Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Massachusetts is considered a leader when it comes to services for veterans, from support in accessing federal benefits to extensive state and local programs, including financial assistance, employment services, and medical care.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan come to a close and more service men and women return home, municipalities are re-examining the role they play in ensuring the best possible care for veterans.
In Massachusetts, unlike any other state, the majority of the guidance and support for veterans happens at the local level and is provided to any eligible veteran living in the community.
State law (Ch. 115) requires every city and town to employ a veterans’ services officer to manage outreach and services to veterans. Communities with a population of more than 12,000 must have a full-time veterans’ services officer or be a member of an approved district. Those with populations under 12,000 must be part of a district or have a part-time officer. The municipality pays the cost of the veterans’ services officer, while the cost of services (housing, food, medical care, etc.) is split 75 percent/25 percent between the state and the municipality.
While local officials are committed to providing excellent services for veterans, many believe that more flexibility and less financial burden would go a long way in creating an even more comprehensive array of services.
Some communities with more 12,000 residents but few veterans would like to use a combination of in-house staff to service their small caseload.
With just 12 active cases, Lexington, for example, is taking a holistic approach to veterans services. In a letter to the editor published in The Boston Globe on Nov. 29, Town Manager Carl Valente wrote, “Lexington has successfully taken a case management approach in helping veterans and their families, teaming a part-time veterans’ services officer with licensed social workers and nurses in the human services department.” He said the state should not be tied to a “century-old” model for providing services.
Currently, cities and towns pay 100 percent of the cost of benefits to veterans and are reimbursed 75 percent on the next Cherry Sheet. This lag time, sometimes as long as one and a half fiscal years, presents a challenge, particularly for smaller communities.
Hatfield, for example, with a population of 3,300 residents, has a larger-than-average caseload of 11 veterans. The upfront costs and lag time for reimbursement create a cash flow problem for the town.
“We love supporting our veterans,” said Hatfield Town Administrator Jeff Ritter. “But the rapid increase in locally paid veterans’ benefits is having a serious negative side effect on limited town budgets. … We find ourselves in the unfortunate position of cutting vital local services in order to fund the required front-end-load of monthly benefits.”
He said a change in the payment structure (up-front payment from the state) would ease the financial burden for communities and allow time and resources to be focused on servicing veterans.