, meaning the Unemployment Rate of veterans since 9 11 is above the number for the average folks and we are making sure that statistic is one we still have years from now as we still Work Together. The considerable challenges Many Service Members in our family face. We know our veterans fought for us and we will fight for them. That is why many states, including missouri, have taken membertees Service Transition to the workforce, such as issues with the state licensure. We have signed bills in that regard and i think everybody for tremendous work. A host of new or improved programs to host access to benefits and services and expand access of longterm employment. You will hear about in a little while here, it got started very simply. I was in afghanistan meeting with a Group Getting ready to go out to do with ieds. I was in a small room with those and they were putting on armoring getting night vision goggles ready. A locker room, everybody was getting fired up. I turned to a fellow from missouri saying, what scares you . , what scares me is not having a job when i get home. That scares me. We have all heard stormys stories like that. Always trying to do a lot of things. Missouri now has over 4000 employers in our program, including some employers we are from today and it is important to note those 4000 employers have already hired more than 6400 veterans in hours eight. We recognize to those employers with a flag of freedom award. It is simple. We tremendously the veterans. All of us have a lot to do and that statesmen come it is not a all program. It is not a onesizefitsall program. The Unemployment Rate has dropped significantly from its peak. We still have too many unemployed. Trendlines are going in the right direction. They clearly are. That is why we wanted to have the session to share best practices and make sure we were moving forward. Before we introduce the panel, return to the governor for any opening comments you would like to have. Our vice chair, the governor from the great state of iowa. Governor nixon, thank you for your leadership on this important issue. In iowa, my top priority i announced in the state address was something we call home base iowa, very similar to your show me Heroes Program. It included eliminating the iowa income tax on military retirement. It provides instate tuition for all veterans whether they came from iowa or not. It simplifies the process for them getting professional licensing and getting credit for their military training and education. We also have appointed a Bipartisan Group of leaders, former congressman boswell who is a democrat and bob mayer who is the ceo of Caseys General stores, theyre both retired colonels and friends. They are working hard. The effort is to line up. The Lieutenant Governor and i hear all the time for businesses we have good Jobs Available and cannot find people with the right skills. We have people coming out of the military with leadership and Technical Skills that fit with that. We are working hard to make that Information Available and market directly to those. We also have an opportunity for communities to become homebased communities, for businesses to become homebased businesses by setting certain goals. We also extended veterans preference laws to give private sector businesses the same opportunities to provide veterans preference that state and local governments do in the state of iowa. This was a very ambitious program. Im proud to say it received bipartisan support. I had the honor of signing it on memorial day at camp dodge in the goldstar museum. I lost 12. 5 pounds and wore my uniform to sign the bill. I am really proud to have had that opportunity. Debbie durham was on the panel. Her department is going to be implement in this, working closely with our outstanding budget adjutant general and workforce people in iowa. We think it is a Great Program and want to do all we can. We also have a 5,000 stipend we give to veterans purchasing homes. They can go towards down payment or closing costs. We increased funding to make sure there was an adequate amount that every veteran who applies can receive that tax credit. Im excited about it. We are just beginning to implement it. We have two counties already designated as homebased. The iowa business council, all of the major employers in iowa have signed on. The homebased businesses. And we are seeing a lot of interest through the state. I think we will see many other counties and communities participate. With that, i will turn it back to governor nixon. Thank you. In iowa, not only iron veterans but a Weight Loss Program also. Usually we get the lecture of the Healthiest State in the nation. Anyway, thank you. Lets get started. I will introduce the panelists and then we want to have engagement between us rather than sitting here listening to an hourlong speech. We have a very good panel. You will see quickly how it lays out. It is an interesting panel. I think we can have a good engaged discussion. First is the Deputy Assistant secretary for policies that the veterans implement and Training Service at the department of labor. This office serves veterans by preparing them for meaningful careers, providing resources and expertise, and protecting their employment rights. She also is in several Senior Executive positions in the department of defense. A veteran herself, she is a west point graduate, served in a variety of leadership positions during a distinguished 20year career with the u. S. Army. Our next panelist is the director of the transition to Veterans Program office in the department of defense. Dr. Kelly leads the office in charge of implementing the Transition Assistance Program to meet the needs of post9 11 Service Members as a separate from active duty. Dr. Kelly also serves as the cochair for the Senior Steering Group meeting transition assistant efforts for dod in coordination with five different federal agencies. She has a long and distinguished career in various offices of the department of defense and holds her doctorate in marriage and family from st. Louis university. Debbie durham is director of the eye what Economic Development authority and overseas Economic Development programs for the state including veterans related initiatives such as homebased iowa. She served as president of the Siouxland Chamber of commerce. Jeff joined my office in 2009. He was a member of the Missouri House of representatives including serving as House Minority leader from 2004 until 2007. Prior to election to the house, he was an assistant attorney general and attorney in kansas city. The assistant Vice President of Human Resources at enterprise holdings, also wins the coolest name contest today. Headquartered in st. Louis, it off rates alamo and National Rental cars as well as the enterprise brand. The Company Offers a rental and Car Sharing Services and retail car sales. He has served with the company for 20 years in various capacities. Jonah as Vice President of Government Affairs for express scripts. The company coordinates the distribution of Outpatient Pharmaceuticals including retail drug card programs, home delivery, and other Clinical Management programs. He spent several years in Product Development and corporate quality before leading the Public Policy and advocacy efforts. Done with that. A good panel. We have federal folks that understand the various agencies. State folks who have made progress and private sector folks who have embraced this and hired thousands of veterans through a myriad of programs. I want to thank everybody for being here. Rather than going through the routine of each of our panelists give a presentation, i would like to jump right into an interactive discussion. Our goal is to make sure that everybody has a chance to discuss these issues. Our conversation will focus on three key issues. One, strengthening partnerships. Two, improving the means to identify job opportunities. Three, eliminating barriers to veterans in employment. I would encourage my colleagues to jump in at any time to share any innovative practices or questions for these folks. We will start with a general question about strengthening partnerships and leveraging resources. States are often in the best situation to provide Employment Support Services and engage with employers. To do so effectively requires active partnerships with the federal government and the private sector. To our federal panelists, how can states best partner with their military installations, National Guard and federally supported job centers to address veterans employment challenges . Thank you very much. Hit on something important here. It is a partnership. Department of labor is uniquely positioned to help a friend this partnership. We certainly recognize the significance of full Employment Opportunities and its relationship to the readiness of your National Guard duty. We frequently talk about the fact that many guard and reservists are either unemployed, underemployed or unhappily employed. The job centers offer a great way to connect. What we are busy doing is trying to encourage our federally funded state reps in each of your states to work closely with your state workforce agencies to engage, to make sure that that relationship is strong so that we can connect the local jobs in and around your unit with the folks in those units to make sure that we know about them, they are registered in the system, and we can help with the matching opportunities. There are lots of opportunities, and the challenge is often simply connecting that young guardsman to the opportunities out there. We think that the workforce system and the job centers there close by offer a great way to have individual counseling for that guardsman or reservist, and a direct connection through the state job banks, the job centers and that personal connection. I would encourage you as you go back and talk to your labor commissioners that you hook them up with that feedback there in your state and make sure that partnership is strong. The next point i would make is regarding military installations. Not every state has an active military installation. We worked very closely with the od d. O. D. To develop memorandums of understanding that encourage military garrison commanders to actively engage with their local workforce agencies to bring those folks on two bases. We are about to publish guidance to those job Center Directors through your state workforce agencies, encouraging them to be available when that military Installation Commander calls. It is vital to enable what dod has going on in terms of their transition system programming, making sure those Service Members before they transition know about the job center resources. I want to make sure you know any active Duty Service Member who has separation ordered or a separation date is considered a dislocated worker, for the purposes of access within the job center network, the workforce system, and for access to Workforce Innovation Fund training. Service members with etf dates are eligible. Priority of access to those resources, and that is a critical way to help fill that. Is that automatic . It is automatic. It is in policy documents that the department of labor issued. Going back to 2005. Dislocated workers also finds the spouses, spouses of Service Members who are changing station and Service Members who are separating. Theres a couple of things right off the top that demonstrate the critical partnerships between dod, your guard and reserve unit, and the National Workforce system. Teresa, you said that our veterans are unemployed, underemployed, or unhappily employed when they come home from service and transition into civilian life. Why is that . What are the obstacles for them to be happily employed . Why is anybody underemployed . What is the cause of that unemployment from happiness . Oftentimes it is based in the fact that they may jump into the first job available because they feel the need to find some employment, and may have found a job that does not fit their skills or interests or aptitudes. We want to make sure they know that the utility of the job centers and counselors that are there to actually do skilled assessments with them, figure out where training gaps are, make sure they get the guidance they need to find jobs that will help them be happily employed with meaningful work. Do they have a higher Unemployment Rate of veterans returning than we have in the general population . The aggregate veterans Unemployment Rate has been below the national Unemployment Rate almost continuously for the last three years. You have to keep in mind that the veteran population is older than the average demographic in america. 65 of veterans in america are over the age of 45. Unemployment tends to decrease as age increases. The post9 11 vets do have a higher Unemployment Rate, but it is closing on the National Average for the equivalent age groups. In may, they were almost statistically equivalent. It is closing. It has a lot to do with dods efforts to introduce folks before separation to really Critical Thinking about their transition. Our partnership with dod to make sure they have access to the resources they need before they transition, to develop the right skills and search techniques and identify opportunities. Thats what i wanted to make sure everybody understood so we can structure this conversation, that the Transition Assistance Program has gone through a significant redesign. You see some of that literature in your notebooks at the table. We have worked with d. O. L. , department of veterans affairs, department of education, personnel management, and really hammered out what did we want as an end result with the transition preparation that we gave to Service Members. What you have now is a set of Career Readiness standards that every Service Member needs to meet before they separate. It just like they need the physical fitness, military training, standards, all of that, they have to meet Career Readiness standards. An example would be a 12 month postseparation budget. We get them to look at what they have coming in now and move them to, where do you think you will relocate to. Using some of d. O. L. s tools, finding out what the job market looks like there and what they could be earning. One of the other Career Readiness standards is an military occupational code crosswalk so that they take their military occupational code, translate those into the civilian occupational code, go to the labor market in the location to which they think theyre going to relocate, and look at if those skills are in demand. A lot of times are Service Members are thinking, im going to go back home. If the labor to market does not have these skills that you want to have as a career, what is your plan b . The post9 11 g. I. Bill connects veterans to that part of their curriculum, which is accessing higher education, which tells them how to select the best universities, community colleges, can they get the skills they need for that civilian occupation, or a career Technical Training track which teaches them all about the institutions that offer Vocational Training in your state, in your communities, and what is the correct course of study they can use to cover and pay for. Part of this entire curriculum, we have moved from a fourhour separation counseling to a mandatory 88 hours of instruction. Brick and mortar, virtual curriculum available to them. To teach them far earlier to start considering how they are going to use this rich skills and training after they get out of the military and apply those to their lives when they separate. That is the culture change for d. O. D. , articulating clearly that everyone, whether they serve four years or 40 years, whether you are a firsttermer or four star, everyone if all goes well will separate from active duty. How do you start making wise decisions for you and your family now to embed that kind of thinking that that exercise wil