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Archive for November, 2010
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
Thousands of veterans miss out on great VA benefits and programs available to them because they either don’t know about them, or they just don’t apply for them. The state of Florida is determined to not let those veterans miss out on available opportunities. The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is actively contacting veterans to make them aware of their earned benefits.
The Florida State VA is searching through the state’s database of driver’s licenses and state IDs for those with veteran status attached to them. Florida Vets Connect is the program the Florida VA is using to locate tens of thousands of veterans living in Florida who are not taking advantage of available veteran benefits at both a state and federal level. The Florida VA will then contact those veterans directly. Of the approximately 1.6 million veterans in Florida, the program has allowed the state VA to contact almost 30,000 using only email.
Unfortunately the Florida state VA has no money to fund this program. Their goal is to locate both private donations or find state money to finance these notifications. It will cost at least $8,000 alone to mail notifications to those veterans without access to e-mail.
The Florida VA only has the ability to contact approximately 700,00 veterans due to lack of accurate contact information. Of those, many have not claimed their owed benefits, to include pensions. This is very obvious as over $22 billion worth of funds earmarked for veterans’ pensions are not claimed every year. Many of these veterans are unaware of the vast amount of benefits available to them. Florida is taking the responsibility of ensuring they are given this information.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Florida State VA, Florida Vets Connect, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in Disabled Veterans, Veterans' Benefits, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Monday, November 29th, 2010
Despite the immigration issues making headlines, there is another, less-public immigration issue going on in the background. Immigrants seemingly earning their right to be in this country through service in the military are typically being deported following their service.
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed the 1st Enrollment Act following passage through Congress. The law required immigrants to make themselves available for the U.S. military draft. Green card carrying immigrants can still serve in the U.S. military. A 1996 law, however, changed the dynamic of that service.
The Immigrations Nationality Act essentially allowed the government to deport all immigrants, including those holding green cards, and including those who have served in this nation’s military. Every veteran is treated as a foreign national and no option or concern is offered for military veterans.
The situation creates a strange dichotomy. Most immigrants are detained following their military service, and usually deported to their native country. Despite this, because of their military service to this country they still qualify for burial in National Cemeteries located on foreign soil, compete with their survivors being given an American flag.
Many of these immigrants return from combat with injuries, some of them very severe. People volunteering to give their life for this country are considered foreign nationals the minute they take off their uniform, despite many suffering debilitating injuries. Honorable discharges don’t equate in U.S. citizenship.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: 1st Enrollment Act, Deportation, Foreign Nationals, Imigrants, Military Service, The Immigrations Nationality Act, Veterans disability
Posted in General | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had, and still has, serious issues with their security. They have a history of stolen laptops, comprised social security numbers and personal identifications, and policies lacking clear focus. The last time this happened assurances were made that security policies would being tightened up, access to secure information would be limited, and new policies would be implemented to protect the VA and everyone associated with the VA. However, these policies only work when they are actually followed.
A claims examiner working for the VA plugged an unencrypted thumb drive into a computer attached to the VA network. The examiner was using the drive to store 240 veterans’ personal records, which, of course, included social security numbers. That examiner then went ahead and lost the drive. Another employee, in a separate incident, accessed veterans’ personal records, printed them out, and took them home. Both of these instances are clear violations of the VA’s policies.
VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker detailed the two incidents to Congress this month during his data breach report. The results are obvious: security protocols implemented to protect personal information are being ignored.
The VA’s policies clearly ban any use of unencrypted thumb drives in any of their computers. The drive was found by a security guard, who took it home, showed it to his wife who recognized the information for what it was, and told him to return it. The thumb drive included personal information on veterans consisting of:
- Names;
- Medical records;
- Financial records;
- Dates of birth;
- Addresses; and
- Social security numbers.
The other employee who printed out veterans’ information did so in order to create a Word document from the list. This not only offended the common sense of almost all VA employees, it violated the VA’s privacy and security protocols. The employee then tried to email the Word document to his email address at the VA. The document was rejected because it included social security numbers.
The VA has strict rules, policies, and protocols to prevent information from being stolen. While there has not yet been any word about if these 2 particular VA employees have faced any disciplinary action, hopefully the VA can use these incidents as a teaching example to the rest of the 300,000 VA employees.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Personal Veteran Information, VA security breach, VA Security Protocols
Posted in General, VA News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
Rocco Zito was in the Marines for 4 years. Judge Booras is the first judge in the Palm Beach Veterans’ Court. Last Friday, Zito, charged with Possession of Cocaine and appeared before Judge Booras as the first veteran in Palm Beach’s Veterans’ Court, Division VA.
Every month approximately 60 veterans enter the criminal court system in Palm Beach County. Some of these veterans committed their crimes while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Others committed their crimes because they were suffering from mental health disorders. Still others committed their crimes simply because they were homeless and desperate. Thankfully, these veterans now have the option of Veterans’ Court available to them.
Division VA was designed to help those veterans who have issues in their lives that contributed to their crimes. One thing continually stressed is the Veterans’ Court programs are not free rides. Veterans will be forced to complete various treatment programs, undergo counseling if necessary, and comply with any other court orders. Should they complete all requirements, their charges will be dismissed. Should they fail, they will go to trial on their original charges.
Eligibility for a hearing at the Veterans’ Court is based on the types of charges levied against the veteran. If their crime produced a victim, they will likely not be able to participate.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Division VA, Palm Beach Veterans Court, Veterans disability, Veterans Mental Health
Posted in General, VA News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is making it easier for veterans to be awarded disability compensation claims when their injury occurred during a secret mission and therefore couldn’t prove how their injury was related to their service without violating national security. For the last year the VA has been operating a program in which they involved a liaison officer attached to U.S. Special Operations Command. The liaison officer will have access to classified files to verify disability claims under these circumstances.
Given the nature of the program, it has not received a lot of attention. The Pentagon and the VA established the liaison in December of 2009. The liaison is an army veteran with no connection to special operations units. The VA has made assurances the liaison possesses the proper security clearances to be able to look into the files at the level in which they will have to be examined.
Once a veteran makes a disability claim based on an injury sustained in, or as a result of, a clandestine mission, the VA turns that claim over to the liaison. The liaison will then verify or deny that the veteran was involved in the secret operation.
The liaison officer will forward to the VA a report absent any sensitive information to be used in their decision for the disability claim. There will not be any contact between the veteran and the liaison unless the liaison needs specific information.
The liaison officer works for the VA but has access to thousands of classified files. Secret information can be retrieved concerning missions run by governmental intelligence agencies to include the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). There is no reason veterans should have their claims denied because of lack of information about their secret military operations.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Clandestine Operations, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disability Compensation Claims, U.S. Special Operations Command, VA liaison officer, Veterans disability
Posted in Disabled Veterans, General, VA News | No Comments »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is currently attempting to battle their massive backlog of disability compensation claims. Its ultimate goal is to eliminate the backlog completely by 2015. At the same time, VA. Secretary Eric Shinseki has stated he does not want any claims taking longer than 125 days to be processed and decided. In order to meet that goal, the VA must take many new and progressive steps towards how they process disability claims. To that end, the VA recently began two pilot programs designed to increase the speed by which they pay compensation disability claims to qualified veterans.
The 2 programs that have become part of the VA’s disability compensation claims processing restructuring are called “Quick Pay,” and “Express Lane.” It is hoped both programs will speed up the disability claims process so those veterans awaiting for decisions on their claims will get them faster and will therefore receive their payments faster.
Quick pay is based in the St. Petersburg, Florida regional office. This program functions to increase payment time of disability claims to those veterans providing satisfactory verification supporting their claim at the time they make their initial claim. Quick Pay’s results have been impressive as they have made payments to over 1,600 Florida veterans, 3 months faster than the VA’s 125 ultimate goal, and those payments have totaled over $2 million.
The Express lane program is managed in the Seattle VA regional office, but is also in operation in Nashville, TN, St. Paul, Minn, and Muskogee, Okla. This program tests the viability of reassigning team members to handle more complex disability claims on an as-needed basis. Essentially, multiple teams consisting of a few employees who can process the more simple claims quickly while the disability claims requiring more attention are given the necessary independent focus required.
There is no reason those veterans who have earned their benefits are not given those benefits in a timely manner. These programs reflect the VA’s effort to ensure that happens much more often.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Disabled Veterans, Express Lane Pilot Program, Quick Pay Pilot Program, VA Health Care System, veterans disability claims
Posted in Disabled Veterans, VA News, Veterans' Benefits | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 18th, 2010
There are significantly more veterans attending college this year than last through their Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits. Many soldiers enlisted solely for the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and are now cashing in on their earnings. Like most things military related, however, many veterans are also complaining about the amount of red tape they have to push through. The bureaucracy involved with the bill is causing both uncertainty and irritation, according to a new study.
The report is probably the most inclusive study about the effectiveness of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Researchers used surveys and various focus groups in an attempt to capture the reality of what soldiers endure as they cycle into a classroom from the military. One of the biggest complaints is the seemingly insurmountable labyrinth created by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the colleges veterans attend. Other complaints included:
- Confusion as to the intended use of VA checks;
- Delayed payments;
- Lacking an online payment tracking system;
- Credit transfer policies within colleges and universities being consistent; and
- Long wait times when calling VA hotlines for help.
Almost 50% of respondents complained of the VA’s payment backlog as creating unnecessary challenges. For those students attending public 2-year colleges, the percentage of students struggling to get benefits is significantly higher. Many veterans did respond as being happy with the amount of benefits available beyond tuition, e.g., money for books and living expenses.
The red tape, however, did not provide the only challenge to these veterans. Many complained of not being able to balance school with work and family time. Military veterans will usually always attend college as non-traditional students and will therefore face stressors many other students do not. Many veterans also return to the civilian world suffering from various mental health issues.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Post-9/11 GI Bill, VA Education Benefits, veteran-students, Veterans' Benefits
Posted in General, Veterans' Benefits | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Jacksonville, Florida will be the site of a brand new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Clinic in 2012. At a cost of $35 million, the new 135,000 square-foot clinic will be built near the Shands, Jacksonville Medical Center. The new clinic is designed to serve as an expansion to the already existing VA Medical Center in order to help with a substantially growing veteran population. Among many other services, the clinic will offer:
- Primary Care;
- Radiology services;
- Cardiology services;
- Inpatient cataract surgery abilities;
- Mental health services;
- Dental services;
- Rehabilitation services; and
- Extended medical services for females.
The Jacksonville Medical Center has made 3 expansions into 3 new campuses since 2003. Now the clinic is too big for those campuses and is once again forced to expand. This newest extension is going to replace 2 of the older satellite campuses, leaving the clinic at Southpoint Drive as the only Jacksonville VA outpost clinic.
Over the last couple of years, the amount of patients being served by the Jacksonville VA has grown 10-12% every year. Almost 1000 veterans a day visit the Jacksonville VA, which resulted in the treatment of approximately 27,000 veterans over the last year. The reason for the growth is due to:
- Aging Vietnam veterans;
- An influx of veterans to the greater Jacksonville area;
- The ongoing wars resulting in more veterans requiring care; and
- Veterans losing employee insurance benefits.
The new clinic will cover 10 acres and after it is built, will be rented to the VA. The land itself will be leased to the VA once the project is completed. The almost 150,000 veterans can expect to see more veterans join their ranks, and this clinic will serve these swelling ranks.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Jacksonville VA Clinic, Shands Jacksonville VA, VA Health Care System
Posted in General, VA News, Veterans' Resources | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
The Salt Lake City Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Facility is getting a facelift. More accurately, they are getting an addition to their facilities to the tune of $6.6 million. The money will be spent on the installation of a solar photovoltaic (solar power) system in order to help the VA come into compliance with Executive Order 13423 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Executive Order 13423 requires all federal agencies to draw more of their energy needs from renewable energy sources. Further, of those renewable energy sources, at least 50% of them must be new sources. The Energy policy sets a date of 2012 in which the VA must draw at least 5% of their total energy needs from renewable sources.
The solar power system will allow the Salt Lake VA Medical Center to generate their own power. It is hoped by doing this, more money will be able to be used for patient care as less is being spent on paying for energy. Both roof-top mounted and ground-mounted systems will be utilized on premises. The panels will generate between 35 and 55o kilowatts of energy, depending on location and panel used.
The VA has been given a very strict and solid deadline by which they must utilize renewable energy sources in various ways. Fitting state VA medical centers with solar panels seems to be the most popular method of moving toward meeting their renewable energy requirement deadlines. Construction on the Salt Lake VA Medical Center will begin in the early part of 2011.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Disabled Veterans, Energy Policy Act of 2005, Salt Lake City VA Solar Energy, VA Health Care System, VA Solar Panels
Posted in General, VA News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Having already established their presence on such social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social outlets like Flickr and Youtube, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing their presence in the blogosphere as well. Their first blog is called VAntage Point and is designed to draw veterans and their family members into an environment where open discussion is the norm. This will give the VA yet another avenue in which they can engage veterans online.
More than just engaging veterans, the VA will use VAntage Point to get veterans accurate information about what is happening with the VA. It will go both ways, though, as veterans will be able to submit their problems and concerns to the VA through the blog. As more veterans are spending more time online, the VA’s choice to enter the blogosphere is a very appropriate move. The more presence they have online, the more chances veterans will find them and become involved with them on the Internet.
VAntage Point will consist of daily articles written by VA staff members, as well as articles written by employees and the public in general. The pieces written by VA staff members will spotlight general veterans’ issues, as well as specific IT programs designed to keep the VA on the cutting edge of technology. Expect both staff members to interact with blog readers on a regular basis. Guest articles will be written to the editor of VAntatge Point. Submitting authors should not worry about offending the “VA viewpoint;” viewpoint is not considered. Submissions will be considered based on how well they’re written.
VAntage Point will ensure veterans are given accurate information. It will also give veterans a new medium in which to interact with the VA. Both parties will be well served with the existence of this new blog.
If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, contact LaVan & Neidenberg. You may be entitled to certain programs and benefits so contact our veterans disability rights firm today.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VA Blog, VAntage Point, veteran news
Posted in General, VA News, Veterans' Resources | 1 Comment »
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