Military Spouse Employment Programs: DOD Can Improve Guidance and Performance Monitoring
Released: 2012-12-13T00:00:00


Highlights: section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The approximately 725,000 spouses of active duty servicemembers face challenges to maintaining a career, including having to move frequently. Their employment is often important to the financial well-being of their families. For these reasons, DOD has taken steps in recent years to help military spouses obtain employment. Moreover, the federal government has hiring mechanisms to help military spouses obtain federal jobs.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 requires GAO to report on the programs that help military spouses obtain jobs. This report examines: (1) DOD's recent efforts to help military spouses obtain employment, (2) DOD's steps to assess effectiveness of these efforts, and (3) the hiring mechanisms to help military spouses obtain federal jobs. GAO conducted interviews with DOD, the Office of Personnel Management, and two advocacy groups; conducted site visits; analyzed relevant data; and reviewed relevant documents, laws, and regulations.

section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The Department of Defense (DOD) has recently created three new programs to help military spouses obtain employment: (1) the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) tuition assistance program, (2) the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), which connects military spouses with employers, (3) and the Military Spouse Career Center, consisting of a call center and a website for military spouses to obtain counseling and information. DOD's goals for these programs are to reduce unemployment among military spouses and close their wage gap with civilian spouses. Aside from these new programs, military spouses can also use employment assistance programs that the military services have long operated on DOD installations. However, GAO's site visits and interviews indicate that there may be gaps in coordination across the various programs that result in confusion for military spouses. Currently, DOD does not have guidance describing its overall strategy and how all of its programs should coordinate to help military spouses obtain employment, but DOD is in the process of developing such guidance.

DOD is not yet able to measure the overall effectiveness of its military spouse employment programs and its performance monitoring is limited, but DOD is taking steps to improve its monitoring and evaluation. To determine whether its programs have been effective in reducing unemployment among military spouses and closing their wage gap with civilian spouses, DOD is planning to contract with a research organization for a long-term evaluation. With regard to its performance monitoring for these programs, DOD has performance measures for MSEP and MyCAA, but has no measures for the Career Center. In addition, reliability of the data is questionable on the MSEP performance measure because DOD's data are derived from an informal and inconsistent process. DOD's other measure--the percentage of courses funded by MyCAA tuition assistance that military spouses complete with a passing grade--is a useful interim measure for monitoring how the funds are being used, but it does not provide information on whether the funds help military spouses obtain employment. DOD has efforts underway to improve its performance monitoring, including identifying additional measures it would like to track and collecting additional data on participants' employment and educational outcomes.

The federal government has two hiring mechanisms that can provide military spouses who meet the eligibility criteria with some advantages in the federal hiring process. The first mechanism--a non-competitive authority--allows federal agencies the option of hiring qualified military spouses without going through the competitive process. The second mechanism--DOD's Military Spouse Preference program--provides military spouses priority in selection for certain DOD jobs. These hiring mechanisms can increase a military spouse's chances of obtaining federal employment, but they do not guarantee that military spouses will obtain the job they apply for. In fiscal year 2011, agencies used the noncompetitive authority to hire about 1,200 military spouses, which represented approximately 0.5 percent of all federal hires that year. Military spouses represented 0.4 percent of the working-age population in 2010. With regard to the Military Spouse Preference program, DOD has placed about 12,500 military spouses into civil service jobs in the past 10 years, which includes both new hires and conversions of DOD employees.

section_title: What GAO Recommends
paragraphs: GAO recommends that DOD consider incorporating (1) key collaboration practices as it develops its spouse employment guidance, and (2) key attributes of successful performance measures as it develops and finalizes its performance measures.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: For many of the approximately 725,000 spouses of active duty  servicemembers, the special conditions of military life may make it difficult  to start or maintain a career. Military spouses may have to move  frequently to keep families together when servicemembers are relocated,  or they may have to bear a larger share of family responsibilities,  particularly during servicemembers’ deployments. Some studies have  found that being a military spouse is correlated with a higher  unemployment rate and a lower wage on average, compared to civilian  spouses. The employment situation of military spouses, in turn, affects  the well-being of the military family and may also influence whether a  servicemember chooses to remain in the military. For these reasons, the  Department of Defense (DOD) has recently made new efforts to help  military spouses obtain employment. In addition, the federal government  has established special hiring mechanisms targeted to those military  spouses interested in obtaining federal jobs.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 mandates  that we review the DOD spouse employment programs as well as the  federal hiring mechanisms targeted to help military spouses. This report  addresses the following questions: (1) What efforts has DOD recently  made to help military spouses prepare for and obtain employment? (2)  What steps has DOD taken to assess the effectiveness of these  programs? (3) What hiring mechanisms exist to help military spouses  obtain federal jobs? In June and July 2012, we provided briefings to  cognizant committee staff. This report summarizes those briefings and  provides additional information.

To identify DOD’s efforts to help military spouses prepare for and obtain  employment and to examine the steps DOD has taken to assess the  effectiveness of these programs, we conducted interviews with key  officials involved in DOD’s spouse employment programs from DOD  headquarters and each of the military services (Air Force, Army, Marine  Corps, and Navy). We also reviewed DOD’s program descriptions,  funding data, strategic planning documents, performance reports,  guidance, and other relevant documents. To identify the hiring  mechanisms that can help military spouses obtain federal jobs, we  interviewed officials at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and  DOD’s civilian personnel office and reviewed relevant federal laws,  regulations, and guidance. To determine how many spouses were hired  under these mechanisms, we analyzed data from OPM’s Central  Personnel Data File (CPDF) and obtained data from DOD. We assessed  the reliability of these data by reviewing relevant documents, interviewing  DOD and OPM officials about the data, and conducting electronic testing  of the CPDF data. We found the data sufficiently reliable for our  purposes. To supplement the information we obtained from DOD central  offices and OPM, we interviewed local program officials and spouses at  three military installations in the Washington, D.C.-area—Fort Meade  (Army and Navy programs), Joint Base Andrews (Air Force), and  Henderson Hall (Marine Corps). The information we obtained from these  site visits is not generalizable. We also interviewed two advocacy groups  for military families to obtain their perspectives on DOD’s efforts to  provide employment services to military spouses.

We conducted this performance audit from March 2012 to December  2012, in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives (see appendix I for further  information on our scope and methodology).
subsections: section_title: Background
subsections: section_title: Employment Conditions of Military Spouses
paragraphs: Among the 1.4 million active duty servicemembers in fiscal year 2011,  over half (57 percent) were married, according to DOD’s data. More than  90 percent of the spouses of active duty servicemembers were women.  Recent studies have found that among those in the labor force, being a  military spouse is correlated with a higher unemployment rate, compared  to civilian spouses. In addition, among those employed, being a military  spouse is correlated with a lower wage on average, relative to civilian  spouses. Researchers have posited several possible reasons for this.  First, military spouses tend to be a younger group than civilian spouses,  as well as more likely to be caring for young children. As a result, a larger  proportion of military spouses are more likely to be at the beginning of  their careers compared to civilian spouses, and a larger proportion have  childrearing responsibilities that may make obtaining or maintaining a job  more challenging. Second, military spouses move more often than civilian  spouses as a whole, which may make it more difficult to retain jobs and  develop careers. Some have also speculated that employers may be less  willing to hire military spouses than other populations, for example, if they  are concerned that military spouses will relocate. Third, demanding work  schedules for the servicemembers may mean that spouses bear a larger  share of childrearing or other family responsibilities, particularly when  servicemembers are deployed. One recent study controlled for many of  these characteristics and found that they explained some, though not all,  of the correlation between being a military spouse and having a higher  unemployment rate and lower average wage, relative to civilian spouses.

section_title: DOD Employment Assistance Programs and Other Efforts to Help Military Spouses
paragraphs: Recognizing the challenges that military spouses face in beginning or  maintaining a career, DOD has historically had efforts to help military  spouses obtain employment. The military services have operated  employment assistance programs at military installations since the 1980s.  While these programs serve spouses, they also serve many other  populations in the military community, including dependent children,  active duty servicemembers, active Reserve and National Guard  members, DOD civilian personnel, servicemembers transitioning to  civilian life, wounded warriors, and DOD retirees (see fig. 1). These  programs assist in a variety of ways, including providing referrals to job  openings, job fairs, one-on-one employment counseling, and workshops  on resume writing, networking, entrepreneurship, and other topics. These  programs are often located at military installations’ family centers, where  a variety of “family readiness services” are provided. These services may  include relocation assistance (e.g., providing information on housing, child  care, and schooling options), non-medical counseling, financial education  and counseling, deployment assistance (e.g., educating servicemembers  and their families about challenges they may face and services to help  them cope), services for family members with special needs, child abuse  and domestic violence prevention and response, emergency family  assistance, and transition assistance to help servicemembers separating  from the military and their families to reenter the civilian workforce.

Over the years, the Congress and the executive branch have sought to  enhance the employment assistance provided to military spouses. In  2001, Congress directed DOD to examine its spouse employment  programs and develop partnerships with private-sector firms to provide for  improved job portability for spouses, among other things. A study we  conducted in 2002 discussed a number of efforts DOD was making,  including holding a “spouse employment summit” to identify needed  actions, establishing partnerships with private-sector employers, and  seeking the Department of Labor’s assistance to resolve issues with  different state residency and licensing requirements for particular  occupations. More recently, in 2008, Congress authorized DOD to  establish programs to assist spouses of active duty servicemembers in  obtaining the education and training required for a degree, credential,  education prerequisites, or professional license that expands employment  and portable career opportunities. Congress also authorized DOD to  establish a pilot program to help military spouses secure internships at  federal agencies by reimbursing agencies for the costs associated with  the first year of employment of an eligible spouse. In 2011, the  administration issued a report identifying commitments federal agencies  made to help military spouses obtain employment. In that report, DOD  committed to expanding an employer partnership program that the Army  initiated in 2003 to the other military services, improving employment  counseling, and providing financial assistance to help certain spouses  obtain further education.

section_title: DOD Has Initiated Programs and Is Developing Guidance for Collaboration
paragraphs: Since 2009, DOD has established three programs targeted to military  spouses to help them obtain employment: (1) the Military Spouse Career  Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) tuition assistance program; (2) the  Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), which connects military  spouses with employers; and (3) the Military Spouse Career Center,  consisting of a call center and a website through which spouses can  obtain counseling and information. These three programs comprise  DOD’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) initiative  (see fig. 2). DOD has two goals for its SECO programs: (1) reduce  unemployment among military spouses and (2) close their wage gap with  civilian spouses.

Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA): DOD created  the MyCAA program to help spouses obtain further education and training  toward a portable career. To enroll in this program, spouses must identify  the course of study they want to pursue, develop an educational plan, and  apply to DOD for tuition assistance. The tuition funds must be used for  education or training toward a portable career field, defined by DOD and  the Department of Labor as a high-growth, high-demand career field that  is likely to have job openings near military installations. Since its  inception in 2009, there have been several changes to the program’s  eligibility criteria and benefits. After a pilot period, DOD established that  any spouse of an active duty servicemember could participate in the  program and could receive up to $6,000 in tuition funds for any continuing  education, including educational programs to obtain certificates and  licenses, as well as bachelor’s and advanced degrees. Due to concerns  about rising costs and enrollment requests, however, DOD (1) tightened  the eligibility criteria to target the program to spouses of junior  servicemembers, (2) reduced the benefit amount to $4,000, and (3)  restricted the funds’ use to the attainment of certificates and licenses for  portable careers, not for bachelor’s or advanced degrees. In our site  visits and interviews with advocacy groups, some felt that the program  should be expanded to allow spouses to obtain higher-level degrees or  enable more spouses to use the program. DOD officials said that  MyCAA’s revised criteria reflects the original intent of the program and  ensures fiscal sustainability. In fiscal year 2011, DOD spent  approximately $55 million on the MyCAA program; however, MyCAA’s  expenditures have fluctuated as the program has changed. Specifically,  DOD’s spending increased in the first 2 years after it was launched, and  then declined 70 percent in its third year, after DOD changed the eligibility  criteria, benefit amount, and types of training or educational programs for  which the funds could be used (see appendix II for further information on  MyCAA expenditures). According to a DOD official, approximately  125,000 spouses received MyCAA tuition assistance from October 2008  to May 2012.

Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP): DOD created MSEP in  2011 as an expansion of an Army program to connect spouses from all  services to employment opportunities at Fortune 500 companies,  nonprofits, and government agencies. Specifically, MSEP establishes  partnerships with employers who pledge to offer spouses transferrable,  portable career opportunities. Any spouse interested in working for these  employers then registers for MSEP and accesses MSEP’s web-based  portal. The MSEP portal allows spouses to search for job openings  posted by participating employers, build their resume, and apply for jobs.  Currently, MSEP is partnering with more than 125 companies, according  to DOD. In fiscal year 2011, DOD spent $1.2 million on the MSEP  program for the contractors that operate and enhance the web-based  portal and work with employers (see appendix II for further information on  MSEP expenditures).

Military Spouse Career Center (the Career Center): The Career Center  consists of a call center, through which spouses can speak with  employment counselors, and a website with employment information.  The counselors at the call center and the website provide assistance with  spouses’ general employment needs, such as exploring career options,  resume writing, interviewing, and job search. In addition, the Career  Center helps spouses learn about and navigate DOD’s other spouse  employment programs. For example, spouses interested in MyCAA may  speak with a counselor at the Career Center to help them develop their  education plan, which is a requirement for receiving MyCAA benefits.  Until recently, the Career Center was part of DOD’s Military OneSource,  which provides information and referral to services for servicemembers  and their families. Information has not been available on the amount  spent on the Career Center because expenditure data for the center was  not separated from Military OneSource expenditures. DOD has recently  separated the Career Center from Military OneSource.

In addition to the three SECO programs, spouses can also receive  employment assistance from the long-standing programs operated at  military service installations. The services’ programs also provide  counseling to spouses and information about DOD’s spouse employment  programs, but they differ from the Career Center in that they are provided  in-person. For example, some of the activities offered for spouses at  installations we visited in the Washington, D.C. area include an annual  spouse job fair, a dress-for-success workshop with stylists at a  department store, and a spouse support group with guest speakers, such  as MSEP representatives. DOD officials explained that they created the  Career Center to supplement the services’ programs, which may not have  been fully meeting the needs of all spouses. The military services’  programs are available only during business hours and may not be  accessible to spouses who do not live on a military installation. In  contrast, any military spouse may access the Career Center, 24 hours a  day, 7 days a week. Furthermore, DOD officials noted that installations  vary in the level of employment assistance they provide to spouses. For  example, some of the services’ employment assistance programs are  staffed by generalists who provide other types of counseling as well, and  many of the services’ programs also serve other members of the military  community, such as servicemembers and retirees. In contrast, the Career  Center is staffed by counselors with specialized knowledge in  employment services, and the counselors are focused specifically on  assisting military spouses. With the Career Center, spouses who do not  feel that the employment assistance programs at their local installation  are meeting their needs have an alternative resource they can turn to.

The creation of the new SECO programs has had many benefits, according  to advocacy group representatives, program staff, and spouses we  interviewed. Officials and spouses agreed that these programs help  address unique challenges faced by military spouses, such as frequent  relocation to installations with varying services offered. For example, a  spouse we spoke with explained how she spoke with a Career Center  counselor to identify job opportunities in a rural installation and applied for  MyCAA tuition assistance upon relocating to another installation.  Additionally, one official with a spouse group praised MSEP for connecting  spouses with private sector job opportunities throughout the nation.

However, with the establishment of the new SECO programs overlaid on  the services’ existing programs, program staff, spouses, and advocacy  groups we spoke with expressed some confusion and noted gaps in  coordination:

A representative from an advocacy group noted that the information  spouses are provided about the various employment programs is  inconsistent across installations and websites, and the names and  terminology used for the programs also varies. This may make it  confusing for spouses as they move and seek assistance in different  locations.

The advocacy group representatives also said that while the various  programs refer spouses to other programs, spouses may not be  provided information to help them make the best use of other  programs. For example, they said that staff at the services’  employment assistance programs may refer spouses to the Career  Center website but do not inform them about the breadth of services  that Career Center counselors can provide. As a result, some  spouses may not be aware of the various types of assistance that the  Career Center can offer. With regard to MSEP, the representatives  said that counselors at the Career Center and the services’  employment assistance programs refer spouses to the MSEP web  portal but do not provide them with further guidance on how they can  effectively use the portal to obtain a job with an MSEP partner.

An advocacy group representative and program managers we spoke  with indicated that the various programs’ websites may not be easy to  navigate or find. For example, a representative from an advocacy  group noted that the Career Center website has good information, but  it is difficult for spouses to find it within the Military OneSource  website. A program manager at one installation said that some  spouses have had difficulty finding the MyCAA website. Another  program manager said that the Career Center website does not have  links to local installations’ employment assistance programs.

Additionally, during our site visits and interviews, we heard about some  issues that have been created by having two different programs—the  Career Center and the military services’ employment assistance  programs—that appear to offer some similar services. Specifically, we  heard the following accounts about how often spouses are referred to the  Career Center, instances where spouses have been referred back and  forth between the two programs, and potential duplication of efforts:

A program manager at one installation noted that she would not refer  spouses to the Career Center unless she was unable to handle the  workload.

A program manager at one installation said that she refers spouses to  the Career Center when she believes the type or level of services they  need would be better provided by Career Center counselors.  However, she said, in several cases, those spouses have been  referred back to her.

At a different installation, a program manager said that she  encourages her staff to refer spouses to the Career Center because  of the quality of services offered. However, she also noted that  because the Career Center provides some of the same services as  her office (e.g., counseling and help with resume writing and  interviewing skills), there is a potential duplication of effort. She said  that it would be acceptable to her if her office no longer provided  those employment services that the Career Center can provide and  instead, focused on delivering other services spouses need.

DOD has taken some steps to help spouses navigate among the various  programs. Its guidance for its family readiness programs, which the  military services’ employment assistance programs are one part of,  directs military services’ staff to assess a spouse’s need for SECO  services and identify opportunities to refer spouses to other services that  support their well-being. In addition, DOD officials said they recently  established a policy to ensure that MyCAA participants were referred to  the other SECO programs. Beginning in early 2012, spouses who want to  enroll in MyCAA are expected to speak with a counselor at the Career  Center first and also register for MSEP.

However, DOD does not currently have guidance describing its overall  strategy and how its various programs should coordinate to help spouses  obtain employment. According to DOD officials, DOD is in the process of  developing such guidance to provide direction on SECO programs and  address coordination and referral among the various programs. To do so,  DOD has convened an advisory group that includes representatives from  all of the services. As DOD develops its new guidance, our prior work on  enhancing and sustaining collaboration may be helpful. We identified the  following eight practices that can help sustain collaboration across  organizational boundaries:  1.  Define and articulate a common outcome.  2.  Establish mutually reinforcing or joint strategies.  3.  Identify and address needs by leveraging resources.  4.  Agree on roles and responsibilities.  5.  Establish compatible policies, procedures, and other means to  operate across agency boundaries.  6.  Develop mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results.  7.  Reinforce agency accountability for collaborative efforts through  agency plans and reports.  8.  Reinforce individual accountability for collaborative efforts through  performance management systems.

While all of these are relevant to DOD’s spouse employment programs,  two are particularly relevant because of the issues raised in our site visits  and interviews: (1) agreeing on roles and responsibilities, and (2)  establishing compatible policies, procedures, and other means to operate  across agency boundaries. The concerns about duplication of effort and  referrals back and forth between the Career Center and the military  services’ programs may indicate that the roles and responsibilities of the  two programs may not be sufficiently clear or defined. Similarly, the  inconsistencies and gaps in collaboration may indicate a need to  establish compatible policies, procedures, or other operational means, for  example, common names and terminology for the programs and new  procedures or mechanisms to ensure spouses are informed about the  programs that can help them.

section_title: DOD Currently Cannot Measure the Effectiveness of Its Programs, but Efforts Are Underway
paragraphs: DOD is not yet able to measure the overall effectiveness of its spouse  employment programs in achieving the goals of reducing unemployment  among military spouses and the wage gap with civilian spouses.  Additionally, DOD only has limited information on the performance of its  individual programs. DOD is aware of these limitations and is taking  steps to assess the programs’ effectiveness and develop a more robust  performance monitoring system.

To assess effectiveness of the three SECO programs, DOD is planning  on contracting with a research organization to conduct a long-term  evaluation. DOD officials would like the research organization to examine  whether the programs have affected spouses’ unemployment rates and  their wage gap with civilian spouses, as well as determine whether the  programs have had an effect on servicemembers’ retention in the military  and the families’ financial well-being. It is too soon to tell whether this  evaluation will be able to measure these possible outcomes and also  demonstrate whether the outcomes can be attributed to DOD’s spouse  employment programs. DOD officials anticipate establishing the contract  for this evaluation in fiscal year 2013.

In the meantime, DOD is conducting limited monitoring of the  performance of two of its spouse employment programs. First, DOD  monitors the number of spouses hired by employers participating in  MSEP. Second, DOD tracks the percentage of courses funded by MyCAA  tuition assistance that spouses complete with a passing grade.

DOD’s performance monitoring is limited for several reasons. First, DOD  has no performance measures for the Career Center. Second, DOD’s  data on the MSEP program are of questionable reliability because they  derive from an informal, nonstandardized process. Specifically, the data  on the number of spouses hired by employers participating in MSEP are  collected primarily by Army program managers through informal contacts  with spouses. These informal methods create the potential that DOD is  not obtaining reliable data. For example, if program managers vary in the  questions they ask spouses, information spouses provide may be  inconsistent. Moreover, by using data primarily from Army program  managers, DOD is missing information from spouses of servicemembers  in the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy who are working at MSEP  employers. Finally, DOD’s performance measure for MyCAA—showing  that more than 80 percent of courses funded with MyCAA tuition  assistance were completed with passing grades in fiscal year 2011—may  be a useful interim measure for monitoring how the funds are being used.  However, this does not show whether the MyCAA funds are helping  spouses obtain employment or increase their earnings.

DOD recognizes the need to improve its performance monitoring for its  spouse employment programs and is taking steps to improve the data it  collects on its individual programs:

For the Career Center, DOD is planning to ask the contractor who  runs the call center to follow up with spouses who use the center’s  services and ask them about their employment situation. DOD officials  said that these follow-ups could be used to obtain information on  employment outcomes of spouses who used the center, as well as  those who used MyCAA and MSEP programs, since the call center  also provides counseling to spouses using those programs.

For MSEP, DOD is planning to implement new procedures to collect  data from participating employers on the number of military spouses  they hire. Spouses hired by an MSEP employer will self-identify to the  employer that they are a military spouse. Employers will then report to  DOD the number of spouses they hired through a reporting  mechanism in the MSEP web portal.

For MyCAA, DOD has established methods to obtain data on when  spouses complete their planned programs of study and the  educational degrees they have obtained due to MyCAA funding.

DOD’s web-based portal for MyCAA now asks spouses to report to  DOD when they are taking a class that will complete their planned  program of study. It also asks schools to report when a spouse has  obtained a certificate or degree.

DOD has also identified four measures that it would like to track, including  three broader measures related to the SECO programs’ goals and one  measure for MyCAA: (1) spouses’ unemployment rate, (2) the wage gap  between military and civilian spouses, (3) spouses’ ability to maintain their  jobs or similar jobs after relocation, and (4) the change in earnings among  MyCAA participants. DOD has been conducting a survey of spouses  biennially to obtain information on military spouses’ unemployment rate,  and it will be fielding a new survey in late 2012 to obtain updated  information. DOD does not yet have processes for collecting data on a  regular basis on the three other measures it is considering.

As DOD continues to develop its performance monitoring system, our  previous work on developing effective performance measures may be  helpful. Specifically, we identified nine key attributes of successful  performance measures (see table 1). No set of performance measures  is perfect, and a performance measure that lacks a key attribute may still  provide useful information. However, these attributes can help identify  areas for further refinement. For example, one of the attributes calls for  covering core program activities. As we noted above, DOD does not have  a performance measure for the Career Center, and thus its measures do  not cover all of its core program activities intended to support military  spouse employment. DOD’s performance measure for MSEP has also  been lacking the attribute of reliability, since DOD has not had a  standardized process for collecting the data. Reliability refers to whether  standard procedures for collecting data or calculating results can be  applied to the performance measures so that they would likely produce  the same results if applied repeatedly to the same situation. Another key  attribute that may be relevant is limiting overlap. There is potential for  overlap if DOD has performance measures that track employment  outcomes for each of the three SECO programs, but military spouses  often use more than one program. For example, if many spouses who  use MSEP also use the Career Center, a measure on the number of  spouses who obtained employment through MSEP could overlap with a  measure to track spouses’ employment through the Career Center, since  the two measures would capture employment attainment for many of the  same individuals.

Because DOD has multiple employment programs that military spouses  may use, our work on practices for enhancing and sustaining  collaboration, which we discussed above, may offer some helpful insights  as DOD refines its performance monitoring system. Specifically, we  noted that developing mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating, and  reporting on results of collaborative efforts can help agencies identify  areas for improvement. We also stated that agencies can use their  strategic and annual performance plans as tools to drive collaboration  and establish complementary goals and strategies for achieving results.

section_title: Two Hiring Mechanisms Can Provide Advantages to Military Spouses Seeking Federal Employment
paragraphs: The federal government has two hiring mechanisms targeted specifically  to military spouses seeking federal jobs. The first mechanism—a  noncompetitive hiring authority for military spouses—is available to any  federal agency. The second—DOD’s Military Spouse Preference (MSP)  program, which allows DOD to give military spouses preference in hiring  for civilian or nonappropriated fund positions—applies only to DOD.  These two mechanisms can increase a military spouse’s chances of  obtaining federal employment, but they do not guarantee that spouses will  obtain the jobs they apply for. DOD provides general information to  military spouses on these mechanisms through the Career Center’s  website and the military services’ employment assistance programs.  Civilian personnel offices at local installations may provide more detailed  information and also inform spouses about how to apply for DOD and  other federal job openings.

The noncompetitive authority, which became effective in late fiscal year  2009, allows any federal agency the option of hiring qualified military  spouses into the competitive service without going through the  competitive examination process. In other words, this authority allows  eligible military spouses to be considered separately from other  candidates, meaning that military spouses do not have to compete  directly against other candidates as is the case under the competitive  examination process. To be considered for a position under this authority,  military spouses applying for federal jobs indicate in their applications that  they would like to be considered and include documentation verifying their  eligibility. According to OPM, the purpose of the noncompetitive authority  is to minimize disruptions in military families due to permanent  relocations, disability, and deaths resulting from active duty service.  Agencies can use the noncompetitive authority to hire: (1) spouses who  are relocating because of their servicemember’s orders for up to 2 years  after the relocation, (2) widows or widowers of servicemembers killed  during active duty, and (3) spouses of active duty servicemembers who  retired or separated from the military with a 100 percent disability.

The extent to which use of this authority results in employment of a  military spouse depends on a variety of factors. First, federal hiring  managers have the discretion whether to consider candidates under this  authority for a job vacancy. Second, if the hiring manager chooses to  consider candidates under this authority, the hiring manager is not  required to select a qualified military spouse, and the manager can  ultimately decide to select a qualified candidate other than a military  spouse. This authority allows for eligible military spouses to be  considered and selected for federal jobs, but it does not provide a hiring  preference over other qualified applicants. Federal agencies may also  consider using noncompetitive appointment authorities or hiring  mechanisms for other populations, such as those for veterans, people  with disabilities, and federal employees who lost their jobs due to  downsizing or restructuring.

OPM officials told us that they conduct oversight of this authority as part  of their general oversight of federal agencies’ human capital systems.  OPM officials said that thus far, they have found no irregularities in  agencies’ use of this hiring mechanism. OPM officials also said they have  provided technical assistance and briefings to federal agencies and  stakeholders on this authority and other ways to support military families,  such as using authorities for hiring veterans.

Federal agencies hired about 2,000 military spouses using this hiring  authority in the first 2 years of implementation, with more hired in the  second year (about 1,200 in fiscal year 2011 and about 800 in fiscal year  2010). The approximately 1,200 military spouses hired in fiscal year 2011  represented about 0.5 percent of all federal hires that year. For context,  spouses of active duty servicemembers represented 0.4 percent of the  working-age population in 2010. DOD has been the primary user of this  authority, hiring 94 percent of all military spouses hired under the  authority. OPM officials said this was likely due to military spouses’  greater familiarity with DOD, and that DOD is more likely than other  agencies to have job openings where military spouses are located.

DOD’s Military Spouse Preference (MSP) program provides military  spouses priority in selection for DOD positions. The MSP includes two  hiring mechanisms—one for spouses seeking DOD civilian positions, and  one for spouses seeking DOD nonappropriated fund positions. With  regard to the mechanism for DOD civilian positions, the MSP provides  hiring preference to qualified spouses for DOD positions if the spouse is  among persons determined to be best qualified for the position. The  other mechanism provides military spouses with preference in hiring for  nonappropriated fund positions below a certain pay level.  Nonappropriated fund positions within DOD include those paid for by  funds generated from services provided, such as at exchanges,  recreation programs, and child care centers on military installations. To  be considered for a position under the MSP program, military spouses  must register for MSP, provide supporting documentation, and identify  which types of jobs they would be willing or able to perform based on their  backgrounds and geographic location. When a spouse’s qualifications  and desired job characteristics match a job opening, the spouse must  submit his or her application through MSP.

As with the noncompetitive authority, the extent to which this authority is  used depends on several factors. MSP only applies to civilian jobs at  DOD that a hiring manager chooses to fill through a competitive process,  which generally means that the hiring manager is to consider more than  one candidate for the position and select the best-qualified candidate  based on job-related criteria. The characteristics of the job opening  (location, type, level) must also match the criteria indicated by the spouse  when he or she registered for MSP. In addition, the spouse must be  among the best qualified applicants for the job. Furthermore, according to  DOD officials, the agency also uses hiring preferences for other  populations who may have a higher priority than the spouse, such as  DOD employees whose positions were recently eliminated. If the  registered MSP spouse is determined to be among the best qualified  applicants, and if there are no other best qualified candidates with a  higher priority preference, the hiring manager must select the military  spouse for the job. For nonappropriated fund jobs, the MSP program  only applies to jobs below a certain pay level. A DOD official said that  these positions generally have relatively high turnover rates, so spouses  often do not need to use the MSP to obtain the job.

DOD’s civilian personnel office oversees the MSP and other preference  programs, and officials said that they have found no irregularities in MSP  use. DOD’s civilian personnel office also tracks the number of spouses  who register for MSP and are placed into jobs on a monthly basis. While  these are useful measures of program activity, DOD officials said that  they do not provide information on whether the agency is making  sufficient use of MSP. Examining sufficiency of MSP use would require a  study that takes into account the many complex factors that affect MSP,  including how many vacancies DOD had at spouses’ locations, how many  vacancies matched the types of jobs spouses identified in their  registration as being qualified for, how the qualifications of spouses who  applied compared to those of other candidates, and whether other  candidates for the position were eligible for special hiring mechanisms as  well, such as noncompetitive appointments. DOD officials indicated that  such an analysis would be challenging to conduct, and DOD has not  attempted a comprehensive study. Nonetheless, DOD officials we spoke  with felt that the MSP program had helped a large number of spouses  obtain jobs.

Over the 10-year period of fiscal years 2002 to 2011, a total of about  12,500 military spouses were placed in civil service jobs through the  MSP, according to DOD’s data. This number includes both new hires and  conversions of DOD employees. The numbers have fluctuated from  year to year in this time period, from a low of 890 to a high of 1,722. DOD  officials said that the fluctuations likely correspond with overall DOD hiring  levels. With regard to nonappropriated fund jobs, DOD does not  consistently track the number of spouses hired through the MSP, but  overall, about 26,000 military spouses were employed by DOD in  nonappropriated fund jobs as of June 2012. This represented 19 percent  of all employees in these jobs.

section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: While DOD is at an early stage of implementing its new spouse  employment programs, it has an opportunity to ensure that a well- coordinated structure is in place to deliver employment services to  spouses, and that its system for monitoring performance is well-designed.  Specifically, through its advisory group, DOD has the potential to include  program stakeholders in a meaningful effort to support spouses and  military families, while also ensuring effective delivery of services and  addressing potential areas of duplication. As its advisory group moves  forward with developing guidance on spouse employment programs,  DOD has an opportunity to incorporate practices that can enhance and  sustain coordination, including agreeing on roles and responsibilities for  both SECO and the military services to provide employment assistance to  spouses. Without guidance that incorporates key collaboration practices,  DOD may miss opportunities to ensure all spouses consistently receive  high quality employment assistance from SECO and the military services  and can navigate smoothly from program to program, while avoiding  duplication of efforts.

With regard to its performance monitoring, DOD has taken steps in the  right direction by exploring options to collect outcome data and planning  for a long-term evaluation. However, as DOD works to identify the  performance measures it will use to conduct ongoing monitoring of its  programs and report its progress to policymakers, DOD can benefit by  considering attributes of successful performance measures. These  include ensuring that it uses reliable data and that its performance  measures enable it to monitor all of its key program activities and their  planned outcomes. Without integrating successful elements of  performance measurement into its evaluation efforts, DOD runs the risk  that it will not collect sufficient and accurate information to determine if  DOD funds are being used in the most effective way to help military  spouses obtain employment.

section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To enhance collaboration among the various entities involved in  delivering employment services to military spouses and to better monitor  the effectiveness of these services, we recommend that the Secretary of  Defense take the following actions:  consider incorporating key practices to sustain and enhance  collaboration when developing and finalizing its spouse employment  guidance, such as agreeing on roles and responsibilities and  developing compatible policies and procedures.  consider incorporating key attributes of successful performance  measures when developing and finalizing performance measures,  such as ensuring reliability of the data used in the measures and  covering key program activities.

section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to the Secretary of Defense and the  Director of OPM for review and comment. In DOD’s written comments,  which are reproduced in appendix III, DOD partially concurred with our  recommendations. DOD said that in general, our report correctly  addresses the issues concerning collaboration and performance measure  development. DOD also provided technical comments, which we  incorporated as appropriate. OPM had no comments.

DOD partially concurred with our recommendation to consider  incorporating key collaboration practices to sustain and enhance  collaboration when developing and finalizing its spouse employment  guidance. While DOD said it looked forward to incorporating collaboration  practices as the SECO program matures, DOD stated that it has already  taken initial action in this area. For example, DOD cited the advisory  group it created, as well as partnerships developed with various  organizations. Our report recognizes DOD’s efforts. However, these initial  actions do not directly address the particular area highlighted in our  recommendation—developing and finalizing guidance for its spouse  employment programs. As we state in our report, the programs under the  SECO initiative are new and there are some gaps in coordination. Thus,  we continue to believe that incorporating key collaboration practices into  the guidance that DOD is developing, such as agreeing on roles and  responsibilities, would be beneficial. This could help ensure that the  various entities involved in DOD’s multiple spouse employment programs  work cohesively and avoid duplicating efforts while helping military  spouses seamlessly navigate across the programs.

DOD also partially concurred with our recommendation to consider  incorporating key attributes of successful performance measures when  developing and finalizing its performance measures. DOD said that it  looks forward to improving performance measurement but that it has  already taken steps to incorporate key attributes of successful  performance measures. For example, DOD said it is developing  employment data collection for military spouses directly from MSEP  partners and anticipates completion by winter of 2013. We recognize  DOD’s efforts to collect additional data. However, because DOD is in the  early stages of this process, we continue to believe that it can benefit  from incorporating attributes of successful performance measures as it  further develops its performance monitoring system.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of OPM, and other  interested parties. The report is also available at no charge on the GAO  website at www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff members have any questions about this report, please  contact me at (202) 512-7215 or at sherrilla@gao.gov. Contact points for  our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found  on the last page of this report. Staff members who made key contributions  in this report are listed in appendix IV.

section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: We addressed the following research objectives in this study:  1.  What efforts has DOD recently made to help military spouses prepare  for and obtain employment?  2.  What steps has DOD taken to assess the effectiveness of these  programs?  3.  What hiring mechanisms exist to help military spouses obtain federal  jobs?
subsections: section_title: Objective 1: Identifying DOD Efforts
paragraphs: We identified DOD’s recent efforts to help military spouses prepare for  and obtain employment by interviewing DOD officials and reviewing  literature and documents, including DOD websites, reports, program  descriptions, strategic planning documents, and guidance. We focused on  identifying programs that would be a primary resource for military  spouses to enhance their job skills and increase their employability,  identify job opportunities, and/or help them obtain employment. We did  not include in our review programs that may have an employment focus  but generally did not serve spouses of active duty servicemembers, nor  did we include programs that may target military spouses but had a  primary focus other than employment. We developed a preliminary list of  programs that included the three programs under DOD’s Spouse  Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) initiative, as well as the  employment assistance programs that the military services have long  operated. We shared our list with DOD officials, who agreed with our  assessment that these are the primary programs that provide  employment services to spouses. Our first objective is focused primarily  on the three new SECO programs, but we note that spouses can also use  the military services’ employment assistance programs, and we discuss  coordination across the SECO and military services’ programs.

As we identified the programs to examine, we conducted further  interviews with officials involved in each of DOD’s spouse employment  programs, both at DOD headquarters and with each of the military  services (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy). We requested more  detailed information, such as on the programs’ purposes, budgets,  services they provide, and coordination. In examining coordination among  the programs, we consulted GAO’s prior work that identified practices that  can help federal agencies enhance and sustain collaboration.

To obtain additional perspectives, we interviewed two advocacy groups  who support military families, and we visited employment assistance  programs at three military installations in the Washington-D.C. area.  These installations are: Fort Meade (Army and Navy programs), Joint  Base Andrews (Air Force), and Henderson Hall (Marine Corps). During  our visits to these installations, we spoke with local program officials, and  we spoke to military spouses in three of the four services. The information  we obtained from these installations is not generalizable.

section_title: Objective 2: Identifying DOD’s Steps to Assess Effectiveness
paragraphs: To identify the steps DOD has taken to assess the effectiveness of its  spouse employment programs, we interviewed DOD officials to obtain  information on how DOD is currently measuring effectiveness, as well as  its plans to conduct evaluations or collect data on performance. We also  reviewed documents DOD provided, including internal and external  reports, strategic planning documents, and descriptions of existing and  potential performance measures. In assessing DOD’s performance  measures, we consulted with GAO’s prior work that identified attributes of  successful performance measures and described requirements for  reporting on performance under the Government Performance and  Results Act, as amended. We also assessed the reliability of the data  used for DOD’s performance measures by interviewing officials  knowledgeable about the data and reviewing relevant documents. Based  on our work, we determined that the data used for the performance  measure on the Military Spouse Employment Program are of  questionable reliability, and we discuss this in our report.

section_title: Objective 3: Identifying Federal Hiring Mechanisms
paragraphs: We identified the hiring mechanisms intended to help military spouses  obtain federal employment by interviewing officials at OPM and DOD and  reviewing relevant federal laws, regulations, executive orders, and  guidance. Our interviews and the documents also provided information on  the processes for how these mechanisms can be used.

To obtain data on the number of spouses hired through one of these  mechanisms, the noncompetitive authority, we analyzed data from OPM’s  Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), a database of federal employees.  We present data for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, since the authority was  implemented in late fiscal year 2009. We reviewed the reliability of the  data by interviewing OPM officials, conducting electronic testing, and  reviewing relevant documents. We determined that the data were  sufficiently reliable for our purposes. The information we present from our  analysis of the CPDF is on the number of individuals hired under the  noncompetitive authority for military spouses. It does not include military  spouses hired by federal agencies without using this authority, and as  such does not represent the total number of military spouses hired by  federal agencies. Data are not available in the CPDF to identify the total  number of military spouses hired by federal agencies.

On the other hiring mechanism that we examined, the Military Spouse  Preference (MSP) program, DOD’s civilian personnel office provided us  with data on the number of spouses placed into civil service positions,  including both hires and conversions. We assessed the reliability of this  data by reviewing relevant documents and interviewing DOD officials on  the processes through which the data are input and validated. We  determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for our purposes. With  regard to the number of spouses hired into nonappropriated fund positions  using the MSP, DOD officials noted that such data are not collected in a  consistent manner by the military services’ nonappropriated fund offices so  we do not present these data. DOD’s Defense Manpower Data Center  provided us with data on the number of spouses in nonappropriated fund  positions overall, and we present this information in our report for context.

section_title: Appendix II: DOD’s Spending on Military Spouse Employment Programs
paragraphs: Table 2 provides information on DOD’s expenditures on the two military  spouse employment programs for which data were available—MyCAA  and MSEP. Data were not available on how much was spent on the  Career Center because the center was included in DOD’s broader  contract for Military OneSource. According to a DOD official, DOD intends  to have an overall SECO budget that encompasses the three spouse  employment programs for fiscal year 2013. Data were also unavailable on  how much DOD spends on spouse employment activities on local  installations because the resources used for military services’  employment programs are embedded in broader budget categories, such  as base operations and support.

section_title: Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Defense

section_title: Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact

section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Lori Rectanus (Assistant  Director), Keira Dembowski, and Yunsian Tai made significant  contributions to this report. Also contributing to this report were James  Bennett, David Chrisinger, Brenda Farrell, Cynthia Grant, Joel Green,  Yvonne Jones, Kirsten Lauber, Kathy Leslie, Benjamin Licht, Trina Lewis,  James Rebbe, Sarah Veale, and Gregory Wilmoth.


Question-summary annotations: questions: question: What steps has the DOD recently taken to help military spouses obtain employment?
answer: The Department of Defense (DOD) has recently created three new programs to help military spouses obtain employment: (1) the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA) tuition assistance program, (2) the Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), which connects military spouses with employers, (3) and the Military Spouse Career Center, consisting of a call center and a website for military spouses to obtain counseling and information.
child_questions: question: What are the DOD's goals for these programs?
answer: DOD's goals for these programs are to reduce unemployment among military spouses and close their wage gap with civilian spouses.

question: What alternative support programs could military spouses make use of?
answer: Aside from these new programs, military spouses can also use employment assistance programs that the military services have long operated on DOD installations.

question: What issues has GAO discovered with the DOD's military spouse support programs?
answer: However, GAO's site visits and interviews indicate that there may be gaps in coordination across the various programs that result in confusion for military spouses.
child_questions: question: What steps has the DOD taken to alleviate this issue?
answer: Currently, DOD does not have guidance describing its overall strategy and how all of its programs should coordinate to help military spouses obtain employment, but DOD is in the process of developing such guidance.

questions: question: What steps is DOD taking to improve its monitoring of military spouse employment programs?
answer: DOD is not yet able to measure the overall effectiveness of its military spouse employment programs and its performance monitoring is limited, but DOD is taking steps to improve its monitoring and evaluation.
child_questions: question: What steps does DOD plan to take to measure effectiveness?
answer: To determine whether its programs have been effective in reducing unemployment among military spouses and closing their wage gap with civilian spouses, DOD is planning to contract with a research organization for a long-term evaluation.

question: How is DOD's ability to monitor performance limited?
answer: With regard to its performance monitoring for these programs, DOD has performance measures for MSEP and MyCAA, but has no measures for the Career Center. In addition, reliability of the data is questionable on the MSEP performance measure because DOD's data are derived from an informal and inconsistent process. DOD's other measure--the percentage of courses funded by MyCAA tuition assistance that military spouses complete with a passing grade--is a useful interim measure for monitoring how the funds are being used, but it does not provide information on whether the funds help military spouses obtain employment.
child_questions: question: How does DOD plan to improve its performance monitoring?
answer: DOD has efforts underway to improve its performance monitoring, including identifying additional measures it would like to track and collecting additional data on participants' employment and educational outcomes.

questions: question: What hiring mechanisms does the federal government have in place to support military spouses?
answer: The federal government has two hiring mechanisms that can provide military spouses who meet the eligibility criteria with some advantages in the federal hiring process. The first mechanism--a non-competitive authority--allows federal agencies the option of hiring qualified military spouses without going through the competitive process. The second mechanism--DOD's Military Spouse Preference program--provides military spouses priority in selection for certain DOD jobs.
child_questions: question: What are the shortcomings of these hiring mechanisms?
answer: These hiring mechanisms can increase a military spouse's chances of obtaining federal employment, but they do not guarantee that military spouses will obtain the job they apply for.

question: What results have these hiring mechanisms yielded?
answer: In fiscal year 2011, agencies used the noncompetitive authority to hire about 1,200 military spouses, which represented approximately 0.5 percent of all federal hires that year. Military spouses represented 0.4 percent of the working-age population in 2010. With regard to the Military Spouse Preference program, DOD has placed about 12,500 military spouses into civil service jobs in the past 10 years, which includes both new hires and conversions of DOD employees.

questions: question: What challenges do military spouses face in maintaining a career?
answer: The approximately 725,000 spouses of active duty servicemembers face challenges to maintaining a career, including having to move frequently.
child_questions: question: Why is the employment of military spouses important?
answer: Their employment is often important to the financial well-being of their families.

question: What steps has DOD taken to help military spouses maintain a career?
answer: For these reasons, DOD has taken steps in recent years to help military spouses obtain employment. Moreover, the federal government has hiring mechanisms to help military spouses obtain federal jobs.

questions: question: What does the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 ask of GAO?
answer: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 requires GAO to report on the programs that help military spouses obtain jobs.

question: What does this report examine?
answer: This report examines: (1) DOD's recent efforts to help military spouses obtain employment, (2) DOD's steps to assess effectiveness of these efforts, and (3) the hiring mechanisms to help military spouses obtain federal jobs.
child_questions: question: How did GAO collect data for this report?
answer: GAO conducted interviews with DOD, the Office of Personnel Management, and two advocacy groups; conducted site visits; analyzed relevant data; and reviewed relevant documents, laws, and regulations.