Benefits of Hiring Our Veterans

Article originally published on MFed Inform.

Veterans, as a talent pool, are often overlooked as they transition to civilian employment. Employers may not understand how to translate their experience and skillsets into nonmilitary roles or how to offer support to our veterans as they experience that evolution in their careers.

Magellan Federal has a long legacy of empowering military personnel, their families, and veterans to live healthier, more productive lives. To deliver our important mission, we are privileged to hire talented veterans across multiple disciplines in a variety of roles as part of our team. Tapping into this unique pool of talent has been extremely successful in delivering professional services to the federal government. Our many years of experience attracting and retaining military talent allows us to offer expertise to other organizations looking to hire this mission-critical population.

First, promote a military-friendly culture

To establish your organization as being a good fit for veterans, you will need to first promote a culture of support. This will help veterans understand how they will be supported as an employee at your organization.

Magellan Federal’s support includes on-the-job training programs and managerial training programs for veterans; public workshops; live and on-demand trainings; a dedicated military/veteran group within our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program; and military paid leave programs.

Magellan Federal is honored that veterans made up 20% of all new hires in 2021, and that we have been designated a Military Friendly, Top 10 employer for 2022. Tracking and promoting your veteran demographics within your workforce will also help veteran candidates feel more at ease that there is a community within your organization.

Now, hire!

Helpful military veteran recruitment techniques:

Partner with organizations dedicated to veteran employment, such as Vetjobs, Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), Veterans ASCEND, MilitaryHire.com, and Hiring Our Heroes to find veterans that will complement and enrich your workforce.
Have your talent acquisition team participate in trainings and certification on how to uniquely identify talent within the veteran community.
Participate in recruiting efforts within the military population, including virtual and in person hiring events.
Consider participating in a Fellowship Program, such as with Hiring Our Heroes. The HOH Fellows Programs are workforce development programs that place highly skilled and educated transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and military caregivers with employers committed to hiring them.
Celebrate the successes of the veterans that you hire within your organization to attract additional talent. As our veteran on the talent acquisition team attests, “I’ve worked at Magellan Federal more than five years and can tell you I’ve absolutely found my new “tribe.” I feel that I’m part of something bigger than myself and that I’m surrounded by dedicated professionals that wake up every day and strive to improve the lives of warriors and their families. In my humble opinion, there is no finer place of employment for veterans, military spouses, or anyone that’s passionate about supporting our nation’s warriors and their families.”
Commend your dedication to hiring veterans and look to obtain designations that increase visibility as an employer for this special population such as a Military Friendly Employer. Magellan Federal is proud to have this designation and intend to maintain our status and continue to support the military community.

A Call to Action

Commit your organization to supporting a community that has spent years supporting the safety and wellbeing of our nation. Recognize their dedication and sacrifice for our freedom. Challenge yourself to look at their talents, skills, and experiences and how they can enhance your own employee population as a diverse and unique population. How can you help them transition to a civilian workforce? Offer to help them grow their networks—review a resume or introduce them to colleagues. These small steps are the foundations of a successful career.

Support for PTSD in the Military

Article originally published on MFed Inform.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an increasingly important topic and issue within the U.S. military, across all Services. With thousands of counselors around the globe providing health and wellness care on military installations, Magellan Federal has a wealth of knowledge on PTSD and we would like to raise awareness around the symptoms, causes, and share some of the resources available to those who suffer from it.

Get to Know PTSD

PTSD is a medically diagnosed mental health condition that can develop after experiencing, witnessing, or learning the details of a traumatic event. Common causes include:

Combat
Threat of injury or death
Terrorist attack
Serious accident
Sexual assault
Physical assault
Natural Disaster
Childhood sexual or physical abuse

There are four different categories of symptoms that must be present for a diagnosis of PTSD:

Intrusions: recurring distressing memories, dreams, or flashbacks
Avoidance: staying away from people or places that remind them of the trauma
Persistent negative mood or thoughts: inability to experience positive emotions; excessive blame, fear, shame and/or guilt; detachment from others
Arousal or reactivity: irritability, hypervigilance, difficulty concentrating, self-destructive behaviors

PTSD became a mental health diagnosis in 1980 with the influence of social movements, such as veteran, feminist, and Holocaust survivor advocacy groups. Research about veterans returning from combat was a critical piece to the creation of the diagnosis. So, the history of what is now known as PTSD often references combat history.[i]

Prevalence in Service Members

According to the Defense Health Agency, between 2016–2020, 93,346 Service members received care for PTSD in the Military Health System and 74,232 of those Service members were diagnosed during or following deployment.[ii]

Available Programs and Resources for Service Members

While individual, trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first line of treatment recommended for PTSD, non-clinical support is also important and available to enable the healing process.

Magellan Federal helps deliver the Defense Health Agency’s Warrior Care Recovery Coordination Program (WC-RCP) to proactively support Recovering Service members (RSMs) who have been wounded, ill, and injured – including those with PTSD – in their recovery and reintegration into military service or transition to civilian life through non-clinical specialized programs and resources that also include support for their families and caregivers. Some of these programs and resources include:

Recovery Coordination Program (RCP): Under this program, available to all branches of service, Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs) work closely with each Service member to develop a non-medical plan for recovery. Service members who may be suffering from PTSD are eligible to receive the support of an RCC.

RCCs are available at military treatment facilities and installations across the country. You can access assistance through your military services’ wounded, ill, and injured programs including:

Military Caregiver Support: Provides resources and information for military caregivers who assist RSMs with activities of daily living. Since 2013, DoD’s support for military caregivers has positively impacted thousands of lives by addressing key issues that affect caregivers in the short and long term. These issues often include mental and physical health, finances, transportation, maintaining a strong family, navigating through legal issues, and housing. In partnership with the National Resource Directory (NRD), the new electronic Caregiver Resource Directory (e-CRD) is also available. The e-CRD is a live document that is searchable, ready to download, and updated weekly to populate the most current vetted caregiver-specific resources available.

Military Adaptive Sports Program (MASP): This program provides opportunities for all RSMs to participate in adaptive sports and reconditioning activities to improve their physical and mental quality of life throughout the continuum of recovery and transition. MASP is designed to enhance recovery by engaging RSMs early in individualized physical and cognitive activities outside of traditional therapy settings. Through MASP, Service members also have access to the Healing Arts, which support both physical and psychological recovery and rehabilitation from visible and invisible wounds of war including PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and others.

National Resource Directory (NRD): This website provides access to tens of thousands of vetted services and resources at the federal, state, and local levels that support recovery, rehabilitation, and community integration for Service members, wounded warriors, veterans, and their families/caregivers. There are over 300 resources readily available regarding PTSD, such as:

PTSD Foundation of America
Brain Injury Network
National Center for PTSD
National Veterans Wellness & Healing Center
And many more…

When to Ask for Help

Remember, PTSD affects people differently and treatment is not one size fits all. If you think you or someone you know is possibly experiencing signs or symptoms of PTSD, no one has to cope alone. Help is out there in an array of forms from a variety of sources to meet anyone’s unique needs, whether it be clinical, non-clinical, or a combination of both.

To learn more about PTSD, visit https://health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Total-Force-Fitness/Psychological-Fitness/Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder or https://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp.

To learn more about WC-RCP programs and resources, visit https://warriorcare.dodlive.mil/.

[i] Friedman MJ, MD, PhD. Department of Veterans Affairs. PTSD: National Center for PTSD. History of PTSD in Veterans: Civil War to DSM-5. Available online: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/what/history_ptsd.asp

[ii] Defense Health Agency, Military Health System. PTSD 101 Infographic (May 2021). Available online: https://www.health.mil/-/media/Images/MHS/Infographics/June-Toolkit-2021/PTSD-101-Infographic.ashx

Benefits of Hiring Military Spouses

With a rich history of providing service and support to Warriors, Veterans, and their families, Magellan Federal is fortunate to attract and employ talent who have served our country or who have family members who have served. Here’s why Magellan Federal is fully committed to hiring military spouses.

Employment Challenges for Military Spouses

Deployments and relocations often lead to gaps in resumes, leading recruiters to incorrectly conclude that these candidates don’t have what it takes to keep a job. But in the context of military spouses, nothing could be further from the truth. The challenges of military life require an underlying creativity, grit, and a commitment to persevere.

In our experience, resume gaps are sometimes reflections of great self-sacrifice and the application of hidden talents. Military spouses are incredibly resourceful at using their time to their advantage—seizing additional education opportunities and certifications, stepping up for important volunteer opportunities as “unsung heroes,” and continually expanding their professional networks and interests. Many times, these highly desirable talents stay locked within the realm of volunteer organizations as employers make false assumptions about the employability of military spouses and the benefits of hiring them. Smart organizations see the benefit of employing military spouses in flexible roles to ensure they can support their home life while delivering important work.

Employer Benefits—Service and Loyalty

Once an employer has whittled a candidate field down to those with the desired or required skill sets, it is time to look further at the quality of the candidate and potential for retention. Of note, less than 1% of eligible Americans commit to service in the Armed Forces.

It’s no surprise that those who choose to marry service members often share these values and desire to serve. Bringing military spouses onboard at your organization will not only boast diverse skills that complement and improve your capabilities, but these individuals also often have an unmatched dedication to service. Military spouses spend their lives supporting their partner’s career, ensuring their spouse can perform their job with the certainty that all is well on the home front. That level of effort and flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing demands to meet the daily and emergent situations that arise, makes them extremely self-sufficient, alert for challenges, and exceptionally skilled in multi-tasking and dealing with changing priorities. These “soft skills,” coupled with the fact that most are driven to make their own significant contributions make them an invaluable addition to any organization.

To read the full article, visit https://www.magellanfederal.com/whats-new/mfed-inform/

Creating a Respectful Gender Culture for Those in the Military

Affirmative Care for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Persons

There are an estimated 14,700 transgender and an unknown number of non-binary individuals serving in the U.S. military today. Magellan Federal provides non-clinical counseling on military bases around the world. We draw on that experience to provide guidance on how to create a respectful culture in military environments as well as in your community.

Read the full article on MFed Inform

Protecting Youth Mental Health

“Our obligation to act is not just medical—it’s moral.”
Vivek H. Murthy, M.D., M.B.A. Vice Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service, Surgeon General of the United States

To support the Surgeon General’s recent advisory related to protecting youth mental health issues exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Magellan Federal offers best practices for professionals specializing in behavioral issues to foster the wellbeing of our military families.

Magellan Federal directly supports the mental health and resiliency of military youth and families, serving over 4.5 million service members and families a year. Read more about risk factors and recommendations in our whitepaper here.

Spotlight Magellan Health: Stacy Drones

Stacy Drones’, senior director of family programs at Magellan Federal, passion for helping military families comes from her real-life role as a military spouse. Since joining Magellan Federal in 2013, Drones now supervises a large array of military family programs including the Army Family Advocacy Support Services which includes the Domestic Abuse Victim Advocacy Program and New Parent Support Program, Army Exceptional Family Member Program and the Air Force Family Advocacy Program contracts. Drones is currently working on initiating various trainings for employees to better help the military families they serve in their unique situations. Continue reading to learn more about the many projects happening at Magellan Federal during Military Appreciation Month this May:

What can you tell us about Magellan Federal?

Magellan Federal has a strong history of support to the military. A lot of our employees on our contracts are military spouses, former military spouses or veterans who are passionate about the work. Many of our leaders at Magellan Federal have been in some way connected to the military, this is important and shows we have a passion for the work that we do because of our connection with service members and their families. My team has historical knowledge of our programs and we’ve been working with the government clients for a long time and know what they’re looking for and know how to execute the contracts successfully in the programs.

What cool, innovative projects are you currently working on?

The main part of my job involves managing our portfolio of programs that support military families. I personally manage the Family Advocacy Support Services contract for the Army which includes the Army Domestic Abuse Victim Advocacy Program that provides services for victims of domestic abuse. This contract also includes the New Parent Support Program that offers home visits to provide help and educational resources for new parents. This program provides licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and registered nurses to work with military families with children who are newborn up to age three. They conduct regular home visits to offer education that helps to prevent child abuse. We also have a lactation contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that hosts monthly lunch seminars for mothers who are nursing. In addition, we serve as a subcontractor for a family advocacy program at Food Hood where we provide information on stress management, parenting, couples communication, relationship classes and domestic abuse. I also oversee other contracts assigned to other program managers like the Army Exceptional Family Members Program, that provides help to military families who have dependents with disabilities and connects them with referrals and resources in the community. There’s also the Air Force Advocacy contract that we’re a subcontractor on that provides domestic abuse advocates for members of the Air Force.

On the Family Advocacy side, we do at least two employee professional development trainings a year. Planning those trainings and brining in speakers from all over is our big focus right now. Government employees are welcome to participate as well. We also have a requirement to have all victim advocates credentialed through the National Advocacy Credentialing Program. Although this is a new government requirement, Magellan has had this requirement in place for our Victim Advocates for nine years. We are currently helping our government client roll this training out to the government Victim Advocates.

In the New Parent Support Program, we are currently training our home visitors on how to address sensitive topics with their clients, such as mental health, abuse and race. They’re also trained on how to help parents and caregivers deal with the unexpected, such as deployments, birth plan changes or giving birth to multiples.

What are your thoughts on Magellan’s culture? How has the culture impacted your projects?

I love this company and the leadership; I think they’re very supportive of what we do. I feel that Magellan’s leadership really cares for their employees and cares about what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.

What trends are you noticing in the healthcare industry that are related to the work being done at Magellan Federal? Are there any lessons from other industries that can be applied to the work happening at Magellan Federal?

A big focus of the DoD Family Advocacy Programs currently is working with families of problematic sexual behaviors in children and youth. We have been looking at ways to intervene early and provide help for those children who are presenting those behaviors. We have our home visitors involved with this because they’re the ones working with the families in the home and have built a rapport with them. We’re increasing training for our home visitors to ensure they know the best way to help provide services to those families. The military has partnered with a lot of civilian agencies to provide trainings to help figure out how to address and solve the problem.

Magellan Federal understands that military families may have unique challenges compared to civilian families. That’s why we are doing what we can to develop partnerships with civilian agencies that have the funding to do research and develop correct programs. Initially, the development of the new Federal Program Management Office has been great for developing relationships with organizations. If we continue to do that, it’ll be a great thing.

Learn more about the various solutions provided by Magellan Federal here.

Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in the Military

The Problem

Intimate partner violence is a national public health issue, resulting in devastating personal trauma and effects on our country. Intimate partner violence includes physical violence, non-consensual sexual violence (including non-physical sexual events, such as sexting), stalking, and psychological aggression.

According to the CDC, intimate partner violence in the United States is far more common than we would want to believe, impacting approximately 25% of women and 10% of men¹.

This issue is also prevalent in the military. In 2020, there were 12,663 reports of spouse abuse and 2,026 reports of intimate partner abuse in the U.S. military. Among all military incidents, 63% of active-duty abusers were Non-Commissioned Officer Ranks (E4-E6); when accounting for only those incidents involving spouses, the highest rates of active-duty abusers were among junior enlisted ranks (E1-E3)[1].

The physical and emotional suffering of intimate partner violence victims is profound. What is also clear are the consequences for our Armed Forces. When intimate partner violence involves service members or their families — either as victims or offenders — the resulting trauma harms overall unit readiness.

Prevention Strategies

Collectively, Magellan Federal has over 30 years of experience supporting Family Assistance Programs and positions us as experts in the field. We interact with 30,500 service members and families yearly providing vital services to ease the unique stressors of military life that can aggravate or trigger patterns of abusive behavior within the family home.

Recognize the Risk Factors

Drawing upon our wealth of experience, we believe that if warning signs are recognized and addressed early, intimate partner violence instances can be significantly reduced.

The identifiable factors unique to military service that may aggravate intimate partner violence risks include:

Frequent permanent change of stations (PCS) disrupts access to natural support networks, increasing stress and social isolation. Frequent moves may also limit the ability of non-military spouses or intimate partners to find and maintain employment, increasing financial reliance on the abuser.
Frequent or unpredictable deployments and a related increase in domestic duties of the partner may contribute to a sense of instability, increasing relationship stress, or conflict[2].
Stigma of reporting abuse may lead to the belief that there may be a negative impact on the service member’s career. This may hinder the victim from seeking help for fear of retaliation by the service member and/or loss of financial support and benefits.

Key Takeaway

Ultimately, effective prevention strategies must ensure outreach and mitigation activities incorporate all categories of risk factors—individual, relational, community, and societal. The methods to battle intimate partner violence must also ensure all at-risk people (perpetrators and victims alike) receive appropriate education and aid.

We believe prevention is the best opportunity for affordable, high-impact solutions to the needs of our military.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 2). Preventing intimate partner violence | violence prevention | Injury Center | CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/fastfact.html.

[2] Kamarck, Kristy N., Ott, Alan, Sacco, Lisa N. (2019, December 4). Military Families and Intimate Partner Violence: Background and Issues for Congress (Report No. R46097). Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R46097

Tackling Food Insecurity in the Military Community

As a newlywed military spouse fourteen years ago, I was fairly overwhelmed with how much there was to learn about military culture and common military family experiences. Lost in a sea of acronyms and roads named after famous military commanders that I had never heard of, I tried to learn military lingo with the help of Google and new friends. There were also hard realities that I had much to learn about: the stress of deployment and war, the strain of combat experiences on servicemembers, families, and relationships, and shockingly: food insecurity.

Food insecurity is a challenge that I first encountered during a new spouse training on military culture and military family life experiences. At the conclusion of a military resources lesson, a fellow participant piped up, “But you didn’t talk about the food pantries. Someone in this room might want to know where they can get food if they run out.” The military spouse shared information about the local food pantries that they were personally aware of and reached out to when their own family struggled.

It was uncomfortable to hear this. As a young college student who did not yet understand the challenges that many families face in terms of financial challenges, I was taken aback. How can that be true? I remember asking myself. How can it be that families in our own military need to use a food pantry for assistance?

Shortly thereafter, I became a Registered Nurse who cared for military families and witnessed firsthand that food insecurity in the military community is a complex issue compounded by multiple factors, like spouse unemployment, economic inflation, and the everchanging landscape of family expenses needed for daily life. Military families often fall in an income bracket in which they do not qualify for some government nutrition assistance programs, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP (often referred to as food stamps.) Addressing food insecurity promptly is key: while helping families connect with resources to maintain adequate access to nutrition, the development of the even more serious concern—hunger—can be prevented.

The brave spouse who spoke up to discuss food pantries several years ago was clued into something that remains true for today’s military: food insecurity is a very real challenge that military families face, and a concern that requires a compassionate response from those whose life’s work is to support and care for service members and their families.

It is vital that all professionals who care for military families are aware of the local and military resources available to support military families in times of need. In response to the government’s request to empower Military & Family Life Counseling (MFLC) Program Counselors to address this concern at military installations all over the world, our training team developed a comprehensive food insecurities training. This training informs MFLC Counselors on the challenges of food insecurity, the prevalence of this dilemma, and how MFLC Counselors can respond when food insecurity is identified. This training utilized the survey data from the most recent 2020 Blue Star Families survey to describe food insecurity as a concern that impacts nearly 14% of today’s military families. The recorded webinar available to Magellan Federal MFLC Counselors discusses approved practices to casually inquire about food insecurity when potential warning signs are identified. MFLC Counselors are encouraged to share referral information with MFLC program participants about local and military resources to address any nutritional concerns. MFLC Counselors are experts in the resources available to the military community and play a powerful role in unlocking military families’ access to resources simply by sharing referrals to food pantries, military installation programming, and even relevant government-assistance programs, like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Our Magellan Federal MFLC team continues to provide prompt and comprehensive responses to the food insecurity concerns that face the military community. Embracing a compassionate, holistic approach to supporting military families is key to reducing the incidence of food insecurity, and as a result, promoting service member and family readiness to respond to mission requirements.

Military families should connect with an MFLC Counselor on their local military installation for information about available local food insecurity resources in their communities.