New Veterans in Illinois: A Demographic Snapshot, Picture of Need, and Utilization of Services

Brief 2: New Veterans

Authors: Lindy Carrow, Amy Rynell, and Amy Terpstra December 2012

Brief 1: Background and picture of need of new veterans. A short overview of the experiences of the United States newest veterans, as well an overview of their challenges and needs. Brief 2: New veterans. Analysis of demographic, social, and economic information. Brief 3: Future veterans. Understanding service members education, military training, and experience. Brief 4: Service Utilization. Documentation and analysis of new veterans utilization of VA services and bene ts.

Acknowledgements
TheresearchforthefollowingbriefswasconductedbytheSocialIMPACTResearchCenterforthe RobertR.McCormickFoundationVeteransInitiative. AspecialthankstotheprovidersandresearchersintheRobertR.McCormickFoundationscommunity ofpracticewhohavehelpedinformthiswork.

SuggestedCitation:Carrow,L.,Rynell,A.,&Terpstra,A.(2012,December).NewVeteransinIllinois:A DemographicSnapshot,PictureofNeed,andUtilizationofServices.Chicago:SocialIMPACTResearch Center.

TheSocialIMPACTResearchCenter(IMPACT)investigatestodaysmostpressingsocialissuesandsolutionsto informandequipthoseworkingtowardajustglobalsociety.IMPACT,aprogramofthenonprofitHeartland AllianceforHumanNeeds&HumanRights,providesresearch,policyanalysis,consulting,technicalassistance, communications,andcoalitionbuildingtoprojectsinIllinois,theMidwest,andnationally.Visit www.heartlandalliance.org/researchtolearnmore. 33W.GrandAvenue,Suite500|Chicago,IL60654|312.870.4949|research@heartlandalliance.org Copyright2012bytheSocialIMPACTResearchCenteratHeartlandAlliance Allrightsreserved

Table of Contents

Introduction Backgroundonbriefsanddatasources DemographicsofnewveteransinIllinois Educationalattainment Employmentandincome Dischargestatus Disability Summary

4 5 6 11 14 18 19 20

KeyFindingsinthisreport:
! ! ! ! Illinoisisalreadyhometoabout76,000newveterans Mostofthenewveteransareyoungmen Nearlyhalfofnewveteranshavechildren Manyveterans,especiallyfemaleveterans,areraisingtheirchildren alone ! Nearlyallnewveteranshaveatleastahighschooldiplomaandone quarterhavecompletedfourormoreyearsofcollege ! Manyveteransareearninglowincomes,butareabovethepoverty threshold,andnotreceivingpublicbenefits ! Nearlyonefifthofnewveteranshaveaservicerelateddisability ! Illinoisnewveteranshavemanygreatopportunitiesandpotential forsuccess,butalsofacemanychallengesupontheirreturnto civilianlifeandinthetransitionprocess.

Introduction
ThisbriefpresentsapictureofIllinoisnewveterans,orindividualsfromIllinoiswhohaveservedinthe militarysincethebeginningofOperationEnduringFreedom(OEF)in2001.ItusesdatafromtheU.S. CensusBureausAmericanCommunitySurvey(ACS).AccordingtotheACS,thereareapproximately 76,000 anewveteranslivinginIllinois,andtheymakeupabout8percentofthetotalveteranpopulation inIllinois.Informationonthepersonalcharacteristics,geographiclocation,employmentandincome, dischargestatus,anddisabilitystatusofnewveteranspresentedinthisbriefcanhelpserviceproviders understandtheserviceneedsofnewveteransandfacilitatetheirreintegrationtocivilianlife.

TheU.S.CensusBureaus2010AmericanCommunitySurvey1yearestimatesprogram.

Background on Briefs and Data Sources

DataSources Background Thisisthesecondinaseriesoffourbriefs thatprovideasnapshotofnewandfuture veterans,theirneeds,andtheirservice utilizationinIllinoisandtheChicagoregion. Togethertheseindicatorsprovideacurrent pictureofthenewestcohortofveteransand theservicestheyarereceivingrelativeto theiranticipatedneeds.Thebriefshavea heightenedfocusonemploymentbecause unemploymentratesarehigherforveterans thannonveteransandbecauseemployment issuchacrucialpartofreintegrationandself sufficiency.Eachbriefusesdatafromvery differentsources.Whilethedescriptionsof veteransineachbriefarenotdirectly comparable,eachbriefcapturesthenew veteranpopulationfromauniqueand valuableperspective. Thebriefswerepreparedforaworkinggroup ofChicagoareaveteranservinghuman serviceproviders.Thegroupwascreatedby theRobertR.McCormickFoundation VeteransInitiativetoaddresschallenges, sharesuccessesandresources,andto networkandcollaborate.Itincludesmental healthworkers,employmentspecialists, disabilityadvocates,andothers.Their perspectivesandinquirieshelpeddrivethe researchforthesebriefsandinfluencedthe conclusionsandsuggestions.
ThissnapshotofnewveteransinIllinois wascreatedusingtheU.S.Census BureausAmericanCommunitySurvey (ACS)PublicUseMicrodatafiles.To ensurealargeenoughsamplewasused tobeconfidentinadetailedanalysis,five yearsworthofdatawerepooledand analyzedonthenewveteranpopulation. Aswithanydataset,thereisatimelag withtheACS(atthetimethisanalysis wasconducted,2010ACSdatawerethe mostcurrentavailable)butthelevelof richdemographic,social,andeconomic detailtheACSprovidesisunsurpassed. ACSdataarebasedonselfreported veteranswhoservedafter2001and werelivinginIllinoisatthetimeof datacollection.TheACScategoryof veteransof2001orlaterincludesservice memberswhoatthetimeofdata collectionwerecurrentlyonactiveduty, newveteranswhohadbeenonactive dutyinthepastyear,ornewveterans whohadbeenonactivedutypriortothe pastyear,aslongastheyservedin2001 orlater.Themajoritywereveteransno longeronactiveduty. Becauseeachbriefusesdifferentdata sources,dataarenotdirectlycomparable amongbriefs.Wherepossible,Illinois specificdataareused,butnationaldata arepresentedwhenIllinoisspecificdata areunavailable.Somedataare specificallyonrecentlydeployed veterans,whileotherdataareonall Illinoisveterans.Eachbriefclearly explainsdataandinformationsources whichshouldbekeptinmindwhen usingthedata.
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Demographics of New Veterans in Illinois

RaceandGender
SimilartotheoveralladultpopulationinIllinois,themajorityofnewveteransinIllinoisarewhite.New veteransinIllinoisincludeaslightlyhigherpercentageofAfricanAmericansandalowerpercentageof AsiansorPacificIslandersthantheoverallIllinoisadultpopulation.Thepercentageofveteranswhoare AfricanAmericanhasdecreasedoverthelastthreecohorts(Figure1).Newveteransincludealower percentageofindividualsofHispanicoriginthantheIllinoispopulation,butthepercentageofveterans ofHispanicoriginhasincreasedovertime. Figure1:RacialDistributionofIllinoisVeteransbyEraServedintheMilitary,ComparedwithAll AdultsinIllinois
100%

3% 1%

3% 1%

5% 1%

6%

8%

2% 5%

90%

Other

21%
80%

21%

18%

16%

14% AsianorPacific Islander

70%

76%
60%

75%

76%

75%

74%

Black/African American

50%

White

ThemajorityofnewveteransinIllinois(83percent)aremale,asmallerpercentagethaninallprevious veterancohorts.Femaleveteransarestilladefiniteminorityinthiscohort,butagrowingminority;they makeupalargerpercentageofveteransthantheyhaveinanypriorera(Figure2).Thegrowingnumber offemaleveteransisaverynoteworthyphenomenoninregardtoemploymentofnewveteransand

serviceprovisionsinceyoungfemaleveteranshavedisproportionatelyhighratesofunemploymentand mayrequiredifferentservicesthanmaleveterans.1 Figure1:PercentofIllinoisFemaleVeteransbyMilitaryServiceTimeframeb

18%

17%
16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6%

14% 12%

8%

served1975 1980

served1980 1990

served1990 2001

served2001or later

TimeincrementsusedinthisandotherMilitaryServiceTimeframetimelinesaretakenfromtheCensusBureausdesignatedveteranservice eras.Forreference,theVietnamWarendedin1975.Between1980and1990,theUnitedStateswasinvolvedinconflictsinGrenada(1983), Beirut(1983),andLibya(1986).19912001isconsideredthePostColdWarera,withthePersianGulfWar(19901991)andconflictsinSomalia (19921993),Haiti(19941995),andYugoslavia(1999).

b

Age
Asthemostrecentgrouptojoinandserveinthemilitary,newveteransinIllinoisareyoungerthanthe overallveteranpopulation.Theyarealsosignificantlyyoungerthantheoveralladultpopulationin Illinois,withadisproportionatelylargenumberintheirtwentiesandthirties,asseeninFigure3.Being younger,particularlywithoverhalfbeingunderthirtyyearsofage,manyofthesenewveteranswill likelyhavelimitedcivilianworkexperience.Themilitarywillhaveprovidedthemagreatdealoftraining andlearningexperience,muchofwhichcanbetranslatedtoworkskillsinthelabormarket. Unfortunately,thistranslationisnotalwaysobvioustoemployers,oreventotheveterans,and employersoftenapplythesameassumptionstonewveteransastheydotoyoungworkersnewtothe workforcethattheymaybelessskilledandlessworkready. Figure3:AgeDistributionComparisonofNewVeterans,AllVeterans,andAllAdultsinIllinois 100% 5% 17% 80% 57% 24% 60% 20% 40% 18% 49% 20% 12% 19% 8% 0% 4% NewveteransinIllinois 4% AllveteransinIllinois 4% AlladultsinIllinois 18% 17% 60+ 5059 4049 3039 2029 under20 1% 22%

HouseholdComposition
NearlyhalfofnewveteransinIllinoisaremarriedandabout40percentaresingle(nevermarried);the remainderisseparated,divorced,orwidowed.Femaleveteransareslightlymorelikelytobedivorcedor separatedthanmaleveterans(19and12percentrespectively)andmaleveteranstobemarriedthan femaleveterans(44percentand38percent).Fortypercentofnewveteranshavechildrenundertheage of18intheirhouseholdand65percentofmarriednewveterans(bothspousespresent)havechildren. Twelvepercentofnewveteransareraisingchildrenalone(includesmarriedparentswithonespouse absent),andnearlyonethirdofveteranswithchildrenareraisingthemalone.Figure4showsnew veteranhouseholdsbynumberofchildren. Figure4:Veteranhouseholdswithchildren 2% 5% nochildren 15% 1child 2children 15% 3children 63% 4ormorechildren

Newfemaleveteransaretwiceaslikelyasmaleveteranstoberaisingchildrenalone,andnearlyhalfof newfemaleveteranswithchildrenareraisingthemalone.Nearlyoneoutoffivenewveteranshasone ormorechildrenundertheageoffivepresentintheirhousehold;forfemaleveterans,itisoverone quarter.Thepresenceofchildren,especiallyyoungchildren,canbeabarriertoemploymentifchildcare isnotreadilyavailable.Singleparenthoodalsocreatesmorechallengesinseekingandmaintainingwork.

Geography
AcrossIllinois,67percentofthepopulationlivesintheChicagoareaand5percentlivesintheSt.Louis area;bycontrast,only50percentofnewveteranslivesintheChicagoareaand17percentlivesinthe St.Louisarea.ThedisproportionatepercentageofveteransintheSt.Louisareamaybeattributableto theScottAirForceBaselocatednearSt.Louis.Providersshouldtargetserviceprovisiontoareaswhere veteransareconcentrated. Table1:NewIllinoisVeteransbyMetropolitanArea Distributionof Distributionof NewIllinois allIllinoisadults Veterans (18andolder) Chicago,IL 50% 67% Notidentifiableornotinametropolitanarea 19% 18% St.Louis,MOIL 17% 5% Peoria,IL 3% 3% ChampaignUrbanaRantoulIL 2% 2% Rockford,IL 2% 3% BloomingtonNormal,IL 2% 1% Davenport,IARockIslandMoline,IL 2% 1% Springfield,IL 1% 1% Kankakee,IL 1% 1% Decatur,IL 1% 1% Total 100% 100% NewveteranshaveahighermobilityratethanthegeneralIllinoispopulation,withoveronethirdhaving movedwithinorbetweenstatesintheyearpriortobeingsurveyed.Whiletherealitiesofmilitary service(frequentrelocation)maycontributetothis,itcanalsolikelybeexplainedbythegeneralyoung ageofnewveterans:newveteransmobilityratesareconsistentwithmobilityratesof20to24year oldsinthegeneralpopulationinIllinois,andarejustslightlyhigherthanratesof25to29yearolds. Researchshowsthatlongdistancemovesareoftenforemploymentrelatedreasons,andmore commonshorterdistancemovesareoftenforhousingrelatedreasons.2 MetropolitanArea

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Educational Attainment
Virtuallyall99percentofnewveteransinIllinoishaveatleastahighschooldiplomaorGED.Over onethird(37percent)havesomecollegeexperiencebutnodegree,and25percenthaveonlyahigh schooldiplomaorGED(Figure5).Aquarterofnewveteransarecurrentlyenrolledinschool;female veteransareenrolledinschoolatahigherratethanmaleveterans,withclosetoonethirdcurrently enrolled. Figure5:NewIllinoisVeteransbyEducationalAttainment Professionaldegree(beyondabachelor'sdegree) Master'sdegree Bachelor'sdegree Associate'sdegree 1ormoreyearsofcollegecredit,nodegree Somecollege,butlessthan1year Highschoolgraduate/diplomaorGED Lessthanhighschooldiploma 0% 1% 10% 20% 30% 11% 25% 12% 27% 2% 7% 16%

Thesenewveteranswithlittleornocompletedhighereducationareinauniqueposition.Theyhave manyopportunitiesforfurthereducationthankstotheirGIBillbenefits, chowever,manyservice providersalsowarnthatitisavulnerabletimefornewveterans.Someserviceprovidersspeculatethat returningservicemembersaredecidingtogobacktoschoolprimarilybecauseofthepoorjobmarket andhavenotreceivedenoughguidanceorplanningforthefuturetomaximizetheireducation assistancebenefits.Withoutcareerandeducationguidance,returningservicemembersmaynotbe awareoftheextentoftheservicesavailabletothemandfallpreytothetargetedmarketingof universitiesthatmaynotprovidethemostcosteffectiveorbestsuitedtrainingfortheircareerpath.GI benefitscanalsocoverdifferentvocationaltrainingprogramsifatraditionaluniversitydoesnotmeeta veteransneeds,butagain,veteransmaynotbeawareoftherangeofoptionsavailabletothemunder theGIBill.TheVAofferseducationalandvocationalcounseling,butsomeveteranswouldlikelybenefit fromadditionalexternalsupport. Overonethirdofnewveteranshaveanassociatesdegree,bachelorsdegree,orhigher.Themost commonbachelorsdegreesearnedbynewveteransincludebusiness,engineering,socialsciences,and educationadministrationandteaching(Table2).Thesedegreefieldsarelikelyindicatorsofcareerfields thatnewveteranswouldexcelin.

ExplainedinmoredetailinBrief4

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Table2:DistributionofNewIllinoisVeteransbyFieldofBachelorsDegree(TopTen) Top10BachelorsDegreesObtainedbyNewVeterans Fieldofdegree 1. Business 2. Engineering 3. SocialSciences 4. EducationAdministrationandTeaching 5. CriminalJusticeandFireProtection 6. Psychology 7. ComputerandInformationServices 8. MedicalandHealthSciencesandServices 9. Communications 10. BiologyandLifeSciences Percentofveterans withdegree 22% 9% 9% 7% 6% 5% 5% 5% 4% 4%

Educationalattainmentisgenerallyassociatedwithemploymentrateandincomelevel,andthattrend holdstruefornewveteransinIllinois.The26percentofnewveteranswithahighschooldiploma,GED, orlesshavealoweremploymentratethanthecohortasawhole,withonlyabout72percentemployed. Thosewithabachelorsdegreeorhigheraremorelikelytobeemployed(87percent).However,new veteranswithahighschooldiploma,GED,orlessareemployedatahigherratethanallIllinoisadults withthesamelevelofeducationalattainment(50percent).Newveteranswithahighschooldiplomaor lessalsohavemuchlowerpersonalincomesthanmorehighlyeducatedveterans:28percentearnless than$10,000annually,and79percentearnlessthan$40,000.Bycontrast,onlysevenpercentof veteranswithabachelorsdegreeorhigherearn$10,000orlessannuallyandlessthanonethirdearn under$40,000.Thissuggeststhatnewveteransmayincreasetheirearningpotentialbyfirstreturningto school.Serviceprovidersshouldbeawareofthepitfallsmentionedpreviously,andhelpguidenew veteransthroughthedifficultdecisionsinvolvedintheireducationalandcareerplanning. Table3:EmploymentStatusbyEducationalAttainmentofNewVeteransinIllinois Lessthanhighschool HighschooldiplomaorGED Somecollege Associate'sdegree Bachelor'sdegree Master'sdegree Professionaldegree (forexample:MD,DDS,DVM, LLB,JD) Doctoraldegree Enrolledinschool Employed 45% 73% 79% 87% 86% 90% 86% Unemployed 18% 11% 9% 4% 4% 2% 0% Notinlaborforce 36% 16% 11% 9% 10% 8% 14%

94% 74%

0% 8%

6% 18% 12

 Ofthemanyveteranswithsomecollegeexperiencebutnodegree(37percent),overhalf(63percent) areintheirtwentiesandaboutonefifth(22percent)isintheirthirties.Mostareemployed,butabout onefifthiseitherunemployedornotinthelaborforce(Figure6).Almost25percentofnewveterans arecurrentlyenrolledinschool;nearly40percentofthosenotinthelabormarketarecurrently enrolledinschool. Figure6:EmploymentStatusofNewIllinoisVeteranswithSomeCollegeExperience

11% 9% Employed Unemployed 79% Notinlaborforce

Withsomecollegecourseworkalreadycompleted,theseveteranshaveareadyopportunitytoattain collegedegreesandincreasetheirearningpotential.However,thisisstillavulnerablepositionandthey mayneedmonetaryorsocialsupporttobeabletoaccomplishtheireducationalgoals.Byhelpingthem tocompletetheirdegrees,providerscanmakeabigdifference.

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Employment and Income

WhileveteranunemploymentratesaregenerallysimilartotheoverallIllinoisunemploymentrate, certainveteransubpopulationsfareworsethanothers.New,youngveteranshavehighunemployment rates,andmanynewveteransearnlowincomes. EightypercentofnewveteransinIllinoisareemployed,8percentareunemployed,and12percentare notinthelabormarket.Youngnewveteranshavethehighestunemploymentrates;newveteransin theirtwentiesareunemployedatarateof12percent,thoseintheirthirtiesat7percent,intheirforties at5percent,fiftiesat5percent,andsixtiesat1percent.Newveteransbetweentheagesoftwentyand twentyfourhavethehighestunemploymentrate,at14percent.Withinthisagegroup,newveterans havethesameunemploymentrateasalladultIllinoisans(ofthesameagegroup),butasmaller percentageofnewveteransarenotinthelabormarket(14and25percent,respectively).Newmale veteranshaveahigherunemploymentratethanfemaleveterans(9percentand7percent),andfemale veteransaremorelikelytobeoutofthelabormarketthanmaleveterans(18percentand11percent). Ofthosewhoareunemployed,90percentreportthattheyhavebeenlookingforwork.Nearlythree fourthsofunemployedveteransalsoreporthavingworkedthepreviousyear,andnearlyanadditional fourthhadworkedinthelastfiveyears.Thisindicatesthatthenewveteransarenottotally disconnectedfromthelabormarketandthattheyhaveworkexperience;theirunemploymentmaybe moreduetolifetransitionsorthelackofjobsthantheiremployability. Sincenearlyhalfofnewveteranswerestillonactivedutyorhadbeenonactivedutyinthepastyearat thetimedatawerecollected,many(14percent)reportedemploymentinformationbasedonmilitary occupation.Asidefrommilitaryspecificoccupations,themostcommonlyreportedoccupations reportedbynewveteransincludeofficeandadministrativesupport,management,protectiveservices, andtransportationandmaterialmovingoccupations.Themostcommonindustriesthatnewveterans workinincludethefollowing:publicadministration;educational,healthandsocialservices; manufacturing;professional,scientific,management,administrative,andwastemanagementservices; retailtrade;transportationandwarehousing;andconstruction. Table4:Top10OccupationsHeldbyNewIllinoisVeterans Top10HeldbyNewVeterans Occupation 1.Militaryspecific 2.Officeandadministrativesupport 3.Protectiveservice 4.Management,Business,Science,andArt 5.TransportationandMaterialMoving 6.Sales 7.Installation,maintenance,&repairworkers 8.Production 9.ConstructionandExtraction 10.BusinessOperationsSpecialists Percentofveteransinfield 14% 10% 9% 8% 7% 7% 6% 5% 5% 4% 14

 WhilethemajorityofnewIllinoisveteransareemployed,nearlyoneoutoffiveareeitherunemployed ornotinthelaborforce.Comparedwithallnewveterans,alargerpercentageoftheseunemployed veteranshaveahighschooldegreeorlessandasmallerproportionhasfourormoreyearsofcollege.A similarpercentage,however,havesomecollegeexperience,butnotfourfullyears.Overonethirdof veteranswhoarenotemployedarealsowithouthealthinsurancecoverage.Itmaybebeneficialto targetunemployedveteransforeducationalguidanceservices. Whilenewveteranshavealowerpovertyratethanthegeneralpopulation,manyhaverelativelylow personalincomesthatmayrenderthemeconomicallyinsecure,ifnotpoor.Onethirdofnewveterans earnlessthan$20,000annually,nearlyhalf(46percent)earnlessthan$30,000,andoverhalf(59 percent)earnlessthan$40,000.Lessthanonequarter(22percent)earn$60,000ormoreperyear. Despitelowearnings,mostnewveterans(83percent)areworkingatleastthirtyhoursperweek.Only aboutonesixthofnewveteransreportedusuallyworkinglessthanthirtyhoursperweek.Roughlytwo thirdsofnewveteransalsoworkedatleast50weeksoutoftheyear.Thisindicatesthatalthoughmany newveteransareworkingfulltime,theyarereceivinglowwagesandcouldbenefitfromcareer developmentandsupportiveservices. MostnewveteransinIllinoisarenotrelyingongovernmentincomeassistanceprogramstohelpmake endsmeet.Lessthan10percentofnewveteransliveinhouseholdsthatreceiveSupplementalNutrition AssistanceProgrambenefits(SNAP,formerlycalledfoodstamps),andlessthan1percentofnew veteransreceiveTemporaryAssistancetoNeedyFamilies(TANF,commonlycalledpublicaid,cash assistance,orwelfare).Thiscouldbebecausetheirincomesarenotlowenoughtoqualify,orbecauseof otheradditionalhouseholdincome,raisingtheirhouseholdincomeabovetheeligibilitythreshold. Whethertheyarenoteligibleforthesebenefitsorsimplynotutilizingthem,newveteransmayhave troublemakingendsmeetandmaybenefitfromothersupportiveservices.

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Figure8:NewIllinoisVeteransbyPersonalIncome 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 26% 10% 5% 0% 11% 11% 3% 3% 2% 8% 1% 7% 1% 5% 1% 1% 4% 0% 3% 7% 7%

Female Male

ApproximatelyonethirdofnewveteransinIllinoisearnlessthan$20,000annually.Ofnewveterans withpersonalincomesbelow$20,000,adisproportionateshareisfemale.Thoughfemalesonlymakeup 17percentofnewveterans,theymakeup21percentofnewveteranswithlowpersonalincomes.Low earningfemaleveteransarealmost4timesmorelikelytohavechildrenlivingwiththemandmorethan 4timesaslikelytohavechildrenundertheageoffiveintheirhouseholdsaslowearningmaleveterans (Figures9and10).Femaleveteransthereforeseemtohaveagreaterneedforcareerassistance,and femaleveteranswithchildrenmaybenefitfromemploymentsupportiveservicessuchaschildcareto helpthembecomemoreselfsufficient.

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Figure9:LowincomeFemaleandMaleIllinoisVeteranswithChildrenintheirHousehold Female Male 11% 41% 59% children nochildren 89% children nochildren

Figure10:LowincomeFemaleandMaleIllinoisVeteranswithChildrenUndertheAgeof5intheir Household Female Male 7% 29%

71% 93% youngchildren noyoungchildre youngchildren noyoungchildre

Lowearning(lessthan$20,000annually)veteransarealsomorelikelytobeyounger;whilenew veteransintheirtwentiesmakeupabout49percentofallnewveterans,theymakeup66percentof lowearningnewveterans.Overhalfofnewveteransearninglessthan$20,000annuallyhaveonlya highschooldegreeorless,andaboutonethirdarecurrentlyenrolledinschool.Onlyabout10percent ofthispopulationhasfourormoreyearsofcollege,asopposedtoaboutaquarterofallnewveterans. Theyoungestnewveteranswilllikelyneedhigherlevelsofemploymentandplanningassistance,since theyhavethelowestlevelsofexperience,education,andincome.

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Discharge Status
Whenaservicememberseparatesfromthemilitary,itis generallytermedasbeingdischarged,thoughitisusually simplythecompletionoftheirservicecontract.Insome cases,servicemembersareterminatedorreleasedfrom serviceforotherreasons.Mostseparationsare administrativelydischarged,butsomearepunitively discharged,meaningthedischargeistheresultofacourt martial.TheseareDishonorableandBadConduct Discharges.Theyareusuallytheresultofseriouscrimes suchassexualassault,murder,orrobbery,andare sometimesviewedastheequivalentofafelony. Dishonorabledischargesarethemostserious,andare termedDismissalsforofficers.Receivingapunitive dischargecanlimitaveteransjobprospectsandthey generallyhavetoforfeitmost,ifnotall,VAbenefits.

Datawithinthissectionarefroma differentdatasourcenumbersand percentsrefertoIllinoisservice membersdeployed2001orlaterwho havebeendischarged.This informationwasprovidedbythe DepartmentofDefense;more informationonthedatasetisinBrief 3:Futureveterans.Understanding servicememberseducation,military training,andexperience.

Atthetimeofseparationofadministrativelydischargedservicemembers,themilitarydeterminestheir characterofservice.Honorablydischargedservicemembersgenerallyhavemetallrequirementsand fulfilledalldutieswithgoodpersonalconduct.Someveteranbenefitsarelimitedtothosewhohave beenhonorablydischarged.ServicememberscanalsobedischargedUnderHonorableConditions, whichindicatesagenerallysatisfactoryperiodofservice,butnotasexemplaryasanHonorable discharge.Thischaracterofservicemayresultfromminormisconduct.Servicemembersmayalsobe dischargedunderOtherThanHonorableConditions,whichcanbetheresultofmoreserious misconduct.Uncharacterizeddischargesoccurinthefirst180daysofservice,beforecharactercanbe determined. Atthetimedatawerereported,only28percentofrecentservicemembersfromIllinoiswere discharged.Ofthosedischarged,85percentwerehonorablydischarged.The15percentorover700 newveteranswhoreceivedadischargeotherthanhonorablewilllikelyrequireexternalsupport,since VAbenefitsmaynotbeavailabletothem.Thehonorablydischargedmayalsoneedadditionalsupport, possiblytounderstand,navigate,andutilizethebenefitsandservicesthatareavailabletothem. Figure11:DischargedIllinoisServiceMemberbyCharacterofService 3% 9% General HonorableConditions OtherThanHonorableConditions 85% Uncharacterized 2% Honorable

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Disability
Anumberofnewveteransarealsonowlivingwithdisabilities.Over17 dpercentreportsomelevelof servicerelateddisability.Someveteransreportedthespecificnatureoftheirdisability;3percentofnew veteransreportcognitivedifficulty,2percentreportvisionorhearingdifficulty,and3percentreport ambulatorydifficulty. TheVeteransHealthAdministrationcategorizesdisabilitiesbylevelofseverityona10percent incrementratingsystemwhichdeterminestheamountofmonetarydisabilitycompensationforwhicha veteraniseligible. eMostreporteddisabilityratingsarebetween10and20percentdisabledor30and 40percentdisabled(Figure12). fThelevelofdisabilityratingindicateshowimpairedtheVAdeemsa veteranisfromobtaininggainfulemployment,soitisanobviousindicatorofapossiblebarriertowork. WhiletheVAisalreadyprovidingcompensationtotheseveterans,moststillneedadditionalincometo supportthemselvesandtheirfamilies;sincemostwithaservicerelateddisabilityhaveonlya10or20 percentrating,theirpaymentsareonlymeantasasupplementtotheirincome.In2011,disability compensationpaymentsfora10percentdisabilityratingwere$127permonthand$251permonthfor a20percentdisabilityrating. 3Thesepaymentscanbeadjustediftheveteranhasdependentsor dependingontypeofdisability,butaregenerallybasedonestimatedlimitationsorimpairmentsthe disabilityhasontheveteransearningcapacity.4 Figure12:DisabilityRatingDistributionofIllinoisVeteranswithaServicerelatedDisability 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 0%disability 10or20% disability 30or40% disability 50or60% 70%orhigherHasdisability diability disability rating,level notindicated 8% 11% 13% 8% 23% 37%

Onlytwoyearsworthofthisdatawasavailableatthetimeofanalysis;theCensusBureauonlybegancollectingin2008. Moredataavailableinbrief4 f TheVAdisabilityratingsystemisonatenpercentincrementsystem;veteranscanbeanywherefrom0to100percentdisabledonthisrating system.VAdisabilitycompensationpaymentsarebasedonthisratinghigherratingsreceivehigherpayments.Evenazeropercentdisability ratingismeaningfulbecauseitstillacknowledgestheexistenceofdisability,butnotenoughtoreceiveadisabilitypaymentfromtheVA.Itis alsosignificantbecauseitcanbepetitionedtoberaisedtoahigherratinglateriftheimpactofthedisabilityincreasesoriftheveterandoes notagreewiththerating.

e

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Summary
Illinois76,000newestveteransareauniquepopulationwithmanyassets,butmanyalso facebarrierstoemployment.Mostofthenewveteransareyoungmen,whichisa populationwithaveryhighunemploymentrate.Abouthalfofnewveteransarenot married,sotheymaynothaveeconomicsupportwithintheirhouseholdupontheir return,creatingmorepressuretofindemploymentquickly.Nearlyhalfofnewveterans havechildren,andneedtofindworktosupporttheirfamilies.Manyveterans,especially femaleveterans,areraisingtheirchildrenalone,makingchildcareanecessityto successfulreentryintotheworkforce.Nearlyallnewveteranshaveatleastahighschool diplomaandonequarterhavecompletedfourormoreyearsofcollege,whichshould improvetheirchancesofemployment.Manyveteransareearninglowincomes,butare abovethepovertythreshold.Theyoftenarenoteligibleforpublicbenefitsbutmaystillbe strugglingtomakeendsmeetandmaybenefitfromassistancefindinghigherpaying workorfurtheringtheireducation.Nearlyonefifthofnewveteranshaveaservice relateddisability,whichcouldalsoposeachallengetofindingemployment,ormay requireworkplaceaccommodations.

1

USDepartmentofLabor,WomensBureau.(2010).CAFemaleveteransbythenumbers.Retrievedfrom http://www.familyhomelessness.org/media/175.pdf 2 U.S.CensusBureau.(2011,November15).MoverRateReachesRecordLow,CensusBureauReport.[PressRelease].Retrievedfrom http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/mobility_of_the_population/cb11193.html 3 DepartmentofVeteransAffairs.(2011).VeteransCompensationBenefitsRateTables.Retrievedfrom http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/rates/comp01.htm 4 DepartmentofVeteransAffairs.(2009).DisabilityCompensation2009Rates.[FactSheet].Retrievedfrom http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_disability_compensation.pdf

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