Advancing the Careers of Military Spouses: An Assessment of Education & Employment Goals & Barriers

“The My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) is a Department of Defense (DoD) financial assistance program designed to help eligible military spouses pursue associate’s degrees, occupational certificates, or licenses in portable career fields. The current version of the program dates from 2010” (p.iii). “MyCAA…provides up to $4,000 in tuition and examination assistance for eligible spouses…. As part of an ongoing effort to understand the value of MyCAA and to identify options for improving it, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy (MC&FP) asked RAND to analyze data from DoD’s 2012 Active Duty Spouse Survey (2012 ADSS). The objective was to learn about the education and employment preferences and experiences of military spouses eligible for MyCAA and to identify barriers to MyCAA use and to achieving educational and employment goals more broadly. RAND’s analyses concentrated on the population eligible for MyCAA: the 4,454 respondents who reported that they are not military personnel themselves and who are, according to military personnel records, spouses of active-duty service members in pay grades E-1 to E-5, W-1, W-2, O-1, or O-2”(p.xi).

(Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

Full Publication Title: Advancing the Careers of Military Spouses: An Assessment of Education and Employment Goals and Barriers Facing Military Spouses Eligible for MyCAA

“RAND developed recommendations designed to address the issues raised by the analyses of the 2012 ADSS data. Use • Help spouses manage competing responsibilities so that they can benefit from MyCAA scholarships. Career counselors at the Military Spouse Career Center might help spouses find ways to manage competing responsibilities…. • Promote MyCAA on an ongoing basis….Because there is a continuous flow of new spouses into the military community at the MyCAA eligibility level, promotion of MyCAA must be ongoing. • Coordinate with the four services to ensure that promotional activities for MyCAA target all eligible pay grades. DoD needs to coordinate with the services to ensure that MyCAA is not mistakenly advertised as being solely for junior enlisted spouses or for spouses of ‘junior personnel’ and to ensure that promotional activities target spouses of all eligible pay grades” (p.xv). “Education • “Help spouses interested in postsecondary education identify financial aid opportunities” (p.xvi). • “Have Military Spouse Career Center career counselors inquire about child care needs.” (p.xvi). • “Investigate whether military child care options can be aligned to match the needs of spouses in school” (p.xvi). • “Investigate whether MyCAA partner institutions offering on-site child care would be willing to offer child care discounts, scholarships, or space priority to MyCAA recipients during their enrollment terms” (p.xvi). • “Through Military Spouse Career Center career counseling, explore whether online classes can help spouses with challenges accessing education” (p.xvi). “Employment • Reach out to recent MyCAA graduates to assist with job searches. The Military Spouse Career Center could reach out to recent MyCAA graduates to provide job search support…. • Connect spouses with opportunities for internships in their desired career fields while in school. Even before MyCAA users finish their occupational schooling or training, there are ways to improve their employment prospects…. • Have Military Spouse Career Center career counselors inquire about callers’ child care needs…Leverage the moment when spouses consult with career counselors about suitable occupations, job searches, and other employment issues to offer information about DoD-subsidized child care” (p. xvii). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2015
• Author(s): Friedman, Esther M.; Miller, Laura L.; and Evans, Sarah E.
• Organizational Author(s): RAND Corporation
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Defense
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Damon Jones
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies