SWIB VEC and Nancy Marshall Communications.
• All: Discussion SWIB VEC Chair?s (Steve Wallace) Letter ? One Stop Web Portal Summary and Recommendations ◦ See Steve Wallace Letter ? attached. Steve is Outgoing Chair of SWIB VEC. ◦ Should One Stop Web Portal reside with existing MMCN web portal as suggested in NMC?s SWIB VEC Marshall Plan or potentially now with MBVS, given fewer sustainability issues and new direction at MBVS? Discussion: ▪ Don?t want to give up 24/7 contact that is available now through Military Family Assistance Center connected with MMCN at Buker School ? How can we keep that service available? Can MBVS provide that? ▪ Will the state have a stricter vetting process than MMCN? ? SWIB VEC members met with an attorney from Maine Attorney General?s office and the Director of 211 earlier in 2015 to learn more from them about what type of vetting makes sense and works. We have notes from that meeting available. Don?t anticipate a problem here. ▪ Can the state create a web portal or does it have to be a website which would be more difficult to maintain? ? MBVS /State is creating a web portal ? a gateway so to speak ? MBVS/State plans to have a ?search bar? at the gateway so if a veteran is interested in employment, for example, he/she could enter employment and all organizations offering that service would populate with links to their sites and a mapping system of locations around the state. ▪ Andy (ME ARNG)/Nathan (formerly MMCN) have no problem with MBVS taking on the role of One Stop Web Portal. Want to be sure the 24/7 1-800 line is still available for SMVF who need it. At this point it is highly likely that the 1-800 number at the Military Family Assistance Center will be available in one form or another for the next several years.
• Julie Rabinowitz: MDOL Communications Director/ MDOL?s Website/Social Media Updates ◦ HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH MDOL?s NEW WEBSITE & MDOL?s SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE (this site will not be used for the web portal ? for information only) ◦ MDOL has signed a contract to upgrade its job bank and case management software. Launch date is currently scheduled for July 2016. Good news is the new software company, AJLA is already being used very successfully in 15 other states so we should be up and running pretty quickly! ◦ Also in process of developing a new CareerCenter website so we can provide more online type workshops ◦ Will be adding a ?live chat? feature to our website, as well, but it will not be available 24/7 ◦ All of our CareerCenters have a FB page. Also have FB page for Maine Hire A Vet and MDOL Veterans Page. ▪ Maine Hire A Vet social media presence has brought calls to our doors from veterans who live out of state and are now interested in potentially moving to Maine ◦ Conducting ?outreach? on FB has been very successful for very small investments of money ◦ We are exploring options for conducting ?outreach? on twitter and pandora ◦ Conducting outreach in different venues this past year to include for example: Putting up posters in waiting rooms at Togus, the PX in Bangor, and at Maine?s colleges & increased use of all media venues. ◦ Building brand awareness of Labor programs through social media
• ALL: One Stop Web Portal ? MBVS and/or MMCN Continued
? Questions: If MBVS becomes the one stop web portal for SMVF is it possible for MBVS to also take over responsibility for the MMCN website, which includes the RESOURCE PIECE and info about all MMCN?s Networking/9 Regional Groups?
◦ MBVS is not ready to commit to taking over maintenance of MMCN website outside of the resource piece, which they are planning to do anyway. Too much going on right now with limited resources to accept the responsibility for MMCN website and networking/nine regional groups, too.
? Can we add a ?live chat? feature to the MBVS web portal? MBVS was thinking about that yes already.
? Want to be sure that we are tracking every clickable item on the new MBVS web portal.
? Currently both MDOL and MBVS websites are kind of hodge podge of stuff and not possible to adequately track all traffic, but that will change with new sites
? Should we consider keeping both MMCN and MBVS portals LIVE?
◦ SWIB VEC members voted in 2015 to assist with the start-up and support of ONE ONE STOP Web Portal. Given that, we will go with ONE ONE STOP WEB PORTAL (MBVS) over the long haul. However, we?ll keep both sites LIVE (for the short term) for up to one year (from the date the MBVS web portal goes live) with the vision of supporting MMCN (to the tune of $2,000ish) to transition from a web portal to a website for its Networking/Nine Regional Groups makes sense.
? Adria shared the MBVS vision of the One Stop Web Portal with clickable boxes that might say for example: Education, Employment, Healthcare etc.? and each click of the box will help you drill down further to a list of who provides the service and locations around Maine, including a map of where services are available.
• Recommendations for One Stop Web Portal from SWIB VEC Members Present 11/18/2015:
◦ Drive SMVF to ONE ONE STOP WEB PORTAL for Resources and that will be MBVS.
▪ MBVS anticipates that the web portal will be LIVE by early February 2016
▪ Begin a campaign at that time to DRIVE SMVF to that site
▪ Through the RVCP funding up to 15k is currently available to improve MBVS web portal. Additional funding may be available after an RVCP grant modification has been completed.
◦ Support MMCN in tearing down its RESOURCE WEB PORTAL but keeping the website for its Networking of Regional Groups active. Estimated cost: $2,000
▪ Drive SMVF to MMCN?s website for NETWORKING - REGIONAL GROUP ACTIVITY.
▪ Drive SMVF to MBVS?s web portal for RESOURCES
▪ Post 1-800 24/7 line of MMCN on the MBVS webpage. MBVS has their own 1-800 number as well, but it isn?t 24/7
▪ TO DOS:
? Nathan will email Adria the excel spreadsheet of all resources currently on MMCN?s web portal so MBVS can continue data input. DONE!
? Work with Adria and Laura (ASAP) to refer veteran interns or others who can assist with data input in the web portal to get things moving faster. The new RVCP outreach trainer will assist with this effort, as well. DONE!
? Work with Adria to develop and provide ongoing input to a COMMON/UNIFIED CALENDAR of SMVF events/activities so keep us all abreast of what?s going on and to avoid duplication of efforts on same dates/times.
? Support a ONE YEAR transition from MMCN Web Portal (Resources) to MBVS Web Portal (for Resources). Continue to drive veterans to MMCN?s Networking Regional Group?s web pages and they will be listed as a RESOURCE on the MBVS site.
? MBVS (and MDOL, MMCN and SWIB VEC) will LAUNCH the new MBVS Web Portal at a Press Conference in the Spring of 2016. They plan to continue another phase of the launch at MMCN?s Annual Conf, scheduled for July 21, 2016.
? Utilize funding from RVCP to get the word out about the new MBVS web portal and to drive SMVF to the site ? beginning February 2016.
? Review NMC strategies at a subcommittee meeting of the SWIB VEC scheduled for December 9th, 2015 at 1pm (MDOL Offices) / Postponed to January 13, 2016.
◦ At this meeting the subcommittee will flesh out the recommendations above and develop a list of outreach strategies (selecting those from the NMC Marshall Plan that we feel make most sense now). We?ll begin to implement these in February of 2016.
◦ Get costs associated with some of the outreach strategies i.e. radio, social media etc.? and be prepared to discuss these at the next SWIB VEC meeting.
? Present these recommendations to SWIB VEC members at our next scheduled meeting on February 3, 2016 at MDOL, 10am ? 12:30pm.
• Recommendations for New SWIB VEC CHAIR ◦ Recommend we consider someone from business who supports Hiring and Advancement of Veterans ? possibly Steve Pound, CIANBRO or Jonathan Farr from T-Mobile? Other possibilities?
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SWIB VEC MEETINGS 2016
Meeting Dates, Wednesdays, 10am ? 12:30pm, Location TBD
2016: February 3, March 16, May 18, July 20, Sept 21 and November 16
Attachments Note from SWB VEC Chair Steve Wallace