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Background and Structure of the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities Program

• In 2007, the Department of Defense (DoD)'s Military Community and Family Policy office established a portfolio of initiatives under the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) program.
• The SECO Call Center at Military OneSource offers career counseling services.
• Scholarships for testing, education, and training for portable career fields are offered through the My Career Advancement Account Scholarship.
• The Military Spouse Employment Partnership connects military spouses with potential employers.
• DoD State Liaison Office efforts aim to improve the portability of occupational licenses and credentials across state lines and to expand unemployment compensation eligibility to military spouses following their service member's permanent change of station moves.

Proposed SECO Internal Monitoring System

RAND suggests five steps to develop and implement the SECO internal monitoring system

• Step 1. Describe the logic or theory of how SECO's activities are designed to meet the program's goals.
• Step 2. Develop key indicators that can be used to measure progress toward goals.
• Step 3. Identify benchmarks and targets. Progress can be compared or measured relative to finite goals or baseline groups.
• Step 4. Collect, organize, manage, and visualize the data collected into a monitoring matrix. The visualization of the data collected will allow staff to document trends and provide deeper understanding of what is occurring.
• Step 5. Use data organized in Step 4 to inform decisionmaking for ongoing improvements.