Congratulations to Matt Sutton, Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) Specialist and the team at MassHire Greater New Bedford Career Center for receiving the 2021 Performance Incentive “Rising Star Award” from the Jobs for Veterans State Grant.
The Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) is a United States Department of Labor (DOL) Veterans Employment and Training Services (VETS) staffing grant to support Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialists at One-Stop Career Centers throughout Massachusetts.
MassHire Greater New Bedford is the MassHire Department of Career Services 2021 Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) “Rising Star” winner. Using Career Planning as the framework for providing individual career services, DVOP Sutton, along with the team at the Career Center, was able to accomplish 32 employment placements of Veterans with Significant Barriers into employment.
Matt Sutton, Veterans Employment Rep., MassHire GNB Career Center
“I appreciate the kinds words and support, as always. However, I would like to stress, as does the award narrative, that this a MassHire New Bedford award, not a Matt Sutton award. Without a team that puts veteran job seekers first, success, quite simply, doesn’t happen. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this amazing organization.”
— Matt
Because of his strong partnerships with Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) grantees and local area partners, DVOP Sutton was also selected to participate in DOL VETS monthly HVRP Partnership Meetings. His collaboration with local HVRP partners was key to the development of detailed case plans. By incorporating case conferences with partner staff, they provided consistent messaging while also working to keep veterans motivated. His case plans show genuine concern, attention to employment detail, and constant-contact and follow-through with veteran job seekers. DVOP Sutton was one of the first DVOPS to utilize the Mass internet Connect Program, (MIC) which became a JVSG Best Practice. Working with Career Center staff to obtain laptops and/or internet connections for eight SBE veterans, those veterans were able to work remotely on assignments and make steady employment progress. Providing Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program services to SBE Veterans ensures immediate DVOP services to SBE veterans who are collecting unemployment checks. This JVSG Best Practice connects RESEA SBE veterans immediately to DVOP staff, helping them to return to work even faster. DVOP Sutton also participated in a JVSG Best Practices workgroup and later co-facilitated a Best Practices Training session for DVOP staff!
We would also like to extend our sincerest congratulations to all 2021 Jobs for Veterans State Grant award recipients:
- “Gold Award” MassHire Metro North
- “Silver Award” MassHire Central Worcester and Southbridge
- “Bronze Award” MassHire Metro South West
- “Collaboration Award” MassHire Central Worcester
- “Outstanding Partnership Award” David Clark Company, Worcester, MA
DOL/VETS allows states with an approved Incentive Award in their WIOA Combined State Plan the ability to use one percent (1%) of the amount of each state’s grant award to be set aside for “the purposes of making cash awards under the program of performance incentive award.
The JVSG Incentive Awards recognize the efforts of an entire One-Stop Career Center (OSCC), not just a Veterans’ unit or Veterans’ staff. The awards are made in recognition of the following:
- Improvement and modernization of placement services, training opportunities, and employment outcomes for Veterans;
- Reward and celebrate excellence in the provision of “Priority of Service” and integration of services to Veterans and covered persons at the MassHire Career Center;
- Establish strong working partnerships with veteran organizations and the community at large to improve services to Veterans;
The incentive awards are intended to be used to enhance services provided to Veteran jobseekers for OSCC-specific needs such as computer hardware/software; resource room or library materials; individual training accounts; training or intensive services and/or other office-wide uses.
The incentive awards are intended to be used to enhance services provided to Veteran jobseekers for OSCC-specific needs such as computer hardware/software; resource room or library materials; individual training accounts; training or intensive services and/or other office-wide uses.
