Veteran families in America

Abstract: U.S. military families are recognized by the Department of Defense, policymakers, and the public because they play a crucial role in supporting their service members. As a result, military family members have become important stakeholders whose lives are linked to service members and their well-being. Both programmatic support and research have focused on this population. When service members leave the military, they become veterans, retaining social identities and policy relevance albeit under a different name and government agency. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs lacks the statutory authority to provide care or benefits for the bulk of veteran families. While the agency has a great deal of information about enrolled veterans, little is known about veteran households. The authors of this report attempt to fill that gap by analyzing data from the American Community Survey, providing valuable context for understanding the social and economic resource environment of veterans and identifying potential gaps and needs compared with nonveteran families.

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