Summary

Strengthens and extends services that help service members move from military to civilian life by expanding and standardizing the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), lengthening transitional health care coverage from 180 to 270 days, launching a voluntary TAP pilot for military spouses, and requiring new reporting, audits, and tracking. It also directs a GAO study of SkillBridge, requires a public VA website to locate post-separation programs by ZIP code, and adjusts Veterans’ employment-assistance eligibility and Solid Start program references to TAP.

Key Points

• Extends transitional health care availability for separating service members from 180 days to 270 days.
• Expands and standardizes Transition Assistance Program counseling, contracting, data tracking, and information-sharing with states.
• Creates a voluntary pilot TAP program for military spouses to improve spouse access to transition resources.
• Requires annual surprise audits and multiple agency reports to track TAP timeliness, participation, and outcomes.
• Directs GAO to study SkillBridge implementation across services and report recommendations within two years.
• Requires VA to host a public, ZIP-code searchable website of programs for recently separated service members and dependents.
• Amends Title 38 to expand eligibility and outreach for VA job counseling, training, and placement services to TAP participants.
• Updates Solid Start statutory language to incorporate TAP materials and clarifies related definitions and assessments.

Categories & Tags