Veteran Policy Insights

Although summer is here, we at the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute remain hard at work tackling pressing policy issues that affect veterans. And we are proud to share our results with you. Three new publications, respectively, capture expert views on how military experiences can influence the trajectory of veterans' lives, describe what is known about veterans in the criminal-justice system, and explore how to improve support for veterans who want to age in place.

These diverse topics showcase the exciting range of research underway at the institute thanks to generous donor support. Visit veterans.rand.org to learn more about our published and ongoing work, as well as how to collaborate with us. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues who can subscribe here to stay informed about developments in research, policy, and public discussions on veterans’ issues.

Warmly,

Carrie M. Farmer and Rajeev Ramchand

Codirectors, RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute

How smoothly a service member transitions to becoming a veteran can have significant implications for their life trajectory. The RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute hosted subject-matter experts for the first of four scheduled roundtable discussions about common challenges that service members and veteran face at each stage of their lives and opportunities to address them, focusing on how military experience shapes veterans’ transitions to civilian life. The discussion centered on several main themes: pre-enlistment factors have implications for a service member's transition experience; military occupational specialties may affect a veteran’s earnings and career options; military cultural norms may discourage help-seeking and instill distrust in government agencies; and the U.S. Department of Defense, veterans service organizations, and military service organizations share a responsibility to set the stage for veterans’ success.

“Conditions for Postservice Success Are Set Well Before the Uniform Comes Off”: Proceedings from a Roundtable on How Military Service Affects Veterans' Posttransition Outcomes

An estimated 8 percent of the 2.2 million people incarcerated in jails and prisons in the United States are veterans, and an unknown number of veterans have had other types of contact with the criminal justice system. A better understanding of these justice-involved veterans can help military leaders, policymakers, and veteran-serving organizations identify promising interventions to prevent veterans from entering the criminal justice system and to support formerly incarcerated veterans as they reintegrate into their communities. There are ample opportunities to expand the research base on justice-involved veterans, including leveraging existing data sources and research approaches, extending current studies beyond veterans who are eligible for VA benefits, examining factors that contribute to veterans' criminal justice system involvement, and exploring innovative interventions and alternatives to incarceration.

Identifying Promising Prevention Strategies and Interventions to Support Justice-Involved Veterans: Veterans’ Issues in Focus

As the U.S. veteran population ages, long-term care will make up an increasingly large share of VA health care expenditures. Home and community-based services allow veterans to “age in place,” which most older adults prefer, while receiving the care and support they need. Home health aide services, adult day programs, and assisted living also provide a significant cost savings over institutional care facilities, such as nursing homes. To honor aging and disabled veterans' preferences to receive long-term care in the least restrictive setting possible, VA will need to improve access to these services and how they are delivered.

Home and Community-Based Services: Veterans' Issues in Focus

• The Department of Veterans Affairs Income Eligibility Standardization Act was recently introduced in the Senate; it would require the Secretary to eliminate all subcategories from Priority Group 8 and ensure that all veterans eligible for VA health care under Priority Group 8 can enroll.
• The Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act passed the House on June 20 and was sent to the Senate for consideration; it would codify the Boots to Business program administered by the Small Business Administration. Read RAND’s assessment of one entrepreneurial fellowship program here.
• The House Armed Services Committee marked up the Major Richard Star Act, which would expand veterans’ compensation eligibility, and voted the bill out of committee for consideration by the full House.
• On June 14, President Biden signed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Act into law, increasing future disability benefits to veterans by the same percentage as Social Security recipients beginning December 1.
• The Government Accountability Office recently released Veterans Employment: GI Bill Benefits Can Help Lead to Outdoor Recreation Careers.
• VA announced that there is a new health assessment for transitioning service members that meets the requirements of both DoD and VA, allowing for a single comprehensive exam that both agencies can use for separation and benefits.
• On June 23, VA issued a press release announcing that it has established an agency equity team (known as the I*DEA Council) and a new Veterans Benefits Administration Equity Assurance Office. These entities will work to remove disparities and barriers for underserved veterans and implement Executive Order 14091. You can read Kayla Williams’s recommendations for reducing disparities in disability compensation here.

• Rajeev Ramchand and Beau Kilmer published an op-ed on how the federal government could respond to changes in local laws on psychedelics.
• After publishing a report on how organizations are strengthening veterans’ social connections, Laura Werber penned an accompanying opinion piece.
• Kayla Williams wrote about the harm that would be caused by banning gender-affirming care for transgender veterans.
• On June 14, Jonathan Cantor testified at the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing “Connections to Care: Improving Substance Use Disorder Care for Veterans in Rural America and Beyond.”
• Colleagues in the RAND National Security Research Division published a report on military-to-civilian occupational matching for Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force jobs.
• The report by Todd Helmus, Ryan Brown, and Rajeev Ramchand on the prevalence of veterans’ support for extremist groups and beliefs received significant media coverage, including from NPR, the Washington Times, publications targeting military and veteran audiences, and international outlets.

July 20, 4–5:30pm EDT / 1–2:30 PDT

Join the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute for this webinar in which subject-matter experts will explore what the research tells us about the prevalence of support among veterans for extremist groups and ideologies, strategies to identify those who have participated in violent events, and efforts to slow the spread of radicalization. This event will be open to the public, with advance registration required. Those who register will receive Zoom connection details via email. See event details and register.