WASHINGTON, DC -- Veterans interested in learning about benefits provided by their state governments can now turn to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
VA has developed a comprehensive, computerized inventory of state veterans benefits. The new State Benefits Reference System enables front-line VA employees to link veterans to state services that can range from special vehicle license plates to personal property tax exemptions.
To learn about those state benefits, veterans must contact the nearest VA regional office. Access to the computerized information soon will be provided to the national headquarters of major veterans groups. VA hopes to offer the information to the public through VA's Internet site later this year.
"The state departments of veterans affairs and their county services officers perform a great public service in helping veterans access the special benefits their legislatures have enacted," said VA Under Secretary for Benefits Joseph Thompson.
"Where a local VA office already is working with veterans on their federal benefits, we can be an additional resource in linking them with our state partners or answering some of the veteran's questions," he added.
Thompson said the automated files are designed in such a way that the VA employee need not become an expert in the state benefits. "Our system is an ambitious combination of advanced technical writing and rich electronic interactivity where the veteran's responses guide the search to get a fast answer," he said.
Some of the most popular state benefits are civil service preferences in state hiring and care for veterans in nursing homes. Several dozen states offer education assistance for the dependents of veterans or real estate tax exemptions for them.
A handful of states give modest pensions to veterans. Other state benefits include free or discount hunting licenses, special license plates, burial payments, and even discounts at gasoline stations where some disabled veterans can receive full service from the attendant but are charged only the self-service gasoline price.
Many states base eligibility for various benefits in part on federal rules while others have unique criteria. A state may require the veteran to provide proof of eligibility for a VA-administered benefit to participate in a state program.
A national task force developed the system that all VA counselors could use to help veterans. It was field-tested for readability to ensure veterans service representatives could digest the information quickly.
Each VA regional office assisted with research on their local state statutes and administrative rules, discussing practices and procedures with the state departments of veterans affairs. Several VA regional benefits offices previously had developed similar "knowledge bases" for specific areas of the country.
The task force took ideas and elements from systems previously in operation in VA offices in Hartford, Conn.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Jackson, Miss.
