{"id":388,"date":"2018-06-28T12:51:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T16:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/?p=388"},"modified":"2018-06-28T12:51:41","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T16:51:41","slug":"states-efforts-for-veterans-should-be-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/2018\/06\/28\/states-efforts-for-veterans-should-be-models\/","title":{"rendered":"States’ Efforts for Veterans Should Be Models"},"content":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis once called America\u2019s states \u201claboratories of democracy;<\/a>\u201d \u00a0state legislatures can\u00a0tinker with public policy and, in theory, see what works and doesn\u2019t work. One area where these laboratories are in full swing is in the area of state-level veteran\u2019s benefits.<\/p>\n

Many states provide basic benefits, in addition to benefits provided at the federal level, for veterans who serve the nation honorably and meet eligibility criteria. Things like: free admission to parks, hunting and fishing licenses at low or no cost, reduced rates for education at state funded colleges and universities, tax reductions and rebates, and veteran\u2019s preferences for hiring in state jobs, are relatively common. Some states experiment with veteran\u2019s policy by pushing well beyond these common state programs. Texas for example, through the very generous Hazelwood Act<\/a>, provides up to 150 hours of exemption from tuition for veterans at state colleges and universities, or, if the veteran doesn\u2019t use the benefit, for their spouse or child. Quite a few states (including Massachusetts) fund veteran\u2019s nursing homes<\/a> and are working to tackle veteran\u2019s homelessness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/a>
Texas State Capitol
Austin 1888<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of these programs are impressive and necessary and, they couldn\u2019t be more important. Current veteran suicide rates are staggeringly high. More than seven thousand veterans took their lives in 2014<\/a>. Of those veterans 70% were not enrolled in the federal VA system<\/a>. That crisis, coupled with high veteran homelessness rates, poses significant risks to veterans living on the border of, or in, poverty. States address these challenges among their veteran populations in a variety of ways, but it is the way that Massachusetts offers commonwealth veterans in need assistance that show its progressive roots. Roots that stretch back to the Civil War.<\/p>\n

During the Civil War, Massachusetts passed Mass. General Law Chapter 115<\/a> (Chapter 115). The statute has grown since then, but it has always provided a veteran\u2019s agent in every Commonwealth municipality and assistance with veteran burials and grave services. Today, Chapter 115 benefits still provide a veteran\u2019s agent (now referred to as a veterans service officer or VSO) and cemetery services, but the statute also provides a comprehensive benefit that truly seeks to serve those who have served.<\/p>\n

This benefit is probably one of the most effective\u00a0income-assistance benefits in the nation. It is funded through a city\/state partnership where the city\u2019s employee, the Veteran Service Officer (certified and trained by the state Department of Veteran\u2019s Services), uses the regulations promulgated by the state Department of Veteran\u2019s Services (108 Code of Massachusetts Regulation<\/a>) to makes a determination about the eligibility of the veteran. Initially, if a veteran is eligible for Chapter 115, the veteran\u2019s benefit is paid from the city\u2019s budget. This process makes the Veteran Service Officer accountable to their respective Mayors, City Mangers, and City Councils.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Massachusetts State House
Boston, 1787<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to being accountable to the municipal leadership, when a VSO approves Chapter 115 benefits auditors at the state Department of Veteran Services also reviews the veteran\u2019s file to ensure that eligibility criteria are met and statutory guidelines and obligations are followed. If a VSO denies chapter 115 benefits, or removes a veteran from the program for failure to comply with job searches or income reporting mandates, the veteran can appeal that decision to the state Department of Veteran\u2019s Services (and to higher administrative courts if necessary).<\/p>\n

Throughout the veteran\u2019s participation in the Chapter 115 program the Veteran Service Officer has statutory obligations to help the veteran file any and all VA claims and applications for healthcare and other social safety net benefits and to ensure that veterans that are able to work are actively seeking employment and reporting their income to the VSO. Commonwealth VSOs become, throughout this process, the veteran\u2019s advocate, mentor, and coach. Finally, at the end of the fiscal year, 75% of the Chapter 115 benefits that the city pays out are reimbursed by the state Department of Veteran\u2019s Services.<\/p>\n

Are Chapter 115 benefits a perfect solution to all the challenges that commonwealth veterans face? Of course not. No government program, non-profit, charity, or business can address all of the complex issues that American veterans deal with. The challenges in transitioning from service in our all-volunteer military to civilian life are serious, but they are surmountable. \u00a0Examples like the Hazelwood Act and Chapter 115 benefits are just two examples of how to create\u00a0a net of support for\u00a0veterans. \u00a0Other states should look to Texas and Massachusetts to create similar programs, while continuing to experiment.<\/p>\n

\"Kenny\"<\/a>Kenneth Meador<\/strong> was an Army combat medic who graduated from the University of Oklahoma and Boston University School of Law (2018). \u00a0He plans to focus his legal career on helping our nation’s veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis once called America\u2019s states \u201claboratories of democracy;\u201d \u00a0state legislatures can\u00a0tinker with public policy and, in theory, see what works and doesn\u2019t work. One area where these laboratories are in full swing is in the area of state-level veteran\u2019s benefits. Many states provide basic benefits, in addition to benefits provided at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14960,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,5],"tags":[109,108,117,115,22,116,119,114,118],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":647,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/dome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}