Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove to make Remodeling Improvements this Spring

 

(MADISON) – The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) is announcing that in May 2011 building improvements will begin in Fairchild Hall, an assisted living facility at the Wisconsin Veterans Home, Union Grove.

The renovations will include improvements in members’ rooms, ceiling tile and lighting upgrades, and remodeling of the dining room and patios. Members have been personally notified that they will be temporarily relocated within Fairchild Hall. “In order to properly care for our veterans living in these facilities, the renovations must be completed one unoccupied wing at a time, so the temporary relocation of our members will be in the best interest of our members’ care,” said Reid Aaron, the home’s new Commandant.

“These building improvements will provide an even more ‘home-like’ environment for our veterans and their spouses. Overall, these changes are a value-added benefit for everyone,” said Brian Marshall, Division Administrator, Wisconsin Veterans Homes.

For information about the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove, see www.WisVets.com/UnionGrove.

SOURCE:  WDVA -- http://dva.state.wi.us/News_Releases/NA033111.asp

VA Extends Post-Incarceration Health Care

Measure Would Help Reduce Repeat Offenses

WASHINGTON (March 30, 2011)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
will extend health care to eligible Veterans in halfway houses and other
temporary, post-incarceration housing under a new program aimed at
cutting back on repeat offenses.

"There's hard evidence that lack of access to health care, including
mental health care, for newly released inmates is a factor in people
becoming homeless or returning to prison and jail," said Jim McGuire,
director of VA's Veterans Justice Outreach Programs. "These are Veterans
who otherwise qualify for VA health care."

A long-standing rule has barred VA from providing health care to
Veterans for whom another federal, state or local government has an
obligation to provide health care.  Frequently, that means inmates of
prisons and jails.

Under the changed rule, that prohibition would be amended and VA would
be allowed to provide health care to Veterans in halfway houses and
other temporary, post-incarceration housing.

An Urban Institute study in 2008 found that good health care in the
first months of community reentry played a key role in easing
readjustment and reducing recidivism.

About 29,000-56,000 Veterans are released annually from state and
federal prisons, and at least 90,000 Veterans are released each year
from city and county jails, according to Department of Justice's Bureau
of Justice Statistics.

DWD PRESS RELEASE: Sec. Perez cites growing demand for labor, increasing employment opportunities for veterans, other job seekers

Dept. of Workforce Development: Secretary Perez cites growing demand for labor, increasing employment opportunities for veterans, other job seekers

3/29/2011
CONTACT: John Dipko, Communications Director

At Veterans Job Fair, Labor Secretary notes hiring incentives for employers
EAU CLAIRE – At a Veterans Job Fair today, Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Manny Perez urged job seekers, especially veterans, to pursue an increasing number of employment opportunities, and he encouraged employers to take advantage of incentives to hire veterans.

As Wisconsin’s economy improves, I am pleased to see more job opportunities for the men and women who served our country,” Secretary Perez said. “Employers are looking to hire. We have over 27,000 openings listed on our www.JobCenterofWisconsin.com, online employment site. Since Governor Walker declared Wisconsin open for business, we have gained roughly 8,000 jobs in manufacturing alone. Good jobs await those who act now.”

Secretary Perez said Wisconsin provides a variety of hiring incentives, particularly for veterans. He cited two federally-funded incentives:

On-the-Job Training Program for Veterans – DWD’s Office of Veterans Services received a $324,000 National Emergency Grant for on-the-job training. Depending on the number of veterans hired, an employer can be reimbursed from 50 to 90 percent of wages paid to a veteran for up to six months of OJT training. Statewide, 18 veterans have been hired under the relatively new incentive.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) – An employer could be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,400 for hiring a veteran, up to $4,800 if the veteran is disabled. Over 5,000 employers have benefited from the credit, as have veterans, people with disabilities and others who were hired and qualified as members of targeted groups that traditionally faced significant barriers to employment.

Between 150 and 200 veterans were expected to attend the Eau Claire job fair. The nearly 30 employers who registered indicated that they had at least 125 positions to fill. The job fair is the third of 14 that DWD and its partners are holding throughout the state this year.

“We are seeing many more job opportunities and more job offers from employers at fairs this year compared to those held last year,” Secretary Perez said.

Over 600 veterans attended a Milwaukee job fair earlier this month. Of the nearly 130 veterans who completed exit surveys, 24 said they received job offers. Another 19 had job interviews scheduled. Nearly 120 veterans attended a Stevens Point job fair, also held this month. Of the 87 completing exit surveys, 21 said they received job offers. Another 67 had job interviews scheduled.

For more information got to DWD services for veterans: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/veterans/

--------

SOURCE:  http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=231641 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING JOB FAIRS, SEE THE DAV-WIS. EVENTS PAGE:  www.davwi.org/events

WDVA: STATE VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY BLACK RESIGNS: Donna Williams to be WDVA’s New Acting Secretary

ATTENTION NEWSROOM – NEWS RELEASE

March 28, 2011 - For Immediate Release

Contact: Board Chair Dan Naylor 715-258-9502, Board Secretary Marv Freedman   608-236-4448

VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY BLACK RESIGNS

Donna Williams to be WDVA’s New Acting Secretary

(MADISON) – WDVA Secretary Kenneth B.Black submitted his resignation, effective April 1, 2011, to Board Chair Dan Naylor.

Secretary Black’s letter stated, “This letter confirms that I am resigning as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.  It has been my honor and privilege to work for the veterans of the state.

In his response to Secretary Black,Mr. Naylor wrote, “I have received your letter of resignation effective April 1, 2011 and accept it on behalf of the Board of Veterans Affairs.  I appreciate your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin’s veterans during your time as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.”

Under the Board’s Rules of Procedures, Deputy Secretary Donna Williams becomes the Acting Secretary. She currently serves as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.  Ms. Williams, a combat veteran, retired from the United States Army at the rank of Colonel after 29 years of service.  She has served in numerous leadership positions from Platoon Leader to Brigade Commander.  Ms. Williams is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, Air Command and Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College and the Army War College.  Additionally, she has completed Airborne and Air Assault Schools. Ms. Williams received her Bachelor’s Degree from Ripon College as a Distinguished Military Graduate and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University. 

The Board of Veterans Affairs looks forward to working collaboratively with Acting Secretary Williams when she assumes her new duties on April 1st, as well as the Department’s dedicated staff in our continuing mission of serving the veterans of Wisconsin and maintaining Wisconsin’s comprehensive veteran’s benefits and programs in a cost-effective manner.

WDVA PRESS RELEASE: VETERANS SECRETARY RESIGNS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2011

Media note: No additional comments will be made.

MADISON – Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Ken Black submitted his letter of resignation to the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs, effective April 1.

“I am honored to have led Wisconsin’s Department of Veterans Affairs over the past 17 months,” Black said. “It has been a sincere privilege to serve the men and women who sacrificed so much for this nation, and I want to thank the veterans community for this opportunity.”

Black served as the Secretary since November 24, 2009, when he was appointed by the Wisconsin Board of Veterans Affairs. Previously Black was the Deputy and Acting Secretary and the Division Administrator for the Division of Veterans Benefits. Black served twenty-two years on active duty with the United States Army.

Black also thanked those he has worked with to improve the lives of veterans and their families in Wisconsin. “It has been a privilege to work with the staff at the Department who dedicate themselves to serving our veterans.”

“It is absolutely essential, especially at a time when we have troops in the field, that we do everything possible to support our military personnel and our veterans,” Black said. “Wisconsin has a historic tradition of progressive action to support our veterans, and I know that the veterans community will continue to work collaboratively to protect that legacy and better serve our veterans.”

DAV Supports Review of Radiation Exposure

WASHINGTON—The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is supporting a request from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs evaluate the probability of radiation exposure from a leaking nuclear reactor at McMurdo Station that may have caused cancer in veterans serving there from 1964 to 1973 during Operation Deep Freeze.

“Thousands of service members may have been exposed to radioactive contamination in the air, their water and their food,” said DAV National Commander Wallace E. Tyson. “The experimental, one-of-a-kind nuclear reactor used at McMurdo Station suffered hundreds of reported malfunctions over its lifetime. The same reactor was used to melt snow and desalinate seawater used by the service members stationed there for as long as 13 months at a time.”

In his letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Sen. Brown said that veterans stationed at McMurdo have made numerous disability claims to the VA for cancers they suffered, only to be denied. Many died before their cases could be fully decided.

“According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), cancers that may develop as a result of radiation exposure are indistinguishable from those that occur naturally or as a result of exposure to other carcinogens,” said Brown. “We owe it to our veterans to err on the side of caution and support the claims of those whose cancer we cannot legitimately determine was not caused by radiation exposure at McMurdo Station.”

“Our veterans deserve to know if the radiation exposures at McMurdo Station’s nuclear power plant are the source of their cancers. Unless proven conclusively that they are not, the VA should award service connections to veterans suffering from cancer that may have been caused by extended periods of exposure to radiation,” said Commander Tyson. “Veterans also need to know how many of our McMurdo veterans have already died from cancer linked to radiation exposure.”

“We encourage the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to give priority to the studies in hopes that no more veterans will die without proper review of their disability claims,” he said. “Justice delayed, in this case as much as any others, is justice denied.”

DAV State Commander Says Governor’s Budget Proposal Good for Veterans

Restoration of Wisconsin G.I. Bill is key, but legislative proposals don’t go far enough in restoring accountability and public trust in WDVA

(Green Bay, Wis. – March 17, 2011) - “Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget would restore a promise to Wisconsin’s veterans by fully reversing enacted cuts to the Wisconsin G.I. Bill, provide for a new veterans nursing home in Chippewa Falls, and maintain funding for key state veterans programs and services,” said DAV State Commander John Hoeft, a service-disabled Vietnam War veteran from Omro, Wis. “This budget proposal is good for veterans.”

Reversing cuts made in the last biennium to the Wisconsin G.I. Bill tuition remission for veterans has been a top goal of DAV and other state veterans service organizations.

“Our veterans community fought tooth and nail in the last biennium to try to prevent these cuts to the Wisconsin G.I. Bill, the state’s cornerstone program for the successful reintegration and retention of our newest generation of veterans,” said Hoeft. “We are pleased the Governor has heard us and has included a proposal to fully reverse those cuts.”

The Governor’s budget recommendations also includes continued full GPR funding for the Wisconsin G.I. Bill and the Veterans and Surviving Spouses Property Tax Credit for totally and permanently disabled veterans, their surviving spouses, and the spouses of military service members killed in the line of duty – something Hoeft says if enacted, “would also be exceptional news for veterans.”

“The Governor’s proposed budget also includes a needed increase in funding and staffing for the Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemeteries, sites that honor the service and memories of thousands of our fellow veterans, including our WWII and Korean War veterans,” said Hoeft. “And, I am pleased to see the Governor’s budget also includes additional federal revenues from an increased federal burial plot allowance, a major legislative victory sought by DAV and others for many years,” he said.

However, Hoeft expressed concern about the current leadership of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. “But these legislative proposals do not go far enough in restoring veterans trust, faith, and confidence in the broken leadership at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Hoeft.

Recent legislative audits have exposed serious current mismanagement of the Wisconsin Veterans Homes at the highest levels within WDVA. And, recent news about WDVA has highlighted the agency’s flawed decision to ban all dogs from state veterans homes (later reversed under public pressure), a series of lawsuits by disabled veterans fired or passed over for less experienced non-veterans, and forcing veterans and widows out of the state’s veterans homes due to astronomical rate increases while retaining millions of dollars in unexpended surpluses.

“Just as is already being done in many other states, the Governor’s proposal to contract out the new Home at Chippewa Falls sounds like an excellent way to balance veterans’ care needs, major new job creation, and fiscal accountability – something that is sorely lacking at WDVA under its current management structure.”

And, DAV volunteer leaders have had an unusual battle with current WDVA leadership for nearly two years – over increasing the agency’s hiring of veterans of all things. Despite those efforts and in spite of a state law mandating the agency hire veterans and preferably disabled veterans, out of 136 hires last year WDVA hired just 15 veterans. Of those 15, just three were disabled veterans.

“That’s just simply unacceptable,” said Hoeft, noting that increasing WDVA’s hiring of disabled and other veterans was made a DAV top priority at its annual statewide convention last summer.

Hoeft also addressed the recent comments of WDVA Secretary Ken Black regarding the “solvency” of the Veterans Trust Fund, which has not had a steady funding source since the early 1950’s.

“How this veterans program or that veterans program gets funded has really been a red herring for far too long. What is truly important is that Wisconsin has top quality long term care, first rate programs and services to aid and honor our service-disabled and other veterans, and final resting places that remain a tribute to their service,” he said.

“As Commander of the state’s largest organization of service-disabled wartime veterans, I am generally pleased with the Governor’s budget recommendations affecting our state’s disabled, wartime, and other veterans,” said Hoeft. “While we have a little tweaking to do with a ‘bed tax’ issue, I’m confident that with this highly positive starting point, we’ll wind up with an excellent final budget for Wisconsin veterans programs and services,” he said.

Hoeft had a final message for the Governor, however. “I recognize that the budget bill is limited only to fiscal items, but we in the veterans community look forward to prompt action to ensure leadership change to restore accountability, transparency, and effective management to WDVA and return the state’s veterans agency to the veterans for whom it was created,” said Hoeft.

“…Because if we don’t fix the current mess at WDVA, all the money in the world won’t make a bit of difference,” he concluded.

DAV-Wis. Press Release: Wisconsin at DAV National Mid-Winter Conference and on the Hill

With many new members of Congress, it’s “Back to the Basics” for DAV

(Green Bay, Wis. – March 16, 2011) - Over 600 national leaders were in attendance at the Disabled American Veterans 2011 Mid-Winter Conference held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Virginia, February 27 - March 2, 2011, who then took to Capitol Hill to inform and advocate on behalf of the nation’s veterans, particularly its disabled veterans.

Included in the huge national leadership meeting of the nation’s largest wartime service-disabled veterans’ organization were Department of Wisconsin leaders John Hoeft, State Commander; Kevin (KC) Johnson, State Senior Vice Commander; Al Labelle, State Judge Advocate; Clarence Stoel, State Legislative Director; Richard Marbes, State Treasurer; Roger Dorman, Service Director; Stephen Leopold, State Legal Advisor; John Kleindienst, Milwaukee National Service Office (NSO) Supervisor; Derrick Williams, Milwaukee NSO Assistant Supervisor; Charles Vandenplas, VAVS Chairman; and Anthony Hardie, State Special Assistant.

Marbes is a past DAV National Commander. Vandenplas is also 12^th District Representative on DAV’s National Executive Committee. The 12^th District is comprised of the Departments of Illinois and Wisconsin. Labelle is a member of DAV’s national Interim Legislative Committee. Hardie is a National Deputy Chief of Staff for 2010-11.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was the Conference’s keynote speaker, which opened with a business session, followed by numerous workshops intended to further develop DAV’s leadership, legislative, and communications capacities, among many others.

The Conference culminated with National Commander Wallace E. (Wally) Tyson’s presentation of DAV’s 2011 legislative program to a joint session of the U.S. Senate and House veterans’ affairs committees, which was attended by an overflow crowd of enthusiastic DAV members from Wisconsin and across the country.

Since the 112^th Congress has 103 new members, many with little or no legislative experience, a major emphasis of the presentation was Who and What We Are.

“It was DAV 101 and Legislation 101,” said State Judge Advocate Al Labelle.

In the last Congress, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was comprised of 29 members, with only 12 members reelected. For DAV, making inroads and achieving legislative successes with the new Congress – including the 17 new members on the House veterans’ affairs committee – means it will be “back to the basics” of informing new members not only about DAV’s legislative priorities, but who DAV is and what it means to be a service-disabled wartime veteran.

DAV’s Department of Wisconsin leaders aimed directly at every member of Wisconsin’s 10-member Congressional delegation to help achieve DAV’s national legislative goals with a formal group presentation and individual office meetings.

DAV-Wis. leaders developed and delivered a formal group presentation of DAV’s national legislative program to the offices of U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) (Harry Stein, Carolyn Appel); Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) (Alian Elias); Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI-01) (Martin Skold); Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-02) (Amber Shipley); and, Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI-03) (Kevin Warnke).

DAV-Wis. leaders also had quite a number of personal meetings with Wisconsin Congressional offices, including meeting personally with Sen. Ron Johnson, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, and Congressman Reid Ribble (R-WI-08), and in separate private meetings with the offices of Congressman Ryan (Martin Skold); Congressman Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) (Eyang Nyambi Garrison); Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI-05) (Joshua Ledden); Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI-06) (Meagan McCanna); Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI-07) (Jenifer Nawrocki); and Congressman Ribble (Paul Bleiberg).

Key meetings were also held with the integral House Budget Committee’s Professional Staff and with the offices of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and senior Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee member Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), all of whom left well acquainted with and enthusiastic about the Independent Budget and military medical health research funding issues.

More information on the Independent Budget, DAV’s 2011 Legislative Program, and DAV national concerns is available on the DAV-Wis. website at www.davwi.org/government-relations. More information on the Conference, including Secretary Shinseki’s comments, will be published in the May-June issue of the DAV Magazine.

State may lose ability to require use of Post-9/11 GI Bill before using WisGIBill

WI_Legislative_Council_Memo_--_Impact_of_Changes_in_Post_9-11_GI_Bill

VA Issues New FAST Letter on Iraq, Afghanistan, Gulf War Claims

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Veterans Benefits Administration Washington, D.C. 20420

March 15, 2011

Director (00/21)

All VBA Regional Offices and Centers Fast Letter 11-09

SUBJ: Procedures for Rating Infectious Diseases Presumed to Be Related to Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan Service under 38 CFR § 3.317(c).

Purpose

This letter provides guidance on rating disability and death claims for service connection based upon specified infectious diseases that are presumed to be related to Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan service.

Gulf War Presumptive Infectious Diseases

38 CFR § 3.317(c) was revised effective September 29, 2010. The revised regulation provides for establishing service connection on a presumptive basis for the following infectious diseases: Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever), Malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, Visceral leishmaniasis, and West Nile virus.

A new special issue (Gulf War Presumptive) is added to RBA2000 as part of the February 26-27, 2011, weekend installation. Each of the specified infectious diseases was added to RBA2000 as a special issue basis for the Gulf War Presumptive special issue. Please see enclosures 1 and 2 for instructions on when and how to use the new Special Issue and Special Issue Basis.

Questions

E-mail questions regarding this letter to: VAVBAWAS/CO/215/RBA2000.

/S/

Thomas J. Murphy

Director

Compensation and Pension Service

Enclosure 1 – Rating Decision Procedures

Enclosure 2 – Rating Decision Analysis Text

--------------

Enclosure 1 – Rating Decision Procedures

Gulf War Presumptive Infectious Diseases

Field users will utilize the “Gulf War Presumptive” Special Issue and the appropriate Special Issue Basis when rating the specified infectious diseases claimed as presumptively due to Gulf War service. RBA2000 will generate proper text for all grants and for most denials. However, when service connection is denied as not established by presumption and when service connection for the cause of death is denied, the field user must manually edit the RBA2000-generated text. The field user must always edit the generated text (as appropriate) so that it is claim specific and fully explains the decision to the claimant.

Note: When multiple special issues apply to a claim, the Gulf War Presumptive special issue must be added last to ensure proper text generation. For example, if the Veteran is also an ex-prisoner of war, select the POW Special Issue and Special Issue Basis before selecting the Gulf War Presumptive Special Issue to generate the POW text first. This ensures all appropriate text is included in the narrative.

Rating Decision Procedures – Live Service Connection

When rating one of the specified infectious diseases claimed as due to Gulf War service, the field user must select “Gulf War Presumptive” from the drop-down Special Issue Information List on the Enter Disability Ratings screen as shown in the screenshot below.

Once this entry has been selected, the Special Issue Basis field is enabled, and the field user must select the appropriate infectious disease from the drop-down list as shown in the screenshot below.

After completing all entries, click the Accept button to generate the text (an additional text selection box may appear depending upon the decision entered, but that is the same functionality as currently exists).

For all grants and denials of service connection (other than a denial as not established by presumption), the generated text should be correct and ready for the field user to customize for the specific claim that is being rated.

For a denial of service connection as not established by presumption, the generated analysis text must be deleted and replaced with the appropriate text from Enclosure 2. The “Issue” text and “Decision” text should be correct but must still be reviewed and edited, as necessary.

The Analysis text will vary based upon the reason(s) for the denial. There is a general paragraph that must be used for all issues and then one or more specific denial reason paragraphs must be added based upon the denial reason(s). Please see Enclosure 2 for the general paragraph and the specific denial reason paragraphs. Note that these paragraphs require the field user to enter information such as the disability name, date, etiology, etc.

Specific denial paragraphs are available for the following reasons:

• All Other Conditions – Not Within 1 Year
• Illness Not Chronic
• Less Than 10 Percent Disabling
• Malaria - Not Within Time Period

· No Diagnosis

• No Nexus
• No Qualifying Period Of Service
• Not SC

· Other Etiology

• Supervening Condition Or Event
• Willful Misconduct

Rating Decision Procedures – Service Connection for Cause of Death

When completing a cause of death rating claimed as due to infectious disease under 38 CFR § 3.317(c), the field user must select “Gulf War Presumptive” from the drop-down Special Issue Information List on the Enter Death Ratings screen as shown in the screenshot below.

Once this entry has been selected, the Special Issue Information Basis field is enabled and the field user must select the appropriate infectious disease from the drop-down list as shown in the screenshot below.

After completing all entries, click the Accept button and then the OK button to generate the text (an additional text selection box may appear depending upon the decision entered, but that is the same functionality as currently exists).

For all grants of service connection, the generated text should be correct and ready for the field user to customize for the specific claim that is being rated.

For a denial of service connection for the cause of death, the generated analysis text must be deleted and replaced with the appropriate text from Enclosure 2. The “Issue” text and “Decision” text should be correct but must still be reviewed and edited, as necessary.

The Analysis text will vary based upon the reason(s) for the denial. There is a general paragraph that must be used for all issues and then one or more specific denial paragraphs must be added based upon the denial reason(s). Please see Enclosure 2 for the general paragraph and the specific denial reason paragraphs. Note that these paragraphs will require the field user to enter information such as the disability name, date, etiology, etc

Specific denial paragraphs are available for the following reasons:

· No Diagnosis

· No Nexus

· Not SC

.

Enclosure 2 – Rating Decision Analysis Text

Rating Decision Text – Live Service Connection

General denial paragraph for all issues of denial of service connection as not established by presumption:

Under the authority granted by 38 U.S.C. §§ 1117 and 1118, VA has determined that presumption of service connection may be established for certain infectious diseases based on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or a period of active military, naval, or air service in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001. These diseases include Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever), Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, and West Nile virus, which must become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within 1 year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service; Malaria, if the disease becomes manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within 1 year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service or at a time when standard or accepted treatises indicate that the incubation period commenced during a qualifying period of service; and Visceral leishmaniasis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, for which there is no time limit to become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more.

Text for specific denial reasons:

All Other Conditions – Not Within 1 Year

Service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied because there is affirmative evidence that the disease did not become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within one year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service.

Illness Not Chronic

The disability must have persisted for a period of at least six months. Presumptive service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied since this disability first manifested on {date} and lasted less than six months.

Less Than 10 Percent Disabling

Presumptive service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied because this disability has not become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more disabling.

Malaria - Not Within Time Period

Service connection for malaria is denied because there is affirmative evidence that the disease did not become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within one year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service or at a time when standard or accepted treatises indicate that the incubation period commenced during a qualifying period of service.

No Diagnosis

Presumptive service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied because the evidence of record fails to establish a diagnosis for this disability.

No Nexus

The available scientific and medical evidence does not support the conclusion that {drop in claimed disability} is associated with the veteran’s active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or a period of active military, naval, or air service on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan.

No Qualifying Period Of Service

Presumptive service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied because the evidence of record reflects no qualifying period of service.

Not SC

Presumptive service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied since this disability was not incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan.

Other Etiology

Service connection under this provision is precluded if there is affirmative evidence that the disability was unrelated to service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or a period of active military, naval, or air service on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan. Service connection for {drop in claimed disability} is denied because evidence establishes that this disability resulted from {enter etiology}.

Supervening Condition Or Event

Service connection is denied because there is affirmative evidence that {drop in claimed disability} was caused by a supervening condition or event that occurred between the veteran’s most recent departure from a qualifying period of service and the onset of the disease.

Willful Misconduct

Service connection is denied because there is affirmative evidence that {drop in claimed disability} is the result of the veteran’s own willful misconduct or the abuse of alcohol or drugs.

Rating Decision Text – Service Connection for Cause of Death

General denial paragraph for all issues of denial of service connection for the cause of death:

Under the authority granted by 38 U.S.C. §§ 1117 and 1118, VA has determined that presumption of service connection may be established for certain infectious diseases based on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or a period of active military, naval, or air service in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001. These diseases include Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever), Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, and West Nile virus, which must become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within 1 year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service; Malaria, if the disease becomes manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within 1 year from the date of separation from a qualifying period of service or at a time when standard or accepted treatises indicate that the incubation period commenced during a qualifying period of service; and Visceral leishmaniasis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, for which there is no time limit to become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more.

Text for specific denial reasons:

No Diagnosis

Service connection for cause of death based on active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, or a period of active military, naval, or air service on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan, is denied. The evidence of record does not show diagnosis of a condition for which VA has found a positive association exists between service in Southwest Asia during certain periods and subsequent development of the condition.

No Nexus

Service connection for cause of death from {drop in Cause of Death} is denied because the available scientific and medical evidence does not support the conclusion that the cause of death is associated with active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or a period of active military, naval, or air service on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan.

Not SC

There is no basis in the available evidence of record to establish service connection for cause of death from {condition name}. This condition was not incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War or on or after September 19, 2001, in Afghanistan.

Governor’s Office Shoots Back at Sec. Ken Black’s Budget Critique

In a letter today to the Governor and Republican (solely) state legislators, WDVA Secretary Ken Black laid out his five concerns regarding Governor Scott Walker’s recommended WDVA budget, leading off with concerns about a lack of GPR funding for the Veterans Trust Fund.

The Governor’s office shot back immediately, noting the Governor’s budget recommendations would provide full restoration for the Wisconsin G.I. Bill -- a DAV-Wis.and broad veterans community priority issue issue left unaddressed by the Board or Secretary Black – and would leave WDVA untouched by the 10% across-the-board cuts made to the rest of state government. 

Most importantly, the Governor’s budget recommendations would leave WDVA better off than WDVA’s own budget proposal, approved last September by the Board of Veterans Affairs, weeks after the August statutory deadline. 

By contrast in the last biennial budget, the current Board of Veterans Affairs, which still governs WDVA and appoints and supervises Secretary Black, voted down a WDVA budget proposal that would have provided GPR for the Veterans Trust Fund. 

The Governor’s office also notes that items classified by Sec. Ken Black as “cuts” to programs are actually reestimated “expenditures from the fund to reflect the actual usage of the programs. If expenditures rise, the Department of Veterans Affairs has the ability to go to the Joint Committee on Finance to ask for more expenditure authority.” 

Indeed, the largest of these reestimated expenditures in the Governor’s budget recommendation -- a $3 million “cut” to the veterans personal loan program -- was proposed by Sec. Ken Black, formally approved by the Board of Veterans Affairs last September, and included by the Governor in his recommended budget. 

The Governor’s budget proposes full GPR restoration to WDVA, with interest, of “lapses” made by the previous administration from the Veterans Trust Fund to the general fund.  Notwithstanding the letter today from Sec. Ken Black, neither the Board nor their Secretary took any action on this action during the last biennium that directly and adversely impacted the Veterans Trust Fund.

The Governor’s recommended budget, however, does subject the Wisconsin Veterans Homes to the so-called “Bed Tax,” a $1.9 million issue that was also proposed by the previous administration but was reversed by the legislature through advocacy by WDVA and the veterans community. 

MORE INFORMATION

*See the full WDVA budget proposed by the Governor:  http://dva.state.wi.us/Docs/DOA-WDVABudgetSummary030111.pdf

*See the letter from the governor's office:
http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=230080

*See Ken Black's letter:
http://wispolitics.com/1006/110314_LtrGovVetsBudget.pdf

*For information on the current state budget for veterans, see the Government Relations page on the new DAV-Wis. website, at www.davwi.org/government-relations

 

--Anthony Hardie

Detailed line-by-line 2011-13 state budget analysis

 

Shows proposed increases, decreases, new Wisconsin Veterans Museum appropriations line item

Comparison Spreadsheet - 2009-11 versus 2011-13 budgets

 

--Anthony Hardie

State Budget Bill Would Transfer State Approving Agency Out of WDVA

 

The Governor’s 2011-13 budget bill for the State of Wisconsin would transfer the State Approving Agency (SAA) out of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA).

Under Section 9153 of the bill, all staff and functions of the SAA would be transferred to the newly created Department of Safety and Professional Services, formerly the Department of Regulation and Licensing.

The Wisconsin State Approving Agency (SAA) evaluates, approves, and monitors academic institutions, schools, and programs.

The SAA operates under a contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as part of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) and is located in Madison, Wisconsin.

--Anthony Hardie

Governor’s Budget Bill Addresses Disabled Business Certification Fees Issue

 

The Governor’s budget bill addresses an issue related to fees charged to service-disabled veteran owned business certification.

Earlier this year, DAV-Wis. raised several issues related to the certification program to Governor’s Walker’s office, including that the certification fees for disabled veteran-owned and women-owned businesses were different than for minority-owned businesses. 

Section 406 of the 2011-13 state budget bill proposed by the Governor equalizes the fees charged for certification of disabled veteran-owned, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses, in direct response to DAV’s concerns.

--Anthony Hardie

Governor’s Budget Creates New Line Item for Wis. Veterans Museum

 

Governor Walker’s proposed biennial budget includes a new line item for the Wisconsin veterans museum.

Splitting out the veterans museum as a separate line item has been sought by the Wisconsin veterans board.

MORE DETAILS: Governor’s Budget for Veterans

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hurlburt, Waylon - GOV
Date: Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 4:56 PM
Subject: Governor Walker's Budget Items for Veterans

Hello all,

I have attached a brief one page document with major items for veterans that were included in his biennial budget.  Also, the Governor’s budget in brief is attached which is much more in depth.  Feel free to share these with others.

An item that is not in the one-pager that is of interest is that of the certification program for disabled veteran-owned businesses which will continue and be housed in the Department of Regulation and Licensing, which will be renamed the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

Call or email with any questions.

Semper Fi,

• Waylon Hurlburt
• Senior Policy Advisor
• The Office of Governor Scott Walker
• State of Wisconsin

2011-13 Budget in Brief

2011 Veterans and Military Affairs Budget Items

Governor Walkers’ Budget Address

 

Video

Text of Governor Walker’s Budget Address

DAV National Commander Testifies before Joint Congressional Committees

 

Please click here to view National Commander Wallace Tyson's testimony before a Joint Session of House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees on March 1, 2011.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

--Joseph A. Violante, DAV National Legislative Director

Governor’s Budget Good for Veterans, As Expected

Full funding for WDVA, full restoration of Wisconsin G.I. Bill, and unexpected approval of the Chippewa Falls veterans home

Governor Walker’s biennial budget looks good for veterans, according to information provided to DAV-Wis. from the Governor’s staff.

According to Governor Walker’s staff, the WDVA budget will be “in the black” by approximately $13 million at the end of the 2011-13 biennium. 

And, the Wisconsin G.I. Bill tuition remission for veterans will be fully restored under the Governor’s budget proposal, a major DAV goal since cuts were made in the last legislative session under Governor Jim Doyle’s budget.

Additionally, the new Chippewa Falls veterans home is unexpectedly approved in the Governor’s budget proposal.  The approval for the major new skilled nursing facility is the result of efficiencies that will be gained by making the facility a contracted facility as is done in a number of other states.

According to the Governor’s staff, the request by DAV and many other veterans service organizations for prompt leadership change at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) will be answered in upcoming legislation.  Policy matters are generally not allowed in budget legislation, though those rules have been frequently violated in previous budget bills.

Following leadership change at WDVA, a top-to-bottom review is top on the agenda, according to the Governor’s staff.  It is expected that DAV-Wis. will continue to continue to be closely involved in helping to reshape the state veterans agency to be much more effective, efficient, and beneficial to Wisconsin’s veterans and those who care for them.

So called “lapses” from the Veterans Trust Fund, veterans homes fund, and veterans home mortgage loan fund – decried by the veterans community in the last biennium -- are fully refunded under the Governor’s proposed budget. 

This Veterans Trust Fund surplus would be achieved through several actions, including a shift in funds from state veterans homes surplus, and a new influx of roughly $700,000 per year in new federal funds resulting from the increase in the veterans burial plot allowance passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last year.  DAV has for many years sought this burial plot allowance increase, including in DAV’s national Resolution #177, “Support an Increase in Burial Plot Allowance for Veterans Who Die of Nonservice Connected Disabilities.”

--Anthony Hardie, DAV National Deputy Chief of Staff, DAV-Wis. State Special Assistant

VA’s Caregiver Support Program Expanding: REACH Program Improves Quality of Life for Caregivers and Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2011

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans (VA) is expanding support nationally to caregivers of Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease. A pilot program of the REACH VA (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health in VA) program showed great success in reducing stress on caregivers while improving care outcomes for the Veterans.

“The REACH VA model exemplifies the many different kinds of support VA offers to the caregivers of Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “This program has been proven to provide the right resources, training and a renewed focus on personal health that can make a world of difference to those caregivers and their Veterans.”

“Caregivers step up every day to serve Veterans they love who sacrificed to defend our Nation,” Shinseki added. “To them, caregiving is a labor of love and devotion, but that alone does not ease the burden and personal stress placed on those who provide daily care for the disabled.”

REACH VA involved 127 caregivers connected to 24 VA medical centers. The median age for the caregiver was 72 and the majority of the participants were spouses.

Typical issues caregivers face when caring for Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia include memory problems, behavior problems and the need to provide basic attendance such as grooming assistance. Caregivers typically reported feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, cut off from family and friends, lonely, prone to bouts of crying and having worse physical health than the year before.

For six months, the REACH VA caregivers were provided 12 individual in-home and telephone counseling sessions; five telephone support group sessions; a caregiver quick guide with 48 behavioral and stress topics; education on safety and patient behavior management; and training for their individual health and well being.

-More-

REACH VA 2/2/2/2

Caregivers saw their burden reduced; drops in depressive symptoms and their related daily impacts; fewer frustrations, including those that have clinical potential for abuse; and decreases in dementia-related behaviors from the Veterans they cared for. Caregivers also reported they were able to spend fewer hours per day devoted to caregiving duties.

“Dementia caregiving is such an all encompassing task,” said Dr. Linda Nichols from the VA medical center in Memphis, Tenn., and co-author of a recent study on the program. “The intervention provided time for themselves, which caregivers never have enough of. REACH VA improved our caregivers’ knowledge to manage care, made them feel more confident and competent as they formed bonds with the VA staff supporting them, and decreased the inevitable feelings of isolation and loneliness that come from a selfless, but very sacrificial duty of care.”

VA will roll out REACH VA on a national basis through home-based primary care programs across the country. In addition, the program will be modified to assist caregivers of Veterans with other diagnoses like spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. 

“Providing support to caregivers who sacrifice so much to allow Veterans to remain at home surrounded by loved ones is the right thing for VA to do,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, VA’s under secretary for health.

An article on the REACH VA program is being published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Nichols and Dr. Jennifer Martindale-Adams, also from VA’s Memphis facility, are the lead authors and based the VA pilot on the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Nursing Research funded REACH II study. REACH VA is the first national clinical implementation of a proven behavioral intervention for stressed and burdened dementia caregivers.

Local caregiver support coordinators are available to assist Veterans of all eras and their caregivers in understanding and applying for VA’s many caregiver benefits. VA also features a website, www.caregiver.va.gov, with general information on REACH VA and other caregiver support programs available through VA and the community.

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Presidential Proclamation: DEATH OF ARMY CORPORAL FRANK W. BUCKLES, THE LAST SURVIVING AMERICAN VETERAN OF WORLD WAR I

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 28, 2011
DEATH OF ARMY CORPORAL FRANK W. BUCKLES,
THE LAST SURVIVING AMERICAN VETERAN OF WORLD WAR I
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the memory of Army Corporal
Frank W. Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of
World War I, and in remembrance of the generation of American
veterans of World War I, I hereby order, by the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, that, on the day of his interment,
the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at
the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at
all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels
of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and
throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions
until sunset on such day. I further direct that the flag shall
be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States
embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities
abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and
stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA

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