STATES STEP UP TO THE PLATE TO SERVE RETURNING VETERANS

STATES STEP UP TO THE PLATE TO SERVE RETURNING VETERANS

Volume 28, Issue 487 March 19, 2007

Matthew Gever

Injured veterans returning home should have an easier time obtaining state benefits, thanks to lawmakers in a number of states. Meanwhile, a new state-federal partnership is expected to make it easier for returning veterans to readapt to life at home.

Among the states that have been considering veterans’ bills is New Jersey, whose Assembly recently passed 13 bills to expand veterans’ rights and benefits. Among the measures was A2663, which allows Garden Staters to donate a portion of their tax returns to the “New Jersey Veterans Haven Support Fund.” This fund supports New Jersey Veterans Haven, a transitional housing and rehabilitation service for homeless veterans with substance abuse problems. “Additional support and funding can provide our homeless veterans with one more opportunity to turn their lives around,” said Assemblyman David Mayer. The state estimates that its homeless population includes between 7,000 and 8,000 veterans.

Lawmakers also passed A1057, which establishes a task force to look into constructing a veteran’s health-care facility in southern Jersey. “With a new generation of veterans coming home, and in light of recent problems at Walter Reed Hospital, it is essential that we provide these protections and benefits,” said Assemblyman Jack Conners, sponsor of the legislation.

Legislators in Colorado are considering a slew of bills to expand and improve veterans’ services in the state. One of the measures (SB 146) would create a three-year mental health pilot project for families of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Under the bill, the state Department of Human Services would provide up to $300,000 a year to community mental health centers in the Colorado Springs area to help provide mental health services to the spouses and children of recently discharged veterans. “A lot of [the issues that returning veterans face] are family issues,” said Representative Joe Rice, himself a veteran. “There’s a lot of stress coming back”—and veterans may react by developing depression and other mental health disorders. The money would come from the state’s tobacco settlement funds.

Another measure being considered (SB 30) is aimed at soldiers who are still in combat. The bill would provide up to $93,000 to pay the life insurance premiums of any and all Colorado National Guard soldiers while they’re serving in a combat zone.

In Illinois, Representative Mike Smith introduced HB 1090, which would exempt disabled troops who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan from paying a set of specific state taxes when they have to modify a car so that their disability does not prevent them from driving. “Our...wounded veterans should not be faced with the financial burden of re-adjusting to their home life,” said Smith in a press release.

Partnership with the Feds

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently launched a partnership with states to make veterans in VA hospitals more aware of state-level benefits. Many states supplement VA assistance with their own, providing benefits such as tax breaks, tuition assistance and vocational rehabilitation to disabled veterans who have difficulty finding employment.

However, “connecting veterans with state benefits immediately upon their separation from military service is a challenge, and more so for those who have suffered serious injury,” said John Garcia, president of the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services.

The new “State Benefits Seamless Transition Program” has its roots in a four-month pilot project launched by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Under the pilot (which ended in December 2006), disabled veterans returning home from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom were connected with state veterans’ offices to learn about state programs.

VA secretary Jim Nicholson announced recently that the VA will build on Florida’s pilot by working with all 50 states to help veterans learn about and obtain state benefits. VA officials will identify patients in Department of Defense facilities who will be transferred to VA hospitals. The VA will inform state offices about these troops, and the state office will then educate them about state benefits.