Ohio Department Of Veterans Services

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Ohio Department Of Veterans Services
April 14, 2010

• County Veterans Service Offices

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County Veterans Service Offices / Commission

• Mission To provide assistance to veterans and
  their family members.
• Guidelines for assistance and operations are
  defined by each Veterans Service Commission (VSC)
  within the provisions of the ORC 5901.
• Policy and procedures for daily operations are
  determined by the VSC.

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County Veterans Service Offices / Commission

• Generally Five Member VSC.
• Members are Selected from Local Veteran
  Organizations Recommendations.
• American Legion, AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign
  Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and one at
  large veterans organization.
• Judge Appoints each VSC for a Five Year Term.

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County Veterans Service Offices / Commission

• Locations At least one office in all 88 Ohio
  Counties.
• Funding Based on .5 of a mill per dollar on the
  assessed value of the property of the county.
• Available funds significantly vary by county
  (Cuyahoga County 16 Million Vs Vinton County
  76,000 in 2009)
• Local staff size and level of support also vary
  significantly.

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County Veterans ServiceOffices

• Number 1 Resource for Local Veterans Needs
• VA Disability Claims and Pensions.
• Appeal VA Claims.
• Claims Follow-up
• Application for Federal Veterans Benefits
• Medical Care
• Burial Benefits
• Survivor Benefits
• Home Loan Guaranty
• Education Benefits - Montgomery GI Bill

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County Veterans Service Offices

• Transportation to VA Medical Appointments
• Financial Assistance Program
• Linkage to State Veterans Benefits
• Employment Training
• Ohio War Orphans Scholarship
• KIA Service Member Spouse Tuition Waiver
• Hunting / Fishing / Boating License
• Special License Plates
• High School Diploma Program

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County Veterans Service Offices

• Veterans Referral Support
• Ohio Cares (Mental Health)
• Vet Centers (Mental Health)
• Inter Service Family Support
• Educational Assistance
• Employment (Local and Ohio Job Family Services)
• Medical Assistance
• Homeless Programs
• Local Veterans Organizations
• Ohio Veterans Home

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County Veterans Service Offices

• Military Discharge Appeals
• Request for Military Records.
• National Archives
• Ohio Department of Veterans Services.
• Federal Department of Veterans Affairs
• Ohio National Guard Library
• Various Other Military Records Depositories
• Military Awards

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Questions
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Basic Statistics Measures
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Ohio Currently has the 6th Largest Veterans
Population in the Nation.
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Rate of Increase 06 07 405 Million 07 08
533 Million 08 09 874 Million
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What Makes Up The 4.3 Billion
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How Does Ohio Stack Up (2009)Total VA
Expenditure Per Veteran

1. West Virginia 9,375
2. South Dakota 5,995
3. Arkansas 5,835
4. Oklahoma 5,672
5. New Mexico 5,436
6. Mississippi 5,272
7. Nebraska 5,184
8. Maine 4,940
9. Alabama 4,809
10. Kentucky 4,806
11. Ohio 4,794

• Mid West
• 32. Wisconsin
• 44. Illinois
• 47. Indiana
• Michigan
• Large States
• 40. Pennsylvania
• 30. California
• 23. New York
• 21. Florida
• 12. Texas

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Rate of Increase 07 08 151 Million 08 09
251 Million
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Rate of Increase 06 07 65 Million 07 08
144 Million 08 09 170 Million
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How Does Ohio Stack Up?

• Pension
• Vets Per Pension Claim
  National Rank
• 2006 66.88 19th
• 2007 63.18 17th
• 2008 59.71 11th
• 2009 58.49 10th
• Dollars Per Pension Claim National Rank
• 2006 8,670 9th
• 2007 9,186 11th
• 2008 9,635 6th
• 2009 10,461 6th

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How Does Ohio Stack Up?

• Compensation
• Vets Per Compensation Claim
  National Rank
• 2006 11.83 46th
• 2007 10.95 45th
• 2008 10.42 46th
• 2009 9.88 46th
• Dollars Per Compensation Claim National
  Rank
• 2006 8,090 49th
• 2007 8,547 49th
• 2008 9,047 48th
• 2009 9,830 45th

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Local EconomicStimulus

• Compensation and Pension 1.3 Billion
• Tax Dollars (How Many Times Do They Flip?)
• Medical Care 1.6 Billion
• Mental Health Services (Vets and Family)
• Jobs ?
• Education and VOC Rehabilitation 111 Million
• Federally Funded
• Home Loans
• Small Business Incentives

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Lake County
Pop Budget Spent Comp Pension Education Voc Rehab Insurance Indem Medical Care Total VA Expenditure
2006 21,963 1,155,114 15,588,000 1,404,000 1,409,000 19,871,000 38,272,000
2007 21,026 1,201,189 16,757,000 1,652,000 1,546,000 22,893,000 42,848,000
2008 20,471 1,269,563 19,439,000 1,446,000 1,481,000 24,814,000 47,181,000
2009 19,912 1,265,097 22,435,000 2,698,000 1,545,000 28,336,000 55,013,000
16.7 Mil

• Dollars Invested
  Dollars Returned
• 1,265,097 55,013,000
  43 to 1 Return

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Questions
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Our Mission
Ohio Department Of Veterans Services
To Actively Identify, Connect With, and
Advocate for Veterans and Their Families
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Enhanced Partnerships

• Cleveland VA Regional Office
• VA Healthcare System Network VISN 10 11
• Ohio State Association of County Veterans Service
  Officers
• Ohio State Association of Veterans Service
  Commissioners
• Various State Departments
• State and Federal Legislators
• Veterans Service Organizations
• County Commissioners Association of Ohio
• Plus Many Others..

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Direct Marketing / Outreach
Wouldnt it be nice if we had the name and
address of every veteran living in the State of
Ohio.
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Direct Marketing / Outreach

• Over 400,000 Ohio Vets located as of 1 March 2010
• Adding approximately 20,000 new Vets a month
• Primary Data Sources
• Sharing Agreements BMV / ODJFS
• Scanning DD 214s
• Continuing to Expand Sources
• ODVS Website
• Veterans Organizations
• State Agencies
• Plus Many More

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Indirect Marketing

• Created in conjunction with the Ohio Department
  of Development.
• County Veteran Services Network
• Standard Message
• State Wide Phone Number

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Early Poster Distribution

• County Veterans Service Offices
• All Public Colleges and Universities
• State Government
• Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services
• Ohio Dept. of Agriculture
• Ohio Dept. of Rehab and Corrections
• Plus Others
• County Commissioners Association of Ohio
• Ohio Association of Police Chiefs
• County Auditors Association of Ohio
• Ohio Fire Chiefs Association
• Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools

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Early E-Poster Distribution

• County Commissioners Association of Ohio, Ohio
  Recorders Association, Ohio Library Council, Ohio
  Assoc. of Community Action Agencies, Ohio United
  Way, Coalition of Homeless and Housing in Ohio,
  Ohio Assoc. of Second Harvest Food Banks, Ohio
  Township Association, Ohio Association of Police
  Chiefs, Ohio Fire Chiefs Association, Ohio Chief
  Probation Officers Association, Assoc. of
  Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio,
  County Auditors Association of Ohio, County
  Engineers Association of Ohio, Ohio Association
  of Municipal/County Court Clerks, Ohio Municipal
  League, Ohio Association of Community Colleges,
  Ohio Assoc. for Adult and Continuing Education,
  Ohio Assoc. of Career Colleges and Schools

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Early Returns
1-877 Ohio Vet
2X
February March
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Table Top Display Cards

Available In May 2010
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Drop Box Postcard
Coming Soon

• Postage Paid Post Card
• E-mail Address
• Branch of Service
• Ideal for..
• County Fairs
• Doctor Offices
• Any Place People Wait
• Works with Table Top Display Cards / Poster

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The Ohio Council of Retail Merchants

• Working To Formalize A Relationship
• Drop Box Postcard
• Over 25 Companies Have Expressed an Interest in
  Working With ODVS.
• Wal-Mart
• Target
• Best Buy
• Giant Eagle
• Kroger
• Lowes
• Plus Many More

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Tracking and Measuring

• 1 (877) Ohio Vet Phone Number
• By County Tracking
• Ohio Department of Veterans Service Web Site
• By County Tracking
• County Self Reporting
• Drop Box Post Cards

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In The Works!!

• Web Site Redesign (Job Posted)
• Large County Coordination Meeting (April 16th)
• Ohio OIF / OEF Bonus Outreach
• Public Service Ads
• Facebook Page
• Ongoing Networking
• ALS /Parkinsons / Cancer

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US. Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Process
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Communication Challenge
A C C RE D ITA T I O N S
VA Development
Service Orgs
VA Rater
CVSO
Rating Decision
Veteran

• What Are the Issues
• No Overall System for Feedback
• - All CVSOs Do Not Get Rating Decisions
• No Quick Corrections of Claims
• No Feedback for Training Training Focus
• Lack of Best Practices ID Common Errors
• VA / VSO may Not be Legally Allowed to
  Communicate with CVSO
• Access to the Phone Room or IT Alternative
• Overall Breakdown of the Communication
  (VARO/VSO/CVSO)

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Communication Challenge
A C C A D A T I O N S
VA Development
Service Orgs
VA Rater
CVSO
ODVS Liaison
Rating Decision
Veteran

• What We Are Working On
• - Open the Lines of Communication
• - Expedite the Corrections of Claims
• Improve Claims Input Quality (Feedback
  Training)
• Establish Best Practices ID Common Errors
• Accredit CVSOs with Veteran Organizations
• Provide Rating Decisions Directly to CVSO
• Improve Access to the Phone Room or IT
  Alternative

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Cleveland VAROCompensation Checklist

• For Fully Developed Claims
• Reduce Claims Preparation Errors.
• Links Claims Preparer to Claim.
• Expedites the Compensation Claims Processing.
• Quick Claims Corrections Process.
• Claims Quality Feedback to ODVS.
• Allows ODVS to Provide Rating to preparer
• Encourages preparer to provide a higher quality
  of input.

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Training Improvement Committee

• Formed to Conduct a Formal Review of CVSO and VSC
  Training Programs.
• OSAVSC, OSACVSO, and ODVS.
• Multiple Meetings over 4 Months. (Jul Oct)
• The New 2010 Training Policy.
• A Policy is a Policy.

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County Veterans Service Office Accreditation

• ODVS Certification and Training
• American Legion
• VFW
• AMVETS
• VVA
• Working with Other Vet Service Organizations
• National CVSO
• Highly Recommended
• Accreditations Course In Ohio - May 2010
• Continuing Education Credits

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County Veterans Service Office Staff Training

• Mandatory CVSO Testing Every Five Years.
• Established Mandatory Training Subjects
• Replaced District with Regional Training Format.
• Eliminated Alternate Training Credit.
• Increased New Commissioners Training.
• Annual Training Strategic Planning Session.
• ODVS Training Position.
• Enforcement of Standards.

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Questions