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State Toolkit
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Explore How States are Supporting Military Families
Across the country, states are advancing thoughtful policies, programs, and partnerships that strengthen support for military and veteran-connected families. This toolkit brings together those efforts in one shared, accessible place.
Select a state on the map to explore local initiatives, or browse the full database below to discover ideas and opportunities being activated nationwide.
Darker shaded states are a Do Your Part state.
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Massachusetts provides career coaching, job placement, and training through MassHire, helping veterans transition successfully into civilian employment.
SAVE operates as a peer support outreach program that connects veterans and their families with benefits, services, and support. This support explicitly includes lethal means safety trainings and suicide prevention programming.
Populations: Active Duty, Veteran Topics: Health & Wellbeing, Health and Wellness, Mental Health Support
Massachusetts excludes nonresident military pay from state income taxation and allows service members and spouses to retain their legal state residency for tax purposes, helping prevent unintended tax liabilities due to military orders.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Fee Waiver, Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
Massachusetts has a Veteran Ready Business program aims to educate businesses about the value of hiring veterans and their spouses
Statewide council of student veterans, across 20+ campuses, who identify issues on their campuses, circulate information and propose solutions, in order to improve the student veteran experience for all.
Populations: Veteran Topics: Belonging, Belonging & Community, Belonging/Community Support
Massachusets has a Women Veterans Network that provides programs, benefits, and advocacy to women veterans
Populations: Veteran Topics: Belonging, Belonging & Community, Belonging/Community Support
Massachusetts offers 20 distinctive military and veteran license plate designs to honor the service and sacrifice of eligible service members, veterans, and their families statewide.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Belonging, Belonging & Community, Belonging/Community Support
Massachusetts participates in occupational licensing compacts, allowing military spouses to transfer professional credentials and maintain employment across state lines, supporting career continuity and family stability.
The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact allows military spouses and licensees to practice across state lines, supporting career continuity and mobility for military families.
Massachusetts recognizes military-friendly schools that demonstrate strong supports, resources, and points of contact for military-connected students and their families.
Populations: Military Children Topics: Belonging, Belonging & Community, Community Integration Support
We support veterans and their families with their career aspirations by providing meaningful connections to employment, training, and educational opportunities. The referral system is a joint venture with DCS Mass Hire and local VSOs.
Massachusetts allows active duty service members and their family members who are nonresidents to pay resident tuition rates, reducing financial barriers to higher education during military assignments.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
Connects military families in Massachusetts with support resources, including access to Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood‑PLUS (MCCYN) childcare fee assistance and state early education and childcare financial assistance programs.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Childcare, Childcare Challenges, Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
Tax and recruitment incentive to bring onboard more veterans for small businesses with 100 or less employees
Massachusetts allows eligible nonresident service members to access hunting and fishing licenses at reduced cost, helping lower recreational expenses during military assignments.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Fee Waiver, Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
Massachusetts provides flexible financial assistance to the Commonwealth veterans and their families facing hardship
Populations: Veteran Topics: Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support, Other
Allows employees to take paid family medical leave to care for a service member suffering from a service related health condition or to help manage needs of a deployed family members
Populations: Active Duty, Caregivers Topics: Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
Massachusetts exempts eligible service members, disabled veterans, and former prisoners of war from the annual motor vehicle excise tax, helping reduce transportation-related costs.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Fee Waiver, Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support
SDO-VBE/SDVOBE Certification
The SDO certified Veteran Owned Businesses to provide a benefit in the state procurement process. The SDO also hosts networking events to connect Veteran Owned Businesses to other suppliers and customers
Populations: Veteran Topics: Financial Stability (Fee Waiver, Food Insecurity), Financial Support, Other
Expands the legal definition of “Armed Forces” to include the U.S. Space Force, ensuring Space Force service members are recognized in state law and eligible for the same benefits, protections, and programs as other military branches.
Populations: Active Duty Topics: Removing Bureaucratic Barriers, Resource Systems Navigation
Your Feedback is Welcome!
This toolkit is launching in 'beta' to demonstrate the incredible potential of state level work. We'll keep refining it and would love your help in making it the most comprehensive, easy to use tool out there. Help us improve the States toolkit by sharing anything that needs attention with Blue Star Families by filling out this form.
A comprehensive overview of the methodology and supporting data can be found in the full technical memo.
Let's work together to support our military families.
The Do Your Part coalition is led by Blue Star Families with support from Craig Newmark and craig newmark philanthropies.
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