| Compton: Veterans Home won’t turn down low-income vets By George Compton Q. How much will it cost me to become a resident of the Veterans Home? A. No veteran will be denied admission because of a lack of income. For those veterans who have income, state law requires that they pay their fair share of costs. These costs are called member fees. Member fees help reduce the amount of state tax dollars needed to operate a Veterans Home of California, thus allowing the California Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for a greater number of veterans. At this time, member fees are: for Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE): 47.5 percent of your income or $1,200 per month, whichever amount is less. Note: If you receive Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the entire A&A amount will be paid to the Veterans Home of California. Q. Do I have to be a California veteran to become a resident of the Veterans Home? A. No. Although you must currently be a resident of California to be admitted, it is not required for you to have joined the military from California. Q. How will residents get to their appointments at the VA clinic in Oxnard or to VA medical facilities in Los Angeles? A. The Veterans Home will transport residents, also known as home members, to doctor appointments and any other healthcare appointments they may have. All transportation needs will be provided by the California Department of Veterans Affairs. Q. How do I apply for admission to the Veterans Home? A. Information and application forms for admission are available at the Application for Admission page at the California Department of Veterans Affairs Web site at http://www.cdva.ca.gov/homes. You may also call 765-5601 for additional information and assistance with the application process. — George Compton, a retired Army colonel, is the veterans service officer for the county Human Services Agency. Send your questions to Veterans Service Office, 1701 Pacific Ave., Suite 110, Oxnard, CA 93033, phone 385-6366, fax 385-6371, or e-mail george.compton@ventura.org. —— MilitaryConnection.com is a portal of all things military. We have thousands of pages and hundreds of databases of valuable information and resources. There is something for everyone. All of this is provided free to users. Additionally, we feature all types of Columns like this one to keep you informed. We will post your press releases, special events, newsletters, professional conferences and seminars, reunions, job fairs, and videos to help organizations get out the word. One of the areas of our focus is connecting candidates from the military community with outstanding government and civilian employers. We are well aware that candidates from the military community across the board have a work ethic second to none. They make highly valued employees. MilitaryConnection.com has a multitude of employment resources including a Directory of over 30,000 employers, Job Tips, Columns, our Job Board, Virtual Job Fair and much more. We understand the importance of education. Please check out our new Scholarship Directory featuring thousands of scholarships. When the next tour is back home, it’s on MilitaryConnection.com. |