City of San Antonio - File #: 19-6406

• File #: 19-6406
• Type: Miscellaneous Item
• In control: City Council A Session
• On agenda: 9/12/2019
• Posting Language: Ordinance approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program to establish a two-year agreement for an amount not to exceed $150,000.00. Funding is included in the Government and Public Affairs Department FY 2019 Adopted Budget and subsequent funding is contingent upon future budget appropriation. [Carlos Contreras, Assistant City Manager; Jeff Coyle, Director, Government and Public Affairs]

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
9/12/2019	1	City Council A Session	adopted	Pass

DEPARTMENT: Government & Public Affairs, Office of Military and Veteran Affairs

DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jeff Coyle, Juan G. Ayala

COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide

SUBJECT: Hiring Our Heroes Memorandum of Understanding

SUMMARY:
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishes a two-year, formal agreement between the United States Chamber of Commerce's Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program and the City of San Antonio. The MOU will specifically direct how the $150,000 currently budgeted towards military spouse employment will be spent.

BACKGROUND:
Active duty military spouses are recognized to have higher rates than non military spouses in both under employment and unemployment. This is as a direct consequence to being married to a service member which results in frequent moves that are reflected on resumes through short terms of employment before relocating and gaps in employment while job searching at their new locations. The greatest challenge identified with military spouse employment is overcoming the stigma that the military spouse will suddenly move and their time at the organization is not equivalent to the time that will be required to train and incorporate the spouse into the company. This is a false narrative for numerous reasons including the typically higher level of education held by military spouses than non-military spouses and the skill sets, adaptability, and resiliency common to military spouses.

The challenge associated with military spouse employment is nationally recognized as one of the top four reasons active duty personnel leave the service and pursue civilian careers. Therefore, military spouse employment has a direct result on unit readiness and a units ability to complete their mission. Both mission readiness and community support are two factors used in "base reduction, alignment, and closure" (BRAC) considerations. The city of San Antonio is taking an proactive approach to avoid BRAC at the Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA...