WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Former military personnel who would like to take advantage of the new Veterans Retraining Assistance Program can receive assistance with their application through the Missouri State University-West Plains Veterans Incentive Program (VIP) Center, according to Coordinator Mark White.

“Congress passed, and the president signed into law, the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.  Included in this new law is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP).  VRAP offers up to 12 months of training assistance to unemployed veterans.  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) worked together to roll out this new program on July 1, 2012,” White explained.

Limited to 54,000 participants from Oct. 1 through March 31, 2014, the VRAP program provides up to 12 months of assistance equal to the monthly full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill – Active Duty Program, currently set at $1,564 per month, White said.  DOL will provide employment assistance to every veteran who participates upon completion of the program, he added.

VRAP is for unemployed veterans 35 to 60 years of age who were honorably discharged.  They cannot be eligible for any other VA education benefit program, such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employement Assistance; receive VA compensation for unemployability; or currently enrolled in a federal or state job training program, White said.

Those accepted into the program must be enrolled in an educational program offered by a two-year college such as Missouri State-West Plains, a community college or a technical school that will eventually lead to an associate degree or certificate and train the veteran for a high demand occupation.  Educational programs eligible for VRAP assistance can be found at http://benefits.va.gove/vow/docs/VRAP_High_Demand.pdf.

Veterans can apply for the program by visiting eBenefits, http://www.gibill.va.gov or stop by the Missouri State-West Plains VIP Center at the Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., for personalized assistance.

White reminded regular registration for the 2013 spring semester at Missouri State University-West Plains begins Nov. 28.  Area veterans interested in applying and/or registering for spring classes are invited to stop by the VIP Center for assistance.

For more information about VRAP and other VA assistance programs, call 1-800-827-1000 or visit http://www.benefits.va.gov/vow, or contact White at 417-255-7720 to make an appointment.