In 2011, CalVet and the California Commission on the Status of Women (the Commission) requested the California Research Bureau (CRB) conduct a second iteration of its 2009 survey of women veterans; identifying their needs, surveying their service utilization and gathering information on their demographics. This report provides the findings of the 2011 Survey. This report is organized into five chapters. In chapter one, the authors discuss the current state of research about women veterans by providing an overview of the literature. They then discuss the methodology used in conducting this survey. In chapter two, they provide the reader with information about the participant characteristics and compare these with a national sample and a sample taken by CRB in 2009. In chapter three, they examine the needs identified by women veterans. The authors provide a breakdown of these needs by service era, age, and other key variables. Chapter four reviews the service utilization pattern of women veterans. It discusses both state and federal services, their utilization, and women's knowledge of these services. Wherever possible, the findings are compared to those of national samples and of the 2009 CRB survey of women veterans. Chapter five includes the conclusions and suggestions for future iterations of this survey. Appended are: (1) Survey Instrument; (2) Scripting Tool; and (3) Works Cited. (Contains 34 figures and 18 tables.) [For "California's Women Veterans: Responses to the 2011 Survey. CRB Briefly Stated," see ED536751.].

Women veterans' needs have been subsumed under the needs of veterans in general for many years. Because women veterans make up less than ten percent of the total current veteran population, their unique needs have been obscured by this, but this is beginning to change. The federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), and the California Commission on the Status of Women (the Commission) have highlighted the unique needs of women veterans in the past five years. CalVet and the Commission asked the CRB to conduct a second iteration of the Women Veterans Survey, originally completed in 2009. This iteration of the survey was used to measure the current needs of women veterans and establish a baseline for service utilization. This Briefly Stated describes the 2011 Survey, its key findings, and conclusions. (Contains 3 figures.) [For the full report, "California's Women Veterans: Responses to the 2011 Survey. CRB 12-004," see ED536741.].