The Concho Valley Development Board announced that it has been selected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to participate in the federal agency’s Financial Coaching Initiative. As part of this initiative, the Board will host a full-time financial coach to work with veterans who have recently transitioned from active-duty status to help them with their financial goals.

According to Mike Buck, Executive Director for the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board, “Our Financial Coach, Lisette Alverio, who is a Certified Personal Finance Counselor, integrates nicely with our Veteran’s One-Stop Center located at Workforce Solutions.  Now we have all the tools in one easy spot to help servicemembers transition into civilian lifestyle.  Hosting the Financial Coach allows us to solve a critical issue in that transition, a servicemember’s and family’s finance management.”

Roughly 250,000 servicemembers leave active duty every year, and the financial transition into civilian life can be challenging.  The Department of Defense offers a Transition Assistance Program (TAP), but many transitioning servicemembers lack experience in money management, and find after they leave military service that they may need help in reworking the financial plan they made while in TAP.  At this point a trusted source of financial information and advice could make the difference in a successful transition to a financially stable post-military life.

The CFPB Financial Coaching Program provides financial coaching services at critical points in consumers’ lives as they move along the path to financial stability.  The program helps both veterans as they transition from active duty status as well as economically vulnerable consumers seeking other services from social services and other providers.

Concho Valley Workforce Development Board is one of 60 diverse partner organizations selected across the country to host professional financial coaches.  It is a member of the Department of Labor’s American Job Center network, which provides resources to help people find a job, identify training programs, and gain skills in growing industries.  Concho Valley was selected by the CFPB, in partnership with the Department of Labor, after a nationwide competitive search.

The coaches hired for the program have experience working with the populations they will service, are accredited by the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, and will be trained in financial coaching techniques.

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