Posts Tagged ‘VA’
Readjustment counseling is a wide range of services provided to combat veterans in the effort to make a satisfying transition from military to civilian life. Services include:
- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Marital and family counseling (as it relates to the veteran’s military service)
- Medical referrals
- Assistance in applying for VA benefits
- Employment counseling
- Guidance and referral
- Alcohol/drug assessments
- Information and referral to community resources.
Family members of combat veterans can also receive readjustment counseling services if the veteran is receiving them.
Readjustment counseling is provided at community-based Vet Centers nationwide. In some cases, the Vet Centers can furnish services through other providers closer to a veteran’s home.
Bereavement Services
Bereavement counseling is assistance and support to people with emotional and psychological stress after the death of a loved one. It includes a broad range of transition services, including outreach, counseling, and referral services to family members.
Counseling can sometimes be made available in the family’s home or anywhere the family feels most comfortable.
General Program Requirements
Readjustment Counseling for Veterans and Families
Readjustment counseling services at the Vet Centers are not part of the Medical Benefits Package.
You don’t have to apply for health care to get these services.
To qualify for readjustment services in one of VA’s 200 community-based Vet Centers, you must have served in a war zone. Here are the qualifying periods and combat theaters:
- WORLD WAR II – Three eligible categories
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign-Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Nov. 8, 1945)
- Asiatic – Pacific Campaign Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Mar. 2, 1946) or
- American Campaign Medal (Dec. 7, 1941, to Mar. 2, 1946)
- AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINES – In oceangoing service during the period of armed conflict, Dec. 7, 1941 to Aug. 15, 1945
- KOREAN WAR – June 27. 1950, to – July 27, 1954 (eligible for the Korean Service Medal)
- VIETNAM WAR – Feb. 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975
- LEBANON – Aug. 25, 1982, to Feb. 26, 1984
- GRENADA – Oct. 23, 1983 to Nov. 21, 1983
- PANAMA – Dec. 20, 1989 to Jan. 31, 1990
- PERSIAN GULF – Aug. 2, 1990, to – a date yet to be determined
- SOMALIA – Sept. 17, 1992 to – a date yet to be determined
- OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR, OPERATION JOINT GUARD, AND OPERATION JOINT FORGE in the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, aboard U.S. Naval vessels operating in the Adriatic Sea, or air spaces above those areas).
- GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM – Veterans who serve or have served in military expeditions to combat terrorism on or after September 11, 2001, and before a date yet to be determined
Campaigns include:- Operation “Enduring Freedom”
- Operation “Iraqi Freedom”
Family members may also receive services if the veteran is receiving them.
Bereavement Services
Family members (including parents) qualify for bereavement services if a loved one died in the line of duty in active service The death need not be combat-related.
Service may have been in peacetime or wartime.
Family members of persons who died while in reserve or National Guard training also qualify.
The following information will lead you to the next steps to apply for this benefit.
Application Process
For more information, see the Program Contact Information below.
Program Contact Information
Vet Center staff are available toll free during normal business hours at:
Eastern:
1-800-905-4675
and
Pacific:
1-866-496-8838
Bereavement Services
You can call at:
202-273-9116
The Department of Defense has two programs designed to reduce the reduction in retired pay due to receipt of Veteran Administration compensation, for certain disabled retirees. Concurrent Retirement and Disability Payments (CRDP) provides a 10-year phase-out of the offset to military retired pay due to receipt of VA disability compensation for members whose combined disability rating is 50% or greater . Members retired under disability provisions must have 20 years of service.
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) pays added benefits to retirees who receive VA disability compensation for combat-related disabilities and have 20 years of service .
Select one of the following topic areas:
- General Information Paper on New Retired Benefit Programs
- CRSC Information Paper Updated May 2008
- Revised CRSC Guidance – Effective 1 January 2004
- CRSC Application (DD FORM 2860)
- Fillable Adobe PDF Form
- For Perform Pro and FormFlow 2.0 please link to the Department of Defense Electronic Forms Website
Veterans must apply to their own branch of Service for Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) benefits. Applicants are urged to contact their own branch of Service for additional information. Link to your Service web site:
Source: http://prhome.defense.gov/mppcrsc.html