INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL 1. Use the template below in drafting your capstone proposal. Remove the italicized instructions contained in each section box and replace them with your written proposal text. Do not alter the formatting (boxes and fonts) of the template.

2. Important: Have someone read/proofread/edit your work.

3. Please make sure you address the points listed in the instruction boxes.

4. Once completed, upload the file to the appropriate link in Moodle.

5. Your proposal is a living document. We will be using and refining this document once we as the term progresses.

6. Remember – this is a DRAFT proposal at this point. As such, its contents will still need significant improvement and revisions as you use its contents in writing your capstone in MM598.

7. Submit the complete proposal via Moodle.

CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
MM 514 – Practical Research

Name(s): | Danny Shipman |

Proposed Research Topic/Title: | Do Southern Oregon Veterans Face the Same Challenges as Veterans Across the Rest of the Nation When Transitioning from Military to Civilian Life |

Executive Summary: | This section essentially provides the reader of your proposal an informative abstract, giving the reader the chance to see the essentials of the proposal without having to read the details as written in the following sections. The executive summary should include a brief statement of the management dilemma and management question, the research objectives/research questions, and the benefits of your approach.
You may want to write this section once you have completed the sections below. |

Introduction/ Background of the Study | There were an estimated 2.5 million men and women deployed abroad during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many multiple times (42%) (VCS, 2011). These veterans were subject to a type of urban warfare never before seen, and accordingly, brought home a myriad of mental, emotional and physical problems that the nation must now address. Major problems of concern vary but the need for substantial employment, healthcare (mental and physical), and education top most lists, with transitioning from military to civilian life up there as well. There is a need to address the overrepresentation of veterans in the homeless, prison and drug use/abuse demographic. Studies show that veterans comprise approximately 10% of the nation’s prison population, 33% of the homeless population, and 12% of the unemployed (Schmidt, L., Simmonds, G., & Sulfaro, H. 2014). There are many educational benefits the VA offers vets that are relatively easy to access and historically haven’t been subject to drastic funding troubles (Griffin, K., & Gilbert, C. 2012). There is a definite shortfall in the VA health system and support systems for transitioning from military to civilian life. The backlash in 2014 over the waiting time for veterans to receive care caused a backlog of 50% more cases than when the scandal surfaced and the voucher system the VA implemented for outside care, while showing promising results so far, is so new that there are no reliable studies on how effective it has actually been (Oppel Jr., 2015). In 2009 the VA, in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a plan to end homelessness in the veteran community within five years. The HUD-VASH program reduced the homeless population from 75 thousand in 2009 to 50 thousand in 2014 (Congressional Research Service, 2014). There are non-profit veteran organizations that help veterans access services available to them such as the Disabled Veterans of America (DAV), the American Legion, and Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW). The purpose of this study is to compare the difficulties of Southern Oregon veterans, specifically Klamath, Lake and Jackson county veterans, with the difficulties most recognized with veterans of the rest of the nation. |

Problem Statement: | During the course of this research several questions will be asked and answered. Do Klamath, Lake, and Jackson counties have adequate educational, employment, housing and transitioning services for its veterans? Are the services in addition to or part of state or VA services? Are the services easily accessed and are there personnel available to help access them? Are there additional support systems in place for disabled veterans? Do the veterans of Klamath, Lake and Jackson counties experience the same difficulties after military service as veterans from the rest of the nation? If not what problems are they having? Do the non-profit veteran organizations in these counties help and to what extent? |

Research Objectives:(or Purpose of the Research) | The objective of this research is to determine: * If the Southern Oregon counties of Klamath, Lake, and Jackson provide services in addition to state and federal programs. * If Southern Oregon veterans are experiencing the same difficulties with employment, education, homelessness, and other problems as veterans across the nation. * If the veteran non-profit organizations help and how much help do they offer? * Explore the possibility of organizations collaborating their resources and ideas to better serve the veteran community. |

Review of Related Literature: | The research focuses on Southern Oregon veterans, specifically Lake, Klamath and Jackson county veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). It is meant to compare and contrast the difficulties these veterans face when transitioning from military to civilian life with veterans from across the nation. Nationwide, the most common difficulties veterans encounter is: finding employment, physical and mental healthcare, education, homelessness and drug abuse (Perl, 2014). Employment Most veterans report their greatest challenge in finding a job is explaining how their military skills translate to the civilian workforce. Most believe they have the skills needed to land their ideal job but the majority express concerns about how to translate their skills to the business environment. Most believe their military is respected by employers, but three in five are concerned about cultural barriers and half are specifically concerned employers will not understand military culture (Prudential, 2012). About one in five veterans are unemployed and most say they are prepared but need help with multiple job search skills and especially networking. Healthcare With all the publicity and criticism surrounding the Veterans Administration and their backlog of claims and appointments, veterans are concerned about the access to and quality of their healthcare. The veteran must rely on the VA until if or when they find private insurance. The Military Times and the New York Times report that veterans on a waiting list of one month or longer, with most averaging 50 days, is 50 percent higher than at the height of last year’s problems (Oppel 2015, Kime 2013). According to the Department of Defense (DOD) half of the 301 troops that committed suicide in 2011 had sought mental health counselling or guidance before they died (Kime, 2013). PTSD, hypertension and depression are the main complaints from veterans and women have a harder time finding quality care in facilities historically designed and aimed at men. Women have health care needs that are distinct from men such as cardiovascular disease. Education The Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 or more commonly called the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill increased educational funding more significantly than in decades. In 2011 alone the Post-911 G.I. Bill funded education for 555,000 veterans or their dependents, investing more than $7.7 billion in education benefits that fiscal year (Griffin, K., & Gilbert, C. 2012) Some states offer educational assistance for veterans that maintained that state as their home state while serving. For instance, since 1944 Texas has offered an educational assistance program called the Hazelwood Act. It is a law sponsored by State Senator Grady Hazlewood that allows that if the veteran meets certain criteria such as keeping Texas as the state of record while serving and have an honourable discharge etc., the state will pay for tuition and most fees up to 150 hours on any in-state school. The Legacy Program allows the veteran to pass down hours not used to their children and grandchildren until the hours are exhausted. Most states have veterans’ educational assistance programs that are relatively easy to find out about online and most colleges and universities in the nation have a veterans’ representative who can assist. While there are many educational programs for veterans, there are virtually no programs to assist with expenses that will be incurred because of attending class, such as, increases in fuel costs, possible day care and books and other study materials, and loss of work time due to class. Homelessness In 2009 there were an estimated 75,000 homeless veterans in America and by 2014 it had fallen to 50,000 in large part to the $500 million collaboration between the VA and HUD. The 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Reports to Congress report that 92.2% of homeless veterans are men. African Americans veterans make up 35.5% of the homeless population compared to 11% of all veterans. Hispanic veterans make up 7% of the homeless but 5.6% of veterans and Non-Hispanic White veterans make up 52% of homeless compared to 80.3% of all veterans. Half of all veterans are 62 and older but the veterans in the 31-50 and 51-61 age groups represent the greatest percentage of homeless, 37.1% and 43.4% respectively. Veterans 18-30 make up 8.5% of homeless and veterans age 62 and older make up 11.1% of the homeless veteran population (Perl, 2014). Drug Use and/or Abuse Some veterans may or may not know they have emotional or mental issues and may be self medicating without really knowing that is what they are doing or the macho mentality may be prohibitive to seeking treatment. The most commonly used drug is alcohol followed by marijuana, opiates and amphetamine. The VA health system is already overwhelmed and most local governments and states do not have treatment designed for the special circumstances that veterans have been through. With this in mind, Judge Robert Russell from New York, began Veterans Treatment Courts. Judge Russell recognized that veterans are a unique population that possess specific needs that require specified services. He also noted that veterans in treatment courts responded more positively with other veterans. VTC’s mission is to divert veterans and active duty from the traditional criminal justice system and provide them with services that target the underlying causes and correlates of their crimes (e.g. substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, housing services, and connection to benefits) (Baldwin, 2014). |

Importance/Benefits of the study. | The results of this study will help determine if Southern Oregon Veterans experience the same difficulties transitioning from military to civilian life as veterans from the rest of the nation. The results may help guide government and non-profits to specific needs that Southern Oregon veterans need addressed and may help proponents of collaboration efforts between organizations focus on ways to better utilize limited resources. |

Research Design: | Veterans who live in Jackson, Klamath or Lake counties that served during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom will be the focus of this study. The survey will have 25 questions pertaining directly to the issues of employment, homelessness, educational opportunities, and healthcare (mental and physical). The respondent may or may not state their name but questions pertaining to age, race, and gender will be encouraged to be answered because it may help determine if these factors affect access to and help with services. The survey will be distributed in both paper and online forms. The online form will be through the Southern Oregon University’s Qualtrics Survey software. The paper form will have instructions on how to access the online form and will be distributed in waiting rooms of the VA clinic in Klamath Falls OR. and the VA hospital in White City OR. Paper forms will also be distributed in VFW Halls and American Legion Halls in Klamath Falls, Medford, Lakeview, Ashland and Grants Pass OR. Drop boxes will be left at these places with a brief description explaining the purpose of the survey and instructions on how to complete it. |

Data Analysis: | This section will describe the methods, statistics, and statistical tests you are planning to use in summarizing, tabulating and presenting your data. Present in the appendix pro-formas of the expected tables and figures that will be generated from the data gathering phase (or survey). |

Results and Deliverables: | Expected deliverables from this research will be gathering data via surveys, determine the obstacles confronting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from most pressing to least, compare Lake, Klamath, and Jackson county veterans’ results with the rest of the nation, and present findings to veteran advocacy groups |

Qualification of Researcher/s: | Danny J. Shipman Jr. holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Texas, Denton Texas., and is in the final year of Master in Management studies at Southern Oregon University. He is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm/ Desert Shield with three deployments to the Middle East and one South America deployment. Danny volunteers for the Klamath county DAV office and participates in local veteran groups such as Klamath County VFW and American Legion, as well as Klamath County Veterans Services. Danny was honourably discharged and held the rank of Interior Communications Electrician Second Class (E-5) upon discharge and managed forty men. |

References and Bibliography | Perl, L. (2014). Veterans and Homelessness. Congressional Research Service Report, 7(5700). Thorpe, H. (2015, August 15). The V. A.'s Woman Problem. The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http://nyti.ms/1Na1ylb Schmidt, L., Simmonds, G., & Sulfaro, H. (2014). Problems of Combat Veterans Transitioning to Civilian Life. NCRP EJournal. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from ejournalncrp.com Removing Barriers to Mental Health Services for Veterans. (2014, November 18). Retrieved November 7, 2015. Griffin, K., & Gilbert, C. (2012, April 25). Easing the Transition from Combat to Classroom. Retrieved November 3, 2015. Taylor, J., Parkes, T., Haw, S., & Jepson, R. (2012, August 21). Military veterans with mental health problems: A protocol for a systematic review to identify whether they have an additional risk of contact with criminal justice systems compared with other veterans’ groups. Retrieved November 3, 2015. Veterans' Employment Challenges. (2012). Retrieved November 2, 2015. Morin, R. (2011, December 8). The Difficult Transition from Military to Civilian. Retrieved November 1, 2015. Joseph, M., & Vance, M. (2009). Veterans with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22(1). Oppel, R. (2015, June 20). Wait Lists Grow as Many More Veterans Seek Care and Funding Falls Far Short. The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2015. Wagner, B. (2011). The Difficult Reintegration of Soldiers to Society and Family After Deployment. ESSAI, 9(41). Baldwin, J. (2013, January 5). Veterans Treatment Courts. Retrieved November 7, 2015. Monson, C., Taft, C., & Fredman, S. (2009). Military -related PTSD and Intimate Relationships: From Description to Theory-Driven Research and Intervention development. National Center for Biotechnology Information, 29(8), 707-714. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2009.09.002 Kime, P. (2013, March 26). Readjustment Issues Affect 44% of Combat Vets. Military Times. VCS, T. (2011, December 2). VCS Releases Updated War Statistics. Retrieved November 7, 2015. |

Appendices | 1. IRB Documents (for studies involving human subjects) must be included here in addition to all other appendices.2. Copy of survey instrument3. Resume4. etc | | |

Note: The content of this template is adopted from Business Research Methods, 11th Edition, Cooper and Schindler, pp 653 to 656. Much of the text used herein is adopted verbatim from the text.