ORGANIZATION
The Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is organized into five service delivery sections – benefits, veterans education, care centers, veterans cemeteries, and the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program. Four citizen boards work closely with the agency to support the effective delivery of services to Virginia’s veterans – the Board of Veterans Services, the Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations, the Veterans Services Foundation, and the Veterans Care Center Advisory Committee.
Benefits Services
Benefits Services assists veterans of the armed forces and their dependents in accessing federal and state veterans benefits. DVS operates 21 benefits services offices throughout the Commonwealth where veterans and their dependents receive free assistance in developing and filing claims for federal veterans benefits. This section also certifies eligibility for the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program.
Veterans Education
The State Approving Agency for Veterans Education and Training (SAA) approves educational programs offered by institutions and establishments operating in Virginia so that eligible veterans and their dependents may enroll and receive financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs while pursuing an approved educational program. The SAA approves educational programs at colleges/universities, technical/trade schools, licensing/ certification programs, and on-the-job training/apprenticeship programs.
Cemeteries
Virginia’s state veterans cemeteries provide burial and perpetual care services to veterans and eligible dependents. The Virginia Veterans Cemetery, Amelia is a 129-acre facility. The Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk is a 73-acre facility. A third state veterans cemetery will be constructed in Dublin on an 80-acre site adjacent to the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. The Virginia Veterans Cemetery, Dublin is expected to open in late 2010.
Care Centers
DVS operates two care centers for veterans of the armed forces. Additional care centers are planned for Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. The Virginia Veterans Care Center, located adjacent to the Salem VA Medical Center, is a 240-bed facility that provides long-term skilled care and assisted living services. The Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center, a 160-bed bed facility located adjacent to the McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, provides long-term skilled care.
Wounded Warrior Program
The Virginia Wounded Warrior Program is designed to provide timely supplemental behavioral health, rehabilitation services, and support to Virginia’s veterans, members of the Virginia National guard, Virginia residents in the Armed Forces Reserves, and their family members, who are coping with the effects of combat/operational stress and other combat-related injuries resulting from their service and sacrifice in the U.S. Armed Forces. The Program focuses on traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorders and operates in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services and the Virginia Department of Rehabilitation Services. The Program will be administered through three regional directors working closely with existing local Community Services Boards.
CITIZEN BOARDS
The Department of Veterans Services works closely with four citizen boards to deliver effective services to Virginia’s veterans.
Board of Veterans Services
The Board is responsible for formulating policies, developing procedures, reviewing agency budget submissions, and making recommendations for the efficient and effective delivery of veterans’ services. It also studies topics affecting the welfare of Virginia’s veterans.
Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Service Organizations
The Council consists of representatives of the majority of veterans service organizations in the Commonwealth. It advises DVS on matters of concern to veterans and their families. The Council is active in identifying veterans’ needs and advocating in support of veterans issues that may be remedied through appropriate legislation or by other means.
Veterans Services Foundation
The Foundation is responsible for oversight and administration of the Veterans Services Fund, distribution of funds to veterans’ services and programs, and seeking additional sources of revenue and other resources to support the viability of the Fund. Government resources alone cannot fully meet the needs of Virginia’s veterans, and the Commonwealth anticipates that Virginia citizens will want to help our veterans. The Foundation is available to receive contributions to support veterans’ services. It is an agency of the state and eligible to receive tax-deductible donations under Internal Revenue Service Section 170 (c) and Code of Virginia Section 2.2-2719. Contributions are placed in the Veterans Services Fund and cannot revert to the Commonwealth’s General Fund.
Veterans Care Center Advisory Committee
The Committee advises the Commissioner of Veterans Services on matters pertaining to the administration of any veterans care center established by the Commonwealth.
LEADERSHIP
Commissioner Vincent M. (Vince) Burgess
Vince Burgess assumed his position on January 18, 2006 after a distinguished career in transportation with the Commonwealth. He entered government service in 1974 as a planner for the City of Portsmouth. The next year, he joined the Highway Safety Division of Virginia. He progressed through positions of increased responsibility to become the Administrator of Transportation Safety Services for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in 1983. In 1995, he was elevated to Assistant Commissioner of DMV and in 2004 he assumed the position of Acting Deputy Commissioner and served in that capacity until assuming his current position.
Vince served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer from 1966 to 1969. He had a tour of duty in Vietnam and was honorably discharged as a sergeant. Following his service, he received an undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Old Dominion University in 1974 and earned a Masters of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980.
Over his career, Vince has served on several national committees and commissions and state task forces, boards, and commissions. He also has served on several local and regional nonprofit boards and organizations. |
