To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Linda Haley, Senior Resources Division Manager, Community Resources; Katherine Smith, Director, Community Resources
Prepared By:
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Joshua Medina, Veteran Services Office Supervisor, Community Resources
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presenter
Presenter: Joshua Medina, Veteran Services Office Supervisor, Community Resources
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Subject:
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1:00 PM *Veteran Services Office Updates and Direction
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this study session is to provide information to the board and to seek direction regarding the future activities of our Veteran Services Office.
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Background:
The Veteran Services Office is currently staffed with three full time Veteran Service Officers (VSO) and a part time Business Associate who provides office support, resources, and referrals. We currently receive support from the State of Colorado in the amount of $29,400 per year, have an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Aurora and Adams County to cover 50% of the cost on one VSO, and the remainder of the office is supported by Arapahoe County General Funds.
Arapahoe County Veteran Facts:
• We have 42,619 Veterans in the county
• We are the 2nd largest county in the state by veteran count, however only 6% of our population are veterans.
• 62.5% of our veterans are under the age of 65.
• 13% of our veterans are female compared to the national average of 10%.
• 12% of homes in the state of Colorado have a Veteran head of Household and 75% of these are homeowners.
• 10% of our companies are veteran owned.
Discussion:
Our office has seen tremendous change in the last year and a half with Covid, a complete change in staff and many process improvements made by the VA. Though our county has always been a leader in
Veteran Services, there is incredible opportunity to continue to improve our services and leverage the community of support that Arapahoe County has to serve our veterans. We want to take this opportunity to introduce you to our new team and review future recommendations for our office.
New Team Introductions
Eric Winterrowd- Eric is an Army veteran and a former officer in charge of recruiting here in Denver and is our VSO in our Aurora Office.
Dave Girard- Dave was a Marine and was on the competitive rifle team while in service. He went on to lead in the civilian IT sector and ran international operations for J.D. Edwards and Ciber Inc. before finding a passion in retirement for helping veterans and deciding to come work fulltime for us.
Christy Bougie- Christy comes to us from insurance underwriting where she formerly led an office of underwriters, working in claims and currently a .6 FTE employee maintaining our front of house and developing community resources to assist veterans with all needs other than claims.
Josh Medina- Josh came to this position from the great state of Arkansas where he was the Director of Veterans Services for Washington County.
Opportunities to Increase Scope of Services
As Veteran Services, we have a unique opportunity to serve our client population. Veterans will typically reach out to us long before they reach out for other community services. The bond that veterans share allows us to be a safe place for a veteran to seek help. Not all of our veterans are in crisis but most have unmet needs in their lives. Veterans are typically unaware of the vast array of services available to them. They typically reach out to us for one of two reasons:
1. They are already receiving money from the VA and are seeking a potential financial increase.
2. They are seeking the comfort and comradery that surrounds the veteran community. It is easier to reach out to a brother or sister than to feel the self-inflicted stigma of reaching out for public assistance.
We are beginning to incorporate an understanding of the needs in veteran communities across the county and particularly within the Aurora community. We have implemented changes thus far that we believe will lead us in a positive direction including:
• Providing the benefits brief to the Buckley Transition Assistance Program.
• Participating in Aurora Veterans Court Staffing.
• Opening an Aurora location.
With these in mind, we see substantial opportunity to improve our positioning with our veterans by making a few changes that will not have any negative fiscal impact on our organization but can make a tremendous positive effect on veterans’ lives. To do this we seek to:
• Shift our core strategy to taking a more holistic approach to serving our veterans.
• Work with Communications Services to update our Mission, Vision, and Values in the context of County Goals and develop a community engagement plan.
• Become more cognizant of serving the veterans where they are.
• Seek opportunities to increase access through technology.
• Develop a long-range plan to increase our presence and services in Aurora where the majority of veterans reside.
• Strengthen community relationships and increase service offerings including:
o Providing classes/ workshops through our community and County relationships.
o Increasing partnerships that will support warm hand-offs in areas such as mental health, peer support, employment services, etc.
o Pursuing alternate funding sources such as foundational support and grants to continue to increase our service offerings without a financial impact to the county.
Intergovernmental Agreement with Aurora and Adams County.
In 2020 we entered into an IGA with the City of Aurora and Adams County which provides support for 50% of the cost of one VSO and computer equipment. We have had one full time VSO located in Aurora at Altura Plaza since December 2020.
• 50% of our population lives in Aurora and the IGA is an important aspect of serving there.
• The Current IGA includes 99% of Aurora’s Population.
• Colorado Statutes dictates that we serve all veterans that walk through our doors.
o In March and April, 22-23% of Veterans who come through our door in Aurora resided outside of Arapahoe County. The majority of these veterans reside in Denver County.
o Denver County currently employs 1 unaccredited service officer.
o Denver County boundaries are approximately 2 miles from our office.
• 12% of the Aurora Population lives in Adams County but fewer than 1% of our claims have been Adams County Veterans.
• Within 2 miles of our office there are the VA hospital, Veterans Home, Coalition for the Homeless’ Renaissance Veterans Apartments, and Aurora’s only homeless shelter; all housed just over the Adams County Line.
We believe that our Aurora office and an increased presence in Aurora provides us with the unique opportunity to serve the veterans in this intersecting hub of three communities for the following reasons:
• Our office currently has a claims success rate of 67% as compared to the overall success rate of 33.8% for veteran claims as a whole.
• The average favorable finding is bringing in an additional $11,489.21 per veteran in their initial year. In most cases this represents a residual cash flow that veteran will have for the rest of their lives.
• All of these increases are achieved by providing greater claims efficiency.
Fiscal Impact:
The items in discussion today are predominantly conversational, procedural, and strategic changes that we hope to implement with no impact to the fiscal budget. Including Denver in the IGA would have a positive fiscal impact.
Alternatives: The alternative would be to continue operating with a more singular mission of just providing claims assistance.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☒Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Senior Resources and Community Resources staff support these recommendations.
Concurrence: N/A