Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Strategic and Performance
Plans Lack Vision and Clarity (Testimony, 07/29/1999, GAO/T-HEHS-99-177).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Veterans'
Employment and Training Service (VETS) and its planning activities under
the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, focusing on: (1)
VETS' strategic plan for fiscal years (FY) 1999 through 2004; and (2)
VETS' FY 2000 performance plan.

GAO noted that: (1) while including each of the basic components
required by the Results Act, VETS' May 1999 revised strategic plan and
its FY 2000 performance plan lack vision and clarity and do not clearly
identify what the program is to achieve and the direction the agency
intends to take; (2) for example, the strategic plan includes a mission
statement and associated strategic goals, yet neither are clearly
conveyed, making it difficult to understand where VETS is trying to go
and how it is planning to get there; (3) similarly, GAO found that VETS'
annual performance plan provides only a limited picture of the agency's
intended performance for FY 2000; (4) the planning and communication
framework established by the Results Act gives VETS an opportunity to
discuss its responsibilities and how it intends to fulfill them,
describe areas for improvement, and discuss steps it will take to
improve its performance; (5) but VETS has not taken full advantage of
this opportunity; and (6) its strategic and performance plans fail to
address how it will help shape the way employment services are delivered
to veterans and, in particular, how it will adapt to the new employment
training environment being created by technological changes and the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-99-177
     TITLE:  Veterans' Employment and Training Service: Strategic and
	     Performance Plans Lack Vision and Clarity
      DATE:  07/29/1999
   SUBJECT:  Performance measures
	     State-administered programs
	     Veterans benefits
	     Veterans employment programs
	     Congressional/executive relations
	     Agency missions
	     Reporting requirements
	     Strategic planning
IDENTIFIER:  Veterans' Employment and Training Service
	     DOL Disabled Veterans Outreach Program
	     DOL Local Veterans Employment Reps Program
	     GPRA
	     Government Performance and Results Act

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Cover
================================================================ COVER

Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives

For Release on Delivery
Expected at 10:00 a.m.
Thursday, July 29, 1999

VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
SERVICE - STRATEGIC AND
PERFORMANCE PLANS LACK VISION AND
CLARITY

Statement of Carlotta C.  Joyner, Director of Operations
Health, Education, and Human Services Division

GAO/T-HEHS-99-177

GAO/HEHS-99-177T

(205500)

Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DVOP - Disabled Veteran's Outreach Program
  ETA - Employment and Training Administration
  LVER - Local Veterans' Employment Representative
  OMB - Office of Management and Budget
  PWBA - Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
  VA - Department of Veterans' Affairs
  VETS - Veterans' Employment and Training Service
  WIA - Workforce Investment Act of 1998

VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
SERVICE:  STRATEGIC AND
PERFORMANCE PLANS LACK VISION AND
CLARITY
============================================================ Chapter 0

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the Veterans'
Employment and Training Service (VETS) and its planning activities
under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. 

The Congress has made it clear that alleviating unemployment and
underemployment among veterans is a national responsibility. 
Although the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for most
of the nation's services for veterans, the Department of Labor
administers VETS and other programs and activities designed to help
veterans obtain employment and training.  Recently, policymakers have
focused increased attention on VETS and its programs.  For example,
in January 1999, the Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and
Veterans Transition Assistance issued a report that raised serious
concerns about the performance and effectiveness of VETS' programs.\1
The Commission's report made a number of recommendations, including
that the Congress establish effective operational outcome measures
for VETS.  The Congress has also been interested in addressing the
employment needs of the entire American workforce, including
veterans.  For example, to streamline the delivery of services of the
nation's workforce development systems, the Congress passed the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA).  By establishing one-stop
career centers, among other actions, WIA will affect how VETS will
serve veterans in the future. 

My comments today will focus on (1) our observations on VETS'
strategic plan for fiscal years 1999 through 2004 and (2) our
observations on VETS' fiscal year 2000 performance plan.  My
testimony is based on our review of VETS' most current strategic plan
(revised as of May 1999) and VETS' fiscal year 2000 annual
performance plan, discussions with agency officials about those
plans, our review of VETS' fiscal year 1999 performance plan,\2 and
our comprehensive 1997 report on VETS' grant programs.\3

In summary, while including each of the basic components required by
the Results Act, VETS' May 1999 revised strategic plan and its fiscal
year 2000 performance plan lack vision and clarity and do not clearly
identify what the program is to achieve and the direction the agency
intends to take.  For example, the strategic plan includes a mission
statement and associated strategic goals; yet neither are clearly
conveyed, making it difficult to understand where VETS is trying to
go and how it is planning to get there.  Similarly, we found that
VETS' annual performance plan provides only a limited picture of the
agency's intended performance for fiscal year 2000.  The planning and
communication framework established by the Results Act gives VETS an
opportunity to discuss its responsibilities and how it intends to
fulfill them, describe areas for improvement, and discuss steps it
will take to improve its performance.  But VETS has not taken full
advantage of this opportunity.  Its strategic and performance plans
fail to address how it will help shape the way employment services
are delivered to veterans and, in particular, how it will adapt to
the new employment training environment being created by
technological changes and WIA. 

--------------------
\1 The Commission, established as part of the Veterans' Benefits
Improvement Act of 1996, was directed by the Congress to review
programs that provide benefits and services to veterans and service
members making the transition to civilian life.  Report of the
Congressional Commission on Servicemembers and Veterans Transition
Assistance (Arlington, Va.:  Jan.  14, 1999). 

\2 Veterans' Employment and Training Service:  Assessment of the
Fiscal Year 1999 Performance Plan (GAO/HEHS-98-240R, Sept.  30,
1998). 

\3 Veterans' Employment and Training:  Services Provided by Labor
Department Programs (GAO/HEHS-98-7, Oct.  17, 1997). 

   BACKGROUND
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1

VETS administers national programs intended to ensure that veterans
receive priority in employment and training opportunities.  VETS
assists veterans, reservists, and National Guard members in securing
employment and protecting their employment rights and benefits. 
Services provided are to be consistent with the changing needs of
employers and the eligible veteran population, with priority given to
disabled veterans and other veterans with significant disadvantages
in the labor market.  The key elements of VETS' services include
enforcement of veterans' preference and reemployment rights,
employment and training assistance, public information services,
interagency liaison, and training for those assisting veterans. 
VETS' programs are included among those affected by the recent
passage of WIA.  In addition, the agency has prepared plans in
accordance with the requirements of the Results Act. 

      VETS PROGRAMS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1.1

VETS carries out its responsibilities through a nationwide network
that includes representation in each of Labor's 10 regions and staff
in each state.  The VETS staff at the state level monitor the
operation of VETS' two primary programs providing employment and
training assistance to veterans:  the Disabled Veteran's Outreach
Program (DVOP) specialists and the Local Veterans' Employment
Representative (LVER).  DVOP and LVER staff, whose positions are
federally funded, are part of states' employment service systems and
provide direct employment services to eligible veterans.  States'
employment service systems were established by the Wagner-Peyser Act
of 1933.  Under the act, funds are allocated to each state to plan
and administer a labor exchange program that meets the needs of the
states' employers and job seekers.  Labor's Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) provides general direction, funding, and
oversight of states' employment service systems.  The total fiscal
year 1999 appropriation for VETS was about $183 million, including
$80 million for DVOP specialists and $77 million for LVER staff. 
These funds are expected to pay for about 1,400 DVOP positions and
1,300 LVER positions.  The appropriation also included about $24
million for administrative costs and $2 million for the National
Veterans' Training Institute, which trains DVOPs, LVERs, and others. 

LVERs were first authorized under the original GI Bill--the
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944; DVOP specialists were
established by executive order in 1977 and later authorized by the
Veterans' Rehabilitation and Education Amendments of 1980.  The
duties of DVOP and LVER staff for serving veterans, as specified by
law, include

  -- developing jobs for veterans,

  -- networking in the community for employment and training
     programs,

  -- providing labor exchange services to veterans,

  -- making referrals to support services, and

  -- providing case management. 

The DVOP and LVER programs provide employment and training
opportunities specifically for veterans, giving priority to the needs
of disabled veterans and veterans who served during the Vietnam era
(generally August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975).  States are expected to
give priority to veterans over nonveterans for services in their
state employment service systems.  In the simplest terms, this means
that local employment offices are to offer or provide all services to
veterans before offering or providing those services to nonveterans. 
To monitor the programs, VETS has established and used for several
years internal performance standards to determine state compliance
with requirements to give employment services to veterans.  These
standards of performance evaluate states in five service categories: 
(1) veterans placed in or obtaining employment;\4 (2) Vietnam-era
veterans and special disabled veterans\5 placed in jobs on the
Federal Contractor Job Listing; (3) veterans counseled; (4) veterans
placed in training; and (5) veterans who received some reportable
service, such as job referrals.  To ensure priority service to
veterans, VETS expects veteran applicants to be served at a rate
exceeding the service to nonveteran applicants.  According to VETS'
internal performance standards, veterans and other eligible people\6
should be served at a rate 15-percent higher than nonveterans,
Vietnam-era veterans at a rate 20-percent higher, and disabled
veterans at a rate 25-percent higher; and the placement rates for
special disabled veterans in jobs listed by federal contractors
should also be 25-percent higher than the rate for nonveterans. 
Thus, if a state's placement rate for nonveterans is 10 percent, the
placement rate for veterans should be 11.5, or 15-percent higher than
the nonveteran placement rate. 

In our past reviews of VETS' programs, we have pointed out that the
use of such standards results in states with poor levels of service
to nonveterans being held to lower standards for service to veterans
than states with better overall performance.  In addition, while the
first two of the five performance standards are results-oriented,
they do not require information about the quality of job placements,
such as wages and benefits, or whether jobs are permanent--that is,
employment expected to last longer than 150 days.  The remaining
three standards are activity- and volume-driven and provide states
little incentive to focus services on those veterans who are
marginally job-ready or are most in need of intensive employability
development services. 

--------------------
\4 Labor defines placed in employment as the hiring by the employer
of veterans referred by a state employment office, and obtaining
employment as individuals who secure employment within 90 days of
receiving services from the state employment offices. 

\5 A special disabled veteran is (1) a veteran who is entitled to
compensation (or who, but for the receipt of military retired pay,
would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the
Department of Veterans Affairs for a disability rated at 30 percent
or more or (2) a person who was discharged or released from active
duty because of a service-connected disability, as defined in title
38 of the United States Code. 

\6 Certain nonveterans who are dependents of veterans are also
eligible for priority service, as provided for in title 38 of the
United States Code. 

      WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1.2

VETS will be affected by WIA, which streamlines the delivery of
workforce preparation and employment services.  Under the act, each
local area will be required to establish, by July 1, 2000, a one-stop
career center that includes access to services provided under
multiple programs.  These one-stop career centers are intended to
provide customers convenient access to employment, education,
training, and information services that, in the past, have often been
provided at separate locations and were based on customer
characteristics such as income or employment status.  Because DVOP
and LVER staff are a part of the employment services, VETS' current
service delivery methods will be affected.  In establishing these
one-stop centers, some states are adopting universal service delivery
approaches that involve assigning a single center staff member to
provide services offered under multiple programs to center customers. 
Because DVOP and LVER staff can only provide assistance to veterans,
and because their roles in one-stop centers were not specifically
addressed in WIA, it is unclear how they will function with regard to
new one-stop career centers. 

      MANAGING FOR RESULTS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1.3

The Results Act seeks to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and
public accountability of federal agencies as well as to improve
congressional decisionmaking.  It aims to do so by promoting a focus
on program results and providing the Congress with more objective
information on the achievement of statutory goals than was previously
available.  The act outlines a series of steps whereby agencies are
required to identify their goals, measure performance, and report on
the degree to which those goals were met.  Accordingly, executive
branch agencies were required to submit the first of their strategic
plans to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congress
in September 1997 and their first annual performance plans in the
spring of 1998.  Agencies have recently submitted their second annual
performance plans.  Starting in March 2000, each agency is to submit
a report comparing its performance for the previous fiscal year with
the goals in its annual performance plan.  Although not required by
the Results Act, Labor's component agencies, such as VETS, also have
prepared strategic and performance plans at the direction of the
Secretary of Labor. 

The Results Act required agencies to submit the first of their
strategic plans to the Congress in September 1997.  The strategic
plans are to provide a long-term view (5 years) of the direction an
agency is planning to take.  To help delineate this direction, the
strategic plans are expected to contain six key elements:  (1) a
comprehensive agency mission statement, (2) strategic goals and
objectives for all major functions and operations, (3) approaches or
strategies and the resources needed to achieve the goals and
objectives, (4) a description of the relationship between the
long-term goals and objectives and the annual performance goals, (5)
an identification of key factors external to the agency and beyond
its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the
strategic goals, and (6) a description of how program evaluations
were used to establish or revise strategic goals and a schedule for
future program evaluations. 

The Results Act also required that agencies, building upon the
decisions made as part of the strategic planning process, develop
annual performance plans covering each program activity set forth in
their budgets.  The objective of this requirement was to establish a
connection between the long-term strategic goals outlined in the
strategic plans and the day-to-day activities of managers and staff. 
Performance plans are to include annual performance goals linked to
the activities displayed in budget presentations as well as the
indicators the agency will use to measure performance against the
results-oriented goals.  Agencies are then to report each year on the
extent to which they met these goals, provide an explanation if they
did not meet these goals, and present the actions needed to meet any
unmet goals. 

   VETS' REVISED STRATEGIC PLAN
   ADDRESSES STATUTORY
   REQUIREMENTS BUT COULD BETTER
   CONVEY ITS MISSION AND HOW IT
   WILL BE ACHIEVED
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

VETS' May 1999 revised strategic plan included the basic components
required by the Results Act, but it is not well organized, and
important information included in the plan is not clearly
articulated.  Such drawbacks make it difficult to understand what the
agency hopes to achieve over the 5-year period.  For example, while
the revised plan includes strategies intended to achieve goals, many
of the strategies presented do not describe the steps VETS will take
and the needed resources and technology. 

      COMPREHENSIVE MISSION
      STATEMENT AND STRATEGIC
      GOALS NEED IMPROVEMENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2.1

In its revised plan, VETS includes a mission statement that reflects
its major statutory responsibilities and presents related strategic
goals, which are aligned with Labor's departmentwide strategic
goals.\7 However, both its mission statement and its strategic goals
could be improved in important ways.  While VETS' mission statement,
to help veterans, reservists, and National Guard members in securing
employment, training, and the rights and benefits associated with
their military service, describes its significant statutory
responsibilities, the statement itself does not convey the specific
outcomes or results associated with accomplishing VETS' mission.  For
example, VETS officials recently briefed congressional staff on their
revised plan and noted that, among other things, the agency intends
to promote the economic security of veterans.  Such an outcome--once
economic security is further defined--is more results-oriented, and
the agency's mission statement could be improved by incorporating
this and other such outcomes.  By broadening its mission statement in
this way, VETS would better communicate what it hopes to accomplish. 
VETS could also improve its mission statement by including
information that would describe how its mission is different from
other agencies with similar missions or activities--that is, what
makes VETS' employment, enforcement, and other activities unique. 

To help guide the agency toward accomplishing its mission, VETS
presents three strategic goals in its plan: 

1.  Give veterans maximum employment and training opportunities
within the workforce. 

2.  Assist veterans, reservists, and National Guard members so that
they do not lose private (non-VA) pension rights or benefits because
of military service or required training. 

3.  Reduce discrimination toward veterans in the workplace arising
from military service, service-connected disability, or National
Guard and reserve training. 

In general, VETS' three strategic goals (1) are not clearly
articulated or expressed in a manner that allows for future
assessment and (2) are not sufficiently explained so that plan
readers can understand VETS' rationale for developing and pursuing
them.  For example, with respect to the first strategic goal, the
plan does not elaborate on how VETS would measure and quantify
maximum opportunities in the workforce. 

VETS' second strategic goal--protecting veterans' private pension
rights--appears to be addressing an underlying problem or issue, but
it is unclear what the problem is and how prevalent it may be.  VETS'
plan does not discuss why the agency has developed this goal, nor
does it clearly convey the general course of action VETS is taking to
ameliorate the problem.  Moreover, this goal does not reflect the
importance of the employer population and its role and needed
support.  If the goal was broadened and stated more positively, for
example, to increase veterans' awareness and understanding of their
nonmilitary pension rights and to increase employers' understanding
and support of these rights, then the reader might more easily
understand what VETS is trying to achieve. 

Similarly, VETS' third strategic goal--relating to reducing
discrimination toward veterans--while being results-oriented and
measurable in some form, is not accompanied by any additional
information needed to understand the extent of the problem.  An
accompanying discussion would help the reader link the strategic goal
to VETS' mission statement as well as understand the extent of the
problem. 

--------------------
\7 Labor's three strategic goals are (1) A Prepared Workforce: 
Enhance opportunities for America's workforce, (2) A Secure
Workforce:  Promote the economic security of workers and families,
and (3) Quality Workplaces:  Foster quality workplaces that are safe,
healthy, and fair. 

      DISCUSSION ON STRATEGIES TO
      ACHIEVE GOALS IS VAGUE
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2.2

For each strategic goal, VETS lists related performance goals and
strategies describing how the agency will accomplish its goals.  In
many cases, however, VETS appears to confuse goals with
strategies--that is, it confuses where it wants to go with how it
will get there.  For example, under its first strategic goal, VETS
has a performance goal to implement a Life Long Learning system to
ensure individuals entering military service acquire or develop the
knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to achieve economic
security that eliminates new homelessness or economically
disadvantaged veterans. First, it is not clear whether this
responsibility even falls within VETS' purview; it is also not clear
whether this is actually a goal or a means to achieve a goal. 

In addition, a discussion of VETS' relationships with other
Department of Labor agencies is largely missing from the plan, even
though, in some cases, VETS relies on them or could work with them in
achieving its goals.  For example, ETA provides much of the data VETS
needs to measure program performance, but the plan includes little
information on how VETS plans to work with ETA to obtain these data. 
Another Labor agency, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
(PWBA), should be a stakeholder and included in VETS' strategic plan,
especially in light of VETS' strategic goal to ensure veterans'
pension rights.  PWBA has oversight responsibilities for the nation's
private pension plans, and we believe that recognition of PWBA's
responsibilities and potential for collaboration should be discussed
in the plan.  Developing an effective working relationship with PWBA
would likely further VETS' goal of protecting veterans' private
pension rights. 

      KEY EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT
      MAY AFFECT AGENCY
      PERFORMANCE ARE NOT CLEARLY
      EXPLAINED
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2.3

Agencies are required to state in their plans external factors that
are beyond their control, in this way identifying, in advance,
possible reasons it may be difficult to achieve some strategic goals
and helping agencies devise approaches for overcoming them.  However,
the plan does not clearly explain for many of the factors how they
could affect VETS' ability to meet its goals.  In addition, VETS
lists as external some factors that are internal and over which the
agency has some control.  For example, "continuing changes at the
state level of the employment delivery system will make it difficult
for VETS to effectively predict or plan for specific outcomes for
veterans" is described as an external factor beyond the agency's
control.  It would be helpful, however, to acknowledge that these
changes are to some extent within the agency's control, to detail the
kinds of changes expected, and to explain what the effects of these
changes might be.  Because VETS' own programs are a part of this very
delivery system, it is surprising to see such a statement cited in a
list of factors beyond agency control.  In fact, planning for
outcomes while changes continue to occur in the state employment
delivery system is critical; we believe this is an area that should
be addressed more fully in the plan's goals and strategies. 

      PURPOSE OF PROGRAM
      EVALUATIONS IS UNCLEAR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2.4

VETS' section on program evaluations--which include assessments of
the implementation and results of programs, operating policies, and
practices--is not clearly presented and does not include a schedule
outlining future evaluations.  It is difficult to discern from the
discussion what VETS is trying to achieve with its evaluations and
what it plans to do in the future.  For example, VETS states that to
address the issue of job stability or advancement over time, VETS
will investigate more efficient ways of collecting baseline data and
measuring results over time.  By fiscal year 2000, the means to
obtain this information, whether through survey or other approach,
should be in place to provide the longitudinal information sought.
It would be helpful if the description more clearly addressed what
the issue is, what the purpose of the data would be, who would
conduct the evaluation, and when it would actually occur. 

   VETS' ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN
   COULD BE IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3

VETS' fiscal year 2000 performance plan is the agency's second such
plan prepared under the Results Act.  While the plan shows
improvement in some ways over VETS' first such plan, the fiscal year
2000 plan could still be improved significantly.  Among the plan's
strengths are that its annual performance goals are aligned with the
agency's mission and with Labor's departmentwide strategic goals. 
For example, its annual performance goal of assisting 300,000
veterans to find jobs is aligned with its mission, which includes
providing veterans with employment and training assistance.  But like
VETS' first performance plan, the fiscal year 2000 plan provides (1)
only a limited picture of intended performance across the agency, (2)
an incomplete discussion of strategies and resources VETS will use to
achieve its goals, and (3) limited confidence that agency performance
information will be credible.  For example, although the plan
indirectly states that VETS' strategic goals include helping young,
minority, and women veterans to get jobs, the plan does not include
any annual performance goals related to this effort.  The plan's
major strengths and key weaknesses are the following. 

Major Strengths: 

  -- Agency's goals are aligned with Labor's departmentwide goals. 

  -- Performance goals are aligned with agency's mission. 

Key Weaknesses: 

  -- Performance goals are inadequate to ensure progress toward
     achieving strategic goals. 

  -- Performance indicators will not adequately measure progress
     toward some goals. 

  -- Plan provides no or few details concerning strategies for
     achieving performance goals. 

  -- Plan provides limited confidence that performance information
     will be credible. 

      VETS' PERFORMANCE PLAN
      PROVIDES A LIMITED PICTURE
      OF INTENDED PERFORMANCE
      ACROSS THE AGENCY
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.1

While VETS' performance plan includes goals designed to address
critical program areas, overall the plan does not give a clear
picture of intended performance across the agency or its programs. 
VETS' plan includes seven performance goals that are mission-related
and linked to two of VETS' three strategic goals; in turn, these
performance goals are linked to a departmentwide strategic goal. 
Four of the seven performance goals are intended to track progress
toward VETS' first strategic goal of helping veterans to find jobs. 
One goal, for example, is to assist 300,000 veterans to find jobs;
9,000 will be service-connected disabled veterans, and 3,500 will be
veterans who are homeless. The goal, which is linked to VETS' first
strategic goal, is also linked to Labor's departmentwide strategic
goal of enhancing opportunities for America's workforce.  But despite
an explanation in the plan that this strategic goal includes helping
those veterans with disproportionately high unemployment
rates--young, minority, and women veterans in particular--none of the
four performance goals aligned with this strategic goal focuses on
these veterans.  As a result, VETS' plan does not encourage program
performance that leads to achieving this aspect of its strategic
goal.  Of the plan's seven goals, the three remaining performance
goals are all linked to VETS' third strategic goal and are, in turn,
similarly linked to a departmentwide strategic goal.  However, a
major plan deficiency is that it does not contain any annual
performance goals to track progress toward VETS' second strategic
goal, thus there is no indication of how VETS will assess its
performance of ensuring that private pension rights are protected. 

While VETS has identified performance measures for each of its
performance goals--an improvement from its fiscal year 1999
plan--some of the performance measures will not adequately indicate
progress toward achieving VETS' goals.  For example, one performance
goal linked to VETS' third strategic goal is to increase veteran and
federal agency awareness of federal veterans' preference rights.
VETS plans to measure progress toward meeting this goal by the number
of contacts made with federal agencies.  While the number of contacts
made with federal agencies may be a reasonable measure for indicating
the extent of agencies' awareness, it may not adequately measure any
progress toward increasing employees' own awareness of their rights. 
In addition, unlike its first plan, VETS' fiscal year 2000
performance plan does not discuss any of the performance measurement
challenges it faces as a result of states' increasing use of
technology.  VETS prior plan noted that many job-ready applicants are
increasingly able to conduct electronic job searches at state
employment service agencies, or remotely via the Internet, without
first registering.  Without registering users, states and VETS are
unable to easily determine the number of veterans who are assisted in
finding jobs.  While VETS stated in its first plan that it may need
to explore alternative performance measures in light of this change,
the fiscal year 2000 performance plan does not, nor does the plan
include any revised or new performance goals or measures that
recognize such challenges. 

      VETS' PERFORMANCE PLAN
      PROVIDES A LIMITED
      DISCUSSION OF STRATEGIES AND
      RESOURCES THE AGENCY WILL
      USE TO ACHIEVE ITS
      PERFORMANCE GOALS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.2

Similar to our observations about its first plan, VETS' fiscal year
2000 plan (1) gives few or no details on its strategies for achieving
VETS' goals and (2) does not explain how Results Act goals will be
integrated with the performance standards VETS has traditionally set
for states.  As a result, the plan does not clearly convey how VETS
will achieve its goals.  For example, throughout its plan, VETS
labels several statements as strategies that are not strategies--that
is, the operational processes, skills, technology, and resources that
it will use to achieve its goals.  One such statement is:  "The
Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program is a grants-to-State program
authorized by Section 4103A of Title 38, United States Code."
Obviously, this is not a strategy.  In other cases, VETS' plan
contains no discussion of strategies for dealing with significant
changes to its operating environment, such as those now under way as
a result of WIA.  While VETS' plan acknowledges that one-stop career
centers will become much more prevalent during fiscal year 2000, it
provides no strategies for dealing with the potential consequences. 
One such consequence includes increasing constraints on state
agencies' staffing resources.  For example, because one-stop career
centers consolidate multiple workforce development programs,
including unemployment insurance and employment services, some state
agencies are cross-training their staffs to administer multiple
programs.  However, the statutory provisions do not allow VETS-funded
DVOP and LVER staff from performing other than specified duties and
serving people other than veterans.  VETS' plan does not discuss such
constraints or present any strategies for dealing with them, such as
working with the Congress to determine whether legislative or
regulatory changes are needed to better serve veterans. 

In addition, VETS' fiscal year 2000 plan does not discuss any
strategies for integrating or reconciling VETS' Results Act
performance goals with the performance standards it sets for states. 
The current activity- and volume-driven nature of its state
performance standards, in addition to becoming increasingly difficult
to measure, may serve as a disincentive for states to assist those
veterans who require more intensive services.  At the same time, some
of VETS' Results Act performance goals consist of outcomes for
hard-to-serve veterans, such as the goal to help 3,500 veterans each
year who are homeless find jobs that lead to careers.  Without a
detailed strategy for addressing how it plans to hold states
accountable for meeting multiple and potentially conflicting
performance standards and goals, VETS may be unable to realize its
own intended outcomes. 

In some cases, VETS' fiscal year 2000 plan provides more detailed
discussions of strategies VETS plans to pursue to achieve its goals
than did its fiscal year 1999 plan.  For example, in discussing its
fiscal year 2000 budget priorities, VETS describes a strategy of
developing a database containing the names of federal contractors and
other employers along with other information such as the employers'
standard industrial classification codes, recent hiring activity, and
human resource personnel.  This strategy, according to the plan, will
allow DVOP and LVER staff to better identify potential employers for
veterans by, among other things, making it easier to match veterans'
skills to those required by local employers.  VETS could improve its
performance plan by presenting its other strategies in a similar
manner--that is, by providing enough information for readers to
understand what the agency plans to do, how it will do it, and how
this will help achieve VETS' goals. 

      VETS' PERFORMANCE PLAN DOES
      NOT PROMOTE CONFIDENCE THAT
      AGENCY PERFORMANCE
      INFORMATION WILL BE CREDIBLE
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.3

Overall, VETS' fiscal year 2000 performance plan offers little
confidence that the agency's performance information will be
credible, a problem we also noted in assessing its fiscal year 1999
plan.  According to the performance plan, VETS will largely rely on
its state directors for verifying and validating performance data. 
The plan also states that "VETS will utilize internal control
procedures to verify and validate data." The plan gives no further
information, however, that would allow readers to judge whether such
procedures are sufficient to ensure that VETS' data will accurately
or reliably measure progress toward achieving performance goals. 
Additional information, such as a description of the information
systems from which VETS will obtain its performance data, as well as
clarifying what VETS' internal control procedures are, would assist
plan readers in rendering a judgment. 

   CONCLUSION
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4

While VETS' strategic and performance plans address many of the
technical elements required by the Results Act, the plans fail to
address most of the requirements in a clear, comprehensive, and
meaningful manner.  Thus, instead of presenting a road map of where
the agency is headed and how it expects to get there, the plans
present a muddled picture of its future direction.  In essence, the
plans miss the main point of the Results Act, which is to produce
clearly identified programmatic results via detailed strategies.  As
written, the plans do not suggest with any degree of confidence that
VETS officials have a coherent end result in mind.  In our view, much
more work is needed to demonstrate that the programs are being
managed for results, thereby enabling the Congress to assess progress
and identify areas needing improvement. 

-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:4.1

Mr.  Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement.  I will be happy
to answer any questions that you or other Members of the Subcommittee
may have. 

   GAO CONTACT AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:5

For future contacts regarding this testimony, please call Cynthia M. 
Fagnoni, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues,
at (202) 512-7215.  Individuals who made key contributions to this
statement were Sigurd Nilsen, Jeff Appel, Valerie Rogers, and Julie
Straus. 

RELATED GAO PRODUCTS

Agency Performance Plans:  Examples of Practices That Can Improve
Usefulness to Decisionmakers (GAO/GGD/AIMD-99-69, Feb.  26, 1999). 

Veterans' Employment and Training Service:  Assessment of the Fiscal
Year 1999 Performance Plan (GAO/HEHS-98-240R, Sept.  30, 1998). 

Results Act:  Observations on Labor's Fiscal Year 1999 Performance
Plan (GAO/HEHS-98-175R, June 4, 1998). 

Agencies' Annual Performance Plans Under the Results Act:  An
Assessment Guide to Facilitate Congressional Decisionmaking
(GAO/GGD/AIMD-10.1.18, Feb.  1998). 

Managing For Results:  Agencies' Annual Performance Plans Can Help
Address Strategic Planning Challenges (GAO/GGD-98-44, Jan.  30,
1998). 

Veteran's Employment and Training:  Services Provided by Labor
Department Programs (GAO/HEHS-98-7, Oct.  17, 1997). 

Veterans' Employment and Training Service:  Focusing on Program
Results to Improve Agency Performance (GAO/T-HEHS-97-129, May 7,
1997). 

Agencies' Strategic Plans Under GPRA:  Key Questions to Facilitate
Congressional Review (GAO/GGD-10.1.16, May 1997). 

*** End of document. ***