Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State veterans affairs officer briefs Johnson County on new accreditation rules for county service officers
Summary
A State of Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs district officer told Johnson County commissioners about new statutory accreditation and performance requirements for county veteran service officers, including mandatory electronic claims management, minimum office hours and required training.
Ron Higgins, Southeast District service officer for the State of Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, told Johnson County commissioners on Jan. 26 that recent state law establishes formal accreditation and operational requirements for county veteran service officers.
Higgins said the statute (read in the presentation as Indiana Code 10-17-9-1) sets uniform rules for CVSOs who help veterans apply for benefits. He listed requirements that included use of the state claims management system, completion of intake logs and substantive interaction records, maintenance of privacy and security standards, and outreach and data-entry obligations. "Any accredited service officers, they must, maintain compliance with the policy in order to, represent the veterans of the state of Indiana," Higgins said.
The presentation called out a set of practical obligations for county offices: maintain at least 1,000 office hours per year (about 20 hours per week), post office hours at the office and on the department website, provide private office space and Internet connectivity for electronic applications, maintain a PIB card to access federal veteran records, attend annual Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs training and semiannual district meetings, and complete online training and proficiency examinations. "The new CVSOs are required to reach out to us within 30 days and, have the proper orientation," Higgins said.
Commissioners thanked Higgins and noted Johnson County's veteran service officers are already compliant, with one commissioner saying the county was "a 100% in compliance before this law even happened." Another commissioner asked Higgins to confirm the statutory citation; Higgins acknowledged the written law was available and the board discussed a minor transposition in the digits used during the reading.
The briefing did not include a formal action by the board; Higgins said the Department will perform more performance-type evaluations going forward and that CVSOs should expect enhanced data reporting and outreach expectations under the new requirements.
