An Early Evaluation of the My Career Advancement Account Scholarship for Military Spouses
Abstract
Past research has shown that compared to spouses of U.S. civilians, spouses of U.S. military personnel tend to earn less and are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed, even when they have more years of education or more work experience. To mitigate the impact of the demands of military life, in 2007 the Department of Defense established the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program, a portfolio of initiatives that provide career development and employment assistance for military spouses. One such initiative is the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) Scholarship, designed to help a targeted demographic of military spouses to pursue associate's degrees, occupational certificates, or licenses in portable career fields. The design of the scholarship at the time of this report dates back to October 2010. The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy asked the RAND Corporation to use objective program, personnel, and earnings data to evaluate the potential for MyCAA Scholarships to support the educational and employment outcomes for eligible military spouses. To do so, RAND examined MyCAA application and use, scholarship plan completion, spouse employment and earnings, and the continuation of military service rates for personnel married to MyCAA-eligible spouses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1085801
Entities
People
- David Knapp
- Ernesto F. Amaral
- Esther M. Friedman
- Gabriella C. Gonzalez
- Jennie W. Wenger
- Katharina L. Best
- Laura L. Miller
- Marek N. Posard
- Mark E. Totten
- Thomas E Trail
Organizations
- RAND Corporation