Overview of W. D. V. A.
Benefits and Services
David D. Rueth, Program & Planning Analyst
Division of Veterans Benefits
Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs

Veterans Benefits Resource Center
(VBRC)
• The goal of the VBRC is to ensure that veterans who call during business hours will be able to immediately speak to a Veterans’ Benefit Specialist who is trained to provide the most frequently requested information about the Department’s programs, benefits and services.
•
1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387

Veterans Benefits Resource Center
(VBRC)
• While on the phone with a veteran, if Center
Support Staff cannot answer a technical question immediately, they will each have the ability to find a subject matter expert and get answers for the veteran quickly.
• Walk-in, Phone, Email, Live Chat, Mail.

VetExpress
•
Welcome to VetExpress, your tool for expedited WDVA eligibility processing.
To begin using this service, please use the
Sign in link above. New users, please start by reviewing the video to the left and then register using the Register link above.

If you have questions regarding this service, please contact us at:
1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387)
WisVets@dva.wisconsin.gov

Once you apply for and are approved to use VetExpress it will allow you to:
• View your DD-214(‘s)
• Upload documents
• Apply online for benefits, verifications and certifications
• Check your current status for any programs
• Find out what other programs you can apply for
• Find out what other documentation is needed for other benefits.

Troops to Teachers
• Provides guidance and assistance to gain a Wisconsin teacher’s license
• Pays for a teacher’s license or a bonus, if veteran teaches in a needy school district
• Active military service requirements
• WDVA placement assistance office

Troops to Teachers-Continued)
•
Lewis & Clark Region Troops To Teachers
Office
Montana State University
PO Box 172940
Bozeman, MT 59717-2940
Phone: (406) 587-7586
Toll-free: 866-478-3224
Fax: (406) 587-7418
•
Email-northernttt@gmail.com
•
•
Website:-www.montana.edu/ttt

Assistance with Medals and Records
•
WDVA Veterans Benefits Resource
Center (VBRC)
– Among VBRC’s services is direct assistance in obtaining DD
Form 214s and military awards and decorations (medals) which:
• Have been lost
• Need replacing (broken, damaged, etc.)

Assistance with Medals and
Records (continued)
• Were authorized but never received (are shown on the discharge papers but were never actually given to the veteran)
• Were authorized for specific military service, i.e., Korean War Service Medal, etc., after the end of the veteran’s military service and were therefore never received.

Assistance with Medals and
Records (continued)
• VBRC may also, in certain very limited circumstances, be able to provide assistance in receiving medal(s) that were never authorized or awarded, i.e., Purple Heart, etc. Call toll-free at 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-
8387) and ask for the VBRC Medals and
Records section.

Military Discharge Upgrades
•
Military Discharge Reviews
• WDVA provides assistance in requesting a Review of Military Discharges that were given “
Under Less
Than Honorable Conditions”
.
•
Discharge Review Board -Reviews discharges except those given by reason of a sentence of a
General Court Martial or over 15 years since discharge.

Military Discharge Upgrades
(Continued)
•
Board of Correction of Military Records
–
Reviews discharges to correct errors or remove injustices from any military record. This includes all
General Court Martials, discharges over 15 years old, and RE-Codes.

Retraining Grant
• Recently unemployed or underemployed veterans
• Living stipend: $3,000/year for two years
• Approved school or on-the-job training (OJT)
• Paid from Veterans’ Trust Fund (VFT)

Assistance for Homeless Veterans
• Veterans at-risk of becoming homeless as well as those living on the streets
• Offers safe shelter for up to one year
• Assistance with AODA, employment, etc.

Wisconsin Veterans Homes
• Retirement communities at King and Union Grove
• Services at King: Comprehensive nursing care – 24/7
• Union Grove: assisted living to skilled nursing
• Chippewa Falls is our newest facility.

Veterans’ Property Tax Credit
• Full property tax credit on primary residence an up to 1 acre
• Must have been: a resident when entering AD or lived five consecutive years of residency
• 100% service-connected or IU plus 100% compensated from VA
• Un-remarried surviving spouse who has began and continues to receive Dependency and indemnity compensation-DIC under USC 101 (14).

WDVA- Federal Claims
Assistance
• Assistance in filing a claim for benefits administered by the VA
• General information on how to file a claim with the
VA
• CVSOs often send their claims through this office
• WDVA Claims Office is co-located at the VA
Regional Office, Milwaukee
• Contact: (414) 902-5757

Wisconsin Veterans’ Cemeteries
• Located in the Veterans’ Home at King, Spooner, and Union Grove
•
Burial for veterans and spouses
•
Burial Options: casket or cremation
(in ground or columbarium)

Military Funeral Honors
• Coordinates military funeral honors when requested by funeral directors or the veteran’s family
• Coordinates with military and veterans’ service organization to provide the funeral honors

Wisconsin GI Bill
• No delimitating dates until all available credits are used.
• Can be used for Associate, B.A. & B.S.,
Masters and even Doctorial Degrees.
• Spouses and children of Veterans who have received a 30% or more Federal VA
SCD and were Wisconsin Residents at the time of entry into qualifying period of
Active Duty (Title 10) may qualify.

WI G. I. Bill
• Wisconsin resident when entering AD or who have established and maintained status as a Wisconsin resident for at least 5 consecutive years immediately preceding the beginning of any semester or session
• Waiver: 128 credits or 8 semesters
• 100% tuition and fee waiver for veterans and eligible dependents
• Any educational level
• WDVA certifies vet status; each school approves and applies the waiver for the student.

Federal Education Benefits
• GI Bill – pays a monthly living stipend:
- Chapter 30 – Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB-AD)
- Ch. 1606 – Select Reserves (MGIB-SR)
- Ch. 1607 – Reserve Ed. Assist. Program (REAP)
- Ch. 35 – Survivors & Dep. Ed. Assistance
Program (DEA)
• GI Bill – pays tuition, housing and books
Ch. 33: Post-9/11 GI Bill (Revised January 1011)
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment – Ch. 31

Veterans’ Education (VetEd) Grant
• Paid from VTF
• Undergraduate study
• Application deadline: 60 days after semester start date
• Up to 120 credits
(depending on length of AD service)
• Limitations apply

Wisconsin National Guard
Tuition Grant
• Undergraduate study only
• Maintain drilling status
• Wisconsin NG Grant reimburses only tuition
• Federal Tuition Assistance Grant can pay fees

Primary Mortgage Loan
• 30 year fixed interest rate
• No mortgage insurance required
• No funding fees
• 5% down

Home Improvement Loan
• Loans up to 90% of equity
• Half the cost of improvements can be added to equity
• Must be for work to be done
• Up to 15 years to repay

Personal Loan Program
• Maximum of $25,000 w/ mortgage security
• Up to 10 years to repay
• Maximum of $5,000 w/ guarantor security
• Up to 5 years to repay

Assistance to Needy Veterans
• Health Care Aid
• Subsistence Aid
• Paid from VTF

.
Veteran Identifier on Wisconsin
Driver's License
"Verify – Then Apply"
• 2013 Wisconsin Act 17 includes a provision that allows eligible veterans to request through the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), a veteran identifier on their Wisconsin driver’s license or state issued identification card.

Federal VA Veterans Justice
Outreach Coordinators
• The purpose of the Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO)
Program is to avoid the unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration among
Veterans by ensuring that eligible justice-involved
Veterans have timely access to VHA services as clinically indicated. Veterans Justice Outreach
Specialists are responsible for direct outreach, assessment, and case management for justiceinvolved Veterans in local courts and jails, and liaison with local justice system partners.

Certification for Veteran Owned and
Disabled Veteran Owned Wisconsin
Business
• WDVA certifies to WI DOA that a business is verified to be a “Veteran
Owned Business” or “Disabled
Veteran Owned Business”

Veterans Professional/Occupational
Licensure Fee Waiver Program
• Effective July 1, 2012, Wisconsin Department of
Veterans Affairs (WDVA) established and maintains a program under which 13 State Agencies will grant fee waivers to qualified veterans when issuing
‘initial’ licenses.
• Under the Veterans Professional/Occupational
Licensure Fee Waiver Program, there will be only one initial license fee waiver allowed per applicant.
Waivers may not be made for license renewals; they are for one initial license only.

Military Training Equivalent
Training for Civilian Equivalent
– Child Care Center/ Provider
– Feeding Assistant
– First Responder Emergency Care/Emergency
Response
– Food Protection Practices
– Food Sanitation Manager
– Group Home

Military Training Equivalent
Training for Civilian Equivalent
(Continued)
– Incinerator Operator
– Lead Hazard Reduction/Lead Management/Instructor
– Licensing to work in a hospital, nursing home, intermediate care facility, home health agency, or hospice
– Nurse Aide
See DHS: Nurse Aide Testing
Requirements for Military Personnel Military Training
Verification (see website)

Military Training Equivalent
Training for Civilian Equivalent
(Continued)
– Poison Control
– Public Health Nurse/Officer
– Public Librarian
– Residential Care Center (for children and youth)
– Shelter Care Facility (provides care and supervision for children)

Military Training Equivalent
Training for Civilian Equivalent
(Continued)
– Solid Waste Disposal Facility Operator
– Well Driller
• The applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the credentialing agency or board oversees a particular license that the instruction obtained by the applicant is substantially equivalent to the instruction required for the initial credential.

County Veterans Service Officers
(CVSO) http://www.wicvso.org/your_cvso.htm

Eligibility for Wisconsin Benefits
• Military Service
Requirements
• State Residency
Requirements