General for Elders

What are vocational rehabilitation benefits?

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides services for qualified veterans with service-connected disabilities who need assistance to become suitably employed or to maintain employment or who need assistance or training in order to become independent in daily living.

The services provided may include counseling, as well as education and specialized training. 

Which veterans are qualified?

In order to qualify for the program, the veteran must either have, or will receive, an honorable or other than dishonorable discharge, have more than a 10% service-connected disability rating, and must apply for vocational rehabilitation services.

Generally, the veteran must apply for the vocational rehabilitation within 12 years from the separation from active duty, or from the date the veteran was first notified of a service-connected disability rating.

Once the veteran applies, a VA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor provides a Comprehensive Evaluation, which assesses the veteran’s interests, aptitudes and abilities to determine whether the veteran is entitled to the vocational rehabilitation services and whether the service-connected disability impairs the veterans ability to find or hold a job with the skills the veteran already has.

The Department of Veterans Affairs administers many benefits to veterans and their spouses and families, but some benefits are available only to those who are classified as “Service-Connected” veterans.

Service-connected means that the veteran was injured or developed or contracted a disease or aggravated a pre-existing injury or disease while he or she was on active duty with one of the branches of service – the Navy, the Army, the Marines, the Air Force or the Coast Guard, or their Reserve Components- and that the injury or disease caused a present disability.   Some disabilities or diseases are presumed to have been caused by the veteran’s service if he or she develops the disease or becomes disabled after leaving the service.  We will discuss presumed service connection in a later post.

Some benefits available to service-connected veterans are financial, and the VA pays the veteran a certain amount of money each month based on the level of disability.

If so... 

Who pays what?  Do I need insurance if I’m eligible for VA healthcare?

You’ve been approved for VA Pension or Compensation, and you will be receiving healthcare and prescription drugs at the VA facility.  You also have Medicare part B and Medicare part D.

Part 2:    Proving Injury in Service

Once you’ve proven you are a veteran, how do you prove that your current disability was caused by something that happened to you in the service?

The VA can pay compensation for a condition that was incurred in service, for a condition that existed before entry into service that was aggravated during service, or for a disability related to a disease that is statutorily presumed to be related to service.

If you were injured or contracted a disease while in the service, and you are currently suffering from a disability, you have to prove that the injury or disease occurred while you were in the service, that there was medical evidence of your injury or disease while you were in service, and you must provide medical evidence that you are currently disabled.  There should be some evidence in your military records that an incident occurred, or that you contracted a disease while you were in the service.  If there is no evidence of the incident in your record, you can use your own statement and or statements of those who were with you when the incident happened to prove that you were injured.  Then, the VA may be required to get your military healthcare records from military hospitals and doctors that show that you were treated for an injury while you were in service.

Part 1:  How Do I Prove I Am A Veteran?

When a member of the armed services leaves the military and then later develops a disability, what do they have to do to prove the disability was caused by their services?

There are three things that the veteran must prove in order to receive a decision that the disability is service-connected, which could entitle them to “compensation” from the VA.

1^st, they have to prove that they are a veteran.  2^nd they have to show that they have a disability and 3^rd they have to show that the disability is most likely related to something that happened while they were in the service.

A veteran “means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.” 38 C.

Although it may seem that defining a military veteran should be easy, the term “veteran” may be defined differently depending on the calendar years the person served in the military, whether the person was in the Reserves or National Guard, and it may be defined differently based upon the programs or benefits the person is seeking.

The basic definition of a veteran is “a person who served in the active military, naval or air service, and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. 

The first prong in the definition, then, requires “active service.”  So, what is “active service”?

According to the VA’s manual, active service includes “active duty” defined as full-time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training.  In addition, active duty includes any period of active duty for training in which the individual became disabled or died from an injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; or from an acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, or cerebrovascular accident occurring during such training.

Survivor’s Benefit – DIC

Mary’s husband was rated 100% service-connected for a cancer related to Agent Orange exposure.  After receiving Compensation for a number of years, Mary’s husband dies of the cancer.  Mary is 76, and is no longer able to care for herself in her home. She can no longer bathe or dress herself, and she needs someone to manage her medications.

What benefits are available to Mary?  What about other surviving spouses or dependent children of veterans?

There are two monetary benefits available to the surviving spouses or dependent children of veterans.

Is there any connection between diseases or disabilities that show up after a veteran has been released from service?

If a veteran is discharged from service, and then develops a chronic, tropical, prisoner-of-war related disease, or a disease associated with exposure to an herbal agent, which manifests itself to a compensable degree (generally 10%) within a specified period after discharge from service, it is possible that he/she may receive a service-connected disability rating and compensation for that disability.   There is a whole laundry list of chronic diseases that, even if there is no evidence the veteran had symptoms while in service, are presumed to have been caused by their service.  If those diseases cause the veteran to be disabled – to lose some ability to earn money- the VA will award a monetary amount based on that disability.

The presumption means that the veteran does not have to provide proof that the disease was incurred in the service, as long as the disease shows up within a certain period of time, which may be different for different diseases.  That period of time is called the presumptive period.

The death of a veteran is always a difficult time for the family, but there are some benefits available to the veteran’s family that might make his or her death a little less financially difficult.  Veterans who were discharged under other than dishonorable conditions are eligible for burial in a VA cemetery, a burial flag, and may be eligible for a one-time burial allowance, a funeral expense and a plot interment allowance.

Although the veteran cannot reserve a space, a veteran can be buried in one of the 131 national cemeteries located in 39 of the states the U.S.  and in Puerto Rico if there is space in the cemetery.

GUEST BLOGGER JOBI TYSON

According to a 2013 study by the National Institutes of Health, “A little exercise and some mental stimulation may go a long way toward helping senior citizens stay sharp.” Researchers found the memory and thinking skills of 126 inactive older adults improved after they were assigned daily activities designed to engage their brains and their bodies. 

Therefore, making small changes in physical and mental activity leads to positive changes in memory and thinking skills and great results for the mind, body, and spirit. 

MIND: Seniors can keep their mind sharp with games such as word search, dominoes, Scrabble, learning a new language, learning to play an instrument, interacting with others, engaging with younger generation, and/or learning new technology. Experts suggest the following: 

• Attend lectures and plays 
• Read, write, work crossword or other puzzles 
• Stay curious and involved — explore a lifelong interest 
• Garden work 
• Memory exercises
• Enroll in courses at a local adult education center, community college or other community group 

BODY: Physical activity is one of the most important steps older adults can take to maintain physical and mental health and quality of life.