Veterans Ombud Letter To Minister On Access to Care-At-Home Supports F...

Your unfiltered news center. ®

The world you see depends upon the news you get. ®

HOME

ARTS

RSS

Today's Date: May 19, 2024

Sacred Heart Celebrates 125th Anniversary • The AZEK Company Receives NYSE Notice Regarding Filing of Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended March 31, 2024 • Dillard’s, Inc. Announces $0.25 Cash Dividend • Red Door Community Raises more than $300,000 at Their Annual Luncheon Celebrating Women Working and Living with Cancer • Statement by the Prime Minister on Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day • Upneeq® Wins 2024 Shape Skin Award, “Best for Lift”, in the Professional Treatment Category • May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Partners with American Indian College Fund to Support Native Student Veterans • After Launching Massive Camp Giveaway for NYC Families Affected by "Summer Rising" Crisis, Brains & Motion Education (BAM!) • L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans Unveil New, Vibrant Community Resource Center in Panorama City with • Angels Helpers NYC 2024 Charity Gala Raises Funds for Harlem School of the Arts, Highbridge Voices • Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. Announces Inducement Grants Under NYSE Listing Rule 303A.08 • Historic Inaugural Class Graduates from OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation • Avangrid to Be Acquired by Iberdrola • HERImpact: Entrepreneurship for Impact Program Kicks Off in Chicago, Empowering Women Entrepreneurs • Historic Bellevue House reopens • Xylem Inc. Declares Second Quarter Dividend of 36 Cents per Share • WOMEN'S HEALTHCARE COMPANY WATKINS-CONTI RECEIVES FDA 510(K) CLEARANCE FOR NEW STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE DEVICE YŌNI.FIT& • Federal, provincial and territorial ministers gather to support culture and heritage at annual meeting • Rockwell Institute Celebrates Highest Real Estate Exam Pass Rates for First-Time Test Takers in the State of Washington • Aramco and Spiritus to Advance Direct Air Capture Technology, Investment by Aramco Ventures

Veterans Ombud Letter To Minister On Access to Care-At-Home Supports Fairness Gap Affecting Veterans and their Families

Canada NewsWire

OTTAWA, ON, May 8, 2024

Some Veterans and their families are falling through an eligibility gap for home care supports

OTTAWA, ON, May 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Colonel (Ret'd) Nishika Jardine, Veterans Ombud, today released her letter to the Minister of Veterans Affairs on the fairness gap that may be affecting some Veterans and their relatives. According to the Ombud, Veterans Affairs Canada's (VAC) Veterans Independence Program policy may exclude access to care-at-home supports when Veterans' family members live with them. "The fairness gap," notes the Ombud, "is the result of Veterans falling between two programs."

"When a Veteran's service-related care needs falls unfairly on family members, the policies and programs must change.."

After receiving complaints and stakeholder concerns about eligibility issues with VAC's Caregiver Recognition Benefit (CRB), the Office of the Veterans Ombud (OVO) launched a two-part systemic review. Part one, a Care At Home Resource Guide, provides information to Veterans and their families about VAC programs and benefits that support independent living at home. Part two looked for policy gaps between the CRB and the Veterans Independence Program (VIP) and found an unfairness that may affect family members who live with and care for Veterans. Results of the review, which include a recommendation to resolve the fairness gap, are included in the letter to the Minister.

A monthly tax-free benefit, the CRB is granted only to caregivers of the most seriously ill and injured Veterans. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, only 35% of CRB applications were approved in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Funding for personal care, housekeeping, grounds maintenance and more is available through the Veterans Independence Program (VIP), but may be limited or denied through the "Relatives" section of the program's policy, which requires decision-makers to consider what care can instead be provided by a live-in family member.

The Veterans Ombud is recommending that VAC review and revise existing policy and regulatory frameworks to eliminate gaps that create additional burdens for live-in relatives who are meeting the service-related care-at-home needs of Veterans.

"When the burden of a Veteran's service-related care needs falls unfairly on family members, the policies and programs must change" -Colonel (Ret'd) Nishika Jardine, Veterans Ombud.

The Office of the Veterans Ombud reviews complaints, and challenges the policies and decisions of Veterans Affairs Canada where we find individual or systemic unfairness. We strive to be an independent and respected voice for fairness and a champion for the well-being of Veterans and their families.

SOURCE Veterans Ombudsman