National Veterans Service VFW Auxiliary Senior Vice Conference January 2017 Ryan Gallucci, Deputy Director, NVS 1
What is NVS? Agenda Common Misconceptions about Veterans Service How to talk about Veterans Service Post/District Service Officers Other NVS Programs Q&A
What are we responsible for? 3
Mission: Benefits Assistance 4
National Veterans Service Primary Responsibilities: Help veterans access earned benefits: Accredit and train VFW s network of representatives Provide direct assistance to separating service members and VFW client appeals Provide referral and casework services Work with federal agencies to ensure proper administration of veterans benefit programs Manage VFW s national network of volunteers at VA hospitals (VAVS) 5
National Veterans Service Leadership Team: Director: Jerry Manar, gmanar@vfw.org Deputy Director, Benefits, Training, Quality Assurance: Ryan Gallucci, rgallucci@vfw.org Deputy Director, Field Operations, Health Care, and Constituent Casework: Dawn Jirak, djirak@vfw.org Assistant Director, Benefits Policy: Mike Figlioli, mfiglioli@vfw.org Manager, Training & Quality Assurance: Lauren Barefoot, lbarefoot@vfw.org Assistant Director, Field Operations: Gregg Orto, gorto@vfw.org Assistant Director, Health Care Policy: James Moss, jmoss@vfw.org 6
Benefits Delivery at Discharge Camp Lejeune, NC Ft. Lewis, WA Ft. Bragg, NC Ft. Drum, NY Ft Hood, TX San Juan, Puerto Rico Las Vegas, NV Winston-Salem, NC San Diego Naval Base Salt Lake City, UT Camp Pendleton, CA Ft. Carson, CO Ft. Campbell, KY Ft. Riley, KS Ft. Stewart, GA Naval Base Norfolk Military District of Washington: Walter Reed at Bethesda Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling U.S. Naval Academy Joint Base Andrews Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall www.vfw.org/nvs 7
Benefits Assistance Common Misconceptions: Volunteers Untrained Pay-to-Play Members Only Are you VA? We Only Do Claims I can do it on my own I m taking benefits away from other vets I m not disabled 8
Who are VFW Service Officers? Veterans who have been through this transition, or Advocates who care about the mission Highly-trained professionals who can help Services are no obligation and free of charge And
Benefits Assistance VFW Service Officers are the best trained, accredited and certified PROFESSIONAL advocates in the nation. IG reports indicate veterans represented by VSOs received more VA compensation. They know and understand the law. Board of Veterans Appeals more likely to grant for VFW-represented veterans. Located in VA offices and allowed access to VA systems to provide best possible advocacy Lifelong advocacy from initial claims, dependency, increases, pension, burial, and survivor s benefits 10
We Train in Four Core Tasks: 11
Benefits Assistance VA Benefits are EARNED through honorable service to our nation. Think about your family s well being when seeking to access benefit programs If it was broken on active duty, VA is there to help fix it. Let VA determine your eligibility 12
Benefits Assistance Success Stories: More than $7 billion in benefits in FY2016* ~1,800 advocates accredited worldwide 66,000 new veterans helped in CY2015 80 hours of training for service officers every year More likely to WIN appeals at BVA FREE services for all clients *Figures reported by VA for FY2016 13
VFW Service Officers lead the way! Tell Veterans and their families to: Never file a VA claim without representation. VFW Accredited Service Officers are the go-to people for all veterans benefits to include VA claims and VA health care issues. And Remember: Service Officers can be our best recruiters. Refer Folks to VFW Service Officers for assistance. 14
Outreach: Where do your clients come from? VFW & Auxiliary Posts/Events Military Installations Reserve/Guard Units VA Health Care Facilities College Campuses County Service Officers VFW Post Service Officers Veterans community events Other? 15
Post/Districts Service Officers VFW Posts & Districts are authorized to appoint Service Officers. Service Officer is a VFW title, not a VA designation These officers are charged with assisting veterans in understanding and navigating benefits available to them. These officers are NOT ACCREDITED by VA and must not represent themselves as such. These officers fall under the general supervision of the VFW Department Service Officer. 16
Post/District Service Officers MOP Sec. 218 (12) Service Officer. The Post Service Officer shall assist members of the Post, their surviving spouses and orphans and other worthy cases brought to their attention in obtaining rightful entitlements from federal and state governments. The work of a Service Officer shall be performed in accordance with the instructions contained in the VFW Guide for Service Officers under the general supervision of the Department Service Officer. The Service Officer shall perform such other duties as may be incident to the office and as may from time to time be required by the laws and usages of this organization or lawful orders from proper authority. *Similar rules apply to District Service Officers. 17
Post/District Service Officers MOP Sec. 518 (11) Service Officer. The Department Service Officer shall assist the members of the Department, their surviving spouses and orphans and other worthy cases in obtaining rightful benefits from the federal or state governments. Their work shall be performed in accordance with policies established by the National Veterans Service Advisory Committee. The Service Officer shall perform such other duties as are incident to their office or may be from time to time required by the laws and usages of this organization or as may be directed by proper authority. 18
Post/District Service Officers What does this mean??? The NVS Policy and Procedure guides the terms of service offered by Post/District Service Officers Post/District Service Officers refer claims to the DSO immediately Post/District Service Officers cannot represent veterans because they are not accredited Post/District Service Officers must not retain ANY records for the veterans they assist, as this is a violation of VFW policy and a violation of the veteran s privacy 19
Other NVS Programs Success Stories: 1 Student Veteran: www.vfw.org/1studentveteran Waived $70,000 Debt for retiree dependent Reinstated full benefits for reserve officer Corrected VA manual on Administrative Error VA Voluntary Service: www.vfw.org/volunteerservice 6,124 regularly-scheduled volunteers at more than 150 facilities Contributed 701,876 volunteer hours Raised more than $1.7 million in donations VA Health Care Casework: www.vfw.org/vawatch Intervened on behalf of more than 2,000 veterans Conducted multiple surveys to publish 5 reports on the current state and future of VA care 20
Key VFW Web Pages: Claims Assistance: www.vfw.org/nvs Health Care Advocacy: www.vfw.org/vawatch VA Voluntary Service: www.vfw.org/volunteerservice 1 Student Veteran: www.vfw.org/1studentveteran Post Service Officer Training (Password Protected): https://www.vfw.org/my-vfw/vfw-nvs-post-service-officers-training/ Key NVS Email Addresses: Tactical Assessment Center: vfw@vfw.org DSO Help Desk: DSOHelpDesk@vfw.org Additional VFW Services: Unmet Needs (Emergency Grants): www.vfw.org/unmetneeds Action Corps (Legislative Advocacy): www.vfw.org/actioncorps Sport Clips Help-A-Hero Scholarship: www.vfw.org/scholarship Transition & Employment: www.vfw.org/assistance/employment-assistance Mental Wellness Campaign: www.vfw.org/mental-wellness
EVERYDAY IS VETERANS DAY! NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS! 22
QUESTIONS? Ryan Gallucci Deputy Director, NVS rgallucci@vfw.org 202-608-8341 23