Focused Assistance and Skills Training for Veterans’ Employment and Transition Success Act

Veterans can receive a revised path toward long-term employment goals when their existing rehabilitation plan is no longer workable.

What the law does ​

• Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to review a veteran’s individualized vocational rehabilitation plan.
• Requires the VA to redevelop the plan with the veteran when changed employment barriers make existing long-term goals infeasible and a different plan is more likely to achieve them.
• Requires the VA to disapprove redevelopment when revising the plan is not appropriate.

Who it affects ​

• Veterans participating in VA vocational rehabilitation programs.
• VA staff who review and manage individualized rehabilitation plans.

Breakdown ​

Focused Assistance and Skills Training for Veterans’ Employment and Transition Success Act ​

The FAST VETS Act changes when the Department of Veterans Affairs must revise a veteran’s individualized vocational rehabilitation plan. After reviewing the plan, the VA must redevelop it with the veteran when changes in the veteran’s employment barriers make the existing long-term goals infeasible and a different plan is more likely to achieve those goals; otherwise, the VA may disapprove redevelopment when it is not appropriate.

Key takeaways

• The VA must review a veteran’s individualized vocational rehabilitation plan.
• The VA must redevelop the plan with the veteran if changes in the veteran’s employment barriers make the existing long-term rehabilitation goals no longer feasible.
• Redevelopment is required only when the VA also determines that a different plan is more likely to achieve the veteran’s long-term rehabilitation goals.
• The VA must disapprove redevelopment when it determines that revising the plan is not appropriate.