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Approximately One In Five Eligible Spouses Had Recently Used MyCAA

• Recent MyCAA users were more likely than nonusers to be in school and less likely to be working.
• Recent MyCAA users were half as likely as nonusers to report that they wanted to be in school but were not (25 percent compared to 51 percent).

Many Eligible Spouses Faced Barriers to MyCAA Participation

• More than half of recent nonusers were unaware of the scholarship.
• Key reasons for nonuse among those who were aware of it included perceived ineligibility and lack of time for education.

About 40 Percent of Spouses Were Working for Pay or Profit

• Almost one-third of spouses working part-time wanted to be working full-time.

Reported Barriers to Achieving Educational and Employment Goals were Remarkably Similar for Recent MyCAA Users and Nonusers

• Cost was cited as a key reason for not pursuing higher education.
• Competing family responsibilities and difficulties with child care were often cited as barriers to both education and employment.

Since the move to an all-volunteer force, the U.S. military has increasingly provided an array of programs, services, and facilities to support military families, including programs to assist spouses in pursuing their educational and employment goals. These programs are particularly important, given that military spouses face challenges related to military life that can make it difficult for them to maintain and develop careers. One program designed to help spouses of junior military personnel meet their educational and employment objectives is the My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) scholarship. This report analyzes data collected from November 2012 to March 2013 on the 2012 Active Duty Spouse Survey to examine MyCAA scholarship use in the previous year and educational and employment goals and barriers faced by recent MyCAA users and nonusers. The survey showed that nearly one in five eligible spouses used MyCAA in the previous year, and more than half of nonusers were unaware of the scholarship. Key reasons for not using the scholarship among those who were aware of it include perceived program ineligibility and lack of time for education. Reported barriers to achieving educational and employment goals were remarkably similar for recent MyCAA users and nonusers. Cost was the key reason spouses reported for not pursuing higher education. Barriers to both education and employment among interested spouses included competing family responsibilities and difficulties with child care. The authors conclude with recommendations for improving and complementing the existing MyCAA scholarship to help military spouses achieve their educational and career objectives.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Analytic Methods

• Chapter Three

  Use of MyCAA

• Chapter Four

  Higher Education Preferences, Experiences, and Barriers

• Chapter Five

  Employment Preferences, Experiences, and Barriers

• Chapter Six

  Conclusions and Recommendations

• Appendix A

  Demographic, Family, and Military Characteristics of Spouses Included in This Study

• Appendix B

  Comparison of MyCAA Nonusers Who Were Aware of the Scholarships to Unaware Nonusers

• Appendix C

  Results of Logistic Regression Models Comparing MyCAA Users to Nonusers on Demographic, Family, and Military Characteristics