Five Key Research Findings — Insight from Veterans in America

  • Many employers see veteran outreach as an essential part of their recruitment, but they do not make any outreach efforts to veterans with disabilities. Furthermore, employers are less certain about how to support disabled veterans, once hired.
  • Most employers are interested in offering benefits — like stay at work programs, managed accounts and student debt management — that they think will help meet the needs of disabled veterans, but these benefits do not necessarily align with disabled veteran or caregiver priorities.
  • Both veterans with disabilities and employers have experienced employment challenges. Many disabled veterans report themselves as being underemployed. Additionally, disabled veterans are more likely than nondisabled veterans to feel they lack employer support for education and professional development opportunities.
  • Even though many disabled veterans access VA resources, they are not confident they are maximizing the benefits and resources available to them and integrating them effectively with their employee benefits. This is especially evident for retirement planning services, an area in which employers have not traditionally offered many benefits.
  • Caregivers often perform a balancing act between work, caregiving and their own needs, and would benefit from programs and resources that support that balance.
  • Disabled veterans recognize mental health as a top barrier to employment and indicate that mental health support and services are critical to their success at work. Yet even when employers make these supports available, disabled veterans often are hesitant to access them, partly because they may not want to disclose mental illness.

Toolkit for supporting veterans with disabilities

Want some quick resources to share with your team? Download the executive summary, infographic and checklist for employers. 

This material has been provided for educational purposes only. This material was created to provide accurate and reliable information on the subjects covered. It is not intended to provide specific legal, tax or other professional advice.

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