SUBJECT:

PURPOSE:

Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.
November 19, 2008
Room 711-A
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY

As veterans return home from active duty, New York State will continue to be faced with the challenge of providing employment opportunities for these individuals who are entering or re-entering an already crowded and limited job market. Existing state programs, such as the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP), the Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVER) and the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), as well as the Governor's Program to Hire Disabled Veterans, commonly known as the §55-c program, help facilitate cooperation and efficiency in the employment of veterans process. The purpose of this hearing is to examine these programs and evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness in placing veterans in permanent, full-time jobs and to determine the adequacy of funding for and administration of such programs.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committees will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committees would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committees' interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

SELECTED ISSUES TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:

1. What has been the level of funding and the staffing history of the DVOP/LVER program over the last ten years? Please describe how this program is administered and to what extent its administration has changed over the last ten years. Are the administrators of these programs reimbursed via the federal DVOP/LVER grant? Why? Why not?

2. What type of training does DVOP/LVER staff receive?

3. In the most recent full year for which data is available, what is the Department of Labor's record in placing veterans and disabled veterans in permanent, full-time jobs? How does this performance rate compare to that of other states and the federal government? Has the rate improved or declined over the last ten years?

4. Could One Stop offices do more to facilitate job placement for veterans or are veteran specific programs a more appropriate host for such outreach?

5. How many Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) grants does DOL currently administer? Has this number increased or decreased over the past ten years? If so, what is the reason for this increase or decrease?

6. What is the history of the Governor's program to hire veterans with disabilities, better known as the 55-C program? Who currently administers the program? Why was this program relocated from the Department of Civil Service to the Department of Labor?

7. How many 55-C authorized positions are currently filled? How many are vacant? What is the history of these positions? Which state agencies are most likely to fill vacancies with 55-C appointments? What agencies are the least likely?

8. Does the Division of Veterans' Affairs oversee the veteran employment programs in the state or are each administered separately by the individual state agency? If the division does not play a role, should this be changed?

9. What programs are available for veterans, including disabled veterans, returning from combat areas? How are these programs advertised to the veterans and members of the veterans' community?

10. What legislative actions could be taken to improve the employment prospects for returning veterans and disabled veterans?

11. How effective have the programs been? What can be done to improve the programs? Would a formal coordination structure be useful?

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on Veteran Employment in New York State are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail, e-mail or fax it to:

Julianne Haggerty
Legislative Committee Assistant
Assembly Committee on Labor & Governmental Employees
23rd Floor - Alfred E. Smith Building
Albany, New York 12248
E-mail: haggertyj@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4311
Fax: (518) 455-7095

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