The Military Family Employment Advocacy Program provides advocates located in Florida's One-Stop Career Centers for regions where military bases and communities are located. Persons eligible for assistance through this program include spouses and dependents of active-duty military personnel, activated Florida National Guard members, and activated military reservists. Approximately 37,000 military spouses, not including military spouses of mobilized National Guard Members/Reservists, currently live in Florida. An increase is projected in the military spouse population due to returning and reassigned military members and their families.
Services include, but are not limited to, Job Searches and Placement Assistance, Career Planning and Counseling, Case Management, Resume Assistance, Assessment and Testing Services, Interviewing Skills Training, Referral to Educational and Training Programs, Job Fairs, and Job Clubs. Military Spouses are also eligible to receive training and other support services under the Federal Workforce Investment Act and may be eligible to collect unemployment compensation if they need to quit their jobs to relocate with their active duty military spouse.
Military spouses may also be eligible through the Military Family Employment Advocacy Program for Career Advancement Accounts at select military stations. These Career Advancement Accounts can provide up to $6,000 for continuing education, up to an Associate's Degree, in the fields of Financial Services, Information Technology, Health Care, Education or Construction Trades. In one region alone, $525,700 in Career Advancement Accounts assisted 105 military spouses.
Eight Military Family Employment Advocates are currently assigned to One-Stop Career Centers in Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach, Panama City, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Tampa Bay, and Miami/Dade. Many of the advocates are co-located at the Family Support Centers and frequently participate in welcome events and briefings for newly stationed families and job fairs throughout their regions.
More information about the Military Family Employment Program can be found in the internet at the following locations:
- Agency for Workforce Innovation
- Jobs Plus - Okaloosa and Walton counties
- Workforce Center - Bay, Franklin & Gulf counties
- WorkSource -- Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam & St. Johns counties
- Career Source Brevard -- Brevard county
- Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance -- Hillsborough County
- South Florida Workforce -- Dade and Monroe counties
- CareerOneStop -- World-wide Service Locator
