O hio Department Of Veterans Services

1. Ohio Department Of Veterans Services April 14, 2010 County Veterans Service Offices

2. 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.

3. County Veterans Service Offices / Commission • Generally Five Member VSC. • Members are Selected from Local Veteran Organization’s 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Questions

10. Basic Statistics & Measures

11. Ohio Currently has the 6th Largest Veterans Population in the Nation.

12. Rate of Increase 06 – 07 405 Million 07 – 08 533 Million 08 – 09 874 Million

13. What Makes Up The 4.3 Billion

14. How Does Ohio Stack Up – (2009)Total VA Expenditure Per Veteran • West Virginia $9,375 • South Dakota $5,995 • Arkansas $5,835 • Oklahoma $5,672 • New Mexico $5,436 • Mississippi $5,272 • Nebraska $5,184 • Maine $4,940 • Alabama $4,809 • Kentucky $4,806 • 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

15. Rate of Increase 07 – 08 151 Million 08 – 09 251 Million

16. Rate of Increase 06 – 07 65 Million 07 – 08 144 Million 08 – 09 170 Million

17. How Does Ohio Stack Up? Pension Vets Per Pension ClaimNational Rank 2006 66.88 19th 2007 63.18 17th 2008 59.71 11th 2009 58.4910th Dollars Per Pension ClaimNational Rank 2006 $8,670 9th 2007 $9,186 11th 2008 $9,635 6th 2009 $10,4616th

18. How Does Ohio Stack Up? Compensation Vets Per Compensation ClaimNational Rank 2006 11.83 46th 2007 10.95 45th 2008 10.42 46th 2009 9.8846th Dollars Per Compensation ClaimNational Rank 2006 $8,090 49th 2007 $8,547 49th 2008 $9,047 48th 2009 $9,83045th

19. 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

20. Lake County • Dollars InvestedDollars Returned • $1,265,097 $55,013,000 = 43 to 1 Return

21. Questions

22. Our Mission Ohio Department Of Veterans Services “To Actively Identify, Connect With, and Advocate for Veterans and Their Families”

23. 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..

24. Direct Marketing / Outreach “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the name and address of every veteran living in the State of Ohio.”

25. Direct Marketing / Outreach • Over 400,000Ohio 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

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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Early Returns 1-877 Ohio Vet 2X February March

30. Table Top Display Cards Available In May 2010

31. 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

32. 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…

33. 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

34. 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 /Parkinson’s / Cancer

35. US. Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Process

36. A C C RE D ITA T I O N S Communication Challenge Service Org’s VA Development VA Rater CVSO VA Phone Center 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)

37. A C C A D A T I O N S Communication Challenge Service Org’s VA Development VA Rater CVSO VA Phone Center 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

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. 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

41. 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.

42. Questions