13-R152
2013 -- S 0583
Enacted 03/20/13
S E N A T E R E
S O L U T I O N
RESPECTFULLY
REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND ITS
DIVISION OF
VETERANS' AFFAIRS TO STUDY VARIOUS PROGRAMS AIMED AT
INCREASING
VETERANS' ACCESS TO SERVICES
Introduced By: Senators Bates, Pichardo, Ottiano, Pearson, and Jabour
Date Introduced: February 28, 2013
WHEREAS, Since 2001, over two million American military personnel
have been
deployed to
WHEREAS, Rhode Island,
along with the rest of the country, is witnessing the return of
our mothers and fathers, husbands and wives and sons and
daughters from the field of battle; and
WHEREAS, Rhode Island,
despite its small size, has borne a significant share of sacrifice
in these recent conflicts; and
WHEREAS, The call back rate of the state's own National Guard to
active duty status is
the second highest in the entire
WHEREAS, The number of veterans living in
is three times higher than the national per capita
average, and is expected to grow as troops begin
to withdraw from
WHEREAS, The fundamental freedoms enjoyed by all citizens of our
state and these
United States are insured in no small part through the
honorable service of our nation's military
veterans and,
WHEREAS, The people of the state have a deep debt of gratitude for
the sacrifices made
by these men and women who as combat veterans placed
their lives in harm's way to protect and
defend our nation from all foreign enemies and terrorist
threats; and
WHEREAS, In order to
ensure that these men and women upon returning to our state
may resume their education, personal growth, and career development
throughout our state
without delay,
ways that not only meet, but exceed, the expectations of
our veterans and their families; now
therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
respectfully requests that the Department of Human Services and
its Division of Veterans' Affairs
as part of its ongoing Veterans' Services Strategic Plan
study implementing the following
recommendations so as to improve veterans' access to benefits:
1.
Create a State "Veterans' Transition Team" composed of community and
state agencies
involved in veterans services, to better coordinate, leverage,
and ultimately improve services to
ease both short and long-term transitions for
improving access to employment, healthcare, education, housing,
and job training.
2.
Designate a State Veterans' Ombudsperson within the Division, tasked with the
overall
coordination of statewide services for veterans and authorized to
facilitate rapid resolution of
issues faced by veterans.
3.
Identify centrally located easily accessible "Veterans Benefits
Coordination and
Outreach Counselors"
to provide ongoing outreach to individual veterans to facilitate receipt of
needed and coordinated services.
4.
Streamline the State Medicaid process for veterans who have applied for and
received
Medicaid
in other states, granting reciprocity, whenever possible.
5.
Seek additional funding for a "Veteran's Benefits Pocket Guide" as
well as a "Veterans'
Online Resource
Application"; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized
and directed to
transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode
Island Division of Veterans Affairs.
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LC01882
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