Soon after the death  of a servicemember, the casualty assistance process begins by notifying  the next of kin of the death. Once the survivor no longer needs the assistance provided by casualty  assistance officers, the survivor may choose to receive assistance from  the long-term assistance programs, which are available to provide  support throughout a survivor’s lifetime. In addition to the support provided by the casualty assistance officers and  the long-term assistance programs, the Gold Star Advocate Program is  available at any point in the casualty assistance process to provide  survivors with support and address issues that are raised by survivors  regarding casualty assistance and the receipt of benefits. DOD and the Coast Guard Have Taken Steps to Implement the Gold Star Advocate Program, but Have Not Established It in Policy or Determined Outreach Goals or Metrics

DOD and the Coast Guard have taken steps to implement the Gold Star  Advocate Program, in that they have designated Gold Star Advocates  who have received, addressed, and reported a variety of issues raised by  survivors. However, neither DOD nor the Coast Guard has developed  policies to manage the program, including Gold Star Advocate Program  roles, responsibilities, and procedures. Additionally, DOD and the Coast  Guard have conducted outreach to survivors for the program, but they  have not determined goals and metrics for outreach. According to DOD officials, few issues have risen to the level of the Gold  Star Advocate Program because survivor issues are generally resolved  by casualty assistance officers and the long-term assistance programs. However, while the Gold Star Advocate Program is  available to serve survivors of all servicemembers who died while on  active duty, its direct outreach methods are primarily directed toward the  survivors of servicemembers who have died since the program was  implemented. If  OUSD(P&R), DOD’s military services, and the Coast Guard do not  develop goals, such as to increase awareness of the Gold Star Advocate  Program, and metrics to assess their outreach for the program, some  survivors may remain unaware of the casualty assistance available to  them, and consequently the program may not be able to provide support  to all survivors who need it. DOD Has Developed a Training Program That Is Consistent with Some Attributes of an Effective Training Program but May Not Have the Indicators Needed to Evaluate Its Effect

DOD has planned, designed, and implemented training to cover the  duties required of casualty assistance officers that is consistent with some  attributes of an effective training program, including providing survivors  with information on their benefits and entitlements and other forms of  casualty assistance. For example, the survey  conducted between October 2014 and March 2015 resulted in a survivor  response rate of 10 percent. With such a low response rate, DOD has  acknowledged that results should be interpreted cautiously. Regarding DOD’s casualty assistance officer training  program, without improved indicators for evaluating the effect of casualty  assistance officer training on program performance, DOD may not have  the information needed to improve the quality of casualty assistance  provided to survivors. Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to DOD and the Department of  Homeland Security (DHS) for review and comment. We obtained data on the number  of servicemembers who died while on active duty and the number of  surviving dependents from the Defense Manpower Data Center and the  Coast Guard, from January 2002 through November 2015. For our first objective, to determine the extent to which DOD and the  Coast Guard have implemented the Gold Star Advocate Program, we  compared DOD and Coast Guard policies on casualty matters and the  meeting minutes of DOD’s Casualty Advisory Board, the panel  responsible for developing and recommending casualty-related policy and  guidance, with the statutory requirements of the National Defense  Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, section 633, for the Gold Star  Advocate Program.
Why GAO Did This Study

From January 2002 through November 2015, 17,911 servicemembers died while on active duty, leaving approximately 24,000 surviving dependents. The military services' casualty assistance programs guide these survivors through the casualty assistance process following the death of a servicemember.
Senate Report 114-49 included a provision that GAO review the Gold Star Advocate Program and the training provided for casualty assistance officers. This report assesses the extent to which (1) DOD and the Coast Guard have implemented the Gold Star Advocate Program and conducted outreach to survivors; and (2) DOD has developed a training program for casualty assistance officers consistent with attributes of an effective training program.
GAO analyzed statutes, DOD and Coast Guard policies on casualty matters, and DOD's military services' casualty assistance guidance and training materials. GAO interviewed officials involved in the Gold Star Advocate Program at DOD, its military services, and the Coast Guard—which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Coast Guard took steps to implement the Gold Star Advocate Program in 2014 by designating Gold Star Advocates who have received, addressed, and reported a variety of issues raised by survivors, and they conducted some outreach to survivors for the program, but they have not established policies to manage the program. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 required the designation of personnel to provide support to survivors of servicemembers who died while on active duty. Known as Gold Star Advocates, these personnel are available at any point in the casualty assistance process. If a survivor is not satisfied with the casualty assistance he or she has received, the survivor may contact a Gold Star Advocate. According to DOD officials, few issues have risen to the level of the program's attention because survivor issues are generally resolved by casualty assistance officers—who serve as liaison between the survivor and the service branch following the death of a servicemember, and assist with funeral arrangements and the application and receipt of benefits and entitlements—and long-term assistance programs, which are available to provide support throughout a survivor's lifetime.
However, while steps have been taken to implement the program, neither DOD nor the Coast Guard has established policies for the program, including roles, responsibilities, and procedures. Additionally, although DOD and the Coast Guard have conducted some outreach for the program, they have not developed goals and metrics for outreach, without which some survivors may remain unaware of the casualty assistance available to them. While the program is available to serve survivors of all servicemembers who died while on active duty, its outreach methods are primarily directed toward survivors of servicemembers who have died since the program was implemented in 2014.
DOD and its military services have developed a casualty assistance officer training program that addresses the duties required of casualty assistance officers that is consistent with some attributes of an effective training program, but DOD and its military services may not have the indicators needed to evaluate the effect of that training on casualty assistance program performance. For example, DOD administers a web-based survey to survivors regarding the quality of casualty assistance they received, but the survey has roughly a 10 percent response rate. With such a low response rate, DOD acknowledged that results should be interpreted cautiously. Without improved indicators for evaluating the effect of casualty assistance officer training, DOD may not have the information needed to improve the quality of casualty assistance provided to survivors.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD and the Coast Guard develop interim policies for the Gold Star Advocate Program and determine goals and metrics for its outreach; and that DOD develop additional indicators for better evaluating its training. DOD and DHS on behalf of the Coast Guard concurred with the recommendations.