1

January 2010

VIRGINIA WOUNDED WARRIOR PROGRAM

Because not all wounds are visible!

Update on2009 Progress

Report to theVirginia GeneralAssembly

Dept. of Defense

2

Mission

To establish an integrated, comprehensive and responsive system of services for veterans, Guardsmen and Reservists with Combat/Operational Stress Conditions or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and their families through a network of public and private partnerships in accordance with the Code of Virginia Sect. 2.2-2001.1

3

Increasing Demand

• The veterans population in Virginia will continue to increase for several years.

• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and demands on our military will continue. Army leaders speak of an “era of persistent conflict projected to continue to 2028, if not longer.”

• Evidence indicates that the impact of combat stress and traumatic brain injury on veterans and their families will continue to increase.

Note: There is a delayed onset of many symptoms of combat stress and brain injury.

4

Virginia’s Response

• The Virginia General Assembly established the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program (VWWP) in 2008 within DVS. The VWWP has the full support of our statutory partners – Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Dept. of Rehabilitative Services.

• In its short existence, VWWP has become a model for other states, which are establishing similar programs.

5

Initial Implementation• A senior leadership team was established

consisting of the Executive Director, an Executive Strategy Committee and an Advisory Committee.

• Regional Directors were hired to coordinate the development of partnerships and programs crafted to meet the unique needs of different areas of the Commonwealth.

• Ongoing supplemental funding is received from the Veterans Services Foundation.

6

Initial Implementation (cont.)

• A Request for Applications was issued and contracts for services were negotiated with consortia of Community Services Boards, Brain Injury, and other service providers.

• As of December 2009, the program is operational in all regions of the Commonwealth.

• The VWWP Progress Report for 2008-2009 can be found at www.dvs.virginia.gov

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Albemarle

AmeliaAppo-mattox

Brunsw

ick

Buckingham

Campbell

Caroline

Charlotte

Chesterfield

Clarke

Culpeper

Dinwiddie

Fairfax

Fauquier

Fluvanna

Frederick

Goochland

Greene

Greensville

Halifax

Hanover

Loudoun

Louisa

Lunenburg

Madison

Mecklenburg

Nottoway

Orange

Page

Pittsylvania

Powhatan

PrinceEdward

Rappa-hannock

Shena

ndoa

h

Spotsylvania

Stafford

Warren

Prince William

Virginia Wounded Warrior ProgramVirginia Wounded Warrior Program

Regional Consortia Catchment AreasRegional Consortia Catchment Areas

Region 2Northern

Acc

omac

k

Essex

Gloucester

Henrico

Isle Of Wight

KingGeorge

King William

Lancaster

Middlesex

New Kent

Nor

tham

pton

Northumberland

Prince

George

Richmond

Southampton

Surry

Sussex

Westmoreland

Chesapeake

Norfolk

Portsmouth

Suffo

lk

Virginia Beach

Amherst

Augusta

Nelson

Rockingham

Alleghany

Bath

Bedford

Bland

Botetourt

Buchanan

Carroll

Craig

Dickenson

Floyd

Franklin

Giles

GraysonHenry

Highland

Lee

Mont-gomery

Patrick

Pulaski

Roanoke

Russell

Scott

Smyth

Tazewell

Washington

Wise Wythe

New

port

Alexandria

Lynchburg

Richmond

King & Queen

Rockbridge

Hampton

James

CharlesCity Co.

Cum

berla

nd

New

s

York

Matthews

Region 1Northwestern

Region 5Tidewater

Region 4 Central Region 3 Southwest

Arlington

Charlottesville

Mark Taylor, Reg. Coord.Michelle Wickham, Donna Maglio & Kim Graves

Camilla Schwoebel, Reg. Coord., Claude Boushey & Joyce Fye

Dom Rolle

Mavis Worsley

Louis Alvey

Veterans

Population 9/30/09*

National Guard

Units

Military

Bases

Region 1 147,098 21 4

Region 2 188,318 9 3

Region 3 101,594 18 1

Region 4 124,181 33 3

Region 5 258,297 17 20

*DVA VetPop 2007 Projection

Edward McIntosh, Reg. Coord.

Thea Lawton, Reg. Coord.

(5 Resource Specialists)

Lisa Robinson

Derek Burton, Reg. Coord., & Teri Herron

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Six Components of Action Plan

• Outreach to military facilities, veterans, members of the Guard and Reserve and their families

• Community Education to improve general awareness of issues faced by veterans and military community

• Partnership Development to involve an array of public and private providers in the VWWP network

• Resource Development to obtain federal grants and funding from foundations

• Service Delivery to provide direct assistance and support

• Training to improve awareness of best practices among professionals

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Outreach

• Many veterans, members of the National Guard and Reserve, as well as their families, are unaware of the array of services for which they may be eligible.

• During 2009, VWWP attended over 80 events at military bases, National Guard or Reserve unit locations in Virginia.

• Presentations were made to about 4620 military personnel and their families

• Participated in events organized by the VANG Adjutant General, especially Yellow Ribbon events, as shown on the next slide.

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Reaching Out in the Deployment Cycle

Pre-Mobiliz

ation

Deployment

Post-

Deployment

Reintegration YRRP Support(30-60-90-day Events)

CombatVeteran CallInitiative

PDHRAScreening3-6 months

Yellow RibbonReintegration Program (YRRP)

Transition AssistanceAdvisors

Internet Websitewww.oefoif.va.gov

Welcome Home

From original ofJohn H Brown, Jr.Director, VHA OEF/OIFOutreach Office

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Community Education

• In order to inform veterans and their families of the services available to them, 313 presentations were made in 2009 with a total attendance of about 5618.

• In addition, 5 media (TV or radio) appearances were made and at least 25 articles regarding VWWP were published in newspapers.

12

Partnership Development

• The most significant federal partner is the Department of Veterans Affairs. Significant progress has been made in understanding the numerous VA programs and developing working relationships at the local level. (The following maps demonstrate some of the complexity of the VA which really is comprised of multiple systems and subsystems).

• During 2009, VWWP reached out to over 360 organizations to establish a working relationship on behalf of veterans and their families.

• VWWP has been approved as a partner in the Defense Center of Excellence “Real Warriors Campaign” www.realwarriors.net

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Albemarle

AmeliaAppo-mattox

Brunsw

ick

Buckingham

Campbell

Caroline

Charlotte

Chesterfield

Clarke

Culpeper

Dinwiddie

Fairfax

Fauquier

Fluvanna

Frederick

Goochland

Greene

Greensville

Halifax

Hanover

Loudoun

Louisa

Lunenburg

Madison

Mecklenburg

Nottoway

Orange

Page

Pittsylvania

Powhatan

PrinceEdward

Rappa-hannock

Shena

ndoa

h

Spotsylvania

Stafford

Warren

Prince William

U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs FacilitiesU.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Facilities

Serving Virginia Serving Virginia (Jan. 13, 2010)(Jan. 13, 2010)

VISN 6

Acc

omac

k

Essex

Gloucester

Henrico

Isle Of Wight

KingGeorge

King William

Lancaster

Middlesex

New Kent

Nor

tham

pton

Northumberland

Prince

George

Richmond

Southampton

Surry

Sussex

Westmoreland

Chesapeake

Norfolk

Portsmouth

Suffolk

Virginia Beach

Amherst

Augusta

Nelson

Rockingham

Alleghany

Bath

Bedford

Bland

Botetourt

Buchanan

Carroll

Craig

Dickenson

Floyd

Franklin

Giles

GraysonHenry

Highland

Lee

Mont-gomery

Patrick

Pulaski

Roanoke

Russell

Scott

Smyth

Tazewell

Washington

Wise Wythe

VISN 9

New

portVA Medical Center

Outpatient Clinic (CBOC)

Domiciliary

Alexandria

Lynchburg

Richmond City

King & Queen

Rockbridge

VISN 5

Hampton

James

CharlesCity Co.

Cum

berla

nd

New

s

York

Matthews

Arlington

Charlottesville

Planned Outpatient Clinic

Planned Domiciliary

Mountain Home TN

Wash DC

Martinsburg WV

VISN - Veterans Integrated Service Network

TMH Tele-mental health

TMH

HUD-VASH Vouchers: Hampton 175, Richmond 70, Salem 35, Alexandria 35, Mountain Home TN 70,Wash DC 280, Martinsburg WV 35, Durham NC 70

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Albemarle

AmeliaAppo-mattox

Brunsw

ick

Buckingham

Campbell

Caroline

Charlotte

Chesterfield

Clarke

Culpeper

Dinwiddie

Fairfax

Fauquier

Fluvanna

Frederick

Goochland

Greene

Greensville

Halifax

Hanover

Loudoun

Louisa

Lunenburg

Madison

Mecklenburg

Nottoway

Orange

Page

Pittsylvania

Powhatan

PrinceEdward

Rappa-hannock

Shena

ndoa

h

Spotsylvania

Stafford

Warren

Prince William

U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Vet CentersU.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Vet CentersServing Virginia Serving Virginia

(Nov. 2, 2009)(Nov. 2, 2009)

Acc

omac

k

Essex

Gloucester

Henrico

Isle Of Wight

KingGeorge

King William

Lancaster

Middlesex

New Kent

Nor

tham

pton

Northumberland

Prince

George

Richmond

Southampton

Surry

Sussex

Westmoreland

Chesapeake

Norfolk

Portsmouth

Suffolk

Virginia Beach

Amherst

Augusta

Nelson

Rockingham

Alleghany

Bath

Bedford

Bland

Botetourt

Buchanan

Carroll

Craig

Dickenson

Floyd

Franklin

Giles

GraysonHenry

Highland

Lee

Mont-gomery

Patrick

Pulaski

Roanoke

Russell

Scott

Smyth

Tazewell

Washington

Wise Wythe

Mid-Atlantic RegionTowson, MD

New

portVet Center

Alexandria

Lynchburg

Richmond City

King & Queen

Rockbridge

Hampton

James

CharlesCity Co.

Cum

berla

nd

New

s

York

Matthews

Arlington

Charlottesville

Mobile Vet Center Base

Planned Vet Center

SouthwesternRegion - Dallas, TX

Johnson City, TN

Princeton, WV

Beckley, WV

Martinsburg, WV

Morgantown, WV

Vet Center Services include: individual, group, marital & family, bereavement, employment and sexual trauma counseling; community education; alcohol/drugassessments; info and referral to community resources.

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Resource Development

• Obtaining non-State funds is a major objective of VWWP.

• VWWP partnered with the VCU School of Education Partnership for People with Disabilities to obtain a $398,700 three year training grant that will be used to both organize and provide professional training.

• VWWP has participated in the submission of several other grants and has developed a system for identifying new opportunities.

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Service Delivery – Regional DirectorsJan. – Dec. 2009 (12 months)

• 277 Veterans Served – 48% Iraq or Afghanistan

Primary Nature of Requests

Financial AidEmployment

31%

Benefits20%

CombatStress21%

Other21%

Housing 7%

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Service Delivery – Regional ConsortiaJuly – Dec. 2009 (6 months)

• 295 Veterans Served – 35% Iraq or Afghanistan

Primary Nature of RequestsFinancial AidEmployment

15%

Benefits16%

CombatStress42%

Other16%

Housing 11%

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Direct Service Provided byVWWP and CSBs - 2009

Provider Jan. –

March

Apr. –

June

July –

Sept.

Oct. –

Dec.

Total

Ex. Dir. &

Reg. Dirs.

60 79 85 53 277

Regional

Consortia

NA NA 108 187 295

Total 60 79 193 240 572

In Nov. 2009, CSBs reported serving at least 1077 persons with“Military Status.”

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Training

• VCU conducted initial training events in each of the five regions involving about 250 service providers.

• DRS Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center provided training for 225 service providers.

• Four additional training events were conducted at the local level involving over 40 people at each event.

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Major Goals for 2010

• Sustain existing capacity by renewing contracts with Regional consortia.

• Use Unmet Needs and Gap analysis performed by VT Institute for Policy and Governance to adjust system as needed.

• Implement a comprehensive outreach and community education program – especially to family members.

• Strengthen partnership with Virginia National Guard and Reserve Units.

• Conduct the Virginia is for Heroes conference on Feb. 18th

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Success Story

The USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment referred a Marine who was medically retired to the VWWP. He served two tours in Iraq and received a Purple Heart. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress and traumatic brain injury. His best friend in the military was recently killed in Afghanistan. He had severe anger issues, was unable to interact with the general public and was unemployed. Although he was being treated by the VA for PTSD and TBI, he needed additional support in his home community. He joined a community support group lead by a VWWP peer specialist. As a result, he has become very engaged in helping fellow veterans in the support group and is now ready to seek employment. He recently participated in a special ceremony to honor veterans from his community – including his friend – who died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.