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IAVA Issues New Report on Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
Posted by Patrick Campbell on June 30

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program is a valuable readjustment program for returning Guard & Reservists. IAVA worked hard to secure passage of this new program back in January 2008. Since then we have partnered with a former Senate defense staffer turned graduate student, Kimberly Jackson, to study the implementation and progress the Department of Defense has made with the Yellow Ribbon Program over the past year and half. Below is a copy of the Executive Summary of the report complete with key findings and policy recommendations. If you want to read the full report, click here.

“Strengthening the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program”
Common Challenges and Policy Options to Assist Returning Reservists
By Kimberly M. Jackson

Throughout the duration of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), National Guard and Reserve units have been deployed in combat and support roles that are integral to the missions in  each  region. Utilized at an unprecedented rate, many Reservists  have undergone multiple deployments, some lasting more than 18 months.
  
As  a  result  of  their  organizational  structure,  Reservists  face  challenges  throughout  the deployment cycle  that are  substantially different  from  those confronted  in  the Active Component. Living among civilian communities, Reservists do not have access to resources or networks at active duty bases and must draw on  their  families, communities and own  initiative  to  seek  the  resources and  care  they  need.  Both  Reservists  and  their  families  must  readjust  to  civilian  life  upon redeployment, which  can be grueling  in  the  absence of  transition  resources  such  as Post-Traumatic Stress  Disorder  (PTSD)  screening,  career  counseling,  financial  planning  and  marriage  seminars. Often,  military  personnel  do  not  access  these  resources  or  seek  treatment  for  mental  health problems due to the pervasive stigma around mental health issues in the military.
 
Further, while many  community  and  government organizations  exist  to  assist  servicemembers  and their families through the strains of the deployment cycle, Reservists are often unaware of their  existence or how to access these resources. This  is particularly serious because Reservists are more likely  to  be  affected  by  PTSD,  anxiety  and major  depression,  and  have  higher  suicide  rates  than servicemembers in the Active Component.
 
To address these issues, several State National Guard and Reserve organizations constructed reintegration programs for their servicemembers and families. The Minnesota National Guard’s program was officially authorized in 2006 and became the basis for federal legislation that passed in 2008.

Today, every State National Guard organization and Reserve command is required by law to implement a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP.) While this program was federally mandated, funding for the program was not made universally available in the federal budget. The YRRP has received much attention and many accolades since its inception. While State National Guard organizations and Reserve commands are working to implement the program to meet the implementation requirements, the structure, substance, and quality of programs differs significantly across regions and Services, potentially affecting support available to servicemembers. 

Significant concern has been raised about the sustainability of service providers’ commitment to the program given funding constraints and coordination issues. To address this concern, many units and components have promoted the concept of joint, or “purple,” YRRP events, but the full realization of this concept has been challenging due to lack of coordination among services and variations in deployments, resource needs and even language used within each Service.  

Further guidance and exemplary practices for the YRRP are currently being compiled at the state, Service, and federal levels. Meanwhile, the absence of guidelines regarding coordination and program elements has created challenges in the implementation process of the YRRP across the nation. Many gaps remain in fully addressing the needs of servicemembers and their families throughout the deployment cycle. One barrier to closing this gap cited by several Reserve organizations is the lack of reliable baseline funding for the YRRP. 

To identify coordination, sustainability and funding issues that affect the operation of the YRRP, this analysis provides an overview of every State National Guard organization’s implementation status, including three case studies on fully developed programs that vary significantly in programmatic offerings: Minnesota, Montana, and Oregon. Additionally, this analysis summarizes the efforts of each of the Reserve components thus far. 

Through interviews with YRRP coordinators, service providers and national administrators, a survey on implementation status in each National Guard state, and a review of the literature, five key findings were identified. 

KEY FINDINGS
1.  The ad-hoc funding process hampers implementation.
2.  Coordination is a significant challenge.
3.  Data and metrics to evaluate success are inconsistent or nonexistent.
4.  Sustainability of service providers is not an immediate problem.
5.  Flexibility in programs can be valuable.

Based on these five findings are two sets of recommendations. The first set is targeted to program coordinators and the second is targeted to federal policymakers in the Department of Defense (DoD) or in Congress. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROGRAM COORDINATORS
1.  Continue joint event coordination efforts.
2.  Meet regularly with service providers to understand needs and resources.
3.  Convene a statewide coordinating body on reintegration issues.
4.  Implement applicable exemplary practices in a systematic way.
5.  Conduct outreach and media advocacy to increase YRRP awareness.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FEDERAL POLICYMAKERS
1.  Fully fund the YRRP in the federal budget.
2.  Appoint liaisons in each State National Guard organization and Reserve command.
3.  Establish a standardized data collection process to assist in development of evidence-based practices.
4.  Provide centralized training in all Services based on exemplary practices.
5.  Continue to allow for appropriate variation in YRRP operation.
 

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