Legislative session abuzz with activity
2/17/2023 8:00:00 AM
The Minnesota Legislature has been in session for more than a month now, and the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) has been active at the State Capitol. Our Legislative Director Ben Johnson and Legislative Liaison Cole Trace coordinate our efforts to connect with our Legislators, advocating for funding and legislation that will support Minnesota’s 300,000 Veterans. Several of the MDVA leadership team and I have testified to both Senate and House committees.
Like all State agencies, MDVA works with the Governor’s Office before the Legislative session begins to identify our needs and budget requests. MDVA was included in the Walz-Flanagan “One Minnesota Budget” under the “Protecting Health and Safety” category.
Here are some of our funding requests for the FY 2024 and FY 2025 biennium budget:
MDVA Homeless Veterans and SOAR Program
This request will permanently fund the work of the MDVA Homeless Veterans and SOAR Program teams, both critical to achieving Minnesota’s goal of being the fourth state in the country to declare an end to Veteran homelessness statewide. The Homeless Programs team quickly responds to identify gaps in the statewide homeless Veteran response system, develops strategic solutions to ensure rapid housing outcomes for Veterans experiencing a housing crisis, and connects at-risk Veterans experiencing homelessness with life-stabilizing Social Security Disability benefits, an important resource in the effort to prevent homelessness
MDVA/MACV Supportive Housing Grant
One of the biggest challenges to ending Veteran homelessness in Minnesota is finding property owners willing to rent to at-risk Veterans and Veterans experiencing homelessness with barriers. Through MDVA’s partnership with MACV and the creation of the Veterans Supportive Housing Options (VSHO) Program, we are establishing permanent rental units that apply flexible screening criteria and remain truly affordable to Veterans with barriers. This funding increases the number of much-needed rental units and also supports efforts to connect Veterans with services they need to be successful in their tenancy.
MDVA Direct Veteran Assistance
Preventing Veteran homelessness wherever possible is critical to the goal of ending Veteran homelessness in Minnesota. This recommended funding will allow MACV to continue providing important prevention resources to Veterans who are at risk of homelessness. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, MACV has continued to experience a significant increase in demand for these resources.
This summer, MDVA will open three new State Veterans Homes in Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston. Additional funding is requested to cover start-up costs and begin operations before the Homes are fully occupied. Because of the ongoing workforce shortage, particularly severe in the long-term care sector, MDVA is executing a comprehensive employee recruitment and retention plan to stabilize staffing in the five current Veterans Homes and remain competitive into the future for all eight Veterans Homes.
Each year, approximately 90-100 Veterans die by suicide in Minnesota. Preventing Veteran death by suicide a priority for MDVA, with a goal is to reduce Veteran death by suicide to less than 85 per year by 2025 and further to zero by 2035. Today, only three of every 10 Veterans who die by suicide in Minnesota are connected to care at the Federal VA Healthcare System. The remaining seven of 10 are receiving care in community-based hospitals and healthcare systems.
There is a gap in specially trained community healthcare workers who understand Veterans needs and Veteran benefits. This program seeks to hire, train and embed specially trained Social Workers as Veteran Community Navigators into the community based non-VA hospitals. They will connect, advocate and ensure follow-up care to Veterans and their families. This program would also incorporate the “Ask the Question” initiative into the intake processes at non-VA healthcare systems to help identify Veterans and families.
Many Minnesota Veterans and their families experience challenges as they navigate various aspects of life, from reintegration and managing finances to building a support network and addressing mental health or substance use concerns.
Through a contract with Lutheran Social Services, the Minnesota Service CORE program has responded to these challenges for more than a decade. Services include casework, financial counseling, housing stability, and behavioral health (mental health and substance use) services to Veterans and their families across the state, locally in their community. A caseworker connects each Veteran, and their family, to existing programs and facilitates access to informal supports, existing benefits and available services wherever possible. When barriers to access, such as cost, distance, or appointment availability, are identified, or when these services are not otherwise covered, they are provided through the Minnesota Service CORE program. For many Veterans and dependents, the CORE program is the only way they can afford mental health services.
LinkVet is MDVA’s call center and provides customer service to Veterans and their families seven days per week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Connections can be made via phone, text or email.
Labor and technology costs have increased and MDVA believes LinkVet continues to provide a valuable communications channel for the agency.
Since World War I, Minnesota has provided a service bonus to Veterans who have served during a conflict era. The 2022 Minnesota Legislature established a bonus program for the more than 40,000 Minnesota Veterans who served from 9/11/01 to 8/30/21. MDVA is pursuing additional funding to ensure all eligible Veterans will receive this bonus and expanding eligibility requirements to include Veterans who now reside in Minnesota but entered military service from another state, and also adds the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal as a qualifying medal to receive the bonus.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) operates the Recently Separated Veterans Program, a collection of related program activities centered around connecting with Veterans as they discharge from active duty and introducing them to the benefits and services they have earned. Ensuring that Veterans can attain discharge documentation in a timely manner is critical to their future access to these services. In FY 2022, there was an average of 5,000+ searches for discharges in the Discharge Access Database System each month, highlighting the importance and demand for discharge data.
The Minnesota GI Bill was established in 2007. Currently, eligible Veterans or dependents enrolled in higher education have access to $3,000 per fiscal year and $10,000 in a lifetime. While these award amounts have not changed since the program began, the cost of attendance at Minnesota’s institutes of higher learning has gone up exponentially during the same period.
In addition to increasing the awards to $6,000 per fiscal year and $15,000 in a lifetime, we are also seeking to expand eligibility to both part-time and full-time students.
And a reminder: we are hiring for hundreds of roles at the three new Veterans Homes and the new Veterans Cemetery. Please consider joining our team or encouraging others to do so. Job openings are posted at mn.gov/careers.
If you need information or support on any Veteran issue, please visit our website, contact your County Veterans Service Officer, or contact LinkVet at 1-888-LinkVet.
Thank YOU for your service!
