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Veterans services seeks staffing changes and faces Build America, Buy America delays for home rebuilds
Summary
The Division of Veteran Services outlined FY2026 requests to shift some contracted nursing work to state temporary benefited positions, described high turnover and hiring challenges, and reported federal delays on federally funded Boise and Lewiston veterans home projects tied to Build America, Buy America waivers.
The Finance committee heard the Idaho Division of Veteran Services describe efforts to reduce reliance on higher‑cost contracted nursing staff, staffing challenges across state veterans homes, and federal delays tied to Build America, Buy America compliance for home reconstruction projects.
Frances Lippett presented the division's appropriation history and noted the Department had large federal awards for state home grants in FY2024, but the division has not yet received those funds in part because of difficulty securing a waiver under the Build America, Buy America Act. The grants relate to rebuilding the Boise home and renovating the Lewiston home.
Mark Shampel, chief administrator for the Division of Veteran Services, told the committee the division requests a net transfer of $1,200,000 from operating to personnel for FY2026 to create a temporary nursing pool of about 22 temporary benefited state employees. Shampel said the pool is intended to reduce the division’s reliance on contract nursing, which the division estimates costs about three times more than state staff. He described the pool as a pilot intended to shift roughly one‑third of current contracted work into state positions if recruitment succeeds.
On staffing, Lippett reported the division had a 35% turnover rate for skilled nursing staff in FY2024. Administrator Shampel said the division conducts geographic market analyses and attempts to keep wages competitive; he said Idaho’s turnover rate compares favorably to national averages and that the shortage is a supply‑side problem. "For us to hire another nurse, we have to steal that nurse from somewhere else. Because there just aren't enough of them," Shampel said.
Shampel also described the Build America, Buy America compliance problem. He told the committee the federal Veterans Affairs funding covers 65% of construction costs for state homes with 35% state match, but the federal agency requires compliance with the Build America, Buy America Act and has been reluctant to grant waivers. "We've literally been fighting with them for over the last year to try and get, a waiver," he said, adding the division has documented inability to purchase many components from U.S. sources.
Other items in the FY2026 request summarized by Lippett include $120,600 ongoing for IT maintenance and licensing recommended by ITS, $588,400 one‑time (including a shed and equipment at Post Falls and a dump truck for Boise Veterans Cemetery), and $354,700 for replacement items (vehicles, medical equipment, kitchen appliances, building equipment). The governor recommended the requested enhancements.
Shampel closed by highlighting the division’s operational activity, including a record 13,000 claims filed by the Office of Veterans Advocacy and the division’s efforts to expand cemetery capacity. No committee vote was recorded at the presentation.
