VA Job search for injured vets, VA Pay Surviving Spouses, & Travel Reimbursement

Monday, January 05, 2009 8:18 AM
Subject: CVSO Article due 9 January 2009

By: Dan Meyer
The office hours for the Lac qui Parle County Veterans Service Office are 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 598-3445.

VA Ramps Up Job Search for Injured Vets.

Thirty percent of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are veterans - the second highest ranking among cabinet departments after the Department of Defense -- and nearly 8 percent of VA employees are service-connected disabled veterans. But the VA intends to increase the number of disabled veterans who obtain employment in its workforce.

"I am proud of this effort," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "VA knows the true quality of our men and women, and we should be a leader in employing them."

Peake said all severely injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be contacted by VA's Veterans Employment Coordination Service to determine their interest in -- and qualifications for -- VA jobs. So far, that office has identified 2,300 severely injured veterans of those wars, of whom 600 expressed interest in VA employment.

The coordination service was established a year ago to recruit veterans into VA, especially those seriously injured in the current wars. It has nine regional coordinators working with local facility human resources offices across the country not only to reach out to potential job candidates but to ensure that local managers know about special authorities available to hire veterans. For example, qualified disabled veterans rated by the Defense Department or VA as having a 30 percent or more service-connected disability can be hired non-competitively.

"Our team is spreading the message that VA is hiring, and we want to hire disabled veterans," said Dennis O. May, director of VA's Veterans Employment Coordination Service.

VA coordinators participate in military career fairs and transition briefings, and partner with veterans organizations, the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service, as well as VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service, the Marine Corps' Wounded Warrior Regiment and the Army's Warrior Transition Units.

In the "Did You Know?" segment. Who was America's only "Honorary Veteran?" The answer will be in next week's article.

Until next week, take care and "Fair winds and following seas!"

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January 24, 2008 - VA Travel Reimbursement Increase -
By: Dan Meyer
The office hours for the Lac qui Parle County Veterans Service Office are 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 598-3445.

Some Veterans to See Another Travel Reimbursement Increase. Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities will see an increase in their payments beginning 9 January 2009.

A recently passed law allows VA to cut the amount it must withhold from their mileage reimbursement. The deductible amount will be $3 for each one-way trip and $6 for each round trip -- with a calendar cap of $18, or six one-way trips or three round trips, whichever comes first. The previous deductible was $7.77 for a one-way trip, and $15.54 for a round trip, with a calendar cap of $46.62.

"I'm pleased that we can help veterans living far from VA facilities to access the medical and counseling help they deserve, especially in the current economic climate," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "Together with the increased mileage rate approved last month, we can further reduce the financial hardship some veterans undergo to use our superior health care."

In November, Peake announced VA's second increase in the mileage reimbursement rate during 2008, from 28.5 cents to 41.5 cents a mile.

Service-disabled and low-income veterans are eligible to be reimbursed by VA for the travel costs of receiving health care or counseling at VA facilities. Veterans traveling for Compensation and Pension examinations also qualify for mileage reimbursement. VA can waive deductibles if they cause financial hardship.

In the "Did You Know?" segment. LinkVet is your link to experts. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) offers the LinkVet call center provided by trained staff. During business hours, MDVA staff will provide information on veterans’ benefits, healthcare, education, and reintegration. The line will roll to Crisis Connection counselors for 24-hour, seven days a week coverage (including holidays) for immediate crisis intervention and psychological counseling.

Telephone help is available from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with referral to Crisis Connection available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week including holidays. The email address in minnesotaveteran.org. Chat is available on-line Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. PLEASE NOTE: When using Chat if you have a medical emergency, please Dial 911 from a phone. Suicide calls are a medical emergency and 911 will be immediately notified. To call on-line support dial 1-888-LinkVet or 1-888-546-5838.

Until next week, take care and "Fair winds and following seas!"

CVSO Article due 16 January 2009

By: Dan Meyer
The office hours for the Lac qui Parle County Veterans Service Office are 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 598-3445.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced immediate actions to quickly identify and pay surviving spouses who are eligible to receive a one-time compensation or pension payment for the month of the veterans death.

This benefit payment is long overdue to many of our beneficiaries, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we take aggressive action to fix this situation for the families of our veterans.

Problems in implementation of a change in law that was effective in 1997 resulted in some surviving spouses not receiving the veteran compensation or pension payment for the month of death. This problem was recently brought to VAs attention by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

Peake immediately directed the formation of a special task force to identify and pay the beneficiaries who never received the benefit or were inadvertently required to repay the money issued for the month of a veteran death.

Surviving spouses most likely to be affected by this processing problem are those who never applied to VA for survivors benefits following the death of a veteran.

The task force is in the process of reviewing payment records for veterans who died after December 31, 1996, and who are survived by a spouse. The review will identify those to whom VA owes retroactive benefits for the month of the veteran. Current address information is being obtained for as many of these beneficiaries as possible.

VA will begin issuing retroactive payments to eligible surviving spouses at the end of this month. Payments will continue to be issued as additional unpaid beneficiaries are identified and VA is able to obtain current address information.

Because there are deceased veterans for whom VA does not have marital status information, a special Survivors Call Center has been established for spouses who believe they may be entitled to this retroactive month-of-death benefit.

Surviving spouses are encouraged to contact the Survivors Call Center at the toll-free telephone number, 1-800-749-8387. Call center agents will assist surviving spouses in providing VA with the information needed to determine their eligibility.

The Call Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm central standard time. Inquiries may also be submitted through the Internet at http://www.vba.va.gov/survivorsbenefit.htm.

VA is aggressively changing its processing procedures to ensure this benefit is correctly paid to all surviving spouses in the future disability payment system will also be enhanced to automate the month-of-death payment for all eligible surviving spouses.

In the "Did You Know?" segment. The answer from last week's military question: Who was America's only "Honorary Veteran?" Mr. Bob Hope.

Until next week, take care and "Fair winds and following seas!"