227 E. Main Street, Lancaster, OH 43130 Phone: 740/652-7920 fax: 740/689-6203

Office Hours: 8:00am - 4:30 PM Mon-Fri
Commission Board meets: 1st and 3d Wednesdays Monthly at 4:00 PM.

NEW GI Bill UPDATE Information on the new GI Bill can be found on the VA website http://www1.va.gov/orpm/docs/20081223_AN10_Post_911GIBill.pdf Here is a short pamphlet that explains the new G.I. Bill https://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH33/CH33_Pamphlet.pdf. I would suggest to everyone who is interested in keeping updated with the latest news about “The Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Act of 2008” (Chapter 33) to review the information on the DVA “G.I. Bill” website – For (questions and answers) www.gibill2.va.gov, and to sign up for automatic updates (www.gibill.va.gov under "New GI Bill Information" about half way down page, click on the RSS icon). Approved programs for G.I. Bill benefits rests with the institutions designating and certifying officials who become our link with the both the financial aid and academic departments within each college and university and responsible for communicating benefit information to the student population. For instance, if you want to attend The Ohio State University, I would suggest that you may want to contact Mr. Mike Forrest and Gina Lee from the OSU Veterans Affairs Office (http://hr.osu.edu/vet/) to receive assistance on current educational benefit programs and those offerings that are approved. A list of those approved programs can also be found on the DVA website at – http://inquiry.vba.va.gov/weamspub/buildSearchInstitutionCriteria.do (Search by clicking on “Ohio”). If you need further assistance, please contact Terry Worst, Assistant Director State Approving Agency for Veterans Training at (614) 466-9287 or Terry.Worst@ode.state.oh.us.

Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs developed the National Resource Directory. You can find it at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org. It will be going live on November 17. The National Resource Directory is a web-based “yellow book” for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families and those who support them. The Directory provides over 10,000 services and resources available through governmental and non-governmental organizations to support recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. The National Resource Directory is organized into six major categories: · Benefits and Compensation · Education, Training and Employment · Family and Caregiver Support · Health · Housing and Transportation · Services and Resources. All information can be found easily through browsing or a general or state and local search tool. Other features include: · checklists · Frequently Asked Questions · information on the Wounded Warrior Resource Center call center (a centralized toll free phone number that wounded warriors, families and caregivers can call at any time to get help from trained professionals. 1-800-342-9647 or wwrc@militaryonesource.com) · accessibility to people with disabilities (508 compliant)
Final Rule on DMZ Agent Orange Exposure Week of January 31, 2011 Due to a final regulation just issued, VA officials will now presume herbicide exposure for any veteran who served between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971, in a unit determined by VA and Department of Defense officials to have operated in an area in or near the Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied. Veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical conditions that may be related to Agent Orange are encouraged to submit their applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as possible. Click on these links to learn about Veterans' diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure and birth defects in children of Vietnam-era Veterans. For more information on filing a claim, visit the VA's Filing Claims for Presumptive Conditions Based on Herbicide Exposure website. Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services for Veterans exposed to the chemical is available at this website. Contact your County's Veterans Service Commission Office to file a compensation claim.

NEW GI Bill UPDATE

Information on the new GI Bill can be found on the VA website http://www1.va.gov/orpm/docs/20081223_AN10_Post_911GIBill.pdf

Here is a short pamphlet that explains the new G.I. Bill https://www.gibill.va.gov/pamphlets/CH33/CH33_Pamphlet.pdf.

I would suggest to everyone who is interested in keeping updated with the latest news about “The Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Act of 2008” (Chapter 33) to review the information on the DVA “G.I. Bill” website –

For (questions and answers) www.gibill2.va.gov, and to sign up for automatic updates (www.gibill.va.gov under "New GI Bill Information" about half way down page, click on the RSS icon).

Approved programs for G.I. Bill benefits rests with the institutions designating and certifying officials who become our link with the both the financial aid and academic departments within each college and university and responsible for communicating benefit information to the student population. For instance, if you want to attend The Ohio State University, I would suggest that you may want to contact Mr. Mike Forrest and Gina Lee from the OSU Veterans Affairs Office (http://hr.osu.edu/vet/) to receive assistance on current educational benefit programs and those offerings that are approved. A list of those approved programs can also be found on the DVA website at – http://inquiry.vba.va.gov/weamspub/buildSearchInstitutionCriteria.do (Search by clicking on “Ohio”).

If you need further assistance, please contact Terry Worst, Assistant Director State Approving Agency for Veterans Training at (614) 466-9287 or Terry.Worst@ode.state.oh.us.

Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs developed the National Resource Directory. You can find it at www.nationalresourcedirectory.org. It will be going live on November 17.

The National Resource Directory is a web-based “yellow book” for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families and those who support them.

The Directory provides over 10,000 services and resources available through governmental and non-governmental organizations to support recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

The National Resource Directory is organized into six major categories:

· Benefits and Compensation

· Education, Training and Employment

· Family and Caregiver Support

· Health

· Housing and Transportation

· Services and Resources.

All information can be found easily through browsing or a general or state and local search tool. Other features include:

· checklists

· Frequently Asked Questions

· information on the Wounded Warrior Resource Center call center (a centralized toll free phone number that wounded warriors, families and caregivers can call at any time to get help from trained professionals. 1-800-342-9647 or wwrc@militaryonesource.com)

· accessibility to people with disabilities (508 compliant)

Final Rule on DMZ Agent Orange Exposure

Week of January 31, 2011

Due to a final regulation just issued, VA officials will now presume herbicide exposure for any veteran who served between April 1, 1968, and August 31, 1971, in a unit determined by VA and Department of Defense officials to have operated in an area in or near the Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied. Veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical conditions that may be related to Agent Orange are encouraged to submit their applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as possible. Click on these links to learn about Veterans' diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure and birth defects in children of Vietnam-era Veterans. For more information on filing a claim, visit the VA's Filing Claims for Presumptive Conditions Based on Herbicide Exposure website. Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services for Veterans exposed to the chemical is available at this website.

Contact your County's Veterans Service Commission Office to file a compensation claim.