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Veterans' Department follows through with governor's State of the
State pledge, prepares for new employees
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25
additional service officers will be on the job Dec. 5
[NOV. 11, 2005]
SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois veterans and their family
members will soon have additional resources available to them for
assistance with applying for the benefits they deserve. Illinois
Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Roy L. Dolgos announced
Thursday that 25 new service officers will be on the job
next month.
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"Many veterans are unaware of what benefits
are available to them once they return to civilian capacity," Dolgos
said. "We want to better inform these servicemen and women of what
their entitlements and benefits are from both the state and federal
governments. The new hires, as well as those already with the
department, will enhance our outreach efforts and assist with filing
benefit claims." In his State of the State address last February,
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich promised the Department of Veterans' Affairs
$1.5 million in additional funding to increase the number of service
officers by 50 percent in an effort to improve outreach to the
state's 1 million veterans and their families. The money was
included in the department's fiscal 2006 budget.
The new service officers will have the primary job responsibility
of assisting veterans in applying for nearly $400 million in federal
money that goes unclaimed each year. They will also serve as a
liaison between the state and the federal Veterans Administration.
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 "The IDVA Human Resource Department has begun the hiring process
and will have these veterans on the job and ready to work the second
week of December," said Rochelle Crump, assistant director of the
Department of Veterans' Affairs. "The new hires will bring our VSO
head count up to 72. This will also allow us to provide additional
services to those communities that have been underserved in the
past."
The state agency, with the help of the federal VA, will conduct
training for the 25 new employees beginning on Dec. 5. The weeklong
training will be in Springfield.
[Illinois
Department of Veterans' Affairs news release]
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