America s Families: Ready and Resilient Spouse Resilience

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1 AUSA Military Family Forum II America s Families: Ready and Resilient Spouse Resilience Mr. Tony Stamilio Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Civilian Personnel and Quality of Life

2 Enhancing Army Spouse Resilience through Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) My Career Advancement Account s (MyCAA) Strong Bonds

3 Military Spouses A Profile Population 95% of 1.2 million spouses are women 750,000 active duty military spouses over half are under 31 years old 400,000 Guard/Reserve spouses over half are over 35 years old Employment 85% want or need to work* 26% unemployment rate 1 in 4 are unemployed and actively seeking work** Education 84% have some college 25% have a bachelor s degree 10% have an advanced degree Earnings Military wives earn 25% less than their civilian counterparts** Military families relocate 14% more frequently than civilian families*** Source: * Military Family Life Study, DMDC, Dec. 2010, ** Segal, UMUC, Nov. 2010, *** Current Population Survey,

4 Whole of Government Strategy to Make Military Spouse Employment a Priority Priority #3 of Presidential Study Directive 9 Develop career and educational opportunities for military spouses Increase opportunities for federal careers Increase opportunities for private-sector careers Increase access to educational advancement Reduce barriers to employment and services due to different state policies and standards

5 The Challenge There are barriers caused by the uniqueness of military life that impede military spouses from maintaining employment and establishing career tenure, and have resulted in high unemployment and a wage gap that adversely affect readiness, retention and well being of the military community.

6 The Solution Military Spouse Employment Partnership Employment Partnership (MSEP) A comprehensive IT-based employment and career partnership solution that connects military spouses to employers seeking a 21 st century workforce with the skills and attributes possessed by military spouses.

7 MSEP Partner Commitment Co-sign Statement of Support with DoD Identify and promote career employment opportunities for military spouses Post job openings on MSEP web portal Post corporate HR employment page on MSEP web portal Offer transferrable, portable career opportunities to relocating military spouse employees Mentor new MSEP corporate partners Document and provide employment data on military spouses hired

8 Progress to Date* 54,532 employer jobs posted on MSEP website 5,669 spouses hired 72 companies are current MSEP partners 24 companies became MSEP partners on 10 Oct 146 companies have submitted applications to become MSEP partners 50 companies expressing interest in becoming a MSEP partner *29 Jun 3 Oct 2011

9 Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts Providing opportunities to pursue portable careers in highdemand, high growth occupations Up to $4000 in financial assistance to eligible active duty military spouses in pay grades of E1-E5, O1-O2, & W1-W2 Annual cap of $2000 Three year time limit Funds may be used for education and/or training required for a portable occupation/career Associate s degree, license or credential In FY11*, DoD funded $28M for 34,090 Army spouses Top five MyCAA Army spouse careers: Registered Nurse, Pharmacy Tech, Medical Assistant, Medical Billing, and K-12 Teacher * Through 31 Aug 2011 MyCAA

10 Strong Bonds builds Soldier and Family Readiness by Strengthening Relationships Building and Maintaining Successful Relationships (Singles, Couples, Families) Unit Ministry Teams Ready Soldiers Strong Relationships Strong Army Ready Families

11 Strong Bonds Expanding Impact America s Families: Ready and Resilient 1999 Divarty, 25 th ID 4 Events 90 Couples BDEs 60 Events 900 Couples BDEs 160 Events Couples Events 24,000 Couples Events 35,000 Couples Events 3000 Events 65, ,000 Couples Participants Events 200,000 Participants Commander s Program: Total Army, Chaplain Led Supported by Appropriated Dollars (Supplemental Funding) Proven Effectiveness: Retreat-Based Training Soldier and Family get away Relationship skills training Spans Soldier-Family Life Cycle Single Soldiers: Partner Selection and Decision Making Couples: Strengthening and Maintaining Marriages Families: Parenting Skills, Children are participants Pre-Post & Deployment: Resiliency, Survival, Reintegration Linkage to Military-Community Family Support Programs (e.g., FRG, ACS, AFTB) 2011 Requests 5,300 Events 275,000 Participants

12 Strong Bonds Impact: 5 Year Study ongoing to measure short and long term impact of preventative relationship education. Fort Benning 184 Couples Compared 2 groups, - Strong Bonds training group - Control group without training Fort Campbell 478 Couples Higher Risk Population Younger Soldiers and Spouses Preliminary results: Couples at greater risk for failed relationships get the greatest benefit from relationship education. (Fort Campbell participants had lower divorce rate compared to Fort Benning). IMPACT to Date 1 Year Post Training 2.3% Divorce Rate - Strong Bonds Group 4.7% Divorce Rate Control Group without training

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