Included  among the VEI Task Force’s changes to the program are: an extended curriculum with segments on translating military skills to  civilian job requirements, financial planning, and individual counseling  and assessment with the goal of each servicemember developing an  Individual Transition Plan; an updated employment workshop and briefings on federal veteran  benefits divided into two sessions.embed information relevant for those who have or think they have a  service-connected disability rather than as part of a separate Disabled  Transition Assistance Program component;  The VA benefits I and II briefings a series of 2-day, career-specific tracks that focus on (1) pursuing  college education, (2) entering a technical skills training program, or  (3) starting a business. TAP serves as a gateway to additional information  and services that are available, either while servicemembers are on  active duty or after they have separated from the military. According to the revised plan, agencies  now expect to implement virtually all components by the end of March  2014, with full implementation planned by June 2014. In addition to implementing the key components of TAP at military  installations, the services continue to update physical infrastructure at a  number of locations to provide an optimal experience for servicemembers  participating in TAP components. Agencies’ Efforts for TAP Adequately Address Three of Five Key Elements Associated with Effective Program Implementation and Evaluation

Agencies have efforts underway to address three of the five key elements  associated with effective program implementation and evaluation for TAP. Agencies Are Adequately Addressing Three Elements

			Element 1: Tracking Attendance

Effective training programs have systems to track data, and we found  that DOD and the services have systems to collect and report on  attendance rates and are taking steps to improve the reliability of these  data. It also measures participants’  According to agency officials, the agencies plan to use the results from  the assessment to monitor the performance and outcomes for the  redesigned TAP, assess trends, determine areas of improvement, and  modify TAP components as appropriate. DOD is leading this effort. The agencies also monitor their respective TAP components through site  visits or plan to do so. According to the DOD capstone report, to address this  challenge, the agencies are taking actions, such as the services  implementing a training program for their TAP staff and planning efforts to  educate commanders and servicemembers on the requirements,  purpose, and importance of the capstone event. Agencies’ Efforts to Address the Remaining Two Elements are Mixed

			Element 4: Ensuring Participation and Completion

Effective training programs encourage participation and hold both  individuals and their leaders responsible. In contrast, the Navy and the Marines do not have  such systems. basic end-of-course evaluations to higher level impact evaluations.agencies plan to evaluate TAP at lower levels. Their evaluation plan  includes (1) gauging participant reaction to all TAP components through  end-of-course evaluations and (2) determining whether servicemembers  met the career readiness standards prior to separation. Higher level  evaluations are also important to help gauge the effectiveness of TAP,  and the agencies have not demonstrated a strategic approach to planning  such evaluations. Despite the modular nature of  TAP, this report did not specify whether this type of higher level  evaluation would assess all of TAP or certain components. DOD Lacks a Process to Assess the TAP Experience of National Guard and Reserve Members

Based on GAO’s prior work and interviews with stakeholders, we  identified a key remaining challenge; namely, that DOD lacks a process to  assess the TAP experience of National Guard and Reserve members. For example, the agencies tailored the content of TAP components  to better suit the needs of National Guard and Reserve members after   However, only one  analyzing the results of feedback from pilots of TAP.of the steps taken directly addresses the concerns of stakeholders related  to the location and timing of TAP. To better ensure servicemember participation in and completion of  TAP, direct the Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness to  require that all services provide unit commanders and their leaders  information on TAP participation levels of servicemembers under their  command, similar to that provided by the Army and Air Force. However, we continue to believe that our recommendation  is needed. According to DOD,  the military life cycle transition model may help address some of the  challenges related to the timing and location of program delivery. As we  note in the report, full implementation of the military life cycle transition  model is planned by October 2014. Elements and Relevant Attributes and the Extent to Which They Have Been Addressed

For each of the five elements that we identified as important for the  effective implementation and evaluation of TAP, we identified relevant  attributes that we used to determine the extent to which the elements  were addressed in the revamped TAP (see table 2).
Why GAO Did This Study

Over the next few years, over a million military servicemembers are expected to transition to civilian life and some may face challenges such as finding employment. To help them, TAP provides departing servicemembers employment assistance and information on VA benefits, among other things. Begun in 2011, efforts to revamp TAP are underway based on the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 and the administration's recommendations. The act also mandated GAO to review TAP. This report addresses: 1) the status of TAP implementation; 2) the extent to which elements of effective implementation and evaluation of TAP have been addressed; and 3) any challenges that may remain. To do this GAO identified five elements of effective implementation and evaluation based on relevant federal laws and previously established GAO criteria for training programs; reviewed related GAO work; assessed reports, plans, and policies provided by agencies that administer TAP; interviewed officials from entities that support servicemembers and veterans; and conducted four nongeneralizable discussion groups with servicemembers who had taken TAP at three military installations.

What GAO Found

The Departments of Defense (DOD), Labor (DOL), and Veterans Affairs (VA) have implemented most of the key components of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), a gateway to information and services available to servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. However, the agencies are still in the process of implementing other key components of TAP. While originally planned for October 2013, agencies now plan to implement virtually all components by the end of March 2014, with full implementation expected by June 2014.
Agencies' efforts are underway to adequately address three of five elements that GAO identified as important for effective implementation and evaluation of TAP:
1-Track attendance : DOD has systems to collect and report on attendance, which help measure the extent to which TAP achieves its attendance goals.
2-Ensure training quality : The agencies collect and plan to use participant feedback on instruction, content, and facilities to improve training. Each agency also plans to monitor its respective TAP components through site visits.
3-Assess career readiness : The agencies developed standards to assess servicemembers' career readiness. During a capstone assessment, commanders are expected to verify and document whether standards were met.
Agencies' efforts to address the remaining two elements are mixed:
4-Ensure participation and completion : DOD has assigned commanders the responsibility for overseeing participation and has required the services to schedule training and communicate its importance to servicemembers. While the Army and Air Force gauge participation at the command level, the Navy and Marines lack a similar oversight mechanism.
5-Measure performance and evaluate results : The agencies have established certain measures to assess program performance, but their TAP evaluation approach is incomplete. For example, the agencies have established measures to track program outputs, such as the percentage of servicemembers who have participated in TAP. However, the agencies' efforts to evaluate TAP results have focused on basic end-of-course evaluations and gauging servicemembers' readiness prior to separation instead of higher impact program evaluations, such as assessing the effectiveness of TAP on servicemembers 6 months after they have separated from the military. According to agency officials, such evaluations are being considered for certain components of TAP, but they could not provide GAO with a justification for including or excluding specific components of TAP in their evaluation planning efforts.
Based on GAO's prior work and according to officials from the agencies and organizations GAO spoke with, a key remaining challenge for TAP may be the unfavorable timing and location of program delivery for National Guard and Reserve members. Unlike active duty servicemembers, National Guard and Reserve members receive TAP services closer to their transition and in locations that are generally neither where they work nor live. As a result, they may be distracted and have less time to benefit from TAP services. DOD is not well positioned to verify these concerns because it is not collecting data about these members' experiences with the timing and location of TAP service delivery.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD improve oversight and implementation of TAP, including actions to gauge participation for all of the services and collect data about National Guard and Reserve members' experiences. DOD disagreed with two of GAO's three recommendations. GAO continues to believe that the recommendations are needed as discussed in the report.