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If you're a veteran seeking help, check out Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today?s News ? May 09, 2013 | Veterans Today

 

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Veterans, family members dying waiting for benefits...

Veterans, families seeking benefits from VA are dying for a decision, investigation finds
May 12, 2013 — The backlog of initial and supplementary benefit claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs is expected soon to reach 1 million filings, forcing most honorably discharged GIs to wait for at least nine months for a decision.

Though that glut of filings has captured the attention of Congress, a Tribune-Review investigation found that veterans who disagree with a VA decision must wait far longer while their appeals percolate through the agency's internal courts — so long that many die while awaiting resolution of their disputes. At the first level of arbitration, the Board of Veterans' Appeals in Washington, it takes an average of 1,040 days for the agency to render a ruling. That's 3½ times slower than the response for those awaiting word on their initial filings.

Sifting through more than 160,0000 appeals from 2009 through early 2013, the Trib discovered 2,936 cases in which veterans or their surviving spouses died before getting decisions on their disputed claims. If that rate holds, more than 500 veterans will die this year while their appeals languish — about one vet every 18 hours. Veterans Affairs officials declined to comment for this story. “This is a huge problem in the veteran community,” said Chris Attig, a Dallas attorney who works on VA cases nationwide. “The unofficial motto of the VA, from the veteran's perspective, is ‘Delay till they die.' ”

When the federal fiscal year began on Oct. 1, the board had a record 45,959 appeals on its docket, up from 7,731 cases in 2002 under President George W. Bush's administration and before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The growing glut puts an increasingly older group of vets at risk of dying before they get a ruling, particularly veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

In the rolls of appeals tied to dead veterans, the average time between when a veteran notifies VA of a disagreement with a decision and their death is 5½ years, the Trib determined. In most of those cases, the claims died with the veterans. VA board judges dismissed 2,189 appeals, or about nine of every 10 cases linked to dead vets, because no eligible family members came forward within a year of the deaths to carry on the claims.

Survived war but lost battle

 

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Law schools joinin' the fight against VA backlog...

Vets disability benefits: Law schools help fight backlog
May 27, 2013 -- Dustin Allison was riding in an armored vehicle at the head of a convoy in Iraq one morning in 2007 when an improvised explosive device went off, killing the driver and leaving Allison badly wounded.

Shrapnel struck the Utah National Guard platoon leader behind his left ear, fracturing his skull and taking off a small piece of his ear. The radio behind his head was destroyed. "I was definitely lucky," said Allison, a former Utah State Trooper from the Salt Lake City suburbs who had volunteered for duty in Iraq. But unlike many wounded in war, Allison bore few outward signs of having been badly hurt. He has a scar, but once he returned to Utah he also found out he was incapable of running without getting sick. He also says he experienced vertigo as a result, but that can be difficult to prove to government bureaucrats looking to safeguard against fraud. "If you lose your leg it's pretty clear what happened, whereas if you get hit in the head and you get migraines and dizzy and vertigo and all kinds of more subjective things that happen, that makes it harder" to diagnose, said Allison, who now lives in Baltimore.

He joined thousands of others struggling to navigate the Veterans Administration's benefits claims process. But his choice to attend business and law school at the College of William & Mary in 2008 allowed him to become one of the school's first clients for a veterans benefits legal clinic its law school was starting. The clinic uses law students and a faculty member to tackle complex cases on a pro bono basis in which veterans can have difficulty providing the evidence they need to substantiate their claims. Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries and illness incurred or aggravated during their active military service. The amount of the compensation is based on a rating assigned by the VA. The cases the clinic takes on often involve post-traumatic stress disorder either from warfare or a sexual assault that there may be no record of. In one case, a World War II veteran who injured his knee in basic training in 1943 didn't report a claim until 1971; the claim was repeatedly denied until the clinic stepped in.

The clinic is being touted by members of Congress as a national model for inexpensively dealing with the Veterans Administration's backlog. Between 2009 and August 2012, the clinic has helped 46 clients with submission of 343 claimed injuries or illnesses. "At 50 clients you're directly representing at a time, that's certainly not going to impact the backlog in a way that It needs to be. But if you get more law schools across the country to do this work then you're exponentially leveraging the passion and the experience of law students across the country to help with that backlog," said Patty Roberts, director of clinical programs at William & Mary's law school.

The VA has come under heavy criticism for the number of disability claims pending longer than 125 days - about 570,000. That's nearly two-thirds of all claims pending. "We want to respect our veterans, but when you've got people waiting, often times in excess of a year to get their claims processed, that's not a good sign," said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. "This is a national embarrassment." Warner has urged Senate colleagues to work with law schools in their states to create similar legal clinics. He also urged VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to help move that process along.

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Givin' veterans a second chance...

Specialty court launches to help veterans 'get back to a place where they feel good'
April 22, 2014 ~ A Las Vegas judge has sought out vet cases since 2007, hoping to steer veterans toward rehabilitation services they need during the trial process.

Homeless, unemployed and struggling with the legal aftermath of a DUI arrest, Chante Fields never guessed her military veteran status would be the key to turning her life around last year. For more than two years, she agonized over fees for the misdemeanor offense until court staff —realizing she served in the Air Force for a decade — referred her case to Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Martin Hastings, who specializes in cases dealing with military vets. “Here they were more lenient, laid back and helpful,” said Fields, flanked by her two young sons as she prepared for a status check last week in front of Hastings. “Me and my kids were living at a shelter, and it's been hard finding a job. They helped get me an apartment.”

The Las Vegas judge has sought referrals in cases like Fields' since 2007, hoping to steer veterans toward rehabilitation services they need during the trial process. With the help of Juan “John” Ochoa, Hastings' designated court marshal, the judge gradually transformed the informal process into a fully specialized veterans court that launched last week. It will be in session at 10 a.m. every Thursday in Las Vegas Municipal Court, Department 6. “Dealing with just veterans, we're able to take government and nonprofit services and, depending on what they need — mental health counseling, DUI/battery counseling, housing — we can provide that,” Hastings said. “If there's anybody that has sacrificed for us to give this country freedom, it's them.” Las Vegas' new veterans court, whose opening ceremony Thursday was attended by city officials that included Mayor Carolyn Goodman, is the city's fifth specialty court — some others focus on cases that deal with DUI offenders, youths and women in need.

Other valley jurisdictions already offer a standardized veterans court, and often they work together to help veterans who have been arrested in more than one municipality, Hastings said. Buffalo, N.Y., officials tout their veterans court as the country’s first to be formally launched, in 2008. Applicants typically are funneled into Hastings' chambers by police, attorneys and municipal court staff, though the process has yet to be perfected, the judge said. Some are even approached directly by Ochoa, who seeks out people in need at events hosted by U.S. Vets, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that provides housing, counseling and career opportunities to former military members.

Ex-military personnel tend not to seek help on their own “because they have an individual, warrior mentality,” Ochoa said. “We just kind of started with baby steps, put out the word,” said Ochoa, an Army veteran. “I'm a vet, and just seeing some of these people gave me concern. We want them to get back to a place where they feel good.” Alleviating legal barriers is crucial in getting to that place, said U.S. Vets spokeswoman Shalimar Cabrera. “(Legal woes) limit people from working and possibly saving money to figure out how to pay fines,” Cabrera said. “It's great to have a partnership with the courts to get that legal assistance and alternate sentencing.”

Howard Hornsby, a homeless Marine Corps veteran wrestling with an arrest warrant he acquired from a neglected speeding citation, visited the specialty court on Thursday after being referred there at U.S. Vets' annual Stand Down for Veterans event last month. “I take care of things the best way I know how,” Hornsby said, “but I'm having a tough time.” Fields, meanwhile, said Hastings has directed her to a government resource where she’s getting help putting her resume in the hands of potential employers. While she’s grateful for the judge’s help, Hastings has vowed to make this her last arrest so she won’t ever need to return to his courtroom.

Specialty court launches to help veterans 'get back to a place where they feel good' - U.S. - Stripes

 

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Michelle gonna help veterans find jobs...

First lady announces one-stop job site for veterans
April 23, 2014 ~ To help veterans leaving the military as it downsizes, the government on Wednesday started a one-stop job-shopping website for them to create resumes, connect with employers and become part of a database for companies to mine.

First lady Michelle Obama announced the new Veterans Employment Center at Fort Campbell, Ky., during a special veterans' jobs summit, which comes as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. Unemployment among veterans who have served since September 2001 stood at 9 percent in 2013, about 1.6 percentage points higher than the overall civilian population. The website, ebenefits.va.gov, will help veterans and military spouses build resumes, translate military skills into private-sector skills and provide career and training data with the click of a mouse. "It is our obligation to you," Obama told hundreds of soldiers in a hangar on the sprawling military post on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. "Your job is to take full advantage of these opportunities."

First lady Michelle Obama, right, Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, center, and Maj. Gen. James McConville attend a jobs fair for military members and spouses, Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at Fort Campbell, Ky.

The Army plans to reduce its fighting force from a high of about 570,000 at the peak of the Iraq war to 490,000 — a reflection of budget cuts and of the country's current military needs as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan end. Col. David "Buck" Dellinger, the garrison commander of Fort Campbell, said about 5,000 of the 30,157 soldiers stationed at the post were in the midst of transitioning out of the Army and another 5,000 were within a year of being discharged. "It's not going to be a career for everybody," Dellinger said.

The Obama administration's most high-profile online tool, the HealthCare.gov site designed to enroll Americans in health plans, had a disastrous rollout last fall. But administration officials said Tuesday that they have tested the veterans site to ensure it can handle the expected traffic and the various tasks. Maj. Sue Whetsell, a 24-year Army veteran from Omaha, Neb., is hoping to become one of the soldiers to take advantage of the new website. Whetsell wants to leverage her experience as a budget officer into a similar job in the private sector. But, after a long Army career, Whetsell acknowledges she needs help in preparing for civilian life. "It's just figuring out what is step one, step two and step three," Whetsell said. "That's the biggest challenge right now."

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