| FUND: GENERAL |
HUMAN SERVICES |
Alice Oliver, Manager Workforce Development
John J. Weibel, Veterans Service Officer
Chapter 45 of the Wisconsin State Statutes requires the presence of a Veterans Service Office in each of the State's 72 counties. The State contributes an annual grant of $13,000 towards the Service Office budget, with the balance of required funding coming from the County.
The office assists all eligible ex-servicemen and women and their dependents in securing any aid or benefits that may be due to them under Federal or State law because of their service in the armed forces of the United States. Benefits include: health care, home loans, burial, insurance, disability compensation, pension, personal debt consolidation loans, emergency subsistence aid grants and food vouchers, along with educational grants and loans. The staff assists in locating military or medical records and in arranging transportation to the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.
We maintain a full time office at the Racine County Service Building (Work Force Development Center) and a twice-monthly office at the Western Racine County Service Center in Burlington. We also offer home visits to shut-ins.
This office maintains an active presence in local veterans' activities including parades, holiday ceremonies and educational and fraternal events.
Efforts in 2002 to enroll veterans in the VA's Health Care Network were successful to the point of overloading the VA's local delivery system. Recent statistics indicate 3,400 of our county's 17,000 vets are now signed up for VA Health Care.
Another indication of increased service to our vets is the fact that Federal VA disability in Racine increased to $14.3 million - up $1.3 million from 2001; and Federal VA Home loans increased $6.3 million to reach $27.9 million.
Wisconsin Dept of Veterans Affairs spending stayed fairly steady at $1.8 million, although it has decreased since 2001. The popularity of their loan programs is largely determined by prevailing interest rates.
The increased visibility gained in our move to the WFDC coupled with an ever-increasing death rate among our WWII veterans has resulted in a growing work load which we will meet with the resources already on hand.
