Veterans service director says VA funding formulas now use projections, requests board help

Laura Moore, Jefferson County Veterans Service Office, delivered the office's annual update, reviewing how VA expenditures are reported under the Government Data Exchange (GDX) and how that affects local funding. Moore told the board that for the 2024 GDX the VA split direct and indirect expenditures differently and did not publish county veteran population counts in the same way the county has previously relied on for funding calculations.

Moore said she raised the issue with ODVA because the state and county funding formulas have historically used current veteran counts rather than projections. "I don't feel they should be using future projection numbers," Moore said, explaining that the county's funding is based on the veteran population at the time the VA reported it and that using long‑range projections could undercount current need.

She reviewed service activity and outcomes: the office holds roughly 2,048 veteran files, provides outreach (in‑office and remote interviews), and manages claims and appeals up to the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Moore flagged operational challenges from the federal government shutdown (national archives closures slowing record retrieval) and user‑interface confusion with the VA mobile app that leads veterans to expect faster claim decisions than the system's background processes allow.

Why it matters: shifts in federal reporting and funding methodology could affect county allocations for veteran services. Moore has escalated the concern to ODVA and said she may ask the board to advocate for a change if the state or VA continue to use projections rather than contemporaneous population counts.