County forges options for state required Veterans Service Agency
CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango County is one of only two counties in New York not currently in compliance with state law to have a county-wide veterans service agency, urging county legislators to scrutinize their options when it comes to creating one.
The matter was brought to the attention of the Health and Human Service Committee at its monthly meeting on Thursday. Under New York State law, counties are required to establish a veterans service agency and appoint a director who could also serve as a veterans service officer. Law also requires that a service officer be accredited, meaning they need a training process to assist veterans with certain issues.
Veteran service officers help navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs bureaucracy, and their services are free. They assist with gathering the information necessary to support a claim, filing the claim, and tracking the claim through the VA system. They also assist with filing appeals for denied claims.
But the question, according to committee members, is how to go about creating such an agency and at what cost. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox asked Gary Waffle, Director of the Chenango County Office of Employment and Training at the CDO Workforce in Norwich, to start researching the county’s requirements. Findings were presented to committee members on Thursday.
“Counties are supposed to have a veterans service officer, where veterans can go for help with certain things,” Waffle said. “In order for this person to do the functions of a veteranss service officer, they will have to be trained and become accredited so that they're legally able to act as a conduit between veterans and the VA.”
Waffle cited a 2012 national survey showing Chenango County is home to more than 4,000 veterans, many of whom are served with employment needs through the CDO Workforce. Referrals for veterans services are typically made by the veterans employment representative at CDO, he said, but no one in the agency is qualified to fulfill state requirements of a veterans service officer.
“We see a lot of veterans coming in that could use some of those benefits,” he added. “A veterans service agency is something that is probably badly needed in Chenango County.”
Although the county does not have an official veterans service agency, it has been assisting veterans with the help of volunteers and making referrals to the New York State Veterans Service Representative in Oxford.
“I think that we need to come into compliance with state law,” Wilcox told committee members, “but we aren’t sure right now what the best way is to go about it.”
In addition to discussing state law, the committee floated options to look into, one being whether or not a veterans service officer must also be a county employee or if the position can be contracted to an outside individual or other entity. The state offers a match grant capped at $8,500 to help offset costs such as salary and other expenses, but officials are skeptical of the amount of work that will be required of the job.
“This might only be a part time position given to someone who is willing to take it on and return phone calls once or twice a week,” said Wilcox. “We obviously want to do this in as efficient a way as possible.”
Wilcox also noted that surrounding counties with a veterans service agency have budgets that vary between $40,000 per year (as in Cortland County) and $270,000 (as in Delaware County). Costs range depending on what services, including transportation, counties offer to veterans.
“We don’t have a solution right now,” he added, “but we are looking at some of our options.”
The matter was brought to the attention of the Health and Human Service Committee at its monthly meeting on Thursday. Under New York State law, counties are required to establish a veterans service agency and appoint a director who could also serve as a veterans service officer. Law also requires that a service officer be accredited, meaning they need a training process to assist veterans with certain issues.
Veteran service officers help navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs bureaucracy, and their services are free. They assist with gathering the information necessary to support a claim, filing the claim, and tracking the claim through the VA system. They also assist with filing appeals for denied claims.
But the question, according to committee members, is how to go about creating such an agency and at what cost. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox asked Gary Waffle, Director of the Chenango County Office of Employment and Training at the CDO Workforce in Norwich, to start researching the county’s requirements. Findings were presented to committee members on Thursday.
“Counties are supposed to have a veterans service officer, where veterans can go for help with certain things,” Waffle said. “In order for this person to do the functions of a veteranss service officer, they will have to be trained and become accredited so that they're legally able to act as a conduit between veterans and the VA.”
Waffle cited a 2012 national survey showing Chenango County is home to more than 4,000 veterans, many of whom are served with employment needs through the CDO Workforce. Referrals for veterans services are typically made by the veterans employment representative at CDO, he said, but no one in the agency is qualified to fulfill state requirements of a veterans service officer.
“We see a lot of veterans coming in that could use some of those benefits,” he added. “A veterans service agency is something that is probably badly needed in Chenango County.”
Although the county does not have an official veterans service agency, it has been assisting veterans with the help of volunteers and making referrals to the New York State Veterans Service Representative in Oxford.
“I think that we need to come into compliance with state law,” Wilcox told committee members, “but we aren’t sure right now what the best way is to go about it.”
In addition to discussing state law, the committee floated options to look into, one being whether or not a veterans service officer must also be a county employee or if the position can be contracted to an outside individual or other entity. The state offers a match grant capped at $8,500 to help offset costs such as salary and other expenses, but officials are skeptical of the amount of work that will be required of the job.
“This might only be a part time position given to someone who is willing to take it on and return phone calls once or twice a week,” said Wilcox. “We obviously want to do this in as efficient a way as possible.”
Wilcox also noted that surrounding counties with a veterans service agency have budgets that vary between $40,000 per year (as in Cortland County) and $270,000 (as in Delaware County). Costs range depending on what services, including transportation, counties offer to veterans.
“We don’t have a solution right now,” he added, “but we are looking at some of our options.”
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