HEALTH CARE NEWS - TASK FORCE REPORT DELIVERED TO DoD

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently received the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health's results and forwarded them to the Congress. The department will have six months to develop and implement a corrective action plan. Significant findings include: (1) mental health care stigma remains pervasive and is a significant barrier to care; (2) mental health professionals are not sufficiently accessible to service members and their families; (3) the military system does not have enough resources, funding or personnel to adequately support the psychological health of service members and their families. The entire report can be viewed in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the health affairs web site.

VET BENEFITS NEW YORK

Source: Press & Sun Bulletin article, July 2, 2007

The New York Legislature recently passed several measures to provide assistance to veterans and their families, according to Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Women Veterans:* New York Military Family Relief Fund: Provides grants of up to $2,000 annually to members of the National Guard and their families if their military pay is 30% less than their civilian pay. Also provides monetary grants for those who sustained injury or died.

* Veterans' Geriatric Mental Health Act: Creates a demonstration program for older veterans and provides grants to mental health service providers. Also, establishes an interagency mental health planning council.

* Veteran Burial Fund: Provides grants to honorably discharged New York veterans who would like to be buried or interned in their own communities, rather than in a veterans' cemetery.

* Gold Star Parents Annuity: Awards a $500 annual annuity to gold star parents of deceased veterans.

* Eligibility for Veterans Homes: expands the eligibility for admission for veterans' spouses to conform to federal requirements that the marriage must have lasted for one year, rather than 10 years, prior to the spouse's application for admission.

The legislation awaits approval by Governor Eliot Spitzer. For additional information on New York state's veteran benefits refer to http://www.veterans.state.ny.us/benefits.htm.

To locate a New York VA office in your area, refer to http://www.veterans.state.ny.us/ofcs.htm.

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