Massachusetts SD 3550: Office of Veteran Advocate FY2025 Budget Request

Bill Text

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
OFFICE OF THE VETERAN ADVOCATE
100 HANCOCK STREET, 6
TH FLOOR
QUINCY, MA 02171

March 5, 2024

The Honorable Michael J. Rodrigues The Honorable Aaron M. Michlewitz
24 Beacon St., Room 212 24 Beacon St., Room 243
Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133

Dear Chairs Rodrigues and Michlewitz,
The Office of the Veteran Advocate (OVA) submits this proposal for fiscal year 2025 funding with a focus
on successful establishment of the office to successfully support Massachusetts’ veterans and their
families. The OVA was created in Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), chapter 144 of the Acts of 2022.
With the appointment of the Veteran Advocate in November of 2023, the office began actions to
establish full functionality to meet the requirements specified in MGL chapter 115B, section 2.
OVA mission: The Office of the Veteran Advocate is dedicated to safeguarding the well-being
and upholding the rights of veterans under the care of the Commonwealth. OVA ensures
veterans and their families receive compassionate, timely, and effective services, while
advocating for their rights, benefits, and dignified treatment. We strive to foster collaboration
among state agencies, facilitate access to federal and state benefits, and conduct thorough
investigations to enhance the quality of care provided to veterans.

OVA responsibilities per MGL chapter 115B, section 2.
There shall be an office of the veteran advocate, which shall be independent of any supervision
or control by any executive agency. The office shall:
(i) ensure that veterans in the care of the commonwealth or receiving services under the
supervision of an executive agency in any public or private facility receive humane and
dignified treatment at all times, with full respect for the veterans' personal dignity and right to
privacy;
(ii) ensure that veterans in the care of the commonwealth or receiving services under the
supervision of an executive agency in any public or private facility receive timely, safe and
effective services;
(iii) aid and coordinate with local veterans service officers to ensure veterans receive all
available state and federal benefits;
(iv) examine, on a system-wide basis, the care and services that executive agencies provide
veterans;
(v) advise the public and those at the highest levels of state government about how the
commonwealth may improve its services to and for veterans and their families;
(vi) develop internal procedures appropriate for the effective performance of the office's
duties;
(vii) act as a liaison to all state agencies providing services to veterans to ensure each veteran
receives necessary services and care;
(viii) assist in developing procedures for the executive agencies to best serve the veteran
community;

(ix) act as a liaison to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and all other relevant
federal agencies to advocate on behalf of the veterans of the commonwealth; and
(x) investigate incidents where a veteran suffered a fatality, near fatality or serious bodily or
emotional injury while receiving services from an executive agency, or circumstances which
result in a reasonable belief that an executive agency or a constituent agency failed in its duty
to care for a veteran and, as a result, the veteran was at imminent risk of, or suffered serious
bodily or emotional injury or death.

Report annually to the governor, the senate president, the speaker of the house of
representatives, the senate and the house committees on ways and means, and the joint
committee on veterans and federal affairs on the activities of the office, including, but not
limited to,
a. an analysis of the delivery of services to veterans and recommendations for changes in
agency procedures which would enable the commonwealth to better provide services to and
for veterans and their families and
b. priorities for implementation of those changes to services.
The report shall be made public on the website of the veteran advocate.
The total OVA budget proposal for FY25 is $2.017M. Salaries and benefits are 93% of the total, while
office space, travel, IT hardware, and services comprise the remaining 7%. This proposal includes the
minimum essential staff to meet OVA responsibilities stated in law. Enclosure 1 provides details of this
funding estimate.

The current FY25 H.2 budget proposes a standard 2% maintenance increase over FY24 funding for OVA,
resulting in a FY25 proposal of $765,000. This amount is inadequate for OVA to reach full functionality
and limits capabilities to only roughly 30% of the OVA statutory tasks. To meet all its statutory
requirements, OVA analysis determined an initial minimal staff of 11 people is required. Five positions
are planned for hire in FY24 and six are planned for FY25. The salaries and benefits estimate for these 11
is $1.876M. Enclosure 2 provides a matrix alignment of positions to statutory requirements.

In FY24, the OVA received $750,000 in appropriations as startup funding.