Veterans’ Employment-Related Assistance Program PY 19-20 Awards

Workforce Services Information Notice
WSIN19-44

Issued: April 22, 2020

The Employment Development Department (EDD), in coordination with the California Workforce Development Board, and on behalf of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, is pleased to announce the award of $4 million of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds for the Veterans’ Employment-Related Assistance Program (VEAP) for Program Year (PY) 2019-20. The focus of the PY 19-20 VEAPs includes military spouses that are associated with a military service member, pursing employment opportunities in high growth industries and occupations, developing and enhancing work readiness skills, and transition preparation for military spouses.

Funds will connect applicants and employers in the following California regions: Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Solano, Colusa, Glen, Sutter, and Yuba. Eight organizations were selected for funding. All eight entities submitted proposals via a competitive process.

Each of the eight recipients was awarded $500,000 and will put into practice forged solutions that eliminate barriers to employment that veterans face in the current labor market. This year’s VEAP seeks to ensure that particular attention is paid to military spouses. According to the Department of Defense (DoD) data there are approximately 641,636 spouses of active duty service members. Military spouses face many of the same barriers and employment challenges as the rest of America’s civilian workforce and veterans. Working women military spouses especially face unique challenges due to the transient nature of military life. Current statistics from the DoD reflect approximately 81% of military spouses have experienced a deployment during their service member’s career, an average deployment length of 7.7 months. The employment challenges resulting from frequent moves are particularly difficult. These barriers do not discriminate between military spouses or veteran status. Therefore, the emphasis is to provide priority employment and training services to military spouses. This will lead to employment opportunities and place them on a self-sufficient career pathway. The EDD expects that the performance period will be up to 21 months. A list of the awardees and descriptions of their projects is available on the EDD Workforce Development Solicitations for Proposals webpage.

If you have any questions regarding the VEAP grant solicitation, please email WSBGrants@edd.ca.gov.

/s/JAIME L. GUTIERREZ, Chief
Central Office Workforce Services Division