Veterans Employment Committee

May 23, 2018: 10:00 AM
Frances Perkins rm, 45 Commerce Dr, Augusta

AGENDA State Workforce Board (SWB) Veterans Employment Committee (VEC) May 23, 2018 (10:00am ? 12:30pm) Location: MDOL, Commerce Center, Frances Perkins Room Call-In Option: 1-877-455-0244 Code: 9218175360 Jonathan Farr, SWB Chair Welcome and Opening Remarks Jonathan Farr Around the Room Introductions Jonathan Farr/ALL Approval of Meeting Notes from January 31, 2018 Meeting SWB VEC Members Strategic Planning Priorities 2017/2018 ? Progress Updates If Any - Marketing - Education/Veterans - Education/Employers ? Military Culture 202 Update - Maine Hire-A-Vet Updates/Progress - SWB VEC Membership - Veteran Friendly Employer Award - Selecting Priorities for 2018/2019 / Sept 5, 2018 Fred Webber - State Workforce Board / Update - Fred Webber, Chair, State Workforce Board (SWB) Jackie Pogue - Independence Project Overview www.independenceproject.org (by phone) - Jackie Pogue, Research Project Coordinator. The project helps U.S. Veterans plan their post-service path, coaches them through landing a great job, and rewards them for success. Jeremy Kendall - Easterseals Veterans Services & Programs - Jeremy Kendall, Director of Military and Veterans Services Ruth Pease - Employment Situation of Veterans in Maine Update Ruth Pease, Senior Economic Research Analyst, CWRI All SWB VEC Member Updates All Future Dates for 2018 SWB VEC Meetings, Frances Perkins Room, MDOL ◦ July 25, 2018 ◦ September 5, 2018 ◦ November 28, 2018 Jonathan Farr Miscellaneous / Adjourn

Meeting Minutes from SWB Veterans Employment Committee MDOL, Commerce Center, Frances Perkins Room May 23, 2018 (10:00am – 12:30pm)

Member Attendees:, Laura Allen, Outreach Consultant, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, Mark Cafiso, LVER, Portland CareerCenter, Mark Cater, Director, Veteran Employment and Strategy, Military Talent Source, Leo Deon, LVER, Lewiston CareerCenter, Jonathan Farr, Co-Manager, Joseph’s Fireside Steakhouse and SWB VEC Chair, Nathaniel Grace, Consultant Contractor, Maine Military OneSource, Jeremy Kendall, Director Military and Veterans Programs, Easterseals Maine, Steven Roy, LVER, Augusta CareerCenter and MHAV Campaign Coordinator, Alley Smith, Regional Manager, Maine, Veterans’ Inc., David Stearns, President, Dale Carnegie Maine, Joe Tatem, Executive Director, National Guard Employment and Support Program, Fred Webber, SWB Board Chair

Guests & Interested Party Attendees: COL Andrew Gibson, Director of Deployment Cycle Support, MEARNG, Adria Horn, Director, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, Debbie Kelly, Maine DVET, VETS, USDOL Mike Merrill, Program Manager, VOANNE, SWB Staff: Joshua Howe, Workforce Development Program Coordinator, SWB, Cheryl Moran, Labor Program Specialist, State Workforce Board

Staff: Auta Main, MDOL BES Veterans’ Program Manager

SWB VEC Chair, Jonathan Farr: Welcome & Opening Remarks

SWB VEC Chair, Jonathan Farr: Round the room introductions.

SWB VEC Chair, Jonathan Farr: Approval of notes from January 31, 2018.

SWB VEC STRATEGIC Priorities 2017/2018 ? Selected Priorities for 2017/2018 ? Marketing – focus on driving veterans to MBVS web portal (and other) ? Education – Focus on employers and veterans ? Misc Other – SWB VEC Membership, MHAV Updates/Feedback/Veteran Friendly Employer Award

Agenda and Discussion Topics:

Committee Updates

Marketing – Laura Allen and Adria Horn. MBVS is reaching out to prospective MHAV employers on their website, linking them back to MHAV partners. The MBVS website receives 3,500 to 4,000 hits each month. Laura and Adria also spoke about their newest strategy to conduct outreach to out-of-state veterans. They will be advertising with Rally-Point, which has more than 2,000,000 members, to conduct online marketing to veterans across the USA. Laura also reminded us that USM has the Upward Bound grant to assist veterans in college and encouraged us to make referrals.

MHAV Update – in 100 days, 154 employers joined the campaign, 296 veterans were hired (63 were female and 21 spouses or family of veterans), 110 employer staff participated in Military Culture 202, average wage $23.16 per hour

Education/Veterans – More discussion at a future meeting.

Education/Employers – COL Andrew Gibson facilitated the second MHAV Military Culture 202 Training at the USM Wishcamper Center on February 1st, 2018. The training included an hour with Andy focused on a quick review of Military Culture 101, the big picture, importance of structure, mission and purpose, utilizing leadership skills and experience, educational advantages of hiring veterans and importance of communication. Following Andy’s presentation, a panel of employers shared their best practices for recruiting, hiring and retaining veterans. Randy Liberty, Warden for the Maine Prison System moderated the panel, which included Dennis Arnold, HR Recruiter, EMHS, Clint Peebles, HR Recruiter, Dept of Corrections, SOM, Ausra Reed, Specialist Recruiter, Global Talent Acquisition, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Kelly Rickert, Director of Workforce Development, OIT, SOM. The training was very well received by the 60+ employers who joined us. Ideas shared by the panelists included the following: If you want to hire more veterans, hire a veteran in your HR dept (many of these organizations had done that), host hiring fairs at your company focused on hiring veterans, host special activities for veterans and other staff near Veterans Day and/or other military holidays, host classes for all staff (especially HR staff) about military culture and recruiting, hiring and retaining veterans, provide mentors at your place of employment for new veteran hires, dedicate a section of your website and/or job postings area to state your company’s commitment to hiring veterans, hire veterans at a higher wage than non-veterans, allow veterans compensated time off to get to appointments at Togus and other VA related activities and more. Many thanks to USM and their veterans’ committee for providing in kind space along with afternoon snacks, waters and coffee! We plan to provide two Military Culture 202 trainings during the 2018 MHAV Campaign. Dates TBD.

Veteran Friendly Employer Award –More discussion at a future meeting.

Strategic Planning – We will conduct a mini-strategic planning session at our September SWB VEC meeting - on Wednesday, September 5th, 2018 from 10am – 12:30pm here at MDOL, Frances Perkins room (for SWB VEC). Members suggested we ask Robert Haley, Director of Maine State Approving Agency for Veterans Education to facilitate.

State Workforce Board (SWB) Update, Fred Webber, SWB Board Chair - Still waiting to hear back from the Feds about an approval for the Maine State Workforce Board’s Annual Plan. The only issue that (we believe) may be in question is the 70% stipulation – all Maine workforce boards must spend 70% of their allocation directly on customer training. That figure had been much lower in the past. The plan states that if the workforce boards do not meet the 70% threshold than there will be a 10% penalty. Expect to hear more by early June 2018.
- The next full SWB Board meeting is scheduled for Friday, June 1st at 9:30am.

Jackie Pogue, Research Project Coordinator – The Independence Project This project helps U.S. Veterans, who have applied for or received a disability rating, to plan their post-service path, coaches them through landing a great job, and rewards them for success. The veteran must have been discharged in the last 12 months. They can live anywhere in the U.S. The project is recruiting up to 400 veterans to mentor and coach. Participating veterans are given stipends at various next step points. For example, they receive $320 for doing a telephone interview. These calls are conducted every four months. The staff at the project refer the veterans they are working with to approved local resources, including DVOPs and LVERs and AJC staff countrywide. They also refer to an approved list of therapists around the country. FMI see website at www.independenceproject.org and attached flyer.

Jeremy Kendall, Director of Military and Veterans Program, Easterseals Maine – Jeremy shared highlights of all the great work they are doing at Easterseals Maine. Started by talking a bit about how fundraising has gotten very tough and especially competitive for smaller agencies – with fewer conflicts/wars – we are working with a smaller pool of veterans. Special projects at Easterseals Maine include: - HVRP / Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program - Easterseals has teamed up with Health Affiliates of Maine to offer Mental Health and Case Management services to Maine Veterans. The comes in response to the passage of LD 1231, an Act Regarding Mental Healthcare for Maine Veterans, which provided funding for case management for any/all veterans in Maine – including guard, reserve, currently serving and dishonorably discharged veterans. For veterans with no health care, case managers also help veterans navigate the Mainecare system. They are putting a more clinical model on case management / an evidence based model, which is the first of its kind in the country. See link FMI https://www.maine.gov/veterans/highlights/mental-health-care-and-case-management.html - On a non-veteran note, Easterseals just signed a contract with Anthem Insurance to help Anthem case manage high risk clients, who are often visiting the emergency. The idea is to assess what is getting in their way and provide needed case management to reduce visits to the ER.

Ruth Pease, Senior Economic Research Analyst, CWRI – Employment Situation of Veterans in Maine
- Many important numbers – most exciting is that Maine has the lowest unemployment rate for veterans of any other state in the nation at 1.7% - See attached PPT FMI

Mark Your Calendars for SWB VEC Meetings 2018 July 25, 2018, September 5, 2018, November 28, 2018

The meeting adjourned at 12:30pm

Attachments