The Opportunity
Today, nearly 24 million veterans and their families, located in 3,141 counties and 36,000 local government jurisdictions, rely on their communities to provide an array of support services. Since 2002, more than 870,000 service members have separated from the active military and the Reserve Component forces and transitioned to civilian life in their communities after serving in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. These returning veterans and the existing population of aging veterans have multifaceted needs that are generally met by a number of independently administered services. These needs include health care, vocational rehabilitation, employment and training, care giving, social services, housing, and independent living assistance.
Current public and private initiatives providing these services to veterans and their families have limited resources, not only to administer their programs to a growing population, but to integrate their services with other programs being offered in the community. Yet it is the integration of these services that veterans and their families need most to help them navigate the complex system of care that currently exists. The increasing number of initiatives added to an array of fragmented organizations and services often leaves veterans and their families searching for the programs and services that best meet their needs.
Our Approach
Altarum Institute’s Veterans Community Action Teams (VCAT) Mission Project developed a collaborative community model to enhance the delivery of services from public, private, and nonprofit organizations to veterans and their families. This model was tested in San Diego, Calif. and San Antonio, Texas to demonstrate the value of a community-based system of care in terms of improving the accessibility, scope, and quality of care available for veterans and their families. Multiple government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and community based organizations collaborated in the project.
Initial phases of the project involved research and development, outreach and communications, and assembly of the VCAT team. Best practices in integration of services were identified from the literature, interviews, and lessons learned from previous Altarum community projects. Lastly, evaluation tools were developed and research protocols finalized.
What We Achieved
In collaboration with the community, the VCAT project designed and implemented an integrated system of community services to meet the complex needs of veterans and their families. The model approach acknowledged the community context in which veterans live and allow flexibility and creativity among the services in the selected community site. In so doing, the community builds its capacity to provide a complex array of health and social services to the veteran population.
Veterans and their families need access to an integrated system of community services to achieve quality of life and economic security. With improved coordination and integration, a streamlined and responsive community system enhances access to public, private, nonprofit, and voluntary services for veterans and their families. In turn, community services become more efficient and effective, thus enhancing the population and community development. Altarum disseminated the integrated community service model to encourage other communities to develop enhanced services for veterans and their families.