HR Annex to the Army Transformation Campaign Plan

1
The American Legion
Helping severely injured Service members and
their families connect with their
hometown Heroes to Hometowns
care for our wounded must be our highest
priority. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense

www.legion.org/h2h Program Coordinator _at_ (202)
631-9924 Email heroestohometowns_at_legion.org
2
Heroes to Hometowns

• Goal Facilitate successful community
  reintegration
• Restore highest functioning quality of life
• Assist in meeting long-term needs
• Educate the community ease transition home for
  all
• Objective Network of Local, State and National
  organizations
• to match potential
  needs with resources
• Tasks Complement federal state entitlements
  and programs
• with non-governmental support
  to
• Organize a welcome home celebration
• Help secure temporary and/or permanent housing
• Assist in adapting a home or vehicle
• Find jobs and educational opportunities
• Create a carpool for hospital visits
• Help work through government bureaucracy
• Key Partners and State Committee Members
• National Guard Bureau State Family Program
  Directors

3
Transition Process
Goes to Hometown VAMC
Leaves Military Treatment Facility
Servicemember returns home requesting assistance
Servicemember returns home without requesting
assistance
Returning Veteran falls through the support gap
Community Cooperates to Assist Returning veteran
Heroes to Hometowns helps Reintegration into
the community
4
Our Mission

• Encourage state and local communities to create a
  positive transition home for returning severely
  injured service members and their families, so
  they can lead productive lives.
• Use Americas extended national support network
  and the family services to identify and
  coordinate resources in local communities to
  assist severely injured service members and their
  families.
• Use community centers as safe havens for the
  military members and their loved ones. The
  community can provide a place where returning
  veterans can find compassion, understanding and
  care.

5
History of an Idea

• Social Compact
• Thomas Paine, Common Sense 1776
• Social Cohesion
• James Madison. "The Federalist Papers 1787
• Social Capital
• L. J. Hanifan, 1916
• Social Network

6
Social Compact

• DODs Social Compact
• The understanding between Americans and
• their service members that the military will
• defend the US and that Americans will
• care for their military service men and women.

7
Military Personal Readiness

• The quality of life for all guard, reserve, and
  active duty Service members and their families is
  delegated the Under Secretary of Defense
  (Military Community and Family Policy) and the
  Assistant Secretary of Defense (Reserve Affairs)
  to take action to support military families.
• DODs coordination with state agencies,
  non-profits, and military leaders integrates
  military families into the communitys social
  support network.

8
States Military Families

• States are a critical link in providing support
  to military families that the Federal government
  should not or cannot address.
• State policies govern important aspects of
  quality of life to military families, such as
• care for the Guard and Reserve
• educational opportunities for military children
• college education support
• spouse employment licensure and certification,
• spouse unemployment compensation,
• enforcement of predatory lending laws
• absentee voting policies
• foreign language education.

9
DODs Quality of Life

• DOD recognizes the reciprocal partnership that
  exists between the Department, the service
  member, and his or her family.
• Due to the influence of DOD, some states have
  modify statutes to accommodate military families
  without significantly impacting the state.
• Cooperative solutions between military
  communities and states significantly improves the
  quality of life of military families, improving
  retention and the states social cohesion.

10
Quality of Life (Cont.)

• DOD establishes long-standing relationships with
  a handful of nonprofit organizations that provide
  morale, welfare and recreation programs for
  service members and their families.
• DOD uses these non-profits and federal resources
  to meet the needs military families.
• Instead of reinventing these products and
  services, DoD has forged partnerships with
  organizations to provide for the needs of
  military families when and where they need them
  the most.

11
Social Network

• Networks of civic engagement, such as religious
  centers, sports clubs, and veteran service
  organizations, are an essential form of social
  capital.
• Denser networks produce cooperative communities
  working toward a mutual benefit.

12
Social Networks
Key Factors

• Bonding
• Occurs within closed networks
• (ex. a military unit)
• Strong network relationships improves a groups
  effectiveness
• (ex. Shared experience)
• Only as strong as the unifying bond
• (ex. Blood is thicker than water)

• Bridging
• Connecting social networks for common purpose
• (ex. VAs Welcome Home American Hero)
• Requires bonded networks willing to connect with
  external networks
• (ex. VSOs Legislation)

13
Social Cohesion

• Social Cohesion is the glue that holds
  communities together.
• Family
• Togetherness is based upon common goals and
  objectives.
• Neighbors
• Limited Resources, Volunteers and Time unites
  people for the common good.
• MilitaryHomefront

14
Social Capital

• Social capital "refers to the collective value of
  all 'social networks' and the inclinations that
  arise from these networks to do things for each
  other". (Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone)
• Social capital is productive as it does more with
  less based upon the physical resources available
  via social networks.

15
Coming Home Home
16
H2H National Network
17
State Transition Support
18
State Executive Committee

• Heroes to Hometowns
• State Executive Committee
• Establishes a state-wide support network for the
  severely injured
• Includes all of major government and
  non-government agencies
• Raises the states awareness of severely injured
  veteran issues

19
Veteran Affairs Office

• State benefits coordinators
• Veteran legislation
• State homeless programs
• G.I. Bill assistance
• Local veteran employment representatives
• Disabled veteran outreach specialists

20
Transition Assistance Advisor

• Purpose to serve as a statewide point of
  contact for Service members to access veterans
  affairs benefits and healthcare services.
• Who we serve National Guard service members,
  Reserve components and their families.
• What we can do for you as an individual service
  member
• Navigate benefits and entitlements in the DoD/VA
  system.
• TRICARE benefits as an OIF/OEF veteran
• Dental care programs (time sensitive)
• Referral for counseling services
• Insurance information such as SGLI and TSGLI.
• Rehabilitative care to help establish a new
  civilian life.
• Unemployment assistance ESGR rights
• Assistance with locating your medical and
  military records

21
State American Legion

• Volunteer pool
• Advocates
• Veteran claims representatives
• National job fairs
• Legislative Action for Veterans
• Family support network
• Welcome Home Celebrations
• Child Care
• Transportation
• Home Improvement
• Auto Repair
• Immediate Financial Needs

22
Premise of Social Network

• Social networks face of persistent problems of
  collective action because networks of civic
  engagement
• Foster sturdy norms of generalized reciprocity by
  creating expectations that favors given now will
  be returned later
• Facilitate coordination and communication, and
  thus create channels through which information
  about the trustworthiness of other individuals
  and groups can flow, and be tested and verified
• Embody past success at collaboration, which can
  serve as a cultural template for future
  collaboration on other kinds of problems
• Increase the potential risks to those who act
  opportunistically that they will not share in the
  benefits of current and future transactions.
  (Ref. www.cnp.org/tools)

23
Barriers

• Barriers to Social Networking
• Decline in Social Capital
• Financial Support
• Return on Investments
• Free Rider Problem
• Social Death

24
Declining Social Capital

• Trends over the last 25 years
• Attending Club Meetings
• 58 drop
• Family dinners
• 43 drop
• Having friends over
• 35 drop

25
Financing?

• Goal Doing More with Less!
• Financial resources are developed through the
  coordination and the collaborative use of
  resources and volunteers time.
• No financial support provided outside of the
  resources coordinated by the volunteers involved.

26
Return On Investments

• Volunteers invest their time for
• Personal fulfillment
• Develop new skills and abilities
• Social Recognition
• Expand Social network
• The Strength of social networks equals its
  usefulness to the individuals.

27
Free Rider Problem

• Definition An individual that consumes more than
  their fair share of resources, or shoulder less
  than their fair share of costs of its production.
• Solution Social rules and customs guide the
  volunteer network in identifying those who
  require assistance and who do not, reducing the
  need for formal monitoring.

28
Social Death

• Social Death Individuals ostracized or
  disconnected from the communitys social
  networks.
• Causes
• Fear (primary cause)
• Stereotyping
• Stigma (i.e. Mental Illnesses)
• Inadequate Access to Information

29
The Challenge

• Creating Knowledge-Work Teams
• Community based teams with the knowledge, skills,
  abilities and resources to achieve a positive
• results for the community
• Open social networks working
• together for a communal
• material gain
• Strong Common Bond

30
Community Champions

• Developing a strong community relationship.
• Establishes working relationships with key
  resource managers
• Act as a focal point to coordinate
• resource manager
• Use social, community events (ex. Welcome Home
  Celebrations) to establish working relationships
  between resource managers

31
Hometown Community

• Heroes to Hometowns

• Needs
• Employment
• Community Support
• Government Claims
• Goal
• Collaborate to overcome barriers to meet
  exceptional needs
• Task
• Coordinate needs w/resources

32
Hero Transition Team
Suggested Hero Transition Team Model for
Communities

• Suggested Leadership Roles
• Team Leader Public Leader
• Red Team handles all employment issues Local
  Veteran Employers
• White Team handles all community support issues
  Chaplains
• Blue Team handles all Government issues Veteran
  Service Officer
• 3 members deep per team, each team reporting to
  the team leader

33
Community Bonding Activities

• Welcome Home Celebration
• Support an adaptive sports club
• Paralympics website
• Est. peer support groups for
• returning veterans and their families
• Organize a networking luncheon between
  employers and veterans
• Home improvements projects
• Develop Community Resource Directory
• Volunteer at VA Medical Center

34
H2H Web 2.0

• National DOD H2H Website www.militaryhomefront.dod
  .mil/heroes
• The American Legion National H2H Website
  www.legion.org/h2h
• Heroes to Hometowns Social Network
• www.homefrontconnections.mhf.dod.mil

35
(No Transcript)
36
Program Criteria

• Must have served in OIF/OEF
• Colorado resident or stationed in Colorado
• Documented Traumatic Brain Injury

37
(No Transcript)
38
OIF/OEF Veterans Program

• Care Coordination
• Emergency Fund
• Research
• Education and Outreach

39
Care Coordination

• Intensive Care Coordination (at least monthly
  contacts)
• Up to 2 years
• Assist with civilian reintegration
• Connect to community resources benefits
• Referral to State of Colorado TBI Trust Fund (if
  a resident)

40
Care Coordination

• Qualifications of Staff
• Bachelors in human services or related field
• Experience with case management / care
  coordination
• Knowledge of TriCare and/or VA systems of care
• Military experience preferred
• Willingness to travel throughout state

41
Emergency Fund

• Up to 1,000.00 per person per year
• For rent, utilities, food, etc. that cannot be
  provided by any another program
• Other resources must have been sought out
• Checks made out to provider (not person or
  family)
• Same day availability of funds

42
Research Areas

• Analysis of data to show effectiveness of Care
  Coordination
• Collaboration with Dr. Brenner of the Denver VA
• Warriors and Civilians TBI Service Access,
  Utilization, and Outcomes
• identify factors which impact TBI service access
  and utilization

43
Education and Outreach

• VA Track at Denver Options Employment Conference
• Family/Caregiver education
• New Logo/Name
• New Brochures
• New Website

44
Military and Veterans Initiatives
Douglas B. Carmon Assistant Vice President for
Military and Veterans Initiatives
45

Military and Veterans Initiatives

• History
• Adult day services, camping and recreation,
  childcare, medical rehabilitation, job training
  and employment
• Senior Community Service Employment Program and
  AgrAbility
• Service contracts with DoD and VA
• Need
• 1.6 million deployed service members
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic
  Brain Injury
• 24 million veterans nationwide and 74 million
  including families
• Vision

46
Military and Veterans Initiatives

• Policy
• Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs
• Health Council
• Employment
• Adult Day Services
• Transportation
• Therapeutic Recreation
• Operation Purple
• OPC Retreat
• Operation Adventure

47
Military and Veterans Initiatives

• Easter Seals Veterans with
• Traumatic Brain Injury Project
• Concept
• Goal
• Center-based launch in four communities
• Challenges
• Undiagnosed and unaware
• Reluctant to self-identify due to stigma
• Use of non-VA services and perceived outcomes

48
Military and Veterans Initiatives

• Easter Seals Veterans with
• Traumatic Brain Injury Project
• DoD and VA initiated pre- and post-deployment
  screening and outreach education to remove stigma
• Easter Seals nationwide launch
• Google and other marketing outreach strategies
• In home participation nationwide
• Easter Seals Iowa

49
Military and Veterans Initiatives
Douglas B. Carmon Assistant Vice President for
Military and Veterans Initiatives 1425 K St,
NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 202-347-3066 dc
armon_at_easterseals.com