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Veterans' Employment Committee
June 5, 2019: 10:00 AM45 Commerce Dr, Augusta Frances Perkins Room
AGENDA State Workforce Board (SWB) Veterans Employment Committee (VEC) June 5th, 2019 (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 March 6, 2019 Meeting Speakers/Guests - Linda Murray, K9s On The Front Line o Co-Founder, Vice President and Director of Development AND Residential Loan Officer, Certified Military Home Specialist - Veteran Hiring for Employers "Test Run" PowerPoint o Leo Deon, Vet Rep, Lewiston CareerCenter o Mark Cafiso, Vet Rep, Portland CareerCenter SWB VEC Members Strategic Planning Priorities 2018/2019 Updates, If Any o MARKETING to Veterans and Employers o EDUCATION Employers o EDUCATION Veterans o VETERAN FRIENDLY EMPLOYER AWARD OPTIONS o RAISING AWARENESS OF SWB COMMITTEES w NEW GOVERNOR and ADMINISTRATION o SEEKING FUNDING for SWB COMMITTEES AND SWB SPECIAL INITIATIVES o SWB VEC MEMBERSHIP o OTHER Steve Roy, Vet Rep Maine Hire-A-Vet 2018 Updates and 2019 Kick-Off Augusta CareerCenter MHAV Campaign Coordinator All SWB VEC Member Updates All Future Dates for 2019 SWB VEC Meetings, Frances Perkins Room, MDOL June 5, 2019, July 24, 2019, September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019 Jonathan Farr Miscellaneous / Adjourn
Meeting Minutes from SWB Veterans Employment Committee MDOL, Commerce Center, Frances Perkins Room June 5, 2019 (10:00am - 12:30pm)
Member Attendees: Mark Cafiso, LVER, Portland CareerCenter, Mark Cater, Director of Talent Acquisition, Military Talent Source, Leo Deon, LVER, Lewiston CareerCenter, Robin Doody, Talent Acquisition Specialist, Northern Light Health, Mike Gray, HVRP Project Coordinator and Military and Veterans Services Director, Easterseals Maine, Darren Henry, Deputy Director, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, Debbie Kelly, Maine Director, Veterans Employment and Trainings Services (VETS), Bethanie Mazzaro, Executive Director, ESGR, Steve Roy, LVER and MHAV Coordinator, Augusta CareerCenter, David Stearns, President, Dale Carnegie Maine, Joe Tatem, Executive Director, National Guard Employment and Support Program, Fred Webber, Former State Director, SWB
Guests & Interested Party Attendees: Josh Brown, Performance & Accountability Manager, BES/MDOL, Camden Ege, Director, Maine State Approving Agency Veterans' Education, Chaplain COL Andrew Gibson, Director of Deployment Cycle Support, MEARNG, Adria Horn, VP Workforce, Tilson, Mike Merrill, Program Manager, VOANNE, Linda Murray, Co-Founder/VP K9s on the Front Lines, Joseph Reagan, Director of Development, Easterseals Maine, David Richmond, Director, Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, Scott Young, Deputy Commissioner, MILVET
SWB Staff: Josh Howe, Program Coordinator, State Workforce Board, Cheryl Moran, Labor Program Specialist, State Workforce Board
Staff: Auta Main, MDOL BES Veterans Program Manager
Veterans Program Manager BES MDOL, Auta Main: Welcome & Opening Remarks
Veterans Program Manager BES MDOL, Auta Main: Round the room introductions.
Veterans Program Manager BES MDOL, Auta Main: Approval of notes from March 6th, 2019.
Guest Speaker: Linda Murray, Co-Founder/Vice President, K9s on The Front Line
About the program:
- Saving Dogs - Restoring Hope
- K9s on The Front Line is a Maine-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing certified, trained service dogs to military Veterans who are affected by PTSD and/or TBI, at no cost to our Veterans.
- FMI https://k9sonthefrontline.org/
- Josh Broder, CEO of Tilson was recognized at K9s on The Front Line Annual Event for Tilsons support in raising a significant amount of funds for the program.
- Excellent presentation with a reminder to be knowledgeable about the laws regarding service dogs.
Guest Speaker: Leo Deon, Vet Rep, Lewiston CareerCenter and Mark Cafiso, Vet Rep, Portland CareerCenter, Veteran Hiring for Employers TEST RUN PowerPoint - PowerPoint was reviewed, and many great suggested edits were made. See attached, revised PPT. Many thanks to SWB VEC Committee members for their constructive and insightful comments.
UPDATES - GOALS/PRIORITIES 2018-2019
a. Marketing to Veterans and Employers
i. David Richmond/Maine Bureau of Veterans Services (MBVS) announced that the American Legion and Easterseals Maine will be points of contact for distribution of the new Veterans Emergency Financial Assistance (VEFA), which is the result of the passage of LD 1736 in the 128th Maine State Legislature, a bill that was originally sponsored by Representative Louis Luchini of Ellsworth and Representative Bradlee Farrin of Norridgewock.
ii. VEFA was created to provide assistance for Maine veterans who suffer an emergency and do not have sufficient savings or access to other financial assistance to resolve the emergency. Examples of assistance may include: Damage to the veterans home due to fire, flood or hurricane that is not covered by insurance; Illness of the veteran or family member that results in hardship, assistance to prevent or resolve the veteran being homeless; and any other condition that puts the veteran at risk of not having the basic necessities of food, shelter, or safety.
iii. Applications can be obtained by contacting The American Legion Department of Maine Headquarters at 207-873-3229 or Easterseals Maine at 207-828-0754 ext. 1004. Turnaround time for the fund will be 48 hours once the veteran has submitted a complete application and a decision has been made.
b. Education Employers
i. Veteran Hiring for Employers Test Run conducted (see above). Outline includes: Military service, culture, ranking, skills, myths, why hire vets, recruitment, interview questions specifically designed for veterans, decoding of DD214, military skills translation, USERRA basics, CareerCenter services, and information about additional resources. Mark Cafiso, LVER, Portland and Leo Deon, LVER, Lewiston
ii. Military Culture 202 continues to be in demand. Chaplain/COL Andy Gibson will present to CareerCenter managers in September 2019.
1. The Military Culture 202 video is available on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/S1BwHbh3lNE or simply google Military Culture 202
c. Education Veterans
i. Two-day Civilian 101 Training for Veterans seeking employment. A curriculum template is already complete thanks to the efforts of David Stearns, Dale Carnegie Maine. The challenge over the past couple of years has been to find funding to support this important two-day training for veterans. The committee expressed a commitment to moving this forward in the year ahead. A small group of SWB VEC members met prior to the June meeting to discuss next steps. Committee members includes the following: David Stearns, Mark Cater, Mark Cater, Joe Tatem, Auta Main, Camden Ege, Leo Deon, Debbie Kelly, Cheryl Moran and Steve Roy. These decisions were made:
1. The training was cut back from 4 days to two. This still provides for excellent retention and great take-aways. Committee members felt that two days is the minimum to adequately cover critical topics.
2. Looking to fund a PILOT project in Fall 2019.
3. Another meeting is scheduled just prior to SWB VECs next meeting in July.
d. Veteran Friendly Employer Award TBD
i. A few members of the SWB VEC committee developed a "Veteran Friendly Employer Award" template in 2016/2017, following the lead of the SWB Older Worker Committees very successful award packet and presentation. At the time the MDOL Commissioner felt there was too much active legislation impacting employers so the time wasnt right to take next steps. More discussion is needed by the SWB VEC committee, along with a review of current materials.
ii. There was also question/concern about when (each year) we should seek applications for the veteran friendly employer award (assuming we opt to move forward), considering our commitment to the Maine Hire-A- Vet Campaign and the USDOL HIRE Vets Medallion Award.
*Did not address this at the June meeting
e. Raising Awareness of SWB Committees with New Governor and Administration
i. The committee awaits the hiring of the new SWB Director to learn more about how the current Governor and administration will work with the SWB and its committees.
f. Seeking Funding for SWB Committees & SWB Special Initiatives
i. As mentioned earlier, there is a definite interest in trying to take next steps with a Civilian 101 training for veterans. We are also interested in prospective funding for MHAV activities and other SWB VEC initiatives (to be identified). Members stated that our funding requests need to be laser focused:
1. Succinctly providing a clear overview of the committees activities and accomplishments, discussion of special initiatives, that we are in a time of rebuilding and that our services impact different populations of veterans that have unique needs/challenges (i.e. recently separating vets, older vets, younger vets, female vets, vets with disabilities etc.) and more!
*Did not address this at the June meeting. Waiting for new SWB Director to provide guidance.
g. SWB VEC Membership i. The updated list will be shared at the July meeting see attached. *If you have thoughts about other prospective members, please bring your ideas to the meeting to share.
Mark Your Calendars for SWB VEC Meetings 2019 June 5, 2019, July 24, 2019, September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019
The meeting adjourned at 12:30pm
Attachments