Department of DefenseAssistant Secretary of Defense(Force Management Policy)Military Community & Family Policy

DoD Spouse Employment Assistance A Program Update

Third Veterans’ Transition Assistance ConferenceWashington, DC

December 5-6, 2002

Legislative Authority

Title 10, Section 1056. Relocation Assistance Programs - directs the Secretaries of the Military Departments to provide relocation information, preparation, and settling-in services with emphasis on spouse employment.

Title 10, Section 1781. Office of Family Policy - established the Office of Family Policy, assigning it responsibility for military family policies and programs.

Title 10, Section 1784, Employment Opportunities for Military Spouses authorized the Secretary of Defense to provide employment opportunities for military spouses in the same geographic area as their sponsors’ permanent duty station. (Establishes the Spouse Preference Program.)

Public Law 107-107, National Defense Authorization Act 2002, directs DoD to report on the potential merit of direct financial assistance to spouses, and encourages inter-departmental and public/private partnerships.

About 60% of military personnel have family responsibilities.

Active Duty Military Family Status

40%

3%

3%

37%

11%6%

Single, No children

Joint-Service WithChildren

Joint-Service, Nochildren

Married to Civilian,With Children

Married to Civilian, NoChildren

Single With Children

Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) 2000 Demographics Report, Profile of the Military Community

The ForceActive: 1,370,678Reserve: 1,251,452

Marital Status of Active Duty Members

Married53%

Never Married

43%

Other*0%

Divorced4%

2000 Profile of the Military Community, DMDC

*Includes annulled, interlocutory, legally separated, widowed and unknown cases. Comprises roughly 0.2%

25 or Younger

26%

26 to 3023%

31 to 3521%

36 to 4017%

41 or Older13%

Age of Military Spouses

Of a total of 693,793 military spouses, the majority (over 70%) are 35 years old or younger.

2000 Profile of the Military Community, DMDC

Army Enlisted Spouse Demographics

32% have completed high school but have no additional formal education and 13% have a bachelors degree or higher level of education.

53% are under 29 years of age; 28% are under 25.

42% have been married for less than 5 years; 69% for less than 10 years.

18% currently live together as a “blended family,” i.e., they and/or their spouse have children from a previous marriage or relationship living with them.

U.S. Army Community and Family Support Survey of Army Families IV, Spring 2001

CONUS Spouse Employment Status

2000 Profile of the Military Community, DMDC

48%

7%

45%

Employed

Seeking Work

Not Employed &Not Seeking Work

55%

8%

37%

Data relates to spouse employment in the civilian labor market of the Continental U.S.

Enlisted Spouse Employment Status

Officer Spouse Employment Status

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0%

Looking forpart-time work

Looking for full-time work

In school or intraining

Homemaker

Working 1 jobfor pay now

Officer

Enlisted

Comparison of Employment StatusArmy Officer & Enlisted Spouses

U.S. Army Community & Family Support Center, Survey of Army Families 1V, Spring 2001

Reasons for Wanting or Needing to Work, by Paygrade

(Percentage of responses marked “very important”)

1997 Junior Enlisted Spouse Survey

86%

50%

64%

82%

45%48%

59%

83%

53%

62%

83%

45% 47%

58%

78%

53%

61%

82%

46%51%

57%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Need money forbasic family

expenses

Desire a career Want extra moneyto use now

Want to savemoney for future

Want independence Enjoy working Want to gainexperience forfuture career

E1-E3 E4 E5

Junior Enlisted Financial Stability

E-3 Married with 2 children

$2071 Net Income

$597 Rent$180 Utilities$250 Car Payment$200 Miscellaneous/Laundry$90 Car Insurance$50 Fuel$450 Groceries$150 Credit Cards$1967 Total Expenses

$104 Disposable Income

The 1999 Active Duty Survey reports 56% of junior enlisted personnel experience some to significant financial difficulties.

Problems center on: High housing costs Transportation costs

(car, insurance, maintenance)

High cost of credit Child care Mobility costs Spouse employment

Enlisted Savings and Investments

67%

50%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

E1 - E4 E5 - E6

Savings of $1000 or Less

DMDC’s 1999 Active Duty Survey asked: Roughly what is the total amount of savings you (and your spouse) have? (Responses include funds in bank accounts, IRAs, money market accounts, CDs, Savings Bonds, mutual funds, stocks and/or bonds.)

This leaves enlisted familieslittle room for difficult times(unemployed spouse, etc.)

Tension Between Military Realitiesand Families

High PERSTEMPO, separation and mobility

Emerging expectations for “family time”

Frequent Relocations

Growing number of working spouses who want careers

Spouse employment/unemployment drives other issues:

Why We Help

Family Income

Child Care

Relocation

Recruitment

Retention

Impact of Military Lifestyleon Spouse Employment

41% of unemployed/non-employment seeking spouses of Air Force enlisted personnel reported that their spouse’s military career had a negative impact on their own career plans.

51% of unemployed/non-employment seeking spouses of Air Force officers reported that their spouse’s military career had a negative impact on their own career plans.

1999-2000 Air Force Community Needs Assessment

Impact of Spouse EmploymentRetention

Members with spouses who were employed in civilian jobs (54.5%) or voluntarily out of the work force (55%) indicated satisfaction with the military way of life to a greater extent than did other married personnel. (1999 Active Duty Member Survey, DMDC)

An increase in the spouse’s employment and earnings increased satisfaction with Army life and, in turn, enhanced her desire for her husband to remain in the Army. (Interrelationships of Child Care Use, Spouse Employment, Army Satisfaction, and Retention in the U.S. Army, 1994)

The quality of spouse employment and family life enhance satisfaction with Army life and increased her desire for the retention of her husband in the Army. (The Socioeconomic Benefits to Military Families of Home-Basing of Armed Forces, 1994)

Impact of Spouse EmploymentRetention (continued)

Number 1 factor related to career intent for all Army personnel: Spouse supports your making a career of the Army.

Strongest relationships for junior enlisted Army personnel: Satisfaction with overall quality of Army life and spouse supports your making a career of the Army.

In 2001, about one half of junior enlisted soldiers and about three fourths of junior NCOs and junior officers reported that their spouse if fairly/very supportive of their making a career in the Army.

Army Personnel Survey Office, U.S. Army Research Institute presentation for the Symposium on Army Spouses, June 18, 2002

DoD Spouse Employment ProgramsFamily Center Programs Information and referral Education and training Job banks Outreach to clients and community

Headquarters Initiatives Internet resources Research Resource management Policy/operations guidance

High Profile Programs Spouse Employment Action Agenda Spouse Telework Employment Program Corporate partnerships Department of Labor partnerships

Spouse Employment Summit

Held in Phoenix, AZ, August 22-25, 2000, in conjunction with DoD Family Readiness Conference.

Attended by approximately 120 headquarters, command and installation program staff; civilian personnel staff; subject matter experts; and spouses from all four Military Services.

Approximately 13 working groups isolated key issues and proffered solutions.

Report issued December 21, 2000.

Follow-up conference held April 9-10, 2002, in Orlando, FL

Summit Action Agenda

Policy - Need to define and standardize Military programs and policy guidance.

Resources - Need to provide dedicated resources within the system to address staffing, career development, and skills training.

Spouse Career Continuity/Corporate Partnerships - Need to partner with private industry to connect spouses with portable jobs and other methods of pursuing lifetime career goals.

Marketing - Need to make existing resources known and relate them to customer needs.

Policy Standardization

Web-based Consolidation and Comparison: Spouse Central (under development)

Updating Service Guidance: New Army and Navy Desk Guides

National Defense Authorization Act 2002: Section 571 requires review of existing spouse employment programs with an eye towards enhancing retention.

Performance Measures.

Strategic Plan: Do We Need a DoD Instruction?

Enhancing Resources:Challenges and Opportunities

Emerging Military Requirements: International obligations and the “War on Terrorism.”

Montgomery G.I. Bill Benefits Expansion: Extremely limited in scope.

Section 571, National Defense Authorization Act 2002: It’s not just a report; it’s an opportunity.

Social Compact.

Ongoing Service Efforts.

Technology-based Solutions.

Internet Resources DoD Job Search <http://dod.jobsearch.org> features want

ads, resume writing, and referral systems. One-Stop Jobs (part of the MAPsite Employment Station)

<http://dticaw.dtic.mil/mapsite/onestop.html> provides a single listing of major DoD and Military Component organizations employment Web sites and a selection commercial employment Web sites.

Transition Bulletin Board <http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/ot/> lists job want ads and other useful information.

DoD Transportal <http://www.dodtransportal.org/> although primarily for separating military personnel, contains resources of value for any military family member seeking a job.

Military Assistance Program Central <http://dtica.dtic.mil/mapcentral> an on-line desk guide rich in policy and information resources for spouse employment professionals.

Career Continuity:

Department of Labor (DoL) Partnership In August 2001, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and

Secretary of Labor Chao met to discuss partnering in three key areas: recruiting, spouse employment and transition.

DoL programs are managed locally according to state law, but there are some areas where headquarters action could benefit military spouses, including definition of displaced workers, DoL partner programs, statistics, and a Web site.

DoD and DoL are developing a multi-layered plan which would bring together existing resources. Further developments would proceed in stages based on pilot programs and an assessment of their results.

Department of Labor (DoL) PartnershipEarly Results

Career Accelerator Centers in Fort Campbell, KY; Hampton Roads, VA; and San Diego, CA, granted permission to serve spouses who have lost jobs to relocation. Opportunities include individual training accounts and access to services provided displaced workers under Pell and Workforce Investment Act grants.

Military Spouse Resource Center <http://testing.milspouse.org>

Career Continuity:Spouse Telework Employment Program

The Departments of State, Defense and Labor, and the General Services Administration propose a public/private partnership to address the spouse employment issues. Partnership objectives encompass:

Increasing domestic and foreign private sector career opportunities.

Serving as a basis for an expanded program of remote training and teleworking facilities, and a database of remote work opportunities.

Augmenting existing military and federal programs to assist spouses in all stages of their professional development.

Career Continuity & Corporate Partnerships October 2000: The Military Quality of Life Summit at the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce identified military spouse training and employment as a priority.

January 2001: CISCO and the Communications Workers of America provide scholarships for classroom and distance learning technology training leading to A+ and CISCO network certification.

March 2001: Marriott, CVS and Home Depot expressed a firm interest in partnering with DoD to provide jobs and portable tenure for DoD spouses in their organizations.

January 2002: First phase of Navy/Adecco contractual partnership begins.

June 2002: The Spouse Employment Working Group began conferring with General Counsel and others regarding a possible hiring preference for spouses in DoD contracts. Meanwhile, General Counsel continues to work on the language for potential public/private partnership agreements per P.L. 107-107.

Marketing Challenging audience.

First you need something to market: the Adecco experience.

Army Family Team Building assessment suggests better methods:

Partnership opportunities.

• Immediate versus delayed outreach.• Active versus passive marketing.• Demonstrative versus didactic marketing.• Direct versus indirect information distribution.• Coordinated versus segmented support services

& programs.

Looking to the Future

DoD Research

Service Research

Social Compact/Defense Planning Guidance

RAND

Military Family Research Institute

The goal of DoD spouse employment policy is to create a military spouse employment program that affords every spouse the opportunity to develop a career or become employed.