[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
A REVIEW OF VA'S VETSUCCESS ON CAMPUS PROGRAM
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HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015
__________
Serial No. 114-40
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov
______
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado CORRINE BROWN, Florida, Ranking
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida, Vice- Minority Member
Chairman MARK TAKANO, California
DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee JULIA BROWNLEY, California
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan DINA TITUS, Nevada
TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas RAUL RUIZ, California
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio BETO O'ROURKE, Texas
JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana KATHLEEN RICE, New York
RALPH ABRAHAM, Louisiana TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota
LEE ZELDIN, New York JERRY McNERNEY, California
RYAN COSTELLO, Pennsylvania
AMATA RADEWAGEN, American Samoa
MIKE BOST, Illinois
Jon Towers, Staff Director
Don Phillips, Democratic Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
BRAD WENSTRUP, Ohio, Chairman
LEE ZELDIN, New York MARK TAKANO, California, Ranking
AMATA RADEWAGEN, American Samoa Member
RYAN COSTELLO, Pennsylvania DINA TITUS, Nevada
MIKE BOST, Illinois KATHLEEN RICE, New York
JERRY McNERNEY, California
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also
published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the
official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare
both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process
of converting between various electronic formats may introduce
unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the
current publication process and should diminish as the process is
further refined.
C O N T E N T S
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Thursday, October 22, 2015
Page
A Review of VA's VetSuccess on Campus Program.................... 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Brad Wenstrup, Chairman.......................................... 1
Mark Takano, Ranking Member...................................... 2
WITNESSES
Mr. Terence Harrison, Manager, Veterans Programs and Services,
University of Cincinnati....................................... 3
Prepared Statement........................................... 17
Dr. Lawrence A. Braue, LTC (USA, Ret.), Director, Office of
Veterans Services, University of South Florida................. 5
Prepared Statement........................................... 18
Mr. William Hubbard, Vice President of Government Affairs,
Student Veterans of America.................................... 7
Prepared Statement........................................... 20
Mr. Ryan Kaufman, Nebraska Veteran Team Leader, Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America, Lieutenant Colonel (U.S. Army,
Ret.).......................................................... 8
Prepared Statement........................................... 28
Mr. Jack Kammerer, Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment Service, VBA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs... 10
Prepared Statement........................................... 34
A REVIEW OF VA'S VETSUCCESS ON CAMPUS PROGRAM
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Thursday, October 22, 2015
House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m. in
Room 334, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Brad Wenstrup
[chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Wenstrup, Takano, and Bost.
OPENING STATEMENT OF BRAD WENSTRUP
Dr. Wenstrup. Well, good afternoon, everyone. I want to
welcome you all to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity's
hearing today entitled, ``A Review of VA's VetSuccess On Campus
Program.''
The VetSuccess On Campus Program is administered by the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment Program. VetSuccess On Campus
began as a pilot program in 2009 at the University of South
Florida, who is with us today, and has since expanded to 94
campuses across the country.
The program is in place to provide veterans, service
members and their dependents with assistance and counseling as
they are utilizing their GI Bill or attending school through
Voc Rehab. VSOC is an additional resource for veterans and
service members as they transition from active duty to student
life, and further assists them as they work towards meaningful
employment following their military careers.
Each school with a VSOC program has a Voc Rehab counselor
in place to assist the students attending that school. While I
do believe it is important that our student veterans have
qualified individuals assisting them throughout their college
careers, I have said before that I do have some concerns with
these master's-level counselors being at each VSOC location.
As we discussed earlier this year at our Oversight hearing
on Voc Rehab, VR&E counselors are still experiencing high
caseloads, yet more counselors aren't being requested by this
administration to alleviate these weighing numbers.
A master's-level counselor may not be necessary at every
VSOC location, but could be utilized elsewhere to bring down
some of the caseloads. This doesn't mean that VA shouldn't have
a representative at these schools, I am just not sure if the
current counselors are the best options. I hope that our
witnesses here today are able to touch on these concerns and
how we can potentially utilize the VSOC counselors to also
assist in VR&E caseloads nationally.
I do look forward to discussing the VSOC program's success
and outcome measurements at its current university locations.
Just as is the case with Voc Rehab, it is hard to fully grasp
and track the outcomes of veterans who utilize the VetSuccess
On Campus program. However, since the program was started by VA
as a pilot program and is not something that is in statute, I
think it is important for the program's future that we take a
thorough look at outcomes and how our student veterans are
benefitting from the program that is provided while they are
attending school. Having these discussions is important if we
decide to make VSOC permanent for future generations of
veterans.
I am pleased today that in addition to our other witnesses,
we have two schools, that have VSOC programs on their campuses.
With us is the University of South Florida, which as I
mentioned is where VSOC was first piloted in 2009, and we have
the University of Cincinnati, who also have a thriving program
for their student veterans. It is important that we hear their
perspectives of this program and the impact the presence of
this program has on their campuses, as well as their
interactions with VA. I believe this is also an opportunity to
understand their best practices, and how they share those
practices with other schools and student veterans nationwide.
Although I do have concerns, as I have already mentioned,
with the utilization at all 94 locations of master's-level Voc
Rehab counselors, I do believe that this program can be an
immense resource for our veterans and their families as they
transition from military life to, not only civilian life, but
to the life of a college student. It is not always an easy path
to maneuver and I believe that this hearing is an important
opportunity for the subcommittee and our witnesses to focus on
enriching and expanding this resource even more.
With that, I recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Takano, for
his remarks.
OPENING STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER MARK TAKANO
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I appreciate the
opportunity for the subcommittee to take a close look at the
VetSuccess On Campus program today.
As you know, the VSOC program provides an on-campus
resource for veterans, service members, and qualified
dependents to receive support for any issue or concern that
might interfere with a student's goal of persisting through to
graduation. Obstacles could include VA benefit issues,
questions about where to go for mental health counseling,
concerns about financial or legal issues, or job market
information.
We know from many studies that successful transition from
active duty to civilian life requires significant planning and
support from the military and the VA. Transitioning from active
duty to campus life can be even more daunting, especially for
first-generation college students. Add the burdens of injury or
PTS, and it is not hard to imagine why graduation levels are
not as high as we would like them to be for veterans using
their GI Bill benefits.
Now, this is where the VSOC counselor comes in, however.
They are easily accessible on campus, so problems are resolved
as quickly and as easily as possible. I am hoping VA will
provide us with concrete data on VSOC outcomes today. I want to
hear evidence that the program provides clear, quantifiable
benefits to student veterans, data that will increase the
likelihood that we can expand this successful program.
I also know that the VSOs support this program and were
instrumental in creating it. If they have recommendations for
how the VSOC program can be improved now that has existed for
almost six years, I want to hear what they have to say.
I thank the witnesses for being here today, and I look
forward to the opportunity to hear your views and ask
questions.
Thank you, Chairman Wenstrup, and I yield back.
Dr. Wenstrup. Well, I thank the ranking member.
And I now invite our first and only panel to the table. I
do want to thank our witnesses for understanding that we had to
combine panels today due to scheduling issues, but I appreciate
you being here and I view your testimony as very important.
I want to welcome back my friend Mr. Terence Harrison, who
is the Manager for Veterans Programs and Services at the
University of Cincinnati. I also want to welcome Dr. Lawrence
A. Braue, who is the Director for the Office of Veterans
Services at the University of Florida; Mr. Will Hubbard, Vice
President of Government Affairs for Student Veterans of
America; Mr. Ryan Kaufman, who is the Nebraska Veteran Team
Leader for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and
Mr. Jack Kammerer, the Director of the Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment Services at VA.
All of your complete written statements will be made part
of the hearing record and each of you will be recognized for
five minutes for your oral statement.
So let's begin with you, Mr. Harrison. You are now
recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF TERENCE HARRISON
Mr. Harrison. Thank you. I would like to thank you,
Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano, and members of the
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for inviting me to
participate in today's hearing on the Department of Veterans
Affairs' VetSuccess On Campus program.
Once again, my name is Terence Harrison, I am the Manager
of Veterans Programs and Services at the University of
Cincinnati.
The University of Cincinnati, or UC, is a public research
university enrolling more than 44,000 undergraduate and
graduate students in 2014. Our campus is made up of students
from all 50 states and over a hundred countries from around the
world.
Recognized as a military-friendly school, UC is both a
leader and champion in military and veteran-related issues.
Currently, UC enrolls about 2,392 military-affiliated students,
including active duty military, members of the National Guard
or Reserves, and veterans and family members. Of this, 1,016
students are using GI Bill benefits. With the anticipated draw-
down of active-duty personnel, the University of Cincinnati has
positioned itself to accommodate these students. The UC adheres
closely to the VA's principles of excellence in providing a
high-quality educational experience tailored to the unique
needs of our veteran students.
The University of Cincinnati continues to hold a positive
view of the VetSuccess On Campus or VSOC program. UC is home to
one of three VSOC programs in the State of Ohio, with the other
two being Ohio State and Cleveland State Universities. The VSOC
program aims to assist veterans and service members, as well as
their dependents, as they transition from active duty to post-
secondary education.
Through the VSOC program, a VA Vocational Rehab counselor
is assigned to UC to support veterans and assist with any
problems that may arise that may interfere with the education
of a student veteran. At UC, student veterans regularly reach
out to VSOC for assistance on a range of matters, including
expediting and resolving issues of VA educational benefits,
looking up pending VA payments and when they can expect to
receive them, explaining VA payments clearly, assisting in
applying for education, healthcare and other VA benefits,
questions about their remaining benefits, and understanding and
resolving VA debt.
VSOC is a valuable resource for our student veterans and
assures that they will receive expedient service from the VA
while they attend UC. Our VSOC counselor has been with the VA
for over nine years and has been helpful in establishing a
successful VSOC program at UC.
The UC's partnership with VSOC began in September of 2013.
At UC, VSOC is housed within the same room or building as the
Veterans Programs Services Office to meet the needs of student
veterans and to provide a cross-functional team approach to
resolving challenges that our veterans face. Housing the VSOC
office and our VSOC counselor on campus allows UC to coordinate
with the VA.
VSOC conducts additional outreach activities, including
employment workshops focusing on translating military schools
into a civilian resume, recognizing post-traumatic stress
disorder and traumatic brain injury symptoms, new student
orientation, town hall meetings, job fair, and health fairs in
collaboration with VA Medical Centers.
In addition, the VSOC University is--of Cincinnati is also
a Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership or a VITAL
location. VSOC and VITAL together have developed a streamlined
approach to assisting veterans with VA Medical Center needs.
This approach provides UC's veterans with expedited VA Medical
Center service coordination at the Cincinnati VA Medical
Center.
In order to best meet the needs and improve the services
for our student veterans, we believe that it is important to
expand the VSOC to additional schools. For smaller schools that
do not have a VSOC, we suggest that VSOC work with a number of
schools in a geographical area. For example, in Southwest Ohio,
one counselor could oversee Xavier University, Cincinnati State
Technical and Community College, and Mount St. Joseph
University. The caseload of these counselors could be
comparable to the caseload at larger schools and give the
student veterans at these institutions the support that they
need.
As for improved coordination between universities and the
VA, we have found that housing our VSOC counselor on campus has
allowed UC and the VA to easily collaborate, which is
beneficial to our student veterans.
In closing, I'd like to thank you again for allowing me to
discuss the VSOC program and to share the great work that the
University of Cincinnati is doing to accommodate our student
veterans. I look forward to working with you as you expand
services for student veterans and again offer the University of
Cincinnati as an example to inform policy and to guide schools
in shaping their programs.
And I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.
[The prepared statement of Terence Harrison appears in the
Appendix]
Dr. Wenstrup. Thank you, Mr. Harrison.
Colonel Braue, you're now recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF LAWRENCE A. BRAUE, LTC (USA, RET.)
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Thank you, Chairman Wenstrup,
Ranking Member Takano. On behalf of the University of South
Florida, thank you for holding today's hearing and allowing us
to share our experience with the VetSuccess On Campus program
and its impact that it makes on our campus every day.
By way of background, the University of South Florida is a
high-impact global research university dedicated to student
success. It is the eighth-largest university in the U.S. and
serves over 48,000 students. In addition, over 2,000 veterans
and their families are enrolled as students at USF. USF was
ranked by Military Times ``Best for Vets'' Magazine as the
fifth-best college for veterans. Under the leadership of
President Judy Genshaft, the University of South Florida has
become a national leader in serving student veterans.
In 2009, the University of South Florida became the first
institution of higher learning to participate in the Department
of Veterans Affairs' VetSuccess On Campus program. Ms. Janine
Frederick is our current VSOC counselor and has served in this
role since June of 2010.
Ms. Frederick quickly became an integral part of the Office
of Veterans Services' team and an effective liaison between USF
and the VA. Ms. Frederick is an amazing counselor and has made
the program a complete success on our campus.
Having the VSOC counselor available to veterans on a daily
basis has vastly improved the university's ability to meet the
needs of our students. In addition, it has greatly increased
the confidence that our student veterans have in the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
Through the VetSuccess On Campus, our counselor has
developed an extremely effective outreach program that
dramatically increased the awareness of VA programs and
benefits available to student veterans. This calendar year, Ms.
Frederick has helped over 300 veterans individually and reached
over 750 students through various campus outreach events. She
is frequently called upon to advocate for veterans with faculty
members who do not understand the challenges our disabled
veterans face in the classroom.
In the fall of 2013, Ms. Frederick initiated a highly
successful vet-to-vet tutoring program where academically
successful VA work study veterans would provide one-to-one
tutoring for other student veterans. Since this program started
in the fall of 2013, over 165 students have received
individualized tutoring services at no cost to the veteran.
The VetSuccess On Campus program has not been without
challenges for the University of South Florida. It's important
that I clarify that I can only speak for the University of
South Florida and what we have experienced.
The VetSuccess On Campus program is influenced by two
separate offices with the Vocational Rehabilitation Education
arm of the VA. Oftentimes those two offices provide our VSOC
counselor with competing or conflicting guidance. Because the
regional office has a very limited understanding of VSOC and is
not involved in the day-to-day operation of the program, it
makes it very difficult for them to provide effective
supervision for the VSOC counselor.
Over time, the VetSuccess On Campus program's purpose and
goals have changed without some collaborative effort with the
university. For example, recently the VR&E office assigned a
Chapter 31 caseload of 50 to our VSOC counselor. This is
approximately one third of a Chapter 31 caseload for a full-
time VR&E counselor. This is a significant change which alters
the way the VSOC functions on our campus. This change is also
inconsistent with the memorandum of understanding between USF
and the VA, which creates hardship for the VSOC counselor and
the school. This effectively reduces her ability to have a
positive impact on the academic and lifelong success of the
total veteran population on campus.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of our partnership,
the university should be a part of the program development and
decision-making process. I believe with a few structural and
leadership modifications this program could greatly enhance
retention and graduation rates for students using the post-9/11
GI Bill.
My recommendations would be to simplify the reporting
structure for the VetSuccess On Campus program by creating one
office that would oversee the program and the VSOC counselors,
and ensure that the VSOC counselors do not receive direction
and guidance from multiple sources, establish and maintain
consistent, meaningful dialogue between the VA and the
university, ensuring that the university has a voice in the
program development and decision-making process.
I also believe it is critical that the VA include colleges
and universities in the plan to develop success metrics for
graduation and retention of veterans using the GI Bill.
Again, I want to thank the committee for allowing the
University of South Florida to share our experiences with the
VetSuccess On Campus program. It is an honor and a privilege to
have this amazing program on our campus. I hope that we can
build upon the successes of the program and make the
adjustments necessary to make the program even stronger for our
future student veterans.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Lawrence A. Braue appears in the
Appendix]
Dr. Wenstrup. Why, thank you, Dr. Braue.
Mr. Hubbard, welcome back. You are now recognized for five
minutes.
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM HUBBARD
Mr. Hubbard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano, and members of
the subcommittee, thank you for inviting Student Veterans of
America to submit our testimony on the Department of Veterans
Affairs' VetSuccess On Campus program. With over 1200 chapters
across the country, we are pleased to share the perspective of
those most directly impacted by the subject with this
committee.
Established in 2008, SVA has grown to become a force and
voice for the interests of veterans in higher education. With
this opportunity to address the VSOC program, we will discuss
the program's success, areas for improvement, and the related
issue of post-9/11 GI Bill processing challenges that we saw
this fall.
For student veterans at 94 campuses across the country,
they have the benefit of a VetSuccess On Campus program. The
VSOC program entails the campus having a VSOC counselor or
full-time VA detailee right on campus. We are highly supportive
of this program's intent, which we believe to be quite
complementary with our own mission.
When serving over 30 student veterans from 12 schools that
participate in the VSOC program, the response was
overwhelmingly positive. More than 85 percent of stakeholders,
including SVA chapter presidents, chapter members and chapter
advisers rate VSOC as a seven out of ten or higher on a one-to-
ten scale. Additionally, three out of five respondents say they
rate their program as a nine or a ten.
One student veteran shared, ``We have a VSOC counselor from
the VA come to the school twice a month so vets can start a new
claim or ask questions concerning a claim. This helps
immensely, as the VA hospital is a 35-minute drive from school
and keeps our vets on campus. Vets can ask our counselor any
type of question concerning their benefits. They also have a
Voc Rehab counselor for a few of the vets on campus. We are
incredibly lucky to have this program on campus.''
In addition to the general support provided by the VSOC
counselors, student veterans noted the ability of counselors to
quickly correct both process certification and as a major
benefit on their campus. They often appreciate the connection
counselors make with the school administration as well.
We believe the VSOC program is highly beneficial to student
veterans and would like to see it expanded, as resources allow.
While the feedback we received was almost uniformly
positive, in fact, when asked what they would change many
student veterans replied, ``Nothing,'' we have identified
several opportunities for improvement of the program.
The three most common improvements included awareness of
the program, expanding to more campuses, and increasing
additional personnel support for the program. We believe it
would also be worth considering the criteria of a VSOC campus,
as a school with 800 or more veterans is likely to have
reasonable resources at this time. Schools with fewer than 800
veterans or greater may have a higher return on investment. To
keep costs down, as my colleague pointed out earlier, grouping
demographically close IHLs would be something worth thinking
about.
Turning to GI Bill processing issues, this fall semester
highlighted several challenges that directly impacted student
veterans. In early September, significant delays in the
processing of GI Bill benefits became an obvious concern.
Ultimately, the core challenges of VA's reliance on overtime
hours for full-time employees during the peak periods of fall
and spring enrollment continue to be an issue.
Under a unique solution with the National Student
Clearinghouse, VA and taxpayers incur no additional costs since
the schools selected send the data through NSC, paying for the
cost of the service, while VA benefits from the streamlined
data submissions and research capabilities in conjunction with
ed. data are resulting, this all with the added benefit of
real-time measurement of completions and program efficacy, and
we're happy to discuss that concept in further detail.
We thank the committee for this opportunity to testify on
these important issues and look forward to questions as they
come up.
[The prepared statement of William Hubbard appears in the
Appendix]
Dr. Wenstrup. Why, thank you, Mr. Hubbard.
Mr. Kaufman, you are now recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF RYAN KAUFMAN
Mr. Kaufman. Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano and
distinguished members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and our more than
425,000 members and supporters, we would like to extend our
gratitude for the opportunity to share our views on VA's
VetSuccess On Campus program.
I served in the United States Army from 2000 to 2003. I was
deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team in October of 2001 to
Kuwait and Afghanistan as a signal support system specialist.
Upon my return, the proper procedures and resources were not in
place to catch the post-traumatic stress that I was dealing
with. At 19 years old, I came home and I was afraid of the
dark. I couldn't sleep and I had a hard time eating. If a task
was not mission-critical, I could not find the motivation
within myself to complete the task.
Two months after I returned home, I caused an accident,
almost killing myself and a friend. I was charged with driving
under the influence. Everyone, including myself, just thought I
had a problem with alcohol, but then I tested positive for
marijuana. I had left the Army no choice, I was discharged with
a general under honorable conditions.
Six months after my discharge, I was homeless. A year
prior, I was part of the world's greatest machine, the United
States Army, but by December of 2003 I found myself walking
into a homeless shelter, unable to feed or house myself. I
couldn't comprehend how this had happened. Shortly thereafter,
I was granted a couch in a friend's basement. I wish I had
straightened my life out then, but this would not be my last
experience with homelessness.
In September of 2004, I enrolled in college for the first
time. My discharge had left me without the GI Bill, so I took
out Stafford Loans like the rest of the civilian population. I
would repeat the homeless cycle and enroll in college two more
times, only to fail out each time in the first semester.
By 2011, I found permanent sobriety and, after four years
of documented VA therapy and appeal after appeal, I was granted
a service-connected disability in October of 2012. With school
constantly on my mind, I immediately applied for the Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment program. I was interviewed,
approved, and enrolled in another college. Jennifer Singer was
the VA social worker who interviewed me for the vocational
rehabilitation program and then was assigned to my case. The
interview was tough, she asked some very personal questions.
Ms. Singer advised me that she was investing in me, she was
going to spend around $100,000 on my education with her time
and my education cost, as well as my supply cost.
Ms. Singer understood my background. I came from a single-
parent household, my parents did not attend college, my father
barely graduated high school, and my mother, my primary
caregiver, never made over $30,000 a year in her lifetime. In a
place without mass transit, we did not own a vehicle until I
was 15 years old. But because of the VetSuccess program, my
children, both under the age of two, will understand the
importance of an education, not because I said so, but because
I did so.
I am currently an organizational communication major at
Doane College in Grand Island, Nebraska. In the community
college I attended, I was part of the honors society. We all
know the statistics of children whose parents did not attend or
graduate college, the challenges they face multiply immensely.
But because of VetSuccess, not only will the barriers to my
success be broken down, but also my children's, and they
haven't even enrolled in a learning system yet.
Ms. Singer was also concerned about my mental health, my
sobriety and my living situation. Her job was not merely to
just make sure I attended and passed classes, she would hold me
accountable, and I would give her my full effort during my
Vocational Rehabilitation assignment.
Since late January of 2013, I have accumulated over 60
credit hours, transferred from a community college to a four-
year school, and have kept a 3.75 cumulative GPA. After my
bachelor's degree program, I will move on to a master's degree
program. The master's degree will be in management, with an
emphasis on leadership. Few chronically homeless individuals in
this country get master's degrees and even fewer get
doctorates, but that's where I am headed. Without the
VetSuccess program, this would not be possible.
My counselor, Jennifer Singer, is a guardian angel. Ms.
Singer and I check in with one another each month. I am
accountable to my VA mental health and physical health
appointments. I report to her on my sobriety, my coping skills,
both positive and negative, my current employment situation,
and my family situation. Ms. Singer holds me responsible as a
student, as an employee, as a father, as a sober member of
society, and as a husband. She keeps the goals that I set on
the forefront of my mind. Is it hard work? Hell yes, it's hard
work. But someone is investing in me, so I owe them the effort
and the results. She reminds me that I'm an example to other
veterans in my community and, believe me, other veterans are
watching. I can provide them something that no one else in the
community can, proof. Proof that the VA works, proof that
accountability works, and proof that we can turn our lives
around if we're willing to work with someone for it.
I cannot say it enough, without Jennifer Singer and
VetSuccess, my family and I would not be where we are today.
I want to thank you for your time and your attention, and
I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Ryan Kaufman appears in the
Appendix]
Dr. Wenstrup. Thank you very much, Mr. Kaufman.
Welcome back, Mr. Kammerer. You are now recognized for five
minutes.
STATEMENT OF JACK KAMMERER
Mr. Kammerer. Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano,
thank you for inviting me to appear before you today to discuss
the Department of Veterans Affairs' VetSuccess VSOC program,
which is administered through the Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment, VR&E service.
Since the inception of the post-9/11 GI Bill in 2009
through August of 2015, VA has issued nearly 55 billion to send
1.45 million veterans and their qualified dependents to
institutions of higher education. The VA's VSOC program helps
veteran students and their qualified dependents succeed through
a coordinated delivery of on-campus benefits assistance and
counseling by professionally experienced and trained VR&E
counselors.
The VSOC program is a collaborative effort between the host
institution and the VA, with the purpose of providing a
supportive on-campus environment whereby veterans may obtain
benefits assistance and peer support. Our 79 VSOC counselors at
94 college and university partners are able to provide this on-
campus access to VA services for approximately 78,000 veterans.
VA's VSOC program began as a pilot in 2009, in which one
VR&E counselor was assigned at the University of South Florida
campus. To date, the program has expanded to include a total of
79 VSOC counselors providing on-campus services at 94
institutions across the United States. Acting as the primary
on-campus representative of VA, the VSOC counselor provides
outreach and support to all veterans on campus.
To better assist veterans in transitioning from the
military to the college environment, VSOC counselors offer a
broad range of counseling services, including educational,
vocational and career, and adjustment counseling. They provide
vocational testing and career, academic and adjustment
counseling to resolve any potential problems that may interfere
with or disrupt a veteran's success while attending college.
VSOC counselors also use all appropriate and necessary
resources to ensure that veterans' needs are met in regards to
issues or problems that may hamper the successful completion of
their educational programs. Our counselors also assist veterans
with referrals for more intensive health services, including
mental, physical or other health treatment through our Veterans
Health Administration Medical Centers, community-based out-
patient clinics or the Vet Centers. VSOC counselors establish
and maintain an effective network of other appropriate service
providers and stakeholders who are available to assist veterans
in need.
The desired outcome is to provide veterans with enhanced
opportunities to achieve success in their academic endeavors,
and to prepare for entering the labor market in viable and
enduring careers. With our team of 79 VSOC counselors at the 94
schools, VR&E continues to provide education and vocational
counseling and other on-site services to the available
population at those schools of approximately 78,000 veterans on
campus.
The majority of the veterans receiving services visit a
VSOC counselor in person, with the others communicating with
their counselor by telephone or by mail.
In an effort to expand available on-campus services, VSOC
counselors are coordinating with host institutions to establish
or enhance peer-to-peer veteran mentoring programs to address
military-to-college transition issues. At the beginning of each
fall and spring term, VSOC counselors conduct orientation
sessions to assist newly enrolled veterans in acclimating to
the college campus environment.
This fall, VA worked in conjunction with partner
institutions to host back-to-school informational events at ten
VSOC sites. These events introduced newly enrolled students and
educators to the veteran student community, familiarized
veterans with their VSOC counselors and services, and
ultimately will work to cultivate the most supportive community
for veterans at their institution.
VA is committed to the VSOC program, and recognizes the
demand and the need for this program as veterans take advantage
of their well-earned GI Bill benefits. VA continues to receive
inquiries from institutions that are interested in assigning a
VSOC counselor. We evaluate interested institutions for
potential future participation in the VSOC program and we will
continue to inform the committee of the evolution of the
program in the future.
We continue to assess and improve the VSOC program for our
most deserving population, those who have decided to commit to
furthering their educational and vocational goals. As noted, we
are working to substantially improve and enhance the VSOC
program to include evaluating additional institutions for
possible future participation.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The statement of Jack Kammerer appears in the Appendix]
Dr. Wenstrup. Well, I want to thank the panel, all of you,
for your testimony and your written statements. And I now yield
myself five minutes for questions.
Mr. Kaufman, I specifically want to thank you for your
service and for having the courage to share your incredible
story. It's uplifting and gives us all a lot of hope.
It's clear from your testimony that the Voc Rehab program
has really given you opportunities you need to be successful.
So what do you believe could be done to improve the program and
make sure that we have the opportunity to help hundreds, if not
thousands of veterans be successful and have stories like
yours, hopefully not the first part, but the later part.
Mr. Kaufman. Yes, sir. Thank you for the compliments, Mr.
Chairman.
In regards to policy, I would have to defer any policy
decisions to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's DC
policy team, but in my experience, the relationship matters. So
the relationship that I have with my VR&E counselor matters.
And I live in rural America, and geographical lines get redrawn
on a regular basis and caseloads get switched. And as a
gentleman who struggles with trust, putting me on a new
caseload, just like with my VHA doctors, throws me for a loop.
And now I'm having to remember which person to get a hold of,
what's their phone number. Right when I memorize somebody's
phone number, it may change to a new individual. But opening in
particular the VSOC counselors to many more campuses,
especially as Mr. Hubbard said from the SVA, to campuses that
don't have a lot of resources, would be very beneficial,
especially in my area. Because we are making an investment in
the veteran, we are not making an investment in a particular
institution, and our job is to make sure that the veteran is
successful.
Does that answer your question, Mr. Chairman.
Dr. Wenstrup. It does, it is very helpful, because I think
one of the things that you touched on is important. You know,
as a physician, I always find it important that, yeah, once in
a while I may be able to pinch hit for somebody in my practice,
but that is a relationship between you and the patient that
really needs to be sustained. Somebody can cover for you once
in a while, but to really be successful you need that time and
time again and you need that bond.
So that input is very helpful to us and that may be
something that we need to make sure that we monitor and that we
are providing some consistency for some people, because you are
at a point in your life where a lot of things are very
inconsistent. And let's face it, when you are in uniform,
things are pretty consistent. So that is a big shift when you
go from that--you know, I have said during my deployment, I
hated being away from home, but it was a simple life except for
the fact that people were shooting at me, you know. And from
that standpoint, I wore the same clothes every day. So that is
a transition and you need that type of consistency in your
life.
And to that, Mr. Harrison, if I can go to you and maybe you
can expound on some of that consistency, and the doctor as
well, in your programs, I would appreciate hearing that
component, because that is something that I think we really
need to focus on. And also maybe touch on the sharing of a
counselor between the facilities and universities.
Mr. Harrison. Thank you, sir.
Once thing that we see at the University of Cincinnati, we
do have a number of colleges within a certain proximity of
ours, there's about nine total, and we do have veterans from
other schools calling our VSOC counselor for assistance, and
her caseload is so she can't help them. That is why in my
earlier statements I did mention that maybe if there was
another counselor in the region who could cover those schools,
the smaller schools. The total number of veterans that they
have wouldn't equal the amount we have at the University of
Cincinnati; however, that veteran would get their needs met.
When I was at another institution, I would hear the horror
stories from veterans trying to get in touch with the Voc Rehab
counselor, nobody was picking up the phone. And the office
wasn't that far away where the Veterans manager would have to
get in his car, go to the office, like, hey, you have veterans
who have questions, they're making phone calls, but you have to
get with them.
So that is why we believe that the program should expand.
It is a benefit, that is a selling point we do have at the
University of Cincinnati, and we try to use that to entice
veterans to come to our school.
Dr. Wenstrup. Well, I appreciate that. And, Doctor, if you
could weigh in. The Ranking Member has obliged me a little more
time here and I will grant him the same.
Mr. Takano. Today is a little more freewheeling.
Dr. Wenstrup. I think we----
Mr. Takano. We have a chance to lead. Yes, go ahead.
Dr. Wenstrup. To really dive in. And I also am curious at
what you may feel, of course it depends on the number of
veterans at each institution that we are talking about, but it
would be nice if we could figure out a good ratio of counselors
per veteran or institutions.
Doctor.
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Thank you, Chairman.
We have approximately 1100, 1200 veterans on campus. We
have a hundred military students, active duty, and probably 150
to 200 veterans who are no longer using GI Bill, they have run
out of benefits. Our VetSuccess On Campus counselor pretty much
handles just University of South Florida students. I mentioned
in my testimony about the caseload, the VR&E caseload that she
has now, that caseload of 50 now really inhibits her ability to
reach a lot of the other students on campus. In effect, now she
spends one third of her time with only less than five percent
of the students on campus, because it is a little bit more
intensive with, you know, managing a caseload. So that has been
a problem in--but as far as the consistency, that is something
we have been able to keep over the course of time she has been
there.
She has been there for five years, same person, everybody
on campus knows her. She has had an impact in the life of many,
many veterans, in particular one that was on the verge of going
to commit suicide when she had a meeting with Janine. Janine
was able to stop her, walk her over to the VA, get her checked
in, and today she is still in school.
So this program is an extremely valuable program and I
really think that with some minor tweaks that it could be even
better than it is today.
Dr. Wenstrup. I appreciate that.
I now recognize Mr. Takano.
Mr. Takano. Mr. Braue, am I saying your name correctly?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Yes.
Mr. Takano. Are you a public university or a private
university?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. We are a public university.
Mr. Takano. And what is your total student enrollment?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Total student enrollment is
48,000, a little over 48,000.
Mr. Takano. So 48,000. How many counselors do you have
available, I mean, generally the number of counselors available
to the general student population?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. We have one VSOC counselor on
campus.
Mr. Takano. One VSOC, but let's just talk about counseling
in general, not counseling that is available to veterans. I
want the committee to understand the plight of community
colleges and public universities in terms of the availability
of counselors generally, and the general challenge of retention
to students who come to public universities.
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Well, we have a VA counselor,
just the one. We have other counseling services on the campus
that are open to all students. They are not heavily utilized by
our student veterans because they just are not experienced with
the issues that student veterans face and our veterans won't go
to them.
Mr. Takano. I understand that, but what I am trying to get
at is this: I come from the California community colleges and
we have a tremendous shortage of counselors generally. So one
of the strategies has been to require every student to take a
counseling class, they get a one unit credit for that class, so
that the issues that a counselor would deal with can be dealt
with, quote-unquote, ``more efficiently.'' Community colleges
have a general issue with retention. And so what I am trying to
get at is a general counselor shortage. I come from a public
school setting where in a 4,000 person a freshman class, you
might have two counselors. So basically you have a 500-to-1
counseling burden. So I am just trying to say, I don't believe
that the counseling function in higher education, public higher
education, is much better, probably even more difficult in
terms of the amount of time that a counselor is able to spend
with a regular student.
Now, I am just trying to go through this background in
order to shine a little clearer light on what the challenges
are when we deal with a veteran who has a much more complex set
of issues. So we already have a challenge in terms of retention
in the general student population, now we are talking about how
we address veterans who carry a lot of other issues with them.
What is the VSOC counselor caseload? About 50, you say?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Yes, sir.
Mr. Takano. So is that generally the case, Mr. Kammerer,
that the VSOC counselors also have a VR&E kind of function?
Mr. Kammerer. That's a good question, sir. Thank you for
asking. Of the 79 counselors, I look at a regular spreadsheet
of their caseload. We currently don't have a policy that says
VSOC counselors cannot do a regular caseload. As Dr. Braue
pointed out, we run the gamut from zero up to what I might call
a full caseload. When I testified to the committee in July, I
said our average caseload was about 139 per counselor. So for
FY 2015, I think that was accurate. So Dr. Braue's math was
about right in my head when he said if his counselor, his VSOC
counselor had 50 cases, that was about one third of the average
caseload.
We are looking at a policy to limit the caseload of
traditional cases, Mr. Takano. The challenge we have is many of
the veterans on campus are Chapter 31 clients, or some of them,
and we need to serve those veterans on campus with Chapter 31
services with a traditional range of support that our
counselors provide.
I use the example in Los Angeles of the VSOC counselor, as
you know, that serves three--we have a cluster of three
institutions in Los Angeles. The challenge, as you know, in Los
Angeles is the regional office is on the other side of town
from those institutions. So if we didn't serve those veterans
on campus with the VSOC counselor where they are Chapter 31, we
would either have to have counselors come from across town from
the RO to the campuses or we would have to ask the veteran to
come to the RO, which is not a good idea in Los Angeles
traffic. So in many cases, I spoke to a counselor this week who
was visiting for other purposes, who is a VSOC counselor, and
she carried a caseload of 62 cases and she was comfortable with
that in her current situation.
So it is a balancing equation, Mr. Takano, in terms of
serving the veterans.
Mr. Takano. Let me get to Mr. Kaufman.
Mr. Kaufman, I also want to express how moved I was by your
testimony and thank you for your courage, thank you for your
service to our country, thank you for continuing to serve our
country by being so open about your life and your struggles,
and for being a success. That is going to be such--you already
are a hero, you will be a bigger hero to show--no, seriously. I
mean, I have veterans in my community dealing with a number of
issues and to see somebody get through that is going to be an
enormous inspiration to them.
Now, tell me about, you talked about your relationship with
the VR&E, because you are getting your education through your
VR&E benefits, not through post-9/11, which we know VR&E is a
much more generous program, if you can qualify for it. You
initially went through taking out loans, you didn't really know
about your educational benefits. Was it the VSOC counselor that
kind of got you straightened out, is that what happened?
Mr. Kaufman. So first of all, Mr. Takano, thank you for
again the compliments. It was actually, it would have been a
Mr. Harrison or a Dr. Braue that pulled me to the side and
advised me of VR&E, and then a year later we got a VITAL
counselor. What the VITAL counselor can provide is VA benefit
access sooner, almost immediate, rather than me attempting to
contact my VR&E counselor, especially in September and in
January when she may have 150 veterans trying to reach her.
This VITAL counselor, if I am having benefit issues, back
payment issues or overpayment issues, he has the ability to
contact the VBA on my behalf and then relay any news from the
VBA.
Mr. Takano. Well, your story and your challenges are giving
me a window into understanding what happens and how veterans
become homeless and how they go through initial missteps.
I am concerned about the caseload of VR&E of 50 people to
that one VSOC person. I mean, you have a huge student veteran
population and I can imagine the counselor just totally being
challenged because, it is a lot of work. You hear Mr. Kaufman's
story and you see how much time and energy it takes for that
trusted person to do their job, that is just--50 people, I am
not saying that all of them, you know, will be as intense as
Mr. Kaufman, but I can imagine that a lot of them are. So I
can't imagine that we don't have a presence on campuses, that
is my thing, that we don't, you know--go ahead, Mr. Braue, will
you respond?
Lieutenant Colonel Braue. Thank you, sir. I completely
agree, having this VetSuccess On Campus counselor is essential,
it is absolutely essential. The caseload, the Chapter 31
caseload that she has does take away from her ability to meet
the needs of other people who might need her services and a
Chapter 31 case, it can be intensive. Having her on campus, it
makes her more accessible than most VR&E counselors who only
come to campus once in a while. So her being on campus, her
caseload, the members, the people that she is managing can walk
in two or three times a week to see her, which then exacerbates
the problem of her not being able to reach other people. So she
is really spending more time on the Chapter 31s than she would
if she were not a VR&E--if she was a VR&E somewhere else. So
that becomes an issue too.
But having her on campus, even with a smaller caseload, I
think we could agree that, you know, there is a limit that she
could have. However, 50 does seem to be a little excessive from
what we have been able to observe over the past several months.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, thank you.
Dr. Wenstrup. First of all, let me thank all of you today.
I think in a short time we really learned a lot and we got a
lot of good information.
Mr. Hubbard, I appreciate your input too with the changes
that you recommend.
And I hope, Mr. Kammerer, that you got as much out of this
today as I think we did, and that benefits all of us.
So I look forward to continuing to work with everyone here
today to ensure that we reach our goals and take care of our
veterans, who deserve no less than our great attention.
So, finally, I ask unanimous consent that all members have
five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include any extraneous material in the record of today's
hearing.
[No response.]
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
And if there's nothing further, this hearing is adjourned.
Thank you
[Whereupon, at 2:48 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
APPENDIX
Prepared Statement Terence Harrison
Good afternoon. I'd like to thank Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member
Takano, and Members of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity for
inviting me to participate in today's hearing on the Department of
Veterans Affairs' VetSuccess on Campus Program.
My name is Terence Harrison and I am the Manager for Veterans
Programs and Services at the University of Cincinnati. The University
of Cincinnati, or ``UC,'' is a public research university, enrolling
more than 44,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 2014. Our
campus is made up of students from all 50 states and from 100 countries
around the world. Recognized as a Military Friendly School, UC is both
a leader and champion in military and veteran related issues.
Currently, UC enrolls about 2,392 military-affiliated students,
including active duty military, members of the National Guard and the
Reserves, veterans, and family members. Of this total, 1,016 students
are using GI Bill benefits. With the anticipated draw-down of active
duty personnel, the University of Cincinnati is energetically
positioning itself to accommodate these students. UC adheres closely to
the VA's principles of excellence in providing a high-quality
educational experience tailored to the unique needs of veteran
students.
The University of Cincinnati continues to hold a positive view of
the VetSuccess on Campus, or ``VSOC'' Program. UC is home to one of the
three VSOC programs in the state of Ohio--with others located at The
Ohio State University and Cleveland State University. The VSOC program
aims to assist veterans and servicemembers, as well as their
dependents, as they transition from active duty to postsecondary
education. Through the VSOC program, a VA Vocational Rehabilitation
Counselor is assigned to UC to support student veterans and assist with
any problems that arise that may interfere with the education of a
student veteran.
At UC, student veterans regularly reach out to VSOC for assistance
on a range of matters, including: expediting and resolving issues with
VA education benefits; looking up pending VA payments and when they can
expect to receive them; explaining VA payments clearly; assisting in
applying for education, healthcare, and other VA benefits; questions
about their remaining benefits; and understanding and resolving VA
debt.
VSOC is a valuable resource for our student veterans, and ensures
that they receive expedient service from the VA while they attend UC.
Our VSOC counselor has been with the VA for over nine years and has
been helpful in establishing a successful VSOC program at UC.
The University of Cincinnati's partnership with the VSOC Program
began in September 2013. At UC, the VSOC office is housed within the
same building as the Veterans Programs and Services Office to
conveniently meet the needs of student veterans and to provide a cross-
functional team approach to resolving challenges that our veterans
face. Housing the VSOC office and our VSOC Counselor on campus also
allows UC to coordinate with the VA.
UC annually enrolls an average of 1,200 student veterans, active
duty military, and beneficiaries using VA education benefits.
Throughout the year, VSOC contacts all of these students several times
to offer VA support. VSOC allocates time each semester to meet with
student veterans at the University, including at both of UC's regional
campuses. In addition to these meetings, VSOC also participates in
numerous outreach events throughout the academic year, including
Student Resource Fairs and awareness training sessions for advisors,
faculty, and staff.
VSOC conducts additional outreach activities, including employment
workshops focusing on translating military skills into a civilian
resume, recognizing post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain
injury symptoms, new student orientation, town hall meetings, job
fairs, and health fairs in collaboration with VA Medical Centers.
VSOC also works with other groups on campus and within the
community to collaboratively support the needs of UC's student
veterans, including the Ohio beta chapter of Omega Delta Sigma, a co-
ed, veteran-only fraternity; the Tristate Veterans Community Alliance;
the VFW Ohio; and AMVETS, among others.
In addition to VSOC, the University of Cincinnati is also a
Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership, or ``VITAL,'' Location.
VSOC and VITAL together have developed a streamlined approach in
assisting veterans with VA Medical Center needs. This approach provides
UC's veterans with expedited VA Medical Center service coordination at
the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
In order to best meet the needs and improve services for our
student veterans, we believe it is important to expand the VSOC program
to additional schools. For smaller schools that do not have a VSOC, we
suggest the VSOC work with a number of schools in a geographical area.
For example, in Ohio, one counselor could oversee Xavier University,
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, and Mount St. Joseph
University. The case load of these counselors could be comparable to
the caseload at larger schools and give the student veterans at these
institutions the support they need.
As for improved coordination between universities and the VA, we
have found that housing our VSOC counselor on campus has allowed UC and
the VA to easily collaborate, which is beneficial to our student
veterans.
In closing, I want to thank you for allowing me to discuss the VSOC
program and to share the great work that the University of Cincinnati
is doing to accommodate veteran students. I look forward to working
with you as you expand services for veteran students and again offer
the University of Cincinnati as an example to inform policy and to
guide schools in shaping their programs.
I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
Terence Harrison
Prepared Statement of Dr. Lawrence A. Braue
Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano, on behalf of the
University of South Florida, thank you for holding today's hearing and
allowing us to share our experience with the VetSuccess on Campus
Program (VSOC) and the impact it makes on our campus every day. By way
of background, the University of South Florida (USF) is a high-impact,
global research university dedicated to student success. It is the 8th
largest university in the U.S. and serves over 48,000 students. In
addition, over 2,000 veterans and their families are enrolled as
students at USF. USF was ranked by Military Times Best for Vets
magazine as the 5th best college for veterans. Under the leadership of
President Judy Genshaft, the University of South Florida has become a
national leader in serving student veterans.
In June, 2009, The University of South Florida became the first
institution of higher learning to participate in the Department of
Veterans Affairs VetSuccess on Campus program. Ms. Jeanine Frederick is
our current VSOC Counselor and has served in this role since June, 2010
Ms. Frederick quickly became an integral member of the Office of
Veterans Services team and an effective liaison between USF and the VA.
Ms. Frederick is an amazing Counselor and has made this program a
complete success on our campus.
Program Successes
Having the VSOC Counselor available to veterans on a daily basis
has vastly improved the university's ability to meet the needs of our
students. In addition, it has greatly increased the confidence of our
student veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Through the VetSuccess on Campus Program, our Counselor developed
an extremely effective outreach program that dramatically increased the
awareness of VA programs and benefits available to student veterans.
This calendar year, Ms. Frederick has helped over 300 veterans
individually and reached over 750 students through campus outreach
events. She is frequently called upon to advocate for veterans with
faculty members who do not understand the challenges our disabled
veterans face in the classroom.
In the Fall of 2013, Ms. Frederick initiated a highly successful
Vet-to-Vet Tutoring Program where academically successful VA Work Study
veterans would provide one-on-one tutoring for other student veterans.
Since this program started in the Fall of 2013, over 165 students have
received individualized tutoring services at no cost to the veteran.
Program Challenges
The VetSuccess on Campus program has not been without its
challenges for the University of South Florida. It is important that I
clarify that I can only speak for the University of South Florida and
what we have experienced. The VetSuccess on Campus program is
influenced by two separate offices within the Vocational Rehabilitation
and Education arm of the VA. Often times, those two offices provide our
VSOC Counselor with competing or conflicting guidance. Because the
Regional Office has very limited understanding of VSOC and is not
involved in the day to day operation of the program, it makes it very
difficult for them to provide effective supervision for the VSOC
Counselor.
Over time, the VetSuccess on Campus program's purpose and goals
changed without a collaborative effort with university.
For example: Recently, the VR&E Regional Office assigned a Chapter
31 caseload of 50 to our VSOC Counselor. This is approximately 1/3 of
the Chapter 31 caseload for a full-time VR&E Counselor. This is a
significant change which alters the way VSOC functions on our campus.
This change is also inconsistent with the Memorandum of Understanding
between USF and the VA which creates a hardship for the VSOC Counselor
and the school. This effectively reduces her ability to have a positive
impact on the academic and lifelong success of the total veteran
population.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of our partnership, the
university should be part of the program development and decision
making process.
I believe with a few structural and leadership modifications, this
program could greatly enhance retention and graduation rates for
student veterans using the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
My recommendations are to:
1. Simplify the reporting structure for the VetSuccess on
Campus Program by creating one office to manage the program and
the VSOC Counselors and ensure that VSOC Counselors do not
receive direction and guidance from multiple sources.
2. Establish and maintain consistent, meaningful dialog
between the VA and the university ensuring that the university
has a voice in program development and the decision making
process.
3. I also believe it is critical that the VA include colleges
and universities in the plan to develop success metrics for
graduation and retention of veterans using the GI Bill.
Again, I want to thank the committee for allowing the University of
South Florida to share our experience with the VetSuccess on Campus
Program. It is an honor and a privilege to have this amazing program on
our campus. I hope we can build upon the successes of the program and
make the adjustments necessary to make the program even stronger for
our future student veterans.
Thank you.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Prepared Statement of Jack Kammerer
Chairman Wenstrup, Ranking Member Takano, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you today to
discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VetSuccess on Campus
(VSOC) program. The VSOC program is administered through our Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service.
Since inception of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2009 through August
2015, VA has issued nearly $55 billion to send 1.45 million Veterans
and their qualified dependents to institutions of higher education
(institutions) under the program. VA's VSOC program helps Veteran
students and their qualified dependents succeed and thrive through a
coordinated delivery on-campus of benefits assistance and counseling by
professionally experienced and trained VR&E counselors. The VSOC
program is a collaborative effort between the host institution and VA
with the purpose of providing a supportive, on-campus environment
whereby Veterans may obtain benefits assistance and peer support. With
our 79 VSOC counselors at 94 college and university partners, we are
able to provide on-campus access to our services to approximately
78,000 Veterans.
VSOC Program Overview
VA's VSOC program began in 2009 as a pilot project in which one
VR&E counselor was assigned to the University of South Florida campus.
VA realized the success of the pilot, and by the end of 2012, the VSOC
program grew to include 27 full-time VR&E counselors who served over
9,600 students spanning 32 campuses in 16 states. In late 2012,
invitation letters were sent to colleges and universities nationwide to
solicit their interest in participating in the next VSOC expansion. To
date, the program has expanded to include a total of 79 VSOC counselors
providing on-campus services at 94 colleges and universities throughout
the United States.
Acting as the primary ``on-campus'' representative on behalf of VA,
the VSOC counselor provides outreach and support to all Veterans on
campus. To better assist Veterans in transitioning from the military to
the college environment, VSOC counselors offer a broad range of
counseling services, including educational, vocational/career, and
adjustment counseling. They provide vocational testing and career/
academic and adjustment counseling to resolve any potential problems
that may interfere with or disrupt a Veteran's success while attending
college. VSOC counselors also use all appropriate and necessary
resources on campus, in the community, and within VA to ensure that
Veterans' needs are met in regards to issues or problems that may
hamper the successful completion of their educational programs. VSOC
counselors also assist Veterans with referrals for more intensive
health services, including mental, physical, or other health treatment,
through our Veterans Health Administration medical centers, community-
based outpatient clinics, or Vet Centers. VSOC counselors establish and
maintain an effective network of other appropriate service providers
and stakeholders who are available to assist Veterans in need. The
desired outcome is to provide Veterans with enhanced opportunities to
achieve success in their academic endeavors and to prepare for entering
the labor market in viable and enduring careers.
VSOC Update
With its team of 79 VSOC counselors at 94 partner institutions
across the country, VR&E continues to provide educational and
vocational counseling and other on-site services to an available
population of approximately 78,000 Veterans on campus. The majority of
Veterans receiving services visited a VSOC counselor in-person, with
the others communicating with their counselor by telephone or email. In
an effort to expand available on-campus services, VSOC counselors are
coordinating with host institutions to establish or enhance peer-to-
peer Veteran mentoring programs to address military-to-college
transition issues. At the beginning of each fall and spring term, VSOC
counselors conduct orientation sessions to assist newly enrolled
Veterans in acclimating to the college campus environment. This fall,
VA is working in conjunction with partnering institutions to host
``Back to School'' informational events at 10 selected VSOC sites.
These events will introduce newly enrolled students and educators to
the Veteran student community, familiarize Veterans with their VSOC
counselors and the services they can provide, and ultimately work to
cultivate the most supportive community for Veterans at each
institution.
VA is committed to the VSOC program and recognizes the demand and
need for this program as Veterans take advantage of their well-earned
GI Bill benefits. VA continues to receive inquiries from institutions
that are interested in assigning a VSOC counselor to their institution.
VA evaluates interested institutions for potential future participation
in the VSOC program, and we will continue to inform the Committee of
the evolution of the program in the future.
Conclusion
VA continues to assess and improve the VSOC program for a most
deserving population of men and women who have decided to commit to
furthering their educational and vocational goals. Through the updates
noted, VA is substantially improving and materially enhancing the VSOC
program, to include evaluating additional institutions for possible
future participation.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to
answer questions from you or any of the other members of the
Subcommittee.
[all]