Everyone is asking -few answers are available.
Dod Puts Spouse Career Assistance On Hold
The Pentagon program that picks up some of the tab for military spouse career education has come to a halt, officials say.
Department of Defense spokeswoman Maj. April Cunningham said the Pentagon is "taking a comprehensive top-to-bottom program review" to ensure it is fulfilling the mandate to help spouses land jobs in "portable careers" such as construction, education, financial services, health services, information technology and real estate.
The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, called MyCAA, program halt went into effect Feb. 16 when an announcement was posted on the Web site of MilitaryOneSource, which handles the program for the Defense Department.
"It's catching us by surprise, too. We didn't know it was coming," a MilitaryOneSource official told Military.com today. "The spouses are calling obviously they're very upset about this," she said. The official who talked to Military.com asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak for MilitaryOneSource.
She said MilitaryOneSource is offering career counseling and helping spouses find other sources of financial aid.
In a statement released today to Military.com, Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy Tommy T. Thomas said the Pentagon recognizes that the military lifestyle "calls for portable careers and that military spouses need access to education and training for careers that are portable and high-growth nationally. This short-term break will allow us to better assess the program to ensure we are achieving that goal."
During the break, Cunningham said in an email to Military.com, no new MyCAA accounts may be created and no new financial assistance applications will be accepted during the pause. But spouses who already have a MyCAA account may continue to use program counseling support at their local installation and through MilitaryOneSource.
Cunningham said DoD has not set a date to reinstitute the program, but that officials hope to resume accepting financial assistance applications "in a few months."
The MyCAA program provides up to $6,000 of financial assistance for military spouses in education programs leading to licenses, certificates, credentials or degree programs leading to employment in the so-called portable career fields.
Those eligible for financial assistance under MyCAA are spouses of active duty servicemembers and activated members of the National Guard and Reserve components on Title 10 orders.
Since the MyCAA program began, said Cunningham, nearly 133,000 military spouses have applied for the MyCAA program, with 98,000 currently enrolled in courses or approved for tuition assistance.
Defense officials have abruptly shut down the My Career Advancement Accounts, a program that gives qualified military spouses up to $6,000 in tuition assistance to help them pursue portable careers.Officials said the MyCAA shutdown is temporary, but no date has been set for resuming operations. Officials “hope to resume accepting financial assistance applications in a few months,” Defense Department spokeswoman Air Force Maj. April Cunningham said.
Cunningham said defense officials are “reviewing the software applications, financial assistance documents and overall program,” but she offered no specific details on the reason for the sudden halt and review.
“We’re reviewing it from top to bottom to ensure the program is meeting the intent established in legislation,” she said.
Meanwhile, spouses are finding out about the program shutdown at the worst time – when they are trying to request funding for classes that start within a month.
“I found out this morning when I logged in to have money sent to my school,” said Army wife Julie Thornton, who lives near Fort Gordon, Ga. Her education plan had been approved, and she had registered for two courses at Augusta State University. But the MyCAA program regulations require that spouses must wait until 30 days before classes start to request payment of funds to their schools. When Thornton called Military OneSource to ask what to do, she said, she was told that employees were informed at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 that the program was shutting down.
“I can’t use the application to get the funds for courses already approved,” Thornton said. She is taking refresher courses to get her teaching credentials up to date.
When she asked a Military OneSource consultant about what to do, she said, “I was told, ‘Can’t you apply for other financial assistance?’ Where else can I get funds in 30 days?”
Cunningham said no new or pending financial assistance accounts will be approved during the review period.
Without any formal announcement of the program’s existence, nearly 133,000 military spouses have applied for the MyCAA program since it started early last year, Cunningham said. Currently, 98,000 are enrolled in courses or have been approved for tuition assistance.
Although the financial assistance no longer will be available, spouses can receive career counseling support at local installations and through Military OneSource, Cunningham said.
“They should have sent an e-mail to people” in the program, Thornton said, to let them know about the halt, so people could start trying to find alternate funding.
“I sent an e-mail to DoD telling them my problem is with the way they’re handling this,” Thornton said. “It’s beyond poor.”
Effective immediately, the MyCAA program is temporarily halting operations. We are reviewing all procedures, financial assistance documents and the overall program. This pause will not affect approved Financial Assistance documents. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please check back for updates.
All MyCAA participants and active duty military spouses may still receive educational counseling and career guidance from a Military One Source Spouse Education and Career Consultant. For information and resources on alternative educational funding opportunities, please visit the MyCAA page here.
Effective immediately the MyCAA program is temporarily halting operations. We are reviewing the software applications, financial assistance documents and overall program. This pause will not affect approved Financial Assistance documents. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause. Please check back for updates.
*UPDATES*
Comments going on at twitter.
Comments going on at the Facebook pageMilitary Family Caucus.
VA Beach Lawmaker to hold MyCAA discussion
Another video is availablehere.
Facebook page Take Action Against MyCAA Shutdown
Actual Answers About MyCAA
The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program could start up again soon, a senior defense official said.
The program, which offers spouses up to $6,000 to cover education-related expenses, was unexpectedly put on hold last month due to an “unforeseen, unprecedented spike in enrollments,” according to a Defense Department message.
Since then, defense officials have been working on both short- and long-term solutions to help military spouses within fiscal constraints, said Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
“Our proposals are in the final stage of approval and we hope to restart the program very soon,” Stanley told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Stanley would not give a time line for when the program might resume.
“As soon as the [Defense] Secretary looks at the options, he’ll decide,” Stanley said after Wednesday’s hearing.
“It may [already] be decided,” he added. “It’s that close in terms of resuming.”
A Defense Department spokesman said there was no update on the program as of early Wednesday afternoon.
Stanley acknowledged on Wednesday that the Defense Department did a poor job of letting people know why the program was temporarily halted.
Many participants didn’t know about the move until they tried to access their accounts.
“We know we must make a concerted effort to restore our credibility and confidence with our military spouses, servicemembers and the American public,” Stanley said.
A Message from the DoD
In the days following the announcement of a temporary pause of the Career Advancement Account – MyCAA – we have heard your feedback, suggestions and concerns.
We are pleased to announce that the MyCAA program will resume operations on March 13, 2010, at 12 p.m., noon (EST), for military spouses who currently have existing MyCAA accounts. Those who have an existing account will have access to the entire Web site, including the ability to create and have financial documents approved.
We are currently developing long-term options for the program and expect to announce the details soon. Until then, no new accounts can be created. During this time, Military OneSource Spouse Education and Career Consultants will continue to be available to provide education and training, career exploration, assessment, employment readiness and career search assistance.
Tommy T. Thomas
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense
Military Community and Family Policy
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Comments
Good job, LMT. You are faster than I am! I'm following the situation at The Paycheck Chronicles (http://paycheck-chronicles.military.com), though I've not got any new information yet. I'm not giving up, though. It is clear from the numbers that they were completely overwhelmed with the response.
This is so frustrating. I am in the middle of my program using the myCAA funds and now I won't be able to keep on schedule. Does this mean we have just wasted the money and time and effort spent on courses? Why can't they give a specific time frame, or at least finish out the funding they have started!
This is ridiculous. The timing is interesting. I recently read an article about DOD wanting to cut funding to MYCAA saying that the spouses should use the service members GI Bill instead. What would the service member use, if the spouse used the GI Bill? I hope that they get this fixed soon. I only have four more months of nursing school!
I have just recently learned about this program, and it is just so disheartening and disappointing to hear that they stopped it, probably more so to those that are currently using the program and are now left to find other resources. While it is nice that they want to see the efficacy of the program, it would have been nice to have some sort of warning before stopping it and that they can give a timeline on when it will start once again. I for one would like to know if it will be available again, as I am looking to forward to start with school and further my career and help my spouse provide for the family.
While the Post 9/11 GI Bill are now transferable to dependents, I think they fail to realize that it is primarily for the servicemen/women, as it should, and that they can choose to transfer it to their dependents. This CAA program was something that would help the spouses train for a portable career, which greatly help in finding jobs after each and every move.
I was reading the military.com article about this, and couldn't stomach some of the comments. I'd like to think that what is said on those said comments isn't a general consensus on how a military spouse is viewed.
It is frustrating. I'm almost done & needed to tap into the funds I was approved for one more time. Now I can't. I was depending on this money instead of adding to the mountain of student loans I already have. My husbands GI Bill is for him to use to further his education because he has earned it.
This is very frustrating and I can only hope that these powers that be wise up quickly. Not EVERYONE is eligible for the GI bill yet. Maybe they should take away the 10 year rule. Also, ARE YOU LISTENING PENTAGON AND CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES IN GOING INTO DEBT. This is the one TRULY incentive for spouses who are married to active duty members and one that we really are happy with. the one time we have a TRULY incentive and they take it away.
I am in the same situation here. I found out yesterday when I went to the MyCAA site to submit my invoice for Spring quarter. This is so unfair! I wrote a letter to my Governor and to the White House. I encourage more people to do the same. My Spring tuition is due in a matter of weeks and what should I do? This is just heart breaking. I know that there are other scholarships available but up until yesterday I had no need for them. Some notice would have been great. I even understand not accepting anyone new for the program but to just shut off funding for all of us wives that are depending on it is just wrong.
How unfair is it that as a country we are fighting to further education abroad? and when the wives of those fighting our wars are being rewarded for giving up part of their life with education, the reward is suddenly taken away??? Is this part of the unnecessary government spending Mr. Obama? I think the $9,000 per day house in Kailua, HI is unnecessary government spending… and so do many americans. Many of us… wives are in the middle of our semesters and about to begin the next. The grant we are receiving takes us a looong away DOD… I'm only 12 credits from graduating.
What exactly is a portable career? When stationed in Germany I did not see the demand for many real estate experts. I am – oh sorry I mean I was – perusing a degree in Psychology, is this considered a portable career?
This is another kick in the teeth to the military we can add this to the 1.1% pay raise and the other budget cuts and all send a great big thank you to the new Administration.
The worst part about this is that those in the program felt that our educational plans had been 'approved'.
While there was no guarantee, we're all going to feel like we're getting robbed when we have to pay our own tuition this spring.
I agree that people should write to their representatives and let them know how we're affected by the way DOD is handling their review. It seems that they didn't have to stop supporting us in the mean time.
I too am smack in the middle of my program. I am soo upset by this SUDDEN shutdown I can't even find the words. I feel like we were cheated. Because of MyCAA I was given hop and the chance to finish my degree. I have applied myself 100% and have maintained an A GPA. NOW?? Nothing. I have no way of continuing and I am just short of my grad date of 7/10. Amazing. I am truly upset and would love to know when and IF this will be available again. However I am not sure I "trust" this program not to just "disappear" again someday. Devistated.
The other kicker to this is that those spouses who were also using Pell Grants to pay for some of their schooling may now face having to repay those Pell Grants if they cannot continue going to school as planned due to the loss of MyCAA funding.
So, not only do we now face the loss of this wonderful opportunity but some of us also face being placed in a financial bind due to the Federal government's shortsightedness. The short end of the stick once again.
Friggin ridiculous, i'm on the program too for my electrical engineering degree.
i used mycaa to pay for my technical certificates.
they arent doing this to check up on paperwork, they're cancelling the program all together. you wait and see.
i keep telling my husband they do these "programs" as a lip service to keep the spouses happy so the soldier will continue to re-enlist. then when the program (notice how it was never formally announced. since when does the army not "formally" do anything?) get popular or starts costing them too much $$ they pull the rug. ive seen in time and time again.
i never shouldve trusted my education to the army, never. ladies, we totally just got shafted AGAIN!
i'm kicking myself in the arse right now because i know better. this is what i get for trusting the army.
hey anybody got a couple grand for tuition i can have?? where's my bailout?
For those of us in the Hampton Roads/Norfolk Va area i have compiled a list of places to contact that includes our senators/representative and local news/tv here's the info if you wish to contact them. i have emailed all of them.
Senators:
Jim Webb: http://webb.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Mark Warner: http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=conta…
Representive: (Hampton roads/Norfolk) District 1 – Rep. Rob Wittman
https://forms.house.gov/wittman/IMA/webforms/issu…
Local/news/paper
Channel 3 news:
http://www.wtkr.com/news/contactus/
Channel 13 news: http://www.wvec.com/on-tv/contact
Channel 10= doug.davis@wavy.com
Fox.com= newsmanager@foxnews.com
Virginia pilot= tips@pilotonline.com
I was FLOORED when I logged in and read the message, but now I am PISSED!
At first I thought it only applied to NEW applicants, but was quickly set straight when I called them. Did they ran out of cash? Did they NOT have a budget before they started?
I still had 4,500 left in funds and now the $ is GONE – no email, no warning, not a THING. I was given a LONG list of places where I could get financial assistance from – sure, 3 weeks before school starts!
This is WRONG and once again dealing with the military, I feel like I am surrounded by people with lower IQ.
It never fails – whether it is for housing, administrative or whatever it may be, it is like being in the twilight zone!
This is a complete mess. I actually thought I could go back to school. So I started again and now I will have to stop. There wasn't even a warning. I am calling and writing my state's representatives and letting them know exactly what I think. This action shows total disregard for military spouses.
I agree with all you ladies. The GI bill is for my husband..unless he is not going to use it, but the service members earned it overall. I don't see how they are capable of suggesting such a thing. I just got approved for the program and was able to use the funds to 2classes. This is so disappointing! It's 3weeks before class start…Good things never last…:(
I am so upset with this I understand where all of you are at. How are we supposed to provide for our families if something happens to our soldier? God forbid something does, we all know that life insurance is not going to last forever. This was our one opportunity to get ahead and supplement our soldier's MINIMUM WAGE JOB. This just pisses me off.
I have written both of my Georgia state senators, Illnois state senators (my state of natural residence) all of my local news sources, CNN, FOX NEWS.
Please get this word out. We need numbers to be strong.
ladies in the hampton roads area, i got a response from channel 13 news. i was interviewed today and we discussed what all was going on with the MYCAA. if you want to watch it will be on TODAY at 5 or 530. she said she wasnt sure what time because it all had to be complied and stuff.
so if you want to check out channel 13 news at 5/530
I think that we, as spouses, need answers FAST!! I think that for the majority of us spouses, it slows us down in our motivation to continue our sojourn to achieve our first or advanced degrees! Not only are we struggling to maintain the "sanity" and "sanctity" of our military households, we are struggling to maintain and sustain our identities by going back to school and securing well-paid jobs in the job market that sometimes shun us because we are "portable"! We, as milspouses, are caught in the Catch-22 and it is SO unfortunate! I don't think that the HPTB understand what this stipend/grant/free money meant to us! If they did, they would have rescinded the halt! I am in Graduate School TRYING to obtain a degree which will help me secure a federal job…..I have tried the traditional means of doing so, only to get the door slammed in my face! By returning to school (with MyCAA's funding), it provided hope b/c I would be more marketable! Now, what? I can't pay for my classes with only ONE income coming into the home! It frustrates me something serious! If anyone needs me to speak before Congress, I would do so in a heartbeat. I would tell them that we, the spouses, are entitled to this funding because we have gone (and continue to go) through so much for OUR country….the LEAST that our country could do for us is to provide a means for us to "GET AHEAD"! I am in Alabama now….where are my other spouses located??? – Godspeed, my fellow Milspouses!!!! – Q
I know that this will not help everyone, nor will it provide immediate financial assistance, but military spouses enrolled full-time in an undergrad program are eligible to apply for a $3000 scholarship from ThanksUSA. Applications are accepted annually between Apr 1 and May 15. I hope everyone continues to pursue their academic dreams and finds the funding to do so!
sherry,
do you have a link to the 2010-2011 application? on the website it just says the deadline for 2009-2010 is closed
Q, i know how upset you are believe me. about 1500 of us spouses have gotten together here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=sear…
maybe that will help you
I'm writing to ask your members of congress to join the Congressional Military Family Caucus in
signing a letter to the Pentagon urging Defense officials to reinstate
Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (CAA).
The Pentagon suspended CAA enrollments last week, citing concerns about
the potential cost because much larger-than-expected numbers of spouses
were enrolling.
Congress authorized the CAA program last year to authorize financial
support to help military spouses with education, training, and
certification/licensing expenses needed to offset career disruptions
caused by military-directed relocations.
The suspension has left 38,000 applicants hanging, with no viable
alternative. The abrupt suspension jeopardizes the tremendous goodwill
and appreciation engendered among spouses for this extremely important
program.
Additionally, my spouse is one of the 38,000. She was entering her class
codes into the system to complete her application at 5 pm one evening and
saw that they had shut down the program only 1 hour earlier. We couldn't
believe it – she had already been told by program officials by email that
she had been approved for the program. She is concerned, as she has
already enrolled in the courses and will have to pay, regardless of how
the program turns out. In fact, she is concerned that the University will
collect and then by her paying, will make her ineligible for MyCAA funding
which is to be handled directly between the Federal government and the
University.
Please ask your members of congress to contact the offices of the Caucus co-chairs, Reps. Sanford Bishop
or Cathy McMorris-Rogers by noon Monday, March 1 to join in signing the
Caucus letter.
Reading through these responses I realize some of them take the words right out of my own mouth. Some almost mimic what I've written in blog posts verbatim.
The Army has moved us 4 times in 4 years, and as a result I attained 120 sem credits and lost my fed. financial aid, with no degree in sight. MyCAA was the only way I was able to continue this past fall. Had I known they were going to cut us off as they did I would have ensured I had a cushion- but with books and the like that didn't happen and I'm stuck with using alternative methods for Spring. Not having any notice (at least a month would have been great!) is what bothered me the most. I naively assumed the funds I had in my account were actually IN AN ACCOUNT waiting for me to use them. (Such as most grants are).
I did get a response from a MyCAA counselor, but it was more along the lines of "Sorry,sucks to be you."
I cannot just stop going to school without having penalties (such as paying back my student loans), so I managed to register for classes- but I worry for those spouses who weren't (or aren't) able to do the same. I think I am more outraged for them than myself, as I "should" have known not to trust an army program for spouses. They have never ended well for me. I guess I just thought this time would be different.
If it does return, I will definitely use the remaining amount I had in my account by switching over to a sem/qtr based university in order to eat up the funds and get the most out of it course-wise. But I won't hold my breath that it is re-instituted.
In response to the recent MyCAA suspension, you might be interested in learning about Salute to Spouses, a scholarship program for military spouses launched by Bryant & Stratton College Online. The first 100 qualified applicants will receive a Salute to Spouses scholarship, which will provide up to $6,000 to attend Bryant & Stratton College Online. For more information on the Salute to Spouses scholarship program and Bryant & Stratton College Online, visit http://online.bryantstratton.edu/salute/
I hope this information is helpful!
In response to the recent MyCAA suspension, you might be interested in learning about Salute to Spouses, a scholarship program for military spouses launched by Bryant & Stratton College Online. The first 100 qualified applicants will receive a Salute to Spouses scholarship, which will provide up to $6,000 to attend Bryant & Stratton College Online. For more information on the Salute to Spouses scholarship program and Bryant & Stratton College Online, visit http://online.bryantstratton.edu/salute/
I hope this information is helpful!
I think Laura put it best in her comment saying, "This is the one TRULY incentive for spouses who are married to active duty members and one that we really are happy with. the one time we have a TRULY incentive and they take it away."
She is absolutely correct! We do our best to deal with PCS moves, but with the economy turning towards it being necessary for a duo income wives are at a detriment when they do not have a degree. It's tough enough to get a job after a PCS, but sans degree it's useless. This was the first time spouses had been given some sort of assistance towards that goal, and then they do us dirty by cutting us off without any forewarning. (Even 2 weeks would have been nice).
Most only discovered the freeze when they went in to get payment for a new term- nice time to be notified you have no funds available, when tuition is DUE!
I had to scramble around and pay out of pocket, plus books, but I was fortunate to be able to do that. Some families don't have that stretch in their dollar and were in worse situations. Just the thought of that is what really makes my blood boil.
I'd have graduated 2 years ago if my husband hadn't have been moved 4 times in 4 years- but I agreed to the deal when i signed on to be his wife so I'm not complaining about that. Nor did I complain much when I lost federal financial loans because I went over 120 credits. But when you are then given a break (such as the grants from MyCAA) only to have it rescinded without notice, it's just paramount to a cruel joke.
In messages to schools today from the program director…
"MyCAA will not fund any courses that do not have an
approved financial assistance document prior to the start date of the
course."
This means that if your approval or request for approval was prevented due to the 'halt' you are not eligible for any government payment for those courses. So, they still have some work to do to get this right.
No doubt, some have started classes during the 'halt' and were thus prevented from getting their requests and approvals processed due to the 'halt', however, all others will have requests and approvals honored. So, hopefully by all of us writing, you can get this gap closed and remove any impact it might have for still thousands that were impacted for classes that have started during the 'halt.'
Great work by all for taking citizen action and getting results. Thanks too should go to the military lobbying organizations that got an immediate and impactful result on the behalf of its membership, their spouses and the military community.
I hope when they reopen the MyCAA account that ALL Military spouses are included to be part of the program so we all can better are self'. not just a few.My husband is An E6 and I was going to go to a few years ago and the the MyCAA changed it to E5 and below so I could not go,I think you should honor all Military Spouses,not just a few. Thank You and God Bless us all and are family's and bring every one home safe.