What Agencies Are In The Department Of Veterans Affairs

Va Office Of Construction & Facility Management

The Office of Construction & Facility Management has the responsibility for planning, designing, constructing, leasing, and renovating these facilities for the service and care of the Nation’s veterans.

Initially established for the post World War II need for additional hospital construction for returning veterans, with the dynamic changes in health care delivery nationwide, FM has taken a very pro-active role by anticipating and providing strategic asset management during these times of rapid transformation of VA’s healthcare system from hospital bed-based to locally available ambulatory care. FM’s goal is to become the best possible public or private asset management organization.

Promotion To Department Of Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 1988 ” rel=”nofollow”> Pub.L. 100527) changed the former Veterans Administration, an independent government agency established in 1930 into a Cabinet-level Department of Veterans Affairs. It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on 25 October 1988, however came into effect under the term of his successor, George H. W. Bush, on 15 March 1989.

The reform period 19952000 saw the Veterans Health Administration dramatically improve care access, quality, and efficiency. This was through leveraging its national integrated electronic health information system , and in so doing implemented universal primary care, increased patients treated by 24%, had a 48% increase in ambulatory care visits, and decreased staffing by 12%. By 2000, the VHA had 10,000 fewer employees than in 1995 and a 104% increase in patients treated since 1995, and had managed to maintain the same cost per patient-day, while all other facilities’ costs had risen over 30% to 40% during the same period.

Va Consistently Communicates With Its Customers And Partners To Assess And Maximize Performance Evaluate Needs And Build Long

View Objectives

• Consistent and Easy to Understand Information: VA and partners
• Lifelong Relationships and Trust: VA listens to Veterans, their families, caregivers, survivors, Service members, employees and other stakeholders to project future trends, anticipate needs and deliver effective and agile solutions that improve their outcomes, access and experiences.

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Veterans Affairs Has Denied Benefits To Black People At Higher Rates For Years Lawsuit Alleges

Obtaining benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs has been disproportionately more difficult for Black Americans for decades, a federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges.

The results of VAs racial discrimination has been to deny countless meritorious applications by Black veterans, depriving them and their families of care and support that their faithful service has earned, the lawsuit reads.

Filed in federal court by Yale Law Schools Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of Conley Monk Jr., a Vietnam War veteran, the suit claims Monk was repeatedly denied home loan, education and medical benefits because he is Black.

Monk is far from alone, the filing alleges. According to VA records obtained through Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress, of which Monk is the co-founder and director, and the Black Veterans Project, the average denial rate for disability compensation was 5.3% higher for Black veterans than their white counterparts between 2001 and 2020. And the racial disparity for average acceptance rates was even higher 6.8%.

United States Deputy Secretary Of Veterans Affairs

The deputy secretary of veterans affairs, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and national cemeteries for America’s veterans and their dependents.The deputy secretary is the second-highest-ranking officer in the Department and succeeds the secretary of veterans affairs in the event of his resignation, death, or otherwise inability to fulfill his duties.

The deputy secretary of veterans affairs is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The position was created with the creation of the Department of Veterans Affairs in October 1988.

Donald Remy is the current deputy secretary of veterans affairs since July 19, 2021.

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Office Of Veterans Affairs

Information concerning St. Louis City’s Office of Veterans Affairs and additional resource links.

The St. Louis City Department of Human Services, Office of Veterans Affairs serves in the role of an advocate, resource facilitator and information and referral source, for veterans and their family members, veterans re-entering the community and veterans who may be at risk often due to poverty, unemployment, homelessness, chemical dependency and mental illness. The primary goal of Veterans Affairs is to reunite veterans with their families and community.

The Department of Human Services OVA pursues public and private grant resources for direct assistance to veterans and their families and the Department of Human Services administers and coordinates funding and services for veterans such as employment, case management, housing assistance, transportation assistance, legal assistance for veterans and other supportive services.

Assistance is provided during scheduled office visits, in response to telephone inquiries, and through outreach activities. The OVA conducts outreach activities at mass feeding sites, correctional release centers, VA programs, community and veterans related events, accepts self referrals and accepts Walk In inquiries at the 1520 Market St, Room 4065 main office location. The OVA facilitates linkages for eligible veterans to services and benefits provided by the Veterans Administration and other area service providers.

About The Maryland Department Of Veterans Affairs

The Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs was created by the State Legislature in 1999 as an executive agency with the mission of assisting veterans, active duty service members, their families and dependents, in securing benefits earned through military service. The Departments origin follows the history of the Maryland Veterans Commission back to 1924, when the Soldiers Relief Fund Commission was formed to administer a State relief fund for disabled veterans of World War I.

Under the Department of Veterans Affairs are five major programs:

The Department is assisted by the Maryland Veterans Commission the Maryland Veterans Home Commission and the War Memorial Commission.

For a listing of our staff, please view the staff directory page.

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Department Of Veterans Affairs

The Federal Government is broken down into fifteen departments, each of which consists of a number of sub-departments and organizational groups tasked with accomplishing the Department’s overall goals.

The Department of Veterans Affairs serves to honor the men and women who have served in our nations armed forces and to assist veterans and their families. At its core, the VA is a military veterans benefits program. The VA was formally established in 1989, however the roll that the Department of Veterans Affairs serves has been around for much longer. After the American Revolutionary War pensions were provided to soldiers who were wounded. In 1834, the first federally owned and operated hospital for veterans was formed. Today the benefits program has been expanded to assist not just veterans but also their families.

Who does the Department of Veterans Affairs hire?

The VA primarily hires nurses, physicians, pharmacists and mental health professionals. These care givers fulfill the Veterans Affairs primary goal of offering superior medical care to our veterans. Because the VA handles sensitive electronic medical records for all their patients there are a large number of computer experts hired by the VA as well.

In 2021, the most common occupation employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs was at 80,839 employees. The second largest occupation was with 31,481 employees.

History of the Department of Veterans Affairs

Use Of Electronic Records

VHA is especially praised for its efforts in developing a low cost electronic medical records system which can be accessed remotely by health care providers. With this system, patients and nurses are given bar-coded wristbands, and all medications are bar-coded as well. Nurses are given wands, which they use to scan themselves, the patient, and the medication bottle before dispensing drugs. This helps prevent four of the most common dispensing errors: wrong med, wrong dose, wrong time, and wrong patient. The system, which has been adopted by all veterans’ hospitals and clinics and continuously improved by users, has cut the number of dispensing errors in half at some facilities and saved thousands of lives.

At some VHA medical facilities, doctors use wireless laptops, putting in information and getting electronic signatures for procedures. Doctors can call up patient records, order prescriptions, view X-rays or graph a chart of risk factors and medications to decide treatments. Patients have a home page that have boxes for allergies and medications, records every visit, call and note, and issues prompts reminding doctors to make routine checks. This technology has helped the VHA achieve cost controls and care quality that the majority of private providers cannot achieve.The ‘s research into developing better-functioning limbs, and treatment of are also heralded. The VHA has devoted many years of research into the health effects of the herbicide used by forces in .

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Hud Va Award Over $18 Million To 33 States To Provide Housing Assistance For Veteransvouchers Will Provide Housing For Veterans Experiencing Homelessness

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday awarded over $18 million in HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers to 103 Public Housing Agencies in 33 states across the country to support veterans experiencing homelessness. This round of allocations, announced during a press call with HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman and VA Deputy Secretary Donald Remy, will support 2,050 HUD-VASH vouchers nationally, bringing the total number of current HUD-VASH vouchers to 106,704.

A breakdown of the awards by recipient is available here.

The HUD-VASH program provides housing and an array of supportive services to veterans experiencing homelessness by combining rental assistance from HUD with case management and clinical services provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The HUD-VA Supportive Housing program has been a flagship of HUD and VAs effort to end veteran homelessness, said HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman. Since its inception, VASH has helped tens of thousands of veterans move from homelessness into permanent housing and receive supportive services along the way. With todays announcement, I am pleased that we are able to bring this proven solution to more veterans experiencing homelessness, particularly during the holiday season.

Consolidation Into Veterans Administration

Congress established a new system of veterans benefits when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Included were programs for disability compensation, insurance for service persons and veterans, and vocational rehabilitation for the disabled. The Veterans Bureau was established in August 1921, absorbing the War Risk Bureau and the Rehabilitation Division of the Federal Board for Vocational Education. In 1922, it gained a large number of veterans’ hospital facilities from the Public Health Service, most of which had been recently established on former U.S. Army bases.

By the 1920s, the various benefits were administered by three different federal agencies: the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The establishment of the Veterans Administration came in 1930 when Congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans”. The three component agencies became bureaus within the Veterans Administration. Brigadier GeneralFrank T. Hines, who directed the Veterans Bureau for seven years, was named as the first Administrator of Veterans Affairs, a job he held until 1945.

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The Case Could Determine If The Federal Government Can Be Held Liable For Systemic Prejudices That Disadvantaged Black Military Veterans And Their Descendants Advocates Say

The U.S. government has discriminated against countlessBlack military veterans dating backdecades, rejecting service-connected disability claims disproportionately compared to White applicants, and blocking access to housing and education benefits that helped fuel the rise of Americas middle class after World War II, a lawsuit filed Monday claims.

The suit was brought by Yale Law Schools Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran, Conley Monk Jr., whose applications for health care, home loans and education assistance were repeatedly turned away by the Department of Veterans Affairs,the court filing says. His advocates contend the case could help determine whether the federal government can be held liable for systemic prejudices that, over generations, have disadvantaged African Americans who served in the military and their families, potentially clearing a path for others to seek recompense.

The negligence of VA leadership, and their failure to train, supervise, monitor, and instruct agency officials to take steps to identify and correct racial disparities, led to systematic benefits obstruction for Black veterans, the complaint says. VA leaders knew or should have known and negligently failed to redress.

Monk said he wants to see equal treatment.

Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Discusses Mental Health

They failed to redress longstanding, pervasive race discrimination and disparate impacts of which they knew or should have known, the suit reads.

Adam Henderson, one of the Yale Law School student interns working on the case, said their legal team has three goals: obtaining reparations for Monk, getting Veterans Affairs to listen, and creating a better legal pathway for other Black veterans to get justice.

We hope that going forward, there wont be another generation of veterans who are subjected to the same system, Henderson said.

In a statement, Veterans Affairs press secretary Terrence Hayes acknowledged the unacceptable disparities in both VA benefits decisions and military discharge status due to racism adding that the department is studying the role race plays in benefits decisions and that results will be published as soon as they are available.

We are actively working to right these wrongs, he said. We are taking steps to ensure that our claims process combats institutional racism, rather than perpetuating it.

At a press conference Monday after the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., spoke to the disproportionate denial of benefits for Black veterans and called for answers.

We know the results, he said. We want to know the reason why.

Henderson, though, said that theres still much to be done.

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Congressional And Legislative Affairs

The mission of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs is to improve the lives of Veterans and their families by advancing pro-Veteran legislation and maintaining responsive and effective communications with Congress. OCLA coordinates the Departments activities with Congress. It is the Departments focal point for interactions and engagements with Members of Congress, authorization committees, and personal staff. Additionally, the Office is the Departments liaison with the Government Accountability Office .

This Agency’s Goals Progress And Results

Read the key documents that describe what this agency wants to achieve, its performance to date, and what it plans to learn through research and evaluation

To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise, To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.

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Center For Women Veterans

The Center for Women Veterans was established within the Department of Veterans Affairs by Public Law 103-446 in November 1994. The Center’s mission is to:

• Monitor and coordinate the VA’s delivery of health care, benefits, and programs for women veterans
• Advocate for cultural transformation in recognizing the service and contributions of women veterans and women in the military
• Raise awareness of the responsibility to treat women veterans with dignity and respect.

Public Affairs / News Media

Contact the nearest regional Office of Public Affairs: Atlanta Chicago Dallas Denver Los Angeles New York or Washington, DC . Representatives of the national media may prefer contacting the Office of Public Affairs in the VA Central Office, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420. Phone, 202-461-7400.

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Questions About The Department Of Veterans Affairs

How can I contact the Department of Veteran Affairs? Department of Veterans Affairs Website:

The VA has toll free numbers for the convenience of veterans and dependents.

Benefits Information 1-800-827-1000

National Center for Homeless Veterans 1-877-424-3838

Sexual Trauma Hotline 1-800-827-1000

Tele. Dev. for Deaf 1-800-829-4833

Veterans Choice Program 1-866-606-8198

Veterans Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255

What is the difference between disability compensation and disability pension?

• Disability Compensation: A monthly monetary benefit paid to veterans who are disabled by injury or disease incurred in or aggravated during military service.
• Disability Pension: A monetary benefit paid to veterans of a period of war who are permanently and totally disabled for reasons not the result of their own willful misconduct and not related to their military service. This benefit is income-dependent.

What are the types of VA Claims?

There are Four Types of claims:

How do I get a copy of my military records?For copies of your military service records you may contact:

National Personnel Records Center St. Louis, MO 63138 P: 314-801-0800, F: 314-801-9195

You can also find out the status of your records by phone at the following numbers:

• Air Force Records: 538-4243 for service during 1964-Present 1947 – 1963
• Air Force Records: 538-4261 for service during 1947-1963
• Army Records: 538-4261 for service during 19121959
• Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Records: 538-4141