VA announces new grant program to help service members and their spouses transition from the military to civilian life

WASHINGTON — Today, on Military Spouse Appreciation Day, VA announced the creation of a new grant program to help service members and their spouses transition from the military to civilian life. These grants will be awarded to eligible organizations that provide employment-based resources and tools for transitioning service members and spouses — including resume assistance services, interview training, job recruitment training, employment placement services, and additional services that lead directly to a successful transition.

VA expects to award approximately $4 million in grants in 2024, in increments of up to $500,000 per organization. These grants will be matched by the receiving organization, thus doubling the positive impact for service members and their families.

The Biden-Harris Administration and VA are committed to providing comprehensive support to the approximately 200,000 service members who separate from the military each year. In addition to this new grant program, VA helps service members and their families transition by educating them about the VA care and benefits they’ve earned, helping them apply for VA services before leaving the military, calling to check in throughout the first year of separation, providing educational and career counseling, and more. For more information on VA’s efforts to support transitioning service members and their families, visit on VA’s transition homepage.

“These grants will help our nation’s service members —and their spouses — get the tools and assistance they need to get the jobs they deserve,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs. “Our goal is to put service members and their families into positions where their transition out of the military isn’t only manageable — it’s successful — and empowers them to continue to lead our country. That’s what this new grant program is all about.”  

VA understands the challenges that transitioning service members encounter during this significant life change. Veterans and their spouses report challenges in employment, physical health, and finances, and VA is eager to provide this additional means of support to those who have served in uniform.

This new program will be one tool in VA’s broader effort to help Veterans further their careers and find good jobs. VA offers additional services to help transitioning servicemembers and Veterans find and keep jobs, including the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (PCPG) program, the Veteran Readiness and Employment program, and more. Through these programs, VA provides career counseling, assessment, education planning, and guidance resources unique to Veteran needs, and can help set and achieve personal, career, and education goals.

Additionally, VA is committed to supporting military spouses in the VA workforce. Earlier this year, VA signed the 4+1 Commitment— a voluntary commitment, championed by Dr. Jill Biden, for employers to adopt the following military spouse employment policies that could expand employment and career opportunities for military spouses: 1) facilitate job transferability; 2) offer remote or telework; 3) offer flexible work hours; 4) provide paid or permissive Permanent Change of Station (PCS) leave. VA has committed to all four of those policies, as well as extending Leave Without Pay status to military spouses whose active-duty military members receive PCS orders. This effort is part of President Biden’s Executive Order 14100, “Advancing Economic Security for Military and Veteran Spouses, Military Caregivers, and Survivors,” a plan to address unemployment for the 16,000+ military-connected spouses in the federal workforce.

This program was created as a part of executing the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020. A notice of funding opportunity for this program will post in June.