Veterans' Affairs, Division of

Agency Web Site: http://veterans.ny.gov/

Mission

The core mission of the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) is to link veterans, members of the armed forces, and their families and dependents, to various personal, medical, and financial benefits available to them as the result of active duty military service. DVA’s professional counseling staff prepares, presents and prosecutes claims, including applications for monthly compensation and pension awards, education benefits, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation training, health care, nursing home care, tax exemptions and other services.

Organization and Staffing

DVA is led by a Director. DVA’s workforce primarily consists of Veterans' Benefit Advisors located in all state regions to allow veterans better access to services. DVA is hosted by the Office of General Services, which provides administrative, budgetary and human resources functions.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2019 Executive Budget recommends $19.1 million for DVA. This represents a $1.6 million net decrease in funding from FY 2018, which reflects the elimination of legislative adds and increased appropriation authority to fully support implementation of the agency's new data management system. The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 98 Full-time Employees, unchanged from FY 2018 levels.

Program Highlights

The New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs will become the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services, which differentiates the agency from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs. This measure reduces the confusion that arises from the closely related agency names.

Blind Veteran Annuity Assistance Program

The Blind Veteran Annuity Assistance Program provides annuities to legally blind veterans and eligible surviving spouses.

Veterans' Counseling Services Program

The Veterans’ Counseling Services Program offers advocacy and assistance services to veterans to secure and maintain Federal Veterans’ Affairs benefits.

New or expanded Veterans’ Counseling Services initiatives include the following:

The Access to Justice initiative will be expanded by offering current grant recipients the chance to renew the Justice for Heroes grants for the next two years. This proposal reinforces the State’s commitment to addressing the unmet legal needs of the New York veteran population.
A proposal to prevent financial exploitation of veterans and their families will reduce pension poaching by implementing new disclosure requirements for businesses that advertise fee-based services for the filing of claims and appeals for Veterans’ Affairs Benefits.

Veterans' Education Program

The Veterans’ Education Program staff investigates and approves educational programs on behalf of veterans who qualify for these benefits.

ALL FUNDS
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Category	Available FY 2018	Appropriations Recommended FY 2019	Change From FY 2018	Reappropriations Recommended FY 2019
State Operations	8,317,000	8,447,000	130,000	5,149,000
Aid To Localities	12,401,000	10,656,000	(1,745,000)	9,665,000
Total	20,718,000	19,103,000	(1,615,000)	14,814,000

ALL FUND TYPES
PROJECTED LEVELS OF EMPLOYMENT BY PROGRAM
FILLED ANNUAL SALARIED POSITIONS
Program	FY 2018 Estimated FTEs 03/31/18	FY 2019 Estimated FTEs 03/31/19	FTE Change
Administration
General Fund	4	4	0
Veterans Counseling Services
General Fund	86	86	0
Veterans Education
Special Revenue Funds - Federal	8	8	0
Total	98	98	0

STATE OPERATIONS
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY FUND TYPE
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Fund Type	Available FY 2018	Recommended FY 2019	Change
General Fund	6,292,000	6,422,000	130,000
Special Revenue Funds - Federal	2,025,000	2,025,000	0
Total	8,317,000	8,447,000	130,000

STATE OPERATIONS
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY PROGRAM
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Program	Available FY 2018	Recommended FY 2019	Change
Administration
General Fund	480,000	480,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services
General Fund	5,812,000	5,942,000	130,000
Veterans Education
Special Revenue Funds - Federal	2,025,000	2,025,000	0
Total	8,317,000	8,447,000	130,000

STATE OPERATIONS - GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF PERSONAL SERVICE APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED
(dollars)
Program	Total		Personal Service Regular (Annual Salaried)
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Administration	367,000	0	367,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services	5,504,000	0	5,481,000	0
Total	5,871,000	0	5,848,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF PERSONAL SERVICE APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED CONTINUED
(dollars)
Program	Temporary Service (Nonannual Salaried)		Holiday/Overtime Pay
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Veterans Counseling Services	0	0	23,000	0
Total	0	0	23,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF NONPERSONAL SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE UNDISTRIBUTED
APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED
(dollars)
Program	Total		Supplies and Materials
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Administration	113,000	0	10,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services	438,000	130,000	63,000	0
Total	551,000	130,000	73,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF NONPERSONAL SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE UNDISTRIBUTED
APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED CONTINUED
(dollars)
Program	Travel		Contractual Services
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Administration	14,000	0	70,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services	104,000	0	181,000	130,000
Total	118,000	0	251,000	130,000

STATE OPERATIONS - GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF NONPERSONAL SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE UNDISTRIBUTED
APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED CONTINUED
(dollars)
Program	Equipment
Program	Amount	Change
Administration	19,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services	90,000	0
Total	109,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - OTHER THAN GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED
(dollars)
Program	Total		Personal Service
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Veterans Education	2,025,000	0	1,199,000	0
Total	2,025,000	0	1,199,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - OTHER THAN GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2019 RECOMMENDED CONTINUED
(dollars)
Program	Nonpersonal Service
Program	Amount	Change
Veterans Education	826,000	0
Total	826,000	0

AID TO LOCALITIES
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY FUND TYPE
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Fund Type	Available FY 2018	Recommended FY 2019	Change
General Fund	11,901,000	10,156,000	(1,745,000)
Special Revenue Funds - Federal	500,000	500,000	0
Total	12,401,000	10,656,000	(1,745,000)

AID TO LOCALITIES
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY PROGRAM
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Program	Available FY 2018	Recommended FY 2019	Change
Administration
General Fund	999,000	999,000	0
Blind Veteran Annuity Assistance
General Fund	6,380,000	6,380,000	0
Veterans Counseling Services
General Fund	4,522,000	2,777,000	(1,745,000)
Special Revenue Funds - Federal	500,000	500,000	0
Total	12,401,000	10,656,000	(1,745,000)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/16/2018

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