New Jersey’s military and veterans leaders defend FY2026 budget, tout home reforms and guard readiness

Brigadier General Yvonne Mays, New Jersey’s adjutant general and commissioner of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, told the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee on May 8 that the department’s FY2026 request will sustain recent gains in veterans care, support National Guard readiness and continue efforts to reduce veteran homelessness.

Mays opened by citing independent inspections and oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the New Jersey Department of Health that validated improvements at the state’s three veterans memorial homes. "Four consecutive surveys or inspections of Menlo Park resulted in 0 clinical deficiencies," she said. She added that Vineland and Paramus achieved top ratings in national comparisons.

The department credited legislative support and internal reforms for the improvements. Mays said the homes are intentionally operating at lower censuses to favor single-occupancy conversions and stronger patient-to-staff ratios that emerged from long-term-care reforms. "We are sufficiently staffed," she said, adding that the conversion work is at 100% design and awaiting the federal VA’s award of its 65% share before renovations proceed concurrently.

Mays provided facility-level counts and waiting-list figures during questioning. She said Paramus was carrying roughly 194–201 residents, Menlo Park about 104, and Vineland about 230. Waiting lists reported by department staff were: Paramus 77, Menlo Park 53 and Vineland 301. Mays cautioned that some individuals on waiting lists had deferred admission, and that the lists can be “deceptively long” because people sign up before they need services.

Committee members asked whether converting double-occupancy dorm-style rooms to single rooms would reduce total capacity and create unmet need. Mays said the conversions are intended to improve infection control and quality of life; she acknowledged the trade-offs and called further capacity planning a priority. "What I can do is commit to you that we go back as a team ... and have that discussion," she said, offering to return with planning details in the coming months.

On oversight, Mays confirmed the consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice remains in effect but described the relationship with federal monitors as collaborative. She listed reforms under way, including electronic medical records, outbreak response updates, staff retraining, leadership changes and salary increases to stabilize recruitment. "It is an ongoing, and iterative process that we know we will never finish," she said.

Mays also reviewed broader department achievements and operational tempo. The department reported more than 70,000 direct contacts and roughly 4,300 VA claims assisted in fiscal year 2025, and said it secured more than $86 million in initial federal benefits for veterans and survivors through March of that fiscal year. At the state’s William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the department entered more than 2,500 individuals and secured more than $17 million in federal grants to construct a 5,000-niche columbarium and develop 14 new acres.

On National Guard readiness, Mays told senators that the 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s recent deployment — more than 1,500 soldiers — was the state’s largest since 2008 and that other units continue to support overseas missions. She highlighted $7 million in federal military construction funds for the 177th Fighter Wing and said New Jersey’s air and cyber units are expanding operational capability.

Senators pressed for clarity on capital funding cited in committee materials. Mays said some federal MILCON funding covers Newark readiness-center upgrades and a Vineland maintenance facility. Because many facilities are not yet built, she said there is not yet a request for ongoing operating funds tied to those projects; the department offered to provide detailed follow-up through the committee chair.

The committee closed with lawmakers urging DAMAVA to outline longer-term capacity needs and, if necessary, request additional state support to prime federal matches for future construction. Mays and her senior team thanked the committee for its support and said they would return with more granular data on waiting lists, planned conversions and any operating-cost impacts when projects reach a construction phase.