Baren Berg
The Pennsylvania State University
November 30th, 2016
Abstract
The United States is currently fighting the longest war in our nation’s history with an all-volunteer military. Disabled veterans are attempting to move beyond their military service and re-integrate back into society with unique challenges, often requiring reasonable accommodations in both academia and the workplace. Evidence shows that there is a knowledge gap in providing accommodations for this special population of citizens. This article outlines solutions for disabled veterans, employers, and educational institutions to receive or provide effective accommodations.
Introduction on Disabilities for Veterans
Thorough out this literature review, the author found little research was spent on looking at the implications for disabled veterans with respect to accommodations. One must seek to understand on how to effectively implement the provisions set forth under the law for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title VIIof the Civil Rights Act. With the recent Americans with Disabilities Act getting amended in 2008, strengthening the protection for disabled veterans who are working as government contractors is now required. With the national increase of returning disabled veterans from our nation’s longest war,institutions at large must proactively seek knowledge to fully assist with the re-integration process. “More than one-third of all service members deployed were deployed more than once; as of 2012, nearly 37,000 Americans deployed more than five times, and 400,000 service members completed three or more deployments” (Roberts, 2015, p. 775). These veterans with complex needs will eventually have to move beyond such honorable service back into communities across the country. It is of utmost important for organizations to have the ability to effectively rehabilitate those veterans. We must explore this issue in greater depth within this literature review.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, nearly 13,000 Veterans are receiving a service connected disability compensation for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and over 865,000 for Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. Moreover, National Geographic reported in “Blast Force: The Invisible War on the Brain” that between 2001 and 2014, 230,000 service members and veterans were identified as suffering from mild TBI. The Veteran Affairs recently released a report to re-evaluate over 24,000 cases of TBI for benefits compensation. These statistics do not take into account the vast number of un-reported cases of blast exposure from service members. Although these numbers are debatable for accuracy, we must understand that a subpopulation of veterans are in need of accommodations to improve their functioning and quality of life.
Various articles have been published with a focus on disabled individuals in employment or education. Some scholarly works have been published on returning veterans’specific needs. Personal interviews within the article “Did you shoot anyone?” highlight the division of class between warriors and those in which they protect. Research also indicates that disabled veterans may need to lobby for legislative changes. An analysis of various scholarly publications and common themes of employment, academia, stigma, and reasonable accommodations offers greater understanding into this national issue of great importance.
Methods
In order to increase knowledge of concepts, ideas, and current research a literature review was performed. The author performed research searching the Pennsylvania State University databases scholarly journal articles with keywords “veterans” and “disabilities”. Additionally, the author conducted a search through the Pennsylvania State University databases for scholarly journal articles with keywords “veterans” and “accommodations”. The author conducted research on the Veteran Affairs website and the Census Bureau of Statistics. In addition, grey literature such as dissertations on providing accommodations through the ADA law were reviewed. The author found 14 sources that contained relevant information for inclusion within this literature review. Little research was actually performed on veterans with disabilities receiving accommodations within the workforce. Most of the sources identified were particularly related to veterans receiving accommodations within academia.
Employment for Veterans with Disabilities
According to Fulton et. al (2009), disability compensation for veterans reporting multiple disabilities appears to be insufficient. Those veterans who report more disability categories also report lower income than their civilian counterparts do. Advocates for veterans should understand that special incentives for hiring have been put into effect through Presidential Executive Orders. Despite the trickle down policies of President Barack Obama, those sustaining the highest disability rating have significant barriers to employment. For disabled veterans, the amount and frequency of medical appointments to attend, comorbidities of multiple diagnoses, pain management, and limitations of the ability to perform job responsibilities effectively within a culture of bias and stigma requires examination and analysis.
The sheer volume of disabled veterans and barriers to employment and education require the nation to respond with understanding and compassion. The Department of Labor reports the unemployment rate of Veterans is 4.3% percent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are currently an estimated 22 million veterans within the United States. Enrolled within the Veterans Health Administration are roughly 9 million veterans. Within our longest war within this nation’s history,roughly 3 million Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans haveparticipated in the Global War on Terrorism. PTSD and TBI inherently include cognitive and psychological disabilities and are known as the signature wounds of OEF/OIF veterans (Institute of Medicine, 2010). With the widespread challenges defined above, society must problem solve systematically to aid with adjustment and advancement of this special minority class.
Employers around the country must seek to actively engage veterans to increase engagement and workforce performance. Most often reasonable accommodations are inexpensive and easy to provide. The process in which one offers accommodations through supervision and human resources can greatly increase efficiency, performance, and overall profits. For transitioning veterans there is often a dichotomous decision between their healthcare and occupational needs. Accommodations such as telework and flexible time in their tour of duty can help alleviate the competing demands, thereby decreasing the unemployment rate. “The unemployment rate for all post-9/11 veterans in 2013 was 9%; 24.3% of male veterans ages eighteen to twenty-four were unemployed; this figure is nearly 10% higher than the figure for their non-veteran peers” (Roberts, 2014, p. 779).
In 2014, employment rate among working age people with disabilities was estimated to be 34.6% (plus or minus 0.28 percentage points) compared to an estimated 77.6% (plus or minus 0.09 percentage points) of working age people without disabilities (Erickson, Lee, & von Schrader, 2016). As the organizational change processes and interventions occur within these institutions greater trust and performance outcomes are likely to occur. Outcomes and efforts can be understood by decreasing the unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities, including that rate for disabled veterans.
Lafferty (2008) states, “Even veterans who do not suffer from PTSD or traumatic brain injury still experience some disorientation upon re-entering the civilian workforce and classroom”. With protections under the USERRA Act, military service members and disabled veterans are afforded to resume the same employment status including position, benefits, and seniority as if they were not absent while deployed with their respective employers. The difficult gap within the laws of USERRA and ADA is that only the ADA has jurisprudence over veterans who seek a new employer or first time job post military service. Challenges of medical care, relocation, and identity prove to be barriers to a successful job re-entry process for all veterans.
The cultural transformation process from a highly structured environment with small unit leadership and frequent communication to one of decentralized independence within the workforce can create challenges. Additionally, one who transitions has unique challenges uncommon within peer groups in civilian employment. Employers should look for ways to increase acceptance and belonging through affinity groups and recognition of military and veteran occasions. Model employers engage in best practices that demonstrate appreciation and respect for service to country. Lastly, mentorship throughout the lifecycle of employment aids in offering wisdom through peer support by current employees who have successfully re-integrated into the workforce.
Academia for Veterans with Disabilities
Heated discussions and debates are popular within the academic setting that promotes a dialogue of diverse opinions. Researchers and professors alike often promote inquiry and understanding of current affairs, yet this can be a challenge for veterans who enter the classroom. “Remember that many have lost friends to the “war on terror”, and in their minds, this is far more than an academic discussion” (Lafferty, 2008, p. 8). Processes and policies often have a fragmented approach that are set-up for a high school student for enrollment. Veterans are often adult learners, disabled, and lack fresh habits within reading and writing. Often veteran affair offices on campuses help facilitate only one aspect of enrollment and that is one’s educational benefits. A holistic approach to successful navigation requires synergy between disability services, enrollment, benefits, and the existing student body.
Typically, the first step of the enrollment process will be for a prospective student to gain acceptance. This typically get run through the admissions department at college campuses, however with Veterans books and tuition is typically paid for by the Department of Veteran Affairs. So one would begin to explore the avenues of approach and conduct reconnaissance on the enrollment process only to be confounded by having a foot in two different standard operating procedures, one for traditional students and one for the veteran student. Each university representative sends educational certification material to a Regional Benefits Office, ultimately leading to disbursement of funds to cover tuition, fees, and books.
Coordination of services between universities and healthcare providers is lacking. “Understanding military and veteran culture, their challenges in reintegration, and becoming more aware of symptoms to watch for that may indicate disabilities, learning challenges, or suicidal ideation will be critical to getting help for those veterans who are in crisis” (Roberts, 2015, p. 777). As the veteran deployed forward, serving in defense of the world, often with several years from homework depending upon their Military Occupational School (MOS), colleges require a placement examination. Student habits have to be relearned. Eventually, veterans are able to reach peer age group level of academic performance, yet often with struggles. Often veteran students are forced to withdraw due to the inability to co-manage medical disabilities and requirements from professors.
If universities offered free veteran academic counselling and coaching during this period of transition, between war and re-entry, Veterans would not have to exhaust their limited amount of months of G.I. Bill benefits. Often Universities look for the guaranteed money from the Federal Government and lose sight of their original mission statement. Congressional leaders could easily require free placement test counseling services from Universities who receive federal funding through the Veterans Benefits Administration. Moreover, federal work studies could be offered to hire veteran tutors to increase upward mobility and advancement for Veteran students.
Student Veterans of America and other non-profit organizations have started growing across the country as peer mentoring support systems. Navigational skills, a sense of belonging, and counseling are benefits for veterans to have membership to these groups. The safety nets of finances, food, and shelter provided by the military are removed as service members transition into veteran status within academia. Leveraging a network of peers for advice and knowledge has proven to be effective in achieving educational success.
Often on campus a lack of shared experiences with a younger student population proves to further exasperate feelings of isolation and depression. Communication between veterans and non-veterans often lacks sensitivity. “If conducting conversations about their military experience it is important to remember that their experiences were often very critical and important in the defense of the country. If they avoid discussing information, recognize that this is not intended as a slight, rather as a defense mechanism to avoid discussing political ideology and recounting personal trauma. As one may want to learn more information, it is suggested that a person ask open-ended questions such as: “What was your experience like?” (Lafferty, 2008, p6).Professors and the student population should be mindful of questions asked to veterans as they attempt to move beyond the military service. Often conversations can trigger emotions and memories that the veteran is trying to move beyond within their recovery process for a sense of normalcy and stability.
Stigma Challenges for Veterans
As one transitions, it is without question that stigma can be felt as a result of their military service. Stigma and a lack of understanding prevent acceptance within the reintegration process. Stigma is defined as, “a negative discrepancy between the actual or inferred attributes of an individual versus the social expectations for typical (or “normal”) individuals in that context, such that the individual is perceived as aberrant or atypical” (McLaughlin, Bell, & Stringer, 2004, p. 304). As an injured service member transitions, dealing with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and musculoskeletal issues require important effective accommodations within the workforce and academia. A person should come first before any diagnosis or disability. Due to stigma and bias, finding and maintaining gainful employment in light of disabilities remains painstakingly difficult for individuals with disabilities.
Several veterans have reported removing their military experience from resumes due to a prevalence of discrimination within society. With the current war on terrorism losing popularity, negative self-evaluations about military service have been evidenced. Previous research on stigma suggested six attributes: disruptiveness, origin, aesthetic qualities, course, concealability, and peril. Respectfully, substitution occurred for the terms disruptiveness, origin, and aesthetic qualities were social impact, onset controllability, and unattractiveness (McClaughin, 2004). Most often society fears what it does not understand. Military experiences are often demonstrated in Hollywood films as troubling, disturbing, and violent resulting in moral injuries. Individual pride, and/or the stigma of having a mental health diagnosis and the enhanced emotional suppression of the military culture, often leads to increased isolation for individuals who have experienced combat (Hall, 2011). A blanket overgeneralization of popular misconceptions, based on media sensationalized messages, taints the audience’s perceptions when veterans attempt to re-integrate. Society tends to associate the experiences of veterans with those only seen within the media and within films. With a limited frame of reference, a culture divide perpetuates stigma based upon fear or peril.
Veterans with disabilities face a great deal of fear about the unknown ramifications of war related injuries. Attempting to change the social perceptions through public awareness campaigns is a strategic focus for various entities; including, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Joining Forces, and the National Center for PTSD through the Department of Veteran Affairs. One can ascertain that perceptions often create the realities of employee engagement based on existing paradigms of co-workers. Through effective educational and organizational interventions, understanding and empathy should help reduce the barriers to employment and academia where many disabled veterans are facing discrimination and ignorance throughout the United States. “These needs appear to center around veteran laws, support services, benefits, and unique issues faced by veterans with disabilities” (Frain et al., 2013, p. 14).
These challenges created a level of alienation and isolation from the general public. Bragin (2010) states, “it is necessary to create a process for both warrior and society to acknowledge the violence, and create opportunity for cleansing, healing, and renewal before it is possible to rejoin the community”. The separation within society has created a warrior class of volunteers who have fought in our nation’s longest war. In order to overcome misconceptions and bias, messages need to convey the continued service for most military service members within communities as they become veterans. Veterans are productive contributors to society in various roles such as business owners, employees, coaches, and church members with active participation in community service. According to Mclaughlin, Bell, and Stringer (2004), “Acceptance is critical for the socialization process, which can ultimately impact work satisfaction and commitment.” In order to educate our workplaces and academic institutions greater research both empirically and qualitatively begs of scholarly inquisition. By examining disabled veterans within the workforce and highlighting best practices, one can envision an increased level of acceptance, an accommodations for transitioning veterans.
Accommodation Processes for Veteran Disabilities
As we discuss the following literature review of various researchers, it sets the foundation for our pursuit in forming a more perfect union, increases our national security, and solidifies our promises to current and future Veterans. Due to a lack of current research and natural progression of science and technology, one must understand that little research has been attempted at scientifically increasing our education on this topic of accommodating Veterans’ disabilities within the workforce and academia.
“By the absence of these collective rituals of transition, the society beyond the consulting room forces veterans to maintain a rigid separation between the world that they experienced in combat, the world from which they came and that to which they return” (Bragin, 2010, p. 319). Upon returning from war, the invisible and visible wounds of war remain common barriers one must overcome for successful reintegration from the warrior class back to general population. The receiving communities, institutions, and citizens are often unable to assist due to a lack of knowledge.
The accommodations process for employment can be facilitated by most human resource departments. Organizations typically have a reasonable accommodation coordinator who assists in gathering medical information and works with supervisors in a confidential manner to gain effective accommodations for the veteran. A veteran does have to still perform the essential duties of the position of the employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offers a useful guide for employers here: https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/ada_veterans_employers.cfm. This website offers comprehensive knowledge for a successful reintegration.
The nation as a whole can bear the burden of education to assist and aid in readjustment as a service to those who have served. “As more service members are returning home from deployment, the mental health and family functioning of these families will become more and more salient for themselves and for our society as a whole. We must equip treatment providers with the tools needed to work effectively with military families as well as fellow care providers in the treatment system” (Marek, 2014, p. 449). Additional knowledge that supports reasonable accommodations for veterans and service members can be found on the Jobs Accommodation Network (University of West Virginia) here: https://askjan.org/topics/veterans.htm.
Rehabilitation and Reintegration for Veterans
Often veterans injured from combat become informed of injuries and the implications it has on their ability to successfully maintain relationships, employment, and re-integrate to society. Some common areas of challenges for PTSD and TBI include focus, attention, multi-tasking, and concentration. Certain areas of their brain were injured that limited spatial reasoning, executive functioning, short-term memory, and attention within areas such as the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. The Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act (ADAAA) adds areas of protection for specific areas related to TBI injuries such as “thinking” and “concentrating” (Shackelford, 2009).
Complicating the mental symptomology of traumatic brain injury, physical symptoms such as nausea, in vertigo, and headaches are often the ramifications of one’s limbic system consistently producing cortisol and adrenaline. It is imperative as greater knowledge about these injuries evolves with advancements of science and technology organizations work to educate accommodation coordinators and disability services offices. “The rehabilitation counseling field would do well to debate the importance of emerging veteran issues and how these should be addressed by certification and accrediting bodies” (Frain et al., 2013, p. 13).
With the assistance of many healthcare professionals, veterans need to find accommodations to improve their functioning in society. The implication of artificial intelligence tools and technology prove to be useful in ways to limit the effects of the disabilities and allow one to perform the essential functions of the job. Moreover after a veteran conducts an extensive review of the Jobs Accommodation Network, speaks to counselors, and maintains peer support, a veteran can find creative ideas and compensatory strategies to reach their full potential. “Talking with others who have personal experiences managing the unique stressors associated with a military lifestyle, deployment, and reintegration is important to military families” (Marek, 2014, p. 448). Veterans within government can utilize the CAP mil program that provides funding for dragon speaks software, an iPod or iPad, and other specialized adaptive tools and technology. Advocating for their recovery, veterans should discuss the ability to have a flexible tour of duty with supervisors and teleworking as a way to minimize unpaid time off for medical appointments.
Veterans should work closely with healthcare providers, employers, and academic institutions to support their recovery from injuries. Veterans can receive academic adjustment letters from student disability resources within education settings. Within the workplace, veterans can receive reasonable accommodations to afford them the privileges of employment. Flexibility in attendance, extensions of due dates for assignments, and permission to record classes/lectures using a digital recording device are all examples of appropriate adjustments for veterans with cognitive disabilities. Teleworking, voice recordings, and flexible tours of duty are all examples of reasonable accommodations within the workforce.
Discussion
Within the provisions and protections under the ADA Amendment Act passed in 2008, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, it is evident that a gap exists within knowledge in academia and the workforce to provide effective accommodations for veterans and individuals with disabilities. Greater research needs to be conducted to advocate for the rights of these individuals. Information should be presented to employers and academic institutions to help reduce barriers to successful outcomes. As a result of the transference of knowledge, one can hope that disabled veterans will see improvements in their grades and occupational careers.
What are the solutions to these challenges that are evident in the United States today? First, increased knowledge and awareness can help reduce stigma through effective public awareness campaigns. Often disabled individuals are marginalized and shamed for their diagnosis. A positive public campaign such as the “Hidden Heroes” for caregivers can help shed humanity and understanding for those bearing the burden visible and invisible wounds post-military service. Secondly, a greater collective synergetic effort between government institutions and private employers can serve as a platform for presenting best practices. There remains a fragmented effort in rehabilitation that fails to communicate between healthcare providers, places of study and employment, and the Department of Defense. A holistic approach to reintegration can only assist the disabled veteran without having to face continued challenges due to a lack of education in academia and the workforce.
In addition to those solutions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) should develop a disabled veteran court separate from civilians with disabilities. The current wait time for an Administrative Judge to make a ruling on behalf of the plaintiff is greater than 1 year. It is not uncommon for EEOC cases to take 3-4 years before any type of civil relief can be granted. The court should also look at producing disabled veteran specific publications to include judgment decisions that can then be sent to compliance officers at various employers and educational institutions. By demonstrating the financial consequences of discrimination to both the workforce and academia, one should clearly see the return on investment of providing relatively inexpensive accommodations.
Rehabilitation and disability counselors should be required at educational institutions to receive disabled veteran specific training. If these educational institutions are going to receive federal tax dollars for disabled veteran student’s tuition, it should be mandated that reasonable accommodations are granted prior to the disbursement of tax dollars to the educational institution. Within the workplace, prior to receiving the special tax credits for hiring veterans from the federal government, an employer should be required to show evidence of their disabled veteran reasonable accommodations provided.
Lastly, as a wounded service member with a disability who has experience dealing with these challenges, often it is lack of knowledge or ignorance that has created the greatest challenge in rehabilitation to enjoy the same privileges of employment and education as others within society. Throughout the process of self-advocating, the subject of reasonable accommodations has proven to be difficult to learn with complexity of interpretation of the laws. As a result of this discovery, a disabled veteran or wounded service member should be given comprehensive training about their rights and protections under the law in order to successfully reintegrate and rehabilitate to reach their greatest potential.
Recommendations
There remains a need from the field to study in greater depth the gap in providing accommodations for veterans with disabilities. Subsequent research efforts could be conducted on the return on investment for providing reasonable accommodations for veterans with disabilities. According to the Department of Defense an estimated 250,000 service members leave the military each year, the clarion call to action for researchers to shed light on these important issues proves to be paramount for successful re-integration of disabled veterans back into society.
A random control study should be conducted to look at the effective implementation of veteran advocates with ample knowledge about the reasonable accommodations both in academia and within the workplace. Measurements should be conducted to demonstrate retention of disabled veteran workers, return on investment by providing accommodations, and increased human performance. Moreover, within academia disabled veteran academic performance should be correlated with increased student achievement in comparison to reasonable accommodations. A control group of disabled veterans not receiving effective counseling, training, and accommodations should be observed as a comparison group to the anticipated outcomes in the aforementioned experimental group.
In addition to experimental testing, interviews, surveys, and case study analyses should be performed in the spirit of understanding the current landscape within the nation. With ample efforts through government spending, society has a responsibility to ascertain the climate within which disabled veteran seek equal opportunity to both employment and education. The scientific community will not understand that in which we fail to measure. Appropriate safeguards through mandatory reporting should be required upon tax beneficiaries to demonstrate the amount of reasonable accommodations, the scope of reasonable accommodations, and the value added to society by providing these accommodations. Currently there is a gap within our reporting and information requirements, thereby offering little information on the current climate for disabled veterans.
In an effort to problem solve, the author has partnered with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University to produce a survey instruments that will be sent out to esmployers and academic institutions for empirical data collection. The study will be conducted in 2017 with surveys sent to both disabled veterans and places of education and employment. These results will be published at a future date.
References
Bragin, M. (2010). Can anyone here know who I am? co-constructing meaningful narratives with combat veterans. Clinical Social Work Journal, 38(3), 316-326.
Church, T. E. (2009). Returning veterans on campus with war related injuries and the long road back home. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22(1), 43-52.
Erickson, W., Lee, C., von Schrader, S. (2016). Disability statistics from the 2014 american community survey (acs). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Yang Tan Institute (YTI). Retrieved Oct 13, 2016 from www.disabilitystatistics.org
Frain, M., Bishop, M., Tansey, T., Sanchez, J., & Wijngaarde, F. (2013). Current knowledge and training needs of certified rehabilitation counselors to work effectively with veterans with disabilities. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 27(1), 2-17.
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