Region 9 VCAT/Michigan Military Resource Group Veterans Leadership meeting discussed the Altarum Institute community assessment results. The goal of the meeting is to identify opportunities to improve collaboration and integration of veterans services and service providers.

1. Altarum Institute integrates independent research and client-centered consulting to
deliver comprehensive, systems-based solutions that improve health and health care.
A nonprofit, Altarum serves clients in both the public and private sectors.
For more information, visit www.altarum.org
The Michigan Veterans
Community Action Teams
(MIVCAT) Process
Working Together Effectively in Region 9
14 July 2015

2. 2
Project Objectives
Create a sustainable community collaborative, effectively
implementing the “no-wrong-door” concept supporting Veterans and
their families*
Complete a community assessment of needs, challenges, experiences
and recommendations for working collaboratively to serve Veterans
Achieve progress in effective collaboration and delivery of services
along with benefits to Veterans
*The term “Veterans” will be used to mean “Veterans and families” from here forward.

3. 3
VCAT Vision
T
To develop a Veteran services system of care,
characterized by a comprehensive network of
service providers, empowered with processes,
information and tools, effectively ensuring
that all Veterans who these providers
encounter are accurately and quickly
connected to the appropriate service
provider(s) and completely served

4. 4
Veterans and Services Providers
Can face a dizzying array of options to navigate.

5. 5
Housing
Vocational
Rehabilitation
Training
Independent
Living
Assistance
Care Giving
Employment
Social
Services
Health Care
Family
Support
Education
VCAT’s No-Wrong-Door approach
Simplifies the process for all involved.

6. 6
Connect and
Organize
• Identify and connect
service providers
• Expand network –
“friend of a friend”
approach
• Create VCAT
Structure
• Leadership
• Workgroups
Educate and
Network
• Share information
about available
services
• Look within
network for services
that complement
each other
Serve
Veterans
• Leverage network
connections in
serving Veterans
• No Wrong Door
• Warm handoff
Work
together
to:
• Improve services
by combining
resources and
• Close gaps where
Veterans are not
served effectively
The VCAT Operational Process

7. 7
VCAT Planning - Progressing Through The Maturity Steps
From
Stand Alone:
“My organization
is doing this…”
To
Collaboration:
“My organization
is doing this and
you are invited…”
To
Coordination:
“What should
we do and
how should
we do it?”
To
Integration:
“What are
we doing
collectively
and using the
same
processes
and tools?”

8. 8
MiVCAT Progress

9. 9
Region 9 Progress – Community Assessment
Gather input via
Interviews*
Surveys
Focus
Groups*
from
Veterans*
Service
Providers*
to determine
Strengths Weaknesses Gaps
The
community
assessment
provides
stakeholders
with
information
needed to
direct the
VCAT.
* Some service providers interviewed were also veterans

10. 10
Region 9 Progress – Regional Collaboration
• Military Support Focus Group
• Putting the Pieces Together
• Tri-County MI Military
Resource Group
• Serving Livingston,
Washtenaw and Monroe
2012
• MI Military Tri-County Joining
Community Forces
• Serving Jackson, Lenawee and
Hillsdale
2014 • TCMMRG & MMTCJCF
• Veteran Community Action
Team for SE MI Prosperity
Region 9 Kickoff 24 March
•Serving All Six Counties
2015
Opportunities for people to learn about
resources, identify needs and issues, network
and discuss possible collaborations
Opportunities to extend the network,
strengthen collaborations, and increase
impact in the community

11. 11
What is Coming Next
Community
Assessment
Report
Interviews Focus Groups Surveys
Facilitated
strategic
planning
session
Develop Plans
for working
together
To improve
services by
combining
resources and
Closing gaps
where veterans
are not served
effectively
Formation of
working groups
Key issues
identified by
community
Four Pillars +
Working groups
engage
Create
Leadership
Committee
Establish
community
governance
Support working
groups
Lead system
improvement

12. 12
Questions

13. Michigan Veterans Community
Action Teams (MiVCAT) Project
Region 9 Community Assessment Findings
July 14, 2015

14. Presentation Objectives
14
Share a summary of the findings from
Altarum’s community assessment
Use the community assessment findings to
identify opportunities for your VCAT
Begin to think about what the Region 9 VCAT
can do to take advantage of the opportunities
identified in the community assessment

15. What data were collected for
the community assessment?
15
Census and VA data
Interviews with veteran service providers and advocates (25
individuals interviewed in April 2015, most in person)
Web-based survey of providers (61 Region 9 providers from 40
organizations)
Focus groups with providers who did not take part in the interviews
in Jackson and Ann Arbor in April and May 2015 (10 participants)

16. Goals for the Data Collection
16
Hear from a wide range of providers
Use data collection methods that allow for asking
lots of individuals some questions and smaller
groups questions that allowed more detailed
responses
Encourage people to identify opportunities not
just challenges

17. Goals Were Achieved!!
17

18. Context
18
You are currently one of six regional Michigan VCATs
Next year will see the formation of four more regional Michigan
VCATs (some communities are already working on regional
coalitions)
Opportunities (and challenges) abound in Michigan and in Veterans
support in general

19. Michigan Prosperity Regions
19

20. Veterans in Region 9
20

21. Findings from the Interviews,
Surveys, and Focus Groups

22. The Veteran service system is
complex and challenging to
understand and navigate
22
Most of the Veterans we encounter they do not have just
one problem. There are multiple things going on.
I came out of the service with six years as an officer and a
Master’s Degree, I could not get it figured out [eligibility
for VA health care] for two years even though I was
eligible the whole time.
Peacetime Vets are not considered Veterans according to
some programs and that is just baffling to me.
The first one is to figure out who the SSVF person is in the various
counties. It is like a 14-step process to figure out who it is. I go to
the VA website to figure out who the grantee was…Google that
grantee, figure who their veteran person is and then call them.

23. How might the VCAT make it
easier to navigate the system?
23
Hubs and spokes and resource lists
Providers and Veterans need to know the entry point for key
services (for example, comp and pen; homelessness; education
benefits)
Varies by county (county offices often but not always, so can
family assistance specialists)
Needs to be manageable and the hubs need to be able to link to
spoke organizations

24. How might the VCAT make it
easier to navigate the system?
24
Learning Opportunities
VA 101
Provider presentations to the VCAT
Newsletter updates

25. How might the VCAT make it
easier to navigate the system?
25
Engagement
Educating the community and policymakers about why
differing definitions of Veterans make the system
challenging
Encouraging increased capacity in county offices that don’t
fulfill all the functions that State law envisions for them

26. Need for more outreach
26
It is outreach [that is needed] and that is not the fault of any service provider,
they do not have a budget or time to send people out in the streets, but
unfortunately because no list exists, because not everyone is going to put the
Veteran designation on their driver’s license. The only way to really catch
Veterans is to go out there and find them
I have hung flyers all over the county and nobody responds to that.
It is word of mouth, it is who do you know and I just hope that
when she finds someone that she sends them to me
This little Housing Commission they are just widows and elderly
veterans. They just did not know, they were like “oh, there is something
out there for me.” There is just no knowledge of it at all.

27. Need for targeted outreach
27
The presumptive conditions for a Vietnam Vet, I mean, there is
like a slew of them that most of them do not even know, there is
so much out there people do not even know about.
We have a group called Veterans Sisters in Service, it is a
group of women Vets that meet monthly and they sit around
and they talk, they cry, they eat, they laugh and they mentor
each other
We have a lot of veterans who will call us who have a brain injury
or they may suspect they have a brain injury and because of the
brain injury they do not even know where to begin in this
process.

28. Most Successful
Communication Strategies for
Older and Younger Veterans
28
Source: Provider Survey
43%
24%
12%
5%
5%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
40%
18%
5%
3%
13%
3%
10%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Face to face
Word of mouth
Telephone
Radio
E-mail
Print newspapers
Internet
Veteran specific print media
Social media
Other
Television
Text messages
Over 50 (n = 42) Under 50 (n = 38)
5%

29. Veterans Rely on Providers and
Other Veterans for Information
29
Source: Veterans Source of Information Question, MI-VCAT Veterans Survey 2014

30. How might a VCAT address
outreach?
30
Coordinating outreach efforts to
reach more groups
Developing common outreach
materials
Using collective strength to obtain
access to free outreach outlets

31. Transportation is a challenge for
many Veterans
31
I think transportation is a really big issue
whether you have volunteer drivers, more
bus pickups or something along those
lines, but it is not just healthcare, it is
transportation across the four pillars no
matter what.
Each county has their transportation
facility but they stop at the county line.
So, I can get a Vet in Livingston County to
the county line to get to the VA, but there
she sits.

32. How might a VCAT address
transportation?
32
Developing a guide to transportation options in
different counties or identifying a transportation
hub
Helping to organize volunteer or reimbursed drivers
to fill transportation gaps (Uber-like service for
Veterans)
Seeking funding to try innovative approaches to
transportation issues (either Veteran specific or in
conjunction with health or social service agency)
Working with local transportation authorities to
address gaps or improve cross-county service

33. Veterans who have discharge issues
can be difficult to find services for
33
One thing that can be done with less than honorable
discharge is the opportunity to try and get a discharge
review, get upgraded, depending on the nature of the
discharge they may not be totally ineligible for
benefits. A county office or a service organization
could pursue the potential for an upgrade. It is a long
drawn out process and yes they can be successful.
There was a recent release through DoD that said that
they were going to go back and take a look at an awful
lot of discharges that were issued and there was some
sort of a mental condition associated with the
character of service.

34. How might a VCAT address
discharge issues?
34
Educate providers about who in their area can
address discharge issues (probably varies by
county)
Make sure everyone is kept up-to-date on changes
in policy around discharge issues
Make sure everyone has a good understanding of
the general population support system and make
sure the provider in that system understands this
Veteran is not eligible for Veteran services

35. Other Issues that Came Up
35
Need for more information about education benefits: They brought in somebody that
talked about educational, how do you use your educational benefits at one of the
presentations. And even as a Veteran who has used it, it was like, wow I did not know
that was available as well.
Outreach to National Guard: First Provider “Some unit leadership will be champions
of the Family Assistance Center. They will, on a leadership level, refer their people to
the family assistance centers and the others will be like…”
Second provider “It is your problem. Go solve it.”
Third provider “You see it all the time.”
Veterans Courts are a tremendous asset and they can benefit from the support of
VCATs especially in areas where they are new.

36. How have assessments
like this been used?
Pilot VCAT
community
assessments
raised questions
about the
effectiveness of
typical job or
resource fair
West Michigan
Veterans
Coalition’s
Employment and
Training
Subcommittee
discussed
alternatives to
typical fair
Coalition
sponsored
targeted events
with select
Veterans and
employers that
resulted in
multiple job offers
36

37. Altarum Institute integrates independent research and client-centered consulting to
deliver comprehensive, systems-based solutions that improve health and health care.
A nonprofit, Altarum serves clients in both the public and private sectors.
For more information, visit www.altarum.org
Lunch
37

38. IN HOUSE CUSTOMER
SERVICE
Lori Spicer
Family
Assistance
Center
Specialist
Michigan
National
Guard

39. In House
Customer
Service
Who are
our
customers?
Who are we
to our
customers?
Knowledge of
our
customers
services and
limitations
Anticipation
of needs and
collaboration

40. Who are
our
customer
s?
Michigan Veterans, Service
Members and their families from
all branches.
State, Federal and County
Veteran Agencies
County Resources, Non for
Profits, food banks
Fellow staff members,
employers, reception,
maintenance, file clerks etc
Volunteers and those who
donate either materials or
finances
Offsite vendors and other
contracting companies, JCF and
VCAT
CAN YOU THINK OF ANY OTHERS?

41. Who are
we to our
customer
s?
HURDLE TO
JUMP
RESOURCE
LAST
CHANCE
A
WELCOMED
OPPORTUNIT
Y
• A Veteran
has to
complete a
claim to get
assistance
with
retiring,
schools,
claims and
insurance
• A fellow
employee
needs you
to complete
forms to aid
a Soldier
• Another
resource
needs you
to
understand
that they
• You have the
answers.
• You are
supportive
and solution
oriented
• You are
truthful in
your
dealings
• You are
positive and
yet clear
about the
possible
outcomes be
they
negative or
positive
• If you do not
have the
answer, you
know where
• Client has
contacted
several
agencies on
their own and
they have not
received any
aid, they are
disillusioned
and tired and
scared
• Resource calls
you as they
have vetted
what they to
believe is every
option for a
soldier and
they need help!
• Teammate
needing
assistance with
IT issues or
• Training
• Contacts
• Resources
• Policy and
Procedure
• Housing
• Legal
Assistance
• Behavioral
Health
• Financial
• Navigation
through the
process
• Emergency
help
• Guidance on
long term
issues
• Understandi
ng.
• Empathy
• Military

42. Knowledge of
our customers
services and
limitations
Ask Questions
Don’t
Assume
Who is
who?
VCAT, Michigan Military Resource group provide you the opportunity to
meet like minded professionals who are passionate about their job and
want to share their information and best practices to enhance
collaboration which will effectively aid Michigan's Veterans, Soldiers and
their families.
Eligibility?
Cap on
services?
Process?
What are
they lacking?
Metrics
?
Funding or
lack there
of?
Limitation
s?

43. Anticipatio
n of needs
and
collaboratio
n
One learned
truth.. We all
have to show
productivity
and are
accountable
to someone
One case
can be
entered
into the
reporting
matrix of
several
resources
No
resource
loses out
by
collaborati
on
The knowledge gathered will enable you and
your staff to anticipate and provide a “warm
hand off to another resource”.
Collaboratio
n allows for
creative and
successful
problem
solving
In House Challenge: Provide written instruction to your employees or
team asking them to consider themselves customers of one another.
Each employee asks another, one at a time for their 10 greatest needs
as a customer. This can be done anonymously also. You will see
certain items rising to the top that you may want to address or correct
for the betterment of your office. This practice works its way outward

44. Breakout Instructions
44
Purpose is to identify priorities,
strategies, and action steps for key focus
areas related to Veterans services
We will break up into groups to discuss
these
In order to plan for breakouts we would
like those of you who will participate to
select the group you are likely to
participate in

45. First breakout task : Priority
setting
45
Priorities are the main topic or
topics you want to address in
the area
It is impossible to solve every
problem and issue so you
should think about what
makes sense for this coalition
to tackle and vote for your
highest priorities

46. Second Task SMART Objectives
46
Sis for specific
Mis for measureable
Ais for achievable
R is for realistic
T is for time-bound

47. Examples of SMART objectives
47
By March 1, 2016 at least 5 colleges and universities will have implemented a
new Veteran friendly policy.
By August 1, 2016 the Region 9 VCAT will have developed a checklist for
Veteran-friendly job fairs/outreach events and a process for endorsing and
publicizing the ones that meet these criteria.
By August 1, 2016 the Region 9 VCAT will have developed a web-based
directory of hub contacts for key areas including support with benefit
applications, services for Veterans who are homeless, discharge upgrade
support, and support navigating the VA.

48. Final Task
48
Develop a list of the action steps
needed to achieve those objectives
For all these tasks, start with your
highest priority area, go to your 2nd
highest priority area if you have time

49. 49
Priority Area:
Objective (make it SMART):
Actions Needed to Achieve Objective When will it be completed by? Who Needs to Work on It?

50. Once we reassemble
50
Gallery walk
Opportunity to review what each
breakout group has produced
You can make comments or
suggestions on each group using post-
its

51. Questions?
51

52. Four Groups
52
Education
Employment
Healthcare
Quality of Life (other resources and services including housing
assistance and support for homeless Veterans; support with the
VA pension and compensation application and appeals process;
support for Veterans involved with the criminal justice system;
emergency economic assistance; and recreation opportunities)

53. 53
Please join your group if
you plan to participate in
the afternoon breakouts