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NWNAVYLIFE.COM NORTHWEST NAVY LIFE | KITSAP FEBRUARY 6, 2015 | 13 DoDofficialdescribestransitionprogress By TERRI MOON CRONK DEFENSE MEDIA ACTIVITY The redesigned Transition Assistance Program gives separating service members a “unique set of capabilities” as they enter the civilian workforce, Susan Kelly, defense transition to veterans program office director, told a House Veterans Affairs Committee panel last week. In a review of the program before members of the economic opportunity subcommittee, Kelly outlined strides the Defense Department has made with the new TAP, in collaboration with several interagency partners, such as the veterans affairs and labor departments. Kelly emphasized that the new program will help more than 1 million service members transition from activedutyinthenextfour years. “The foundation of the redesignedTAPisasetofcareer-readiness standards thatareverifiedforalltransitioning service members nolaterthan90daysprior to their separation from the military,” she explained. If civilian career readiness standards are not met, service members receive furthertrainingora“warm hand-over” to interagency partners who ensure they receive post-separation assistance, Kelly added. “Partoftheredesignincludes the robust ‘Transition GPS curriculum - Goals, Plans, Success.’ It buildstheskillsthattransitioning service members need to meet in careerreadiness standards and it is now fully implemented at 206 military sites in the United States and overseas,”shesaid,addingthat three supplemental training tracks exist for those whowanttopursuehigher education,technicaltrainingorentrepreneurship. The five-day program also is offered for service members around the world through DoD’s Joint Knowledge Online platform, Kelly said. A strategy for evaluat- ing and assessing TAP has shown substantial progress,KellytoldtheHouse panel.Itsthreegoalsareaccountability, customer satisfaction and program effectiveness, she said. Longterm measures also are beingdevelopedbyVA,DoL andtheSmallBusinessAdministration, she said. “Outcome measures are apriorityfortheTAPevaluation strategy, beginning with[TheVowtoHireHeroes Act of 2011] and career-readiness compliance,” Kelly said. DoD-verified data to date shows active-duty service members’ compliance across the services ranges from 91 percent to 97 percent, she said. “These results account for three-quarters of the members who have separated from active duty,” Kelly added. “We realize that we must workhardtoclosetheremaining reporting gap,” she said. A comprehensive communications campaign to inform service members about the redesigned TAP wasputinplaceduringfiscal year 2014, Kelly said. This year, she added, the goal is to implement the Military Life Cycle transition level of the program. According to DoD’s TAP website, the MLC transitionleveliscriticalbecause it gives service members thechancetoplanfortheir post-separation career andseehowtheirmilitary skills can be used in the civilianworld;itenablesDoD to show how the services prepare their members for transition, and it optimizes how these highly trained and adaptable people can rapidly contribute to civilian society. “Thismarksamajorcultural shift for the department,”Kellysaid.“InDecember, the military services reported to the White House that Military Life Cycle transition preparation was fully implemented at their installations, which the new TAP interagency governance structure will continue to monitor and improve.” Like Northwest Navy Life on Facebook!
14 | FEBRUARY 6, 2015 NORTHWEST NAVY LIFE | KITSAP NWNAVYLIFE.COM DoDlauncheswebsiteto ease moving transitions “As families relocate to other areas, it’s really challengingtomakesureyourchildcareneeds arebeingmet,andthistoolgivesparentsan opportunityinadvancetofindthosechildcare spots that will work for the family.” BARBARA THOMPSON, DIRECTOR, MCP OFFICE By TERRI MOON CRONK DEFENSE MEDIA ACTIVITY As military families move frequently and face a host of concerns, findingchildcarecanbeone of the greatest challenges, Barbara Thompson, director of military communityandpolicy’sofficeof family policy/children and youth/special needs, said. To streamline and standardize what can be a daunting search, the Defense Department unveiled MilitaryChildCare. com, an online resource to help military, DoD civilian and contractor families find an array of militaryoperated and militarysubsidized child care options for children between theagesof4weeksand12 years, Thompson said. “Child care is a workforce issue that impacts the readiness and retention of the force,” Thompson said. “As families relocate to other areas, it’s really challenging to make sure your child care needs are being met, and this tool gives parents an opportunity in advance to find those child care spots that will work for the family.” MilitaryChildCare.com is a “single gateway” for families to enter as they request child care, she noted. Of the 200,000 children DoDservesinchildcare, more than 50 percent are younger than age 3, Thompson said. “It’sverydifficulttofind infant and toddler care in the civilian community,” she said. “[DoD has] young families with young children and we really feel that we’re providing a high-quality environment for those babies and toddlers [with the website].” Families can customize theirsearch,puttheirchildren on waiting lists and monitor requests for placement, Thompson said. “The idea is that you have choices, and you see the array pictorially of what’s available at those locations,” she noted. Ahelpdeskonlineandat 1-855-696-2934, toll-free, is also available to help personalize families’ searches, she added. The website initiative used focus groups comprising child care staff and parents, with a goal of making the website functional and intuitive to make sure families can easily navigate the system, Thompson said. Apilotprogramwasalso conducted in the study at numerous installations over the past 18 months at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for the Air Force, Hawaii for the Army, Hawaii and San Diego for the Marine Corps, and Hawaii, San Diego, Key West, Bahrain, Meridian and Singapore for the Navy, she said. Recently,13moreinstallationswereaddedtothe website in addition to the pilots. The additions include Naval Station Everett,NavalBaseKitsapand Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. The child care website is expected to be fully functional worldwide in September 2016, Thompson said,addingthatitwillremainaworkinprogressas it takes in feedback from parents for improvements.
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