1. Dr. Katherine Selber Professor, School of Social Work & Veterans Advisory Council, Founding Member & Military Family Member Ms. Katie Hall, LMSW Veterans Initiative, Project Facilitator Texas A&M Conference, September 2015 Closing the Gap in Health and Mental Health Services for Student Veterans

2. Understanding Our Veterans  Better Services  Better Graduation Rates, More Success U nderstanding Services War Does not Belong to the Fighters Who Fight It Sebastian Junger

3. I. Texas State University and the Veterans Initiative Model 

4. Texas State University 38,006 students (Fall 2015) Located in a military corridor A federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) (25%); about 35% overall ethnic minority Has long tradition of supporting military with two ROTC units

5. This Generation of Student Veterans at Texas State 2,963 veterans and dependents (Fall2015) (TxState VA Office, 2015) 1034 veterans Student veteran profile 2015: 20% Graduate / 80% Undergraduate Gender: 76% male / 24% female Ethnicity: 55.6% Anglo 27.6% Hispanic,.3% Am. Indian 10% African-American, 1.6% Multi-racial 2.4% Asian-American 2.4% unknown 90% of vets are full time students 60% First Generation College Students

6. II. Knowing Your Student Veterans Dominque LaVista ©

7. 2010, 2013, 2015 Needs Assessments Plus Other Data Sets Electronic Anonymous Voluntary Surveys Domains: Demographics, Education, Career, Military Background, Transitional Process, Financial, Health, & Mental Health 80 Plus Questions Total - Closed and Open Ended Questions Response rates for Data Sets 25%- 28% Sample Sizes Methodology

8. What Resources Utilized on Campus? Transitional Process 2015 VA Campus Office (49%) Academic Advisor (49%) Financial Aid (26%) Rec. Center (24%) Student vet group(21%) Tutoring, Writing (20%) Career Services (17%) Disability Services (13%) Health Services (10%) Attorney (4%) Univ. Counseling (3%) 2013 VA Campus Office (81%) Academic Advisor (71%) Financial Aid (51%) Tutoring Writing (40%) Rec. Center (30%) Student vet group (26%) Career Services (25%) Health Services (17%) Disability Services (12%) Univ. Counseling (7%) Attorney (5%) 2010 VA Campus Office (83%) Academic Advisor (73%) Financial Aid (54%) Health Services (23%) Tutoring, Writing (22%) Career Services (21%) Disability Services (9%) Univ. Counseling (8%)

9. Top Resources Utilized off Campus? Transitional Process 2015 VA Hospital/ Clinic (74%) Private Prov. (23%) County Veterans Services (10%) Vet Center (9%) 2013 V A Hospital/Clinic (87%) Private Prov. (24%) County Veterans Services (16%) Vet Center (16%) 2010 VA Hospital/Clinic (69%) Private Prov. (29%) County Veterans Services (10%) Vet Center (8%)

10. Did These Services Help You Adjust? Yes No 2015= 70% 30% 2013= 89% 11% I have not experienced barriers or obstacles 2013= 35%  2015= 14% Transitional Process

11. Health Related Factors 60% experience lasting physical effects due to service-related injury 69% experience some degree of pain as a result of service-related injury – 6%: Severe – 35%: Moderate – 28%: Minimal 30% responded that their pain effects their focus and concentration in class 47% have high levels of stress 73% have experienced changes in their sleep patterns since leaving military service 10.5% feel continued impacts of concussive event Takeaway-  Pain, stress, sleep issues impact student vets Dominque LaVista ©

12. Mental Health Factors- Providers Student veterans’ preferences for providers of mental health services: Civilians with experience with military culture: 36% Veteran peers: 28% No preference: 21% Civilians unfamiliar with military culture: 6% *35% indicate they don’t want mental health services

13. Mental Health Factors- Stress Overall, Do You Feel High Levels of Stress on a Regular Basis? No (52%) Yes (48%) Additional supports that would be helpful : Anything that helped with stress (24%) Career supports (18%) Study skills (16%) Tutoring (15%) Time management (13%) Financial (13%)

14. Mental Health Factors- Alcohol How Much Alcohol Do You Drink on Average? I don’t drink (24%) Daily (32%) 2 to 3 drinks weekly (23%) Occasionally (50%)

15. Mental Health Factors- Sleep Difficulty Falling Asleep? Yes (25%) Difficulty Staying Asleep? Yes (30%) Sleep changes since leaving the military 75% Does this affect your school work? Yes (53%)

16. Trends Over Time In comparison to previous years 2015 student veterans reported : More mental health needs (upset, anger, stress) More requests for academic supports to alleviate these needs Percentages of problem areas reported not over 40% They are reporting service utilization in higher percentages, mainly supports geared to Veterans

17. Trends Major findings in 2015 needs assessment : Student veterans report higher levels of need in areas such as mental health, stress, barriers, and sleep. However, more respondents stated these were not issues in their academic success If experiencing need, student veterans seek help from veteran-specific services

18. Trends – Trends – Service Utilization on Campus Student veterans DID NOT frequently utilize: – Counseling services 3% – Office of Disability Services 13%

19. Trends – Trends – Service Utilization on Campus Student veterans have increased utilization of: Veteran’s Affairs VATS- student veteran organization Social Work Interns

20. Mental Health Services Access Responses have increased since 2013 in the area of mental health Student veterans noted these issues : – Experiencing high stress 47% – Changes in sleeping from 25% to 30%, – With sleep issues impacting school work up at 43% However, the data does not show that student veterans expect or want traditional services from on-campus providers

21. Analyses: Correlates of Success If student veterans are feeling they have unmet adjustment needs, they are going to tutoring services and Social Work interns There is a positive relationship between happiness and utilizing the Veteran’s Affairs on campus among the student veterans population Utilization of Tutoring/Writing Skills, Student veteran group, Veteran Initiative Interns, and the recreational center increase connection to the University environment

22. Analyses: Correlations of Success & Support Systems Utilize on campus Veterans Affairs Office Utilize on campus SLAC/Writin g Utilize on campus tutoring Utilize on campus VATS Utilize on campus Vet Initiative Interns Utilize on campus Rec center Happiness at the University.126*.015 374 Connection to the University.171*.019 187.306**.000 187.325**.000 187.238**.001 187.288**.000 187 Unmet adjustment needs.104*.049 359.115*.029 358 Problems to cause leaving University -.176**.000 932

23. Analyses: Preliminary Implications A major finding in this study: The military has prepared them to handle the stress of college responsibilities (82%) This has implications for how we prepare to transition a veteran into campus to increase academic success

24. Preliminary Summary Conclusions Student veterans are reporting need areas- mental health, stress, and sleep issues at higher levels They request academic supports to alleviate some of these issues Increases in recreational activities for stress reduction, tutoring, and writing support, which they are utilizing in higher percentages Increases are also within Veteran-specific services (Veteran’s Affairs office on campus, VATS, Veteran’s Initiative interns )

25. III. Services on Campus

26. Veteran Services at Texas State Veteran Services at Texas State Academic Support and Orientation Services Health and Behavioral Health Support Services Career and Leadership Services Training and Technical Assistance Services

27. Individual & Group Counseling Services by Vets—our Counseling Center staff & Austin Vet Center staff Health & Behavioral Health Support

28. It’s a lifeline not just a student organization! Peer-to-peer help Sample 2014/2015Events: Monthly pizza luncheons with speakers, Tailgating, 5k race, Veterans Day, Intra-mural Sports, Golf Tournament, Clean-up of River with County, Monthly officer meeting, Monthly off-campus socials, Warrior Challenge Student Veterans of America chapter Veterans National Honor Society Health & Behavioral Health Support

29. Case Management: Assessment, Referral, Linkage, Follow-up  Social Work MSW/BSW Interns Assigned to Veterans Initiative- since 2010 placed 30+ BSW/MSW interns in the program  Supervised by faculty  Called Veterans Initiative Interns  Outreach to vets -From Veterans Affairs Office & Other Campus Offices -Calls for those on Alert List due to low GPA -Self referrals -Referrals from faculty, staff- disability services -Voluntary  Focus on first year student vets Health & Behavioral Health Support

30. Operation Scuba  Partnership with  Texas State Meadows River Center  Project Cohort  MVPN  Use of Peer to Peer Model approach Dominque LaVista © Health & Behavioral Health Support

31. Evaluate Roll out fuller program Secure Funding Pilot– select and train Operation Scuba mentors. Stand Up adaptive sports network in region Data indicated vets wanted more outdoor challenges for stress and pain management that can be peer to peer based. Needs assessment reflected 40% of vets have sleep issues & 69% were dealing with pain & 47% dealing with stress Prior work with wounded warriors @ Center for the Intrepid certification dive setting to secure dive skills & therapeutic. Developing Operation Scuba

32. Groups/Team Outdoor Activities– newest adds--fly fishing and archery Managing Stress & Promoting Wellness

33. Persistence after 1 year 2013 – Overall Student Population Combined freshman and transfers 77.9% – Veterans Combined freshman and transfers 80.8% Graduation Rates after 6 years (as of 2015) – Overall Student Population Combined freshman and transfers 60.4% – Veteran Combined freshman and transfers 64.4% Data from Institutional Effectiveness Office, 2015. Texas State Student Veteran Outcomes

34. Credits Veterans not only understand the concept of sacrifice for the greater good; They’ve lived it. Colleagues in Military Projects: Dr. Nancy Chavkin, Center for Children and Families Dr. Mary Jo Biggs, HRSA grant Dr. Amy Russell, Project Evaluator, HRSA grant Ms. Katie Hall, LMSW Project Facilitator Texas State student veterans and interns.