Indiana veterans office outlines new accreditation rules for county veteran service officers

Joe DeVito, communications director for the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, briefed the Blackford County Commissioners on new state accreditation standards for county veteran service officers that the department described as coming out of "Senate rule act 433." "We're on timeline for July 1 to have, as many, if not all counties, under the accreditation and fully accredited by that time," DeVito told the board during the county's regular meeting.

DeVito said the state tasked the IDVA with developing uniform standards for County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs). He described requirements officials must meet to be eligible to conduct operational business on behalf of veterans, including working a minimum number of hours, maintaining regular office hours, and having proper office space and equipment. He also said accredited staff must have access to a personal identification verification (PIV) card to use the federal VA's claims system (VBMS) and that counties will receive one free account to a state-provided claims-management platform.

The presentation outlined mandatory training: spring and fall district meetings, recurring summer training and a four-day federal-accreditation course to be offered south of Indianapolis. DeVito said the department has contracted with a national legal-services organization to help develop and deliver the new service-officer curriculum; he referred to that partner as the National Veterans Legal Services project during his remarks.

Why it matters: county CVSOs help veterans navigate state and federal benefit claims. Uniform accreditation, access to VBMS and required training are intended to standardize county-level service and ensure accredited staff can file and track claims electronically. Local officials asked clarifying questions about the schedule and annual nature of trainings; DeVito confirmed the one-week training component is recurring and district meetings are mandatory.

Next steps: DeVito said the department expects counties to be accredited by July 1 or have 90 days thereafter to complete accreditation; county staff indicated their local CVSO is currently in compliance with the office-hours and equipment elements described in the presentation.