Veteran Policy Insights

We are proud of everything that the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute achieved in 2023—with contributions from RAND researchers, our collaborators, and our supporters, it was a productive and impactful year! Below, we share highlights from the past year. We’ve also included links to new research on veteran single parents and to last month’s webinar about how the public perceives veterans. You’ll also find information about recent federal happenings that could affect veterans and their families.

Forward this newsletter to colleagues or friends who may want to subscribe so they too can stay informed about developments in research, policy, and public discussions on veterans’ issues. Learn more about our published and ongoing work, as well as how to collaborate with us, at veterans.rand.org.

Wishing you a wonderful 2024,

Carrie M. Farmer and Rajeev Ramchand

Codirectors, RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute

We released seven reports in 2023 that provided in-depth analyses of timely policy issues. These studies explored food insecurity, women veterans, how organizations are promoting social connections among veterans, the prevalence of extremist beliefs, steps to improve the quality of behavioral health care, veterans’ housing cost burden, and Americans’ perceptions of veterans.

We also produced overviews of policy topics, looking at veterans’ employment, justice involvement, and home and community-based services, along with potential changes to veterans’ benefits under proposed legislation. Our researchers also published an academic paper on veteran suicide rates in a leading scientific journal. We held three roundtables with subject-matter experts to discuss how to improve the transition from service member to veteran and synthesized key themes into conference proceedings (the first and the second in the series are available now).

Our researchers produced four accessible infographics that consolidate key data on veterans’ demographics, labor market trends, psychological distress, and alcohol and substance use. We also shared our expertise with policymakers in House testimony on veteran mental health conditions and Senate testimony on substance use disorder treatment, as well as in dozens of meetings with senior leaders.

We’ve been thrilled to share our findings through this newsletter, in webinars, on our website, and in presentations at conferences—and we look forward to continuing to do so throughout 2024.

Veterans who served after September 11, 2001, are more likely to be women and less likely to be White than their older counterparts. They are also more likely to be raising children—many of them without support from a partner. RAND researchers took a comprehensive look at the financial, physical, and mental health of veteran single parents. In partnership with Student Veterans of America, this report also includes a deep dive into the lives of veteran single parents who use the G.I. Bill to access higher education. Veteran single parents are more diverse than coupled veteran parents. They also face greater financial insecurity, although they tend to be more financially secure than nonveteran single parents. Despite significant barriers, Black and Hispanic veteran single mothers reported the highest rates of school enrollment using the G.I. Bill, but the study did indicate that those benefits might not be meeting their needs.

Veteran Single Parents: Surviving but Not Thriving

When the public thinks about veterans, a variety of characteristics may come to mind—both positive and negative. How Americans perceive veterans could have implications for their support for policies that benefit veterans, as well as their views on military service and the U.S. military as an institution. Results from a nationally representative RAND survey shed light on why policymakers, veteran-serving organizations, and the research community should care about how Americans view veterans and what that could mean for military recruitment and spending decisions. In our January 2024 webinar, the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute hosted experts to discuss the role of public perceptions of policies to support veterans and promote national security. But don’t worry if you missed the live webinar; we’ve got you covered!

What Americans Think About Veterans—and Why It Matters

Congress and Federal Funding: On January 19, President Biden signed into law H.R.2872, a two-tier continuing resolution to keep the government funded. Funding for agencies and programs that support veterans and service members is spread across both deadlines: March 1 is the deadline for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations, while March 8 is the deadline for Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

• The Veterans Mental Health and Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act would require a study on differences in the quality of mental health care and addiction therapy provided by VA and non-VA providers. RAND researchers have spoken with House and Senate offices to explain the need for better understanding of differences in the quality of care provided by these two groups.
• A Senate bill on scheduling for community health and data reporting to help legislators evaluate services (and its House companion bill) would direct VA to create a standard timeline for care between referrals and appointments, provide quarterly reports to Congress on the number of referrals that meet the standard, and rank VA medical centers from best to worst on meeting the standard timeline.
• A House bill would require the U.S. Comptroller General to study how states conduct targeted outreach about SNAP to food-insecure veterans. RAND researchers have spoken to several House offices about veteran food insecurity and use of SNAP benefits.

In early January, VA announced that it would begin funding research for new therapies, including psychedelics, to treat mental health conditions. Over the past year, momentum has increased for research and clinical trials to determine the benefits of these new therapies; Congress even held its first committee hearing on the use of psychedelics to treat mental health conditions among veterans. Institute codirector Rajeev Ramchand testified at that hearing in November.

• Meredith Kleykamp’s research on perceptions of veterans received extensive coverage from online outlets, including Military.com, Military Times, and American Military News, as well as in a local television interview.
• Institute codirector Carrie Farmer was quoted about 50,000 veterans’ use of a new VA suicide prevention program.
• Military.com quoted our webinar on public perceptions of veterans in a story on recruiting.
• An opinion piece about the effectiveness of VA health care cited RAND research.
• The Military Times covered our report on veteran single parents.
• A local television station’s coverage of veterans struggling during the holidays cited our research on food insecurity.
• Kayla Williams wrote an opinion piece about how support for veterans neglects survivors of sexual trauma.

Stay tuned for more information about our next webinar, which will focus on LGBTQ+ veteran health outcomes. The webinar will be held on March 21 at 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT.