Wounded and Injured Veterans' Summit

A National Dialogue

The Governor of Alabama, The Secretary of Labor and the U.S. Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, in response to the need for increased national collaboration among assistance networks, are hosting a national dialogue to highlight the issues, programs, and best practices employed at federal, state and community levels to assure the recovery and return to success of transitioning wounded, injured and disabled service members and their families.

The Summit is a one and a half day blend of interactive discussions and workshops with the following goals:

1. To connect programs nationwide that focus on the recovery, rehabilitation and employment of wounded and injured veterans and their families;
2. To capture and share best employment practices at the federal, state and local levels
3. To link online resources and improve access to services for service members and their families;
4. To investigate the state of technology and workplace accommodations available to assure the successful employment of severely wounded and injured veterans.

Closing the gaps

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Labor formally established a gateway program for employment and transition assistance called the Recovery & Employment Assistance Lifelines (REALifelines) program. The first state partnership initiative (Operation Grateful Heart) was launched that same year by the State of Alabama. In 2005, the Department of Defense established an operational center for these and other efforts at the Military Severely Injured Center.

These collaborative efforts and model programs are but a small part of a surge of national initiatives and organizations seeking to assure the success of returning service members and their families. This Summit is the continuation of a national dialogue to close the gaps between federal, state, local and private initiatives, to capture best practices, and to improve the lives and opportunities for our nation's returning heroes.

National Summit events included:

• Dialogue with Government leadership regarding transition collaboration
• Best Practice modeling, transition planning and referral networking for state and local government agencies
• State-of-Technology Fair on workplace accommodation resources and practices
• Non-governmental organization dialogue and solutions planning
• Interactive webinar for online resource networking