Veterans Affairs says six‑position reduction is a restructuring to expand services and add employment specialists
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Summary
Officials told the Personnel Committee that a recent reduction in force at Veterans Affairs eliminated six positions as part of a restructuring to shift resources toward early reintegration services, create veteran employment specialists and improve county‑level Veteran Service Officer performance; severance amounts and retirement impacts were clarified.
The Personnel Committee heard a report about a reduction in force at the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs that eliminated six positions and discussed severance, reemployment protections and the agency's plans to reallocate staff toward earlier intervention and employment support.
Colonel Rob Ader, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, told the committee the change is a restructuring — the first since 1979 — intended to expand services for veterans before they reach end‑of‑life care. "This is an expansion. It's not so much a rift," Ader said, adding the agency plans a "continuum of care" to engage service members in their last year of enlistment and carry them through benefit navigation and job placement after they leave uniformed service.
Ader said the agency intends to create a new position called a veteran employment specialist (VES) to work with Arkansas employers to provide opportunities and "warm hand offs" for veterans entering civilian employment. He told the committee that about 88% of the agency's funding comes from federal reimbursement and about 12% from state general revenue, and that the reorganization is intended to free resources to expand services while saving money.
Committee members pressed for details about Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) and severance. Ader said the state has roughly six district VSOs who cover the state and county VSOs in each county; he said the agency will increase training and provide a performance report card to county judges to improve consistency in service delivery.
Senator Hammer sought clarification about severance amounts and impact on retirement. Rochelle Garcia, HR administrator for Veterans Affairs, said severance is determined by the state's "class and compact" provisions and is graduated by years of service, with $800 as the lowest payout and $1,600 the highest; she said there is an intermediate level believed to be $1,200. Garcia said once severance is received it is not recouped if an employee is rehired by another state department; however, if an employee transfers immediately to another state department they generally would not receive severance. On retirement, Garcia said early retirement penalties can apply and recommended follow‑up discussions for individual cases. The agency also noted affected employees are eligible for special reemployment consideration with other state agencies.
The committee recorded the report and asked staff to come to the table for questions; no formal vote was taken on Item F during the meeting.
Ending: Agency officials characterized the elimination of six positions as an internal restructuring to shift emphasis toward reintegration and employment support; committee members requested further detail about severance, retirement impacts and county‑level VSO oversight.
