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SERVING THOSE WHO SERVED:

Supporting and Embracing New York State’s Veterans and Their Families

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 Serving those who Served

Introduction
New York is home to over 800,000 veterans
(FY 2016), the fifth-largest veteran population
in the United States.1 These men and women
have served our nation with honor, dignity, and
bravery. It is our job as a society to embrace
and support these courageous and selfless
individuals -- not only in admiration for what they
have done, but also because veterans and their
families add immense value to our communities
as employees, teachers, neighbors, business
“To care for owners, and leaders.

him who shall The following is a plan to address some of

have borne the the unique needs of veterans, current military
personnel seeking to reintegrate with society,
battle and for his and their families.

widow and his

orphan . . .”

Abraham Lincoln

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Increasing Government’s Capacity to Serve

Veterans
There are a number of programs in the state for veterans that are currently scattered across numerous
agencies with little to no coordination between them. Further, county veteran service agencies and the
state’s veteran service agency too often provide overlapping services, conflict with each other, and fail
to coordinate. We must examine who is delivering services and how those services are being delivered,
and then square that with the most effective way to serve our veterans.

• Increasing the Functionality of and Funding for the New York State Division of
Veterans Affairs - New York’s veterans service agency, the Division of Veterans Affairs (DVA),
is a small agency with a small staff and a small budget. It lacks the capacity to do much
beyond aiding veterans in filling out applications for VA benefits. At the same time, programs
for veterans are spread over numerous agencies and offices including, but not limited to,
the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor (DOL), Division of Military and Naval
Affairs (DMNA), State Education Department (SED), Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Services (OASAS), and the Office of Mental Health (OMH). A more robust Division of Veterans
Affairs could better coordinate all of these programs, facilitate access to them for veterans,
and oversee a comprehensive program of services to veterans, as opposed to the fragmented
system we have now. We must focus on building DVA’s capacity by:

ለለ Consolidating current veterans programs under the direct guidance, if not the full
responsibility of DVA;
ለለ Increasing the Division’s budget; and
ለለ Providing additional staff.

One example of the need for a more robust agency is in the area of information sharing.
The Division is required by law to produce and publish an inventory of the various services
available for veterans. Little to no work has been done to fulfill this requirement, primarily
because of the lack of staff and capacity.

• Reforming How Services are Delivered to Veterans - A recent report from the Benjamin
Center for Public Policy Initiatives laid bare the redundancies and inefficiencies of New York’s
current veteran service delivery apparatus. The primary finding is that state and local veteran
service agencies act without any clear distinction between their scope of work and goals.
Consider that both the state and local governments operate field offices offering advisement
throughout the state. The report suggests:

Veterans’ services should be delivered fully through counties, as are most

other social services in New York State. County government is rooted in our
communities; it is locally connected.2

A new paradigm in which counties are the sole providers of direct services and the state plays
a more administrative role is desperately needed. The report recommends that as counties
take on the primary role of service delivery, the state should:3

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ለለ Lead the establishment of standard procedures and goals

ለለ Acquire and provide the information needed for effective outreach and service provision
ለለ Maintain centralized databases and applications to support county veteran service
agencies
ለለ Acquire and distribute
uniform technology
ለለ Provide regular training
ለለ Provide guidance on
best practices and
problem solving

This new paradigm would

also allow the Division of
Veterans Affairs to fill a critical
gap by setting performance
measures and holding
localities accountable for
meeting certain goals.4 This
realignment would take time, “Let’s honor those who have
money, and shuffling of staff,
but in the end, it could prove
served this nation both abroad
to be a major improvement for and at home.”
New York State’s veterans.

• Increasing Funding for

Local Veterans Service Agencies - In New York State, every county is required to have
a Veteran Service Agency. Currently, State funding to these agencies is limited which
curtails their ability to serve our State’s veterans. These agencies run support programs, aid
veterans in receiving benefits, connect veterans to services and housing, increase community
awareness about issues faced by veterans, provide transportation, and connect with veterans
on a personal level. These organizations are also experiencing increasing claims activity -
exhausting their already stretched resources.
To fully support these organizations, the State should increase its funding for expenditures for
maintenance and operation to $20,000. Additionally, it would help to increase from $5,000
to $10,000 additional funding amounts awarded based on population, as well as remove
the 50 percent cap on State reimbursements. These prescriptions are included in bipartisan
legislation - A.10714 (DenDekker)/S.8210 (Ortt). A portion of this new funding should be used
to increase transportation services offered to veterans to provide greater access to medical
care and employment opportunities.

• Improving Data Sharing - Federal, state, and local governments must work together to
share information including access to information and databases related to individuals served,
individuals separating from the armed forces, and any other information that allows for the
identification of veterans eligible for benefits. The creation of a statewide clearinghouse of
eligible veterans would help to ensure no veteran goes without the services to which they are
entitled.

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Increasing Access to Behavioral Health

Services
Many members of our Armed Forces return
home bearing the scars of the hardships and
dangers they faced. Too often they do not
receive, or even have access to, the behavioral
health services they deserve. According to
a 2010 needs assessment conducted by the

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RAND Corporation, 22 percent of returning
veterans “ in New York State were found to have
a probable diagnosis of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and/or major depression.”5
According to the same survey, 34 percent of
veterans indicated a need for mental health
services.

We can and we must do more to serve this Of veterans indicated a need

unique and vital population. Increasing access for mental health services
to behavioral health services is a critical
component in the effort to serve our veterans.
Thankfully, the hard work and dedication of
those concerned with the challenges faced
by veterans have already provided New York
State with programs that should be supported,
fostered, and expanded. Specifically, the
following actions should be taken:

• Expand the Joseph P. Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project Statewide - This program
launched in Suffolk, Jefferson, Saratoga and Rensselaer counties five years ago, now serves
veterans in 15 counties.6 The program is designed to aid veterans and their families with post-
service transitional issues using group and individual peer support.7 Participants receive peer
counseling and support from other veterans to create a bond built on mutual respect and
shared experiences. The Dwyer program has had demonstrated success in keeping families
together, reducing hospitalizations, preventing homelessness, and increasing employment.
Increasing funding and support to this successful program will bolster New York State’s
capacity to address critical behavioral health, social, and economic needs of veterans and
their families.

• Increase Funding for the Veterans Mental Health Training Initiative (VMHTI) - A
project of the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-
NYS), the New York State Psychiatric Association (NYSPA), and the Medical Society
for the State of New York (MSSNY), VMHTI is a project aimed at increasing “the number
of community mental health and primary care providers clinically trained on mental
health issues specific to veterans and families.”8 Since the program’s inception in 2009, it
has trained over 2,500 providers.9 Despite the great work of VMHTI, many needs still persist.
A recent RAND Corporation assessment found that “only 20 percent of New York–licensed
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health care professionals reported routinely screening their patients for a military or veteran
affiliation” and more troubling yet, that “only 2.3 percent met all criteria for effectively serving
the veteran population.”10 It is critical that the State increases support for this project to enable
more trainings, more advanced trainings, and more widely available culturally competent
care for veterans and their families.

• Guarantee Access to a Veterans Treatment Court for All Qualifying New York State
Veterans - Veteran Treatment Courts (VTCs) are a type of problem-solving court that deals
exclusively with veterans with mental health and/or substance use issues who have committed
low-level crimes. Veterans who go before a VTC are offered mental health counseling and
are connected with community-based services that offer job training/placement, housing,
and transportation. The decision to go before a VTC is voluntary. VTCs require participants
to complete a 14-18 month program that may include medical care, mental health care,
addiction treatment services, regular court appearances, and drug testing. Upon completion
of such a program, participants, depending on their crime, may have their record expunged
of certain relevant convictions, have charges dropped or reduced, avoid incarceration, and/or
reduce the term of their probation.11 VTCs have a track record of reducing incarceration and
recidivism while being cost-effective.12
As of 2017, “nearly half of New York’s counties had a veterans court and, according to the
Governor’s office, more than 4,500 veterans have been helped across the state between
2008 and early 2017.”13 The success of these courts provides ample evidence for increasing
availability statewide and guaranteeing every veteran in New York State has access to a VTC.
New York State should continue to work with localities to provide financial support to expand
VTCs. Additionally legislation should be passed to allow individuals living in a jurisdiction
without a VTC to voluntarily be remanded to a nearby jurisdiction with a VTC.

Eliminating Barriers to Re-entering Civilian

Life and Supporting Families
Veterans and their spouses often face barriers to re-entering a civilian community after a deployment
and/or when moving to a new community as a result of a change of station. Finding needed services,
facing employment challenges, and encountering other
transitional issues can place added stress and undue burdens
on Armed Forces members and their families. Although the
unemployment rates of veterans have decreased in recent “More than two-thirds of
years, this population still faces challenges in finding quality
work.14 According to a survey conducted by Prudential,
veterans consider ‘finding
“more than two-thirds of veterans consider ‘finding a job’ as a job’ to be the greatest
the greatest challenge in transitioning to civilian life (69%).”15
Military spouses have experienced similar employment
challenge in transitioning
challenges. According to a Blue Star Families study, the to civilian life.”
unemployment and underemployment of military spouses
drives “a social cost ranging from approximately $710 million
to $1.07 billion per year.”16 Additionally, according to the - Prudential
results of the 2012 American Community Survey, “military
spouses make an average of 38% less total personal income

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and are 30% more likely to be unemployed than civilian counterparts.”17 These issues can be addressed
by offering better behavioral health services, transitional services, and employment services/training, as
well as reducing barriers to employment. Examples include:

• Offering Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program to Returning/Recently Discharged

Active Duty Members - National Guard members and reservists are currently required to
participate in a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event, typically scheduled soon after the
servicemembers return home from a deployment. The program offers connection to various
service providers, transition assistance, health benefits, employment support, skills training,
family support, etc. New York State should work with the federal government, National
Guard, and reserve units to provide seats at Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program events for
returning active duty or recently discharged military personnel and their families. When an
event is being held, the organizer should reach out to local Veteran Service Organizations
to connect with returning active duty or recently discharged military personnel and their
families. A new and improved DVA should have the capacity to capture every veteran post-
deployment and manage family readiness and other programs throughout the deployment
cycle.

• Supporting Career Training Programs for Veterans - There are a number of excellent
programs that provide career training and support to veterans such as the Onward to
Opportunity – Veterans Career Transition Program run by Syracuse University’s Institute
for Veterans and Military Families or the Helmets to Hardhats program. These are just two
examples of the types of programs that have been serving veterans and helping to increase
their employment prospects. To support successful programs, a dedicated grant fund should
be created to support programs like the ones listed above and others that focus on connecting
veterans to career opportunities, providing training, and supporting entrepreneurship. To aid
in the administration of such a grant, an advisory group should be established, comprised of
representatives from the Division of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Labor, State Legislature,
Governor’s Office, and the veteran advocacy community, to provide guidance on the awarding
of such grants.
Additionally the state should work to offer transitional assistance workshops at all DMNA
Armories upon deployments and demobilizations.

• Removing Licensing and Credentialing Barriers - For military spouses, as well as returning
service members and veterans, professional and academic credentialing are barriers to finding
employment after a change of duty station, following a long deployment, or while transitioning
to civilian life. Too often military training or out-of-state professional licenses/certifications
and education do not meet New York’s burdensome licensing requirements. As part of a
larger, more comprehensive effort to reform licensing requirements, the issue of the licensing
and credentialing of military personnel and their spouses should be expertly examined. A
panel consisting of representatives from the Division of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of
State, State Education Department, State Univeristy of New York (SUNY), City University of
New York (CUNY), Department of Labor, professional organizations, independent colleges
and universities, and veterans advocacy organizations must be established to examine ways
to improve the licensing and credentialing of servicemembers and their spouses. The panel
should build on Chapter 299 of 2016 that “expedites the review of licensure applications and
permits the issuance of temporary practice permits for military spouses who possess out-of-
state professional licenses in equivalent occupations.”18 Based on the recommendations of
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the National Governors Association, the experience of the six states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota,
Nevada, Virginia, and Wisconsin) that participated in the Veterans’ Licensing and Credentialing
Demonstration Project, and the employment needs of military spouses, the panel should
examine methods to:19
ለለ Further speed up the evaluation of licensing and certification applications from military
personnel and their spouses
ለለ Reduce administrative and regulatory barriers
To make the credentialing process easier, we will eliminate barriers such as “waiving
administrative fees, ensuring quick turnaround of applications, making information about
the licensing process more accessible and aligning rules such as experience requirements
with typical military service experiences.”20
ለለ Recognize military training and experience by:
• Licensing via endorsement, which would allow the State to issue a license or certification
by examining past training/experience, national certifications (e.g. New York State
already offers licensing via endorsement for military trained medics who possess a
national certification), or out-of-state licenses.
• Licensing via exam, which would allow the State to waive prerequisite civilian training
courses to allow veterans to sit for a licensing or certification exam.
ለለ Explore methods to expand reciprocity for out-of-state licenses
In addition to licensing via endorsement and exam, by reducing regulatory barriers, joining
multi-state licensing compacts such as the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact, accepting
national certifications, and providing more robust application feedback and support to
identify relevant experience and offer guidance on addressing gaps in an individual’s
application.
ለለ Create and support accelerated training programs
Training efforts can fill the skills gap between an individual’s military skillset and the skills
needed for a comparable civilian occupation. Community colleges would be a perfect
place to implement such programs.
ለለ Provide academic credit or advanced standing to veterans based on their military training
and experience

Supporting Efforts to Assist Veterans

Congressionally Chartered Veteran Service Organizations connect veterans to critical services. However,
these organizations receive little state funding. In an effort to support these vital agencies and the
people they serve, we must act by:

• Establishing a Stable Funding Source for Congressionally Chartered Veteran Service

Organizations - To provide proper support for these important organizations, New York State
should establish a recurring funding stream to support field services and outreach provided
by Congressionally Chartered Veteran Service Organizations (e.g. VFW, Vietnam Veterans
of America). Currently, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) across the state shoulder the
burden of connecting veterans to needed services and benefits on a volunteer basis; any
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costs they incur are borne by the VSO or individual providing the assistance. A competitive
grant should be established to fund VSOs throughout the state.
In addition to the work being done by VSOs, County VSAs and local organizations are partnering
throughout the state to end veteran homelessness. In recent years there has been a considerable
decrease in veteran homelessness in New York State and throughout the nation. A 2017 Comptroller
report summarized the success we have had in Dutchess County:
Identified solutions include the development of affordable housing for
veterans by partnering with private developers to create “Liberty Station,”
which provides housing for individuals, and a women’s veteran home
located in Poughkeepsie. Combined, these projects created more than 50
units of housing designated for veterans. The “Hire-A-Vet” initiative is a
collaboration with the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce,
creating greater access to jobs for veterans. This initiative, along with
additional outreach, has led to a greater than 90 percent success rate for
participants who are seeking employment, and has helped raise awareness
of the need to hire veterans in the Dutchess County community.21

New York State must continue to build on these programs by:

• By Setting a Statewide Goal of Eradicating Veterans Homelessness by 2020 and

Providing Support to Address this Issue - The State should work to increase support
to County VSAs and local organizations with the expressed purpose of eliminating veteran
homelessness statewide by 2020.

Conclusion
The proposals offered in this document are not comprehensive, but they do offer a glimpse at a number
of necessary reforms, programs, and policies we must enact to better serve our veterans. In addition to
the detailed proposals above, the following are also ideas related to serving veterans that are in need
of support:

• Allowing parents or guardians deployed for short-term military service to appoint

a short-term military guardian for their minor child or children.
• Working to raise the necessary funding to move forward with the creation of a
State Veterans Cemetery.
• Establishing a recurring, statewide mechanism for funding legal services programs
for veterans, particularly for civil legal matters.
• Providing for the capital needs for veteran service organizations’ facilities that
serve both veterans and the community at-large.
• Supporting New York State veterans’ homes.
• Supporting county efforts to provide transitional housing for veterans.

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Endnotes
1 https://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/State_Summaries_New_York.pdf
2 https://www.newpaltz.edu/media/the-benjamin-center/db19_vets.pdf
3 https://www.newpaltz.edu/media/the-benjamin-center/db19_vets.pdf
4 https://www.newpaltz.edu/media/the-benjamin-center/db19_vets.pdf
5 https://nyshealthfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/new-york-state-returning-veterans-issue-brief-janu-
ary-2011.pdf
6 http://mhaw.org/dwyer/about/
7 http://mhaw.org/dwyer/about/
8 https://www.dropbox.com/s/osyvblfxy1mov5h/2018NASWNYSendofreport-Updated.pdf?dl=0
9 https://www.dropbox.com/s/osyvblfxy1mov5h/2018NASWNYSendofreport-Updated.pdf?dl=0
10 https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2298.html
11 https://nyshealthfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/veterans-treatment-courts-new-york-state-roadmap-1.
pdf
12 https://nyshealthfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/veterans-treatment-courts-new-york-state-roadmap-1.
pdf
13 https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/policy/veteran-treatment-courts-inaccessible.html
14 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/vet.nr0.htm
15 https://www.prudential.com/documents/public/VeteransEmploymentChallenges.pdf
16 https://bluestarfam.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Social-Cost-Analysis-of-the-Unemployment-and-Underemploy-
ment-of-Military-Spouses_Final_4-5-1.pdf
17 https://ivmf.syracuse.edu/article/military-spouse-employment-survey/
18 https://nyassembly.gov/Press/2016SigLeg/
19 http://natlgovassoc.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1611AcceleratingOpportunity.pdf
20 http://natlgovassoc.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/1611AcceleratingOpportunity.pdf
21 https://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093018/17d3.pdf

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