Narrative: c.

Under this grant, Colorado will staff a combination of full-time DVOP specialists, LVERs, and Consolidated Veteran Services Representatives (CVSR, consolidated DVOP/LVER) as supported by current Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) funding.  

This staffing arrangement allows individualized career services and business engagement to be available in the areas of the state where the largest concentrations of veterans are seeking employment. 

The primary duties of DVOPs/CVSRs are to provide individualized career services to veterans with significant barriers to employment and any other veteran category identified by the Assistant Secretary. Targeted career management continues to be an appropriate service delivery strategy or framework in which individualized career services will be delivered. 

The individualized career services and the purpose for which they are used by the DVOP specialists and CVSRs are: 

• Comprehensive Assessment (CA): Comprehensive and specialized assessments of the skill levels, interests, aptitudes, and any barriers to employment. This may include diagnostic testing, use of other assessment tools, and in-depth interviewing to identify appropriate educational and employment goals. 
• Counseling (CS): This is a staff-assisted individualized career service that may be offered in an individual or group setting. Career Counseling services include:

• Advice and guidance that assists the job seeker with making occupational or career decisions that may lead to the creation of an employment plan or the achievement of one of the goals within the plan or may lead to employment, employment retention, or success in post-secondary education 
• Advice and guidance to assist the job seeker with identifying barriers to employment and options for addressing those barriers

• Individual Employment Plan (IEP): Indicates that an individual has participated in creating a written plan that outlines the course of action the participant will take to obtain employment. This plan needs to be agreed upon by the participant and JVSG staff member and should outline both the actions to be taken by the participant and those to be taken by staff to work together toward the participant’s goals. An IE service should be entered when an IEP is updated or modified.
• Pre-Vocational Services (PV): Short-term pre-vocational services such as GED, ESL, remediation and workplace literacy. 
• DVOP/CVSR staff must maintain consistent contact with their clients while in case management. Consistent contact is defined as a telephone, email, or in-person conversation at least every 30 days to assess their efforts towards accomplishing the agreed upon steps outlined in theIEP. DVOP/CVSR staff should complete an new IEP with their clients as their goals change. 

Additionally, outreach to locate veterans with SBEs is a required duty of the DVOP specialist and CVSRs as outlined in VPL 03-14 As such, DVOP specialists and CVSRs conducting outreach will begin assisting eligible veterans first within their assigned AJC and then at the outreach locations they visit or are assigned through virtual services as needed throughout the State. At the outreach locations, Veterans identified as not meeting one of the SBE categories will be provided a point of contact for assistance at the nearest AJC by other AJC staff. The DVOP specialists and CVSRs will conduct outreach activities within various organizations that provide services to Veterans allowing us to identify from within the Veteran population they serve, those who are eligible for DVOP/CVSR services. The sole purpose of these outreach activities are to identify eligible SBE veterans and other eligible persons who, without the receipt of individualized career services, would not be able to obtain employment on their own. 

The primary duties of LVERs/CVSRs are: 

• Conduct outreach to employers in the area to assist veterans in gaining employment, including conducting seminars for employers and, in conjunction with employers, conducting job search workshops and establishing job search groups; 
• Facilitating employment, training, and placement services furnished to veterans in a State under the applicable State employment service delivery systems. Facilitate is defined as capacity building within all programs. 
• Working with other service providers in order to promote veterans as highly skilled and experienced members of the workforce;  
• Advocating for veterans employment and training opportunities with businesses, industry, and community-based organizations is also a primary duty; 
• Conducting outreach that includes, but is not limited to, planning and participating in job fairs, promoting employment and training opportunities for veterans with business organizations, unions, and apprenticeship programs; 
• Promoting credentialing and training opportunities for veterans with training providers and licensing agencies; 
• Establishing and maintaining regular contact with employers to include federal contractors; 
• Active involvement with the AJC employer or business services/relations team; 
• Coordinating the Regional Manager’s Report on Services to Veterans using the format found in VPL 03-22. Reasonable attempts are made to include best practices and success stories, special projects, and other LVER, CVSR, and DVOP activities.