Mission:

Dedicated to serving Minnesota Veterans and their families.

Statewide Outcome(s):

Veterans Affairs supports the following statewide outcome(s).

Minnesotans are healthy.

Minnesotans have the education and skills needed to achieve their goals.

Strong and stable families and communities.

Context:

The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) was created by the 1943 state Legislature at the height of World War II to consolidate the services provided to the increasing number of returning soldiers. The Minnesota Veterans Homes came under the jurisdiction of MDVA in 2007 when Governor Pawlenty merged the Minnesota Veterans Homes Board with the agency. Today, there are approximately 381,300 veterans in Minnesota (or seven percent of the state population). Since 9/11, 60,053 Minnesotans have been discharged from active duty and 38,308 have served in one of the combat zones. The challenges they face include higher unemployment rates than their civilian counterparts, short and long-term medical issues as a result of their military duty, and both the veterans and their families have mental fatigue and injuries associated with military deployments. Additionally, there is an aging veteran population in Minnesota with a unique long-term care needs. Given this context, MDVA exists to fulfill the needs of these veterans and their families by providing innovative programs and services to maximize quality of life.

MDVA is funded approximately 50 percent from the general fund, 30 percent from federal funds and 20 percent from special revenue funds.

Strategies:

MDVA strives to enhance the lives of those it serves through the development and implementation of services that are tailored to meet the current and ongoing needs of veterans and their families. It does this through its two divisions: Programs & Services and the Minnesota State Veterans Homes.

The Programs & Services division collaborates with its partners in the veterans service community to assist veterans in obtaining the financial, educational and/or medical benefits they have earned through their service to the United States armed forces. Many veterans are not aware of the benefits that they have earned through their service to the country. With an estimated 669 veterans experiencing homelessness on any given night in Minnesota (http://www.wilder.org/Wilder-Research/Research-Areas/Homelessness/Pages/statewide-homeless-study-most-recent-results.aspx) and veterans experiencing unemployment at a higher rate than the population at large, the programs also assist veterans at risk for homelessness, unemployment or untreated medical conditions.

MDVA operates state veterans homes in Luverne, Fergus Falls, Silver Bay, Hastings and Minneapolis to ensure that veterans and their families have appropriate options for meeting their long-term care needs through high quality care. The homes offer 24-hour skilled nursing, dementia and domiciliary care. The homes also offer rehabilitation, work therapy, transportation and psychological, spiritual and recreational services to improve the health and quality of life of its residents.

Measuring Success:

As an agency, one measure of success is the number of federal dollars brought into the state for veterans as a result of the efforts of the MDVA. In 2011, for every $1 of general funds invested, the federal return on investment was $35.

The MDVA also measures the success of its strategies by:

·         Programs & Services

o    Statistics on veterans served through agency programs are maintained to understand trends and usage in different areas of the state.

·         Veterans Homes

o    Surveys are routinely conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health and the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs, and the veterans homes are free of major defects or material non-compliance. If there are findings, they are corrected in a timely manner.

o    Resident surveys are completed periodically to assess the satisfaction with services provided.