Summary: Congress has made it clear that employment services for veterans is a national responsibility, and it has passed legislation providing this assistance specifically for veterans. Although the Department of Veterans Affairs is responsible for most veterans' services, the Labor Department's Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) runs programs and other activities, including grants, designed to help veterans find jobs and job training. VETS, budgeted at about $182 million for fiscal year 1997, funds two primary veterans' employment assistance grants to states: the Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program specialists and the Local Veterans' Employment Representative. The staff of the two grant programs, whose positions are federally funded, are part of states' employment service systems and provide direct employment services to veterans. This report describes the use of these grant funds. GAO provides information on (1) national funding trends for staff of the two grant programs and how funds are allocated to the states; (2) how state performance is measured; (3) position requirements for and characteristics of the staff; and (4) how the staff spend their time and integrate their services with other veterans' employment service programs, such as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling Program and the Transition Assistance Program for separating service members.
