- Next Meeting January 10, 2017 Kings County Admin Multi-Purpose Room

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1 - Introductions Kings County Military and Veterans Coalition December 13, 2016 Meeting Agenda - Previous Issues Veterans Service Office Status Walk-ins are now Monday through Thursday for claims from 8:30 to 5:00 (no new claims processing after 3:30). Appointments are also available. The office is open for business on Friday too! Support staff can answer many questions without seeing a VSR. Feel free to stop by anytime to ask for assistance. The Kings County Veterans Service Office can complete the DMV Veteran Status Verification Form for the new California Veteran Designation on your driver s license. We can also issue Veteran I.D. cards to honorably discharged Veterans! - New Issues Guest Speaker: Alicia Ferrer, Kings County Commission on Aging **VSO Closure: December 23, 2016, 12:00pm January 3, 2017, 8:00am Please plan accordingly.** Community Food Bank January 4, (See Attached) Hanford 2 nd Annual IW Suicide Awareness Hike March 18, (See Attached) VA Psychosocial Rebab/Recovery Center Wish List - (See Attached) 22 Until None, Lemoore Chapter - (See Attached) Local Veterans Services - (See Attached) Fresno Vet Center Holiday Open House December 12, 2016, 11am-2pm (See Attached) myva311 (See Attached) Vet Jobs Employment Report (See Attached) - Round Table - Next Meeting January 10, 2017 Kings County Admin Multi-Purpose Room

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8 F FRESNO VET CENTER Holiday Open House You are cordially invited to our Holiday Open House and Retirement Recognition of our Colleague and Counselor, Dee Sanders, LMSW Monday, December 12, 2016 From 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Testimonials 1:00 to 2:00 PM For further information, contact Raul Martinez, Outreach Technician at:

9 When VA Secretary Bob McDonald first started evaluating business and customer service practices across VA to improve the Veteran experience, the need for a revamped phone system was clear. Instead of navigating dozens of automated phone trees with no guarantee of success, Veterans needed one place to call to get connected to the right place quickly VA is introducing MyVA311 ( ) as a go-to source for Veterans and their families who don t know what number to call. This new national toll-free number will help eliminate the feeling of frustration and confusion that Veterans and their families have expressed when navigating the 1000-plus phone numbers that currently exist. With MyVA311, Veterans, families, and caregivers can access information about VA services like disability, pension, healthcare eligibility, enrollment, and burial benefits, in addition to a self-service locator to find the nearest VA facility. And if they re looking for immediate assistance with housing or are having a mental health crisis, MyVA311 will route callers to the Homeless Veteran help line and the Veterans Crisis Line. If you know what number you re calling keep calling it. None of the existing VA numbers will go away. The future vision is that MyVA311 will become a 24/7 one-stop information service platform for all VA services. Veteran feedback has been instrumental helping us streamline the way we get callers routed to the right place at VA. VA is also making improvements to the overall Veteran experience eliminating blocked calls and hiring more people to reduce wait times. We will continue to gather feedback from our Veterans to ensure VA is meeting their needs. The new MyVA311 phone number is just one step in a larger effort to modernize VA contact centers so Veterans have a seamless, positive experience when reaching out VA. In the coming months, we will be sharing more on additional steps as we continue to improve the Veterans experience.

10 From: VetJobs Employment Report Sent: Friday, December 02, :31 AM Subj: Veteran Employment Situation Report (VESR) - December 2016 Veteran Employment Situation Report Issue Friday, December 2, Welcome to the December 2016 VetJobs Veteran Employment Situation Report (VESR) covering veteran unemployment for the time period of NOVEMBER The VESR is published when the Department of Labor (DOL) releases the unemployment reports which is generally the first Friday of the month. This report is in four parts. 1. The first section will be an editorial providing a brief overview of the economy. 2. The second section covers specifically the employment situation of veterans. 3. The third section covers current labor metrics and the Department of Labor s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on the labor market. 4. The fourth section covers where the new jobs were created and where one would currently have the best chance for finding employment. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY 1. EDITORIAL OVERVIEW The unemployment numbers were released this morning by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and again it is a very anemic report. The national unemployment rate fell from 4.9% to 4.6%, but for the wrong reasons. The unemployment rate did not go down because more people found new jobs entering the workforce, the rate went down because 195,000 people dropped out of the workforce. The economy only added 178,000 new jobs. So, you have a net loss! This is why some analysts now refer to the unemployment rate as the most insignificant headline statistic. To understand it you must know what is behind the rate. There are two unemployment numbers. DOL reports the national unemployment rate is 4.6% and is the number most frequently cited in the press. BLS reports the Current Population Survey (CPS) national unemployment rate is

11 4.3%, the difference being the way the numbers are collected. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) fell to 62.7% from 62.8%. This is a very disturbing trend. Many analysts assert you cannot have a vibrant economy with nearly 38% of your available workforce not working. But it does explain why more people are on welfare in America than ever. Disturbingly, the largest group dropping out in the LFPR are the 18 to 30 year olds. This is not good. That is the age when young millennials should be learning a trade and getting established. Instead, too many find it easier to not work. That is because the welfare system pays so well it discourages people from working. A classic example of too much government interference in the workplace. Another disturbing number is the elimination of 8,300 retail jobs just as the country is going into the largest retail sales season. As I discussed last month, robotics is moving out of manufacturing and into other disciplines such as retail and food. The elimination of 8,300 retail jobs may be just the beginning. The BLS national veteran unemployment rate rose from 4.3% to 4.8%. While an increase, veterans are still in demand by civilian employers. November is one of the few months over the last 40 years where the veteran unemployment rate was larger than the national unemployment rate. Overall, when averaged on a yearly basis, the national veteran unemployment rate is always lower than the national civilian unemployment rate. As a country, we have to decide how our economy will work. The last presidential election had much of its contentiousness around this issue. Progressives and the left want the economy managed by a centralized national government. Free market, conservatives and capitalists want to market to regulate itself and stress states rights. The reality is you need some government regulation to maintain a balanced economy. Unfortunately, America over the last decade is being stifled by government regulation. And that has been a major contributor to the slow growth rate and the low labor force participation rate. Why work when the government will support me? The problem with that and has happened in every socialist experiment in history, is eventually someone has to pay the bill. Nothing is free. Thank you for reading. Ted Daywalt President