by Mari Radtke
All of Veterans’ Affairs Commission members attended with Director Roy Wohlert and General Relief representative Abby Wallin. The intent is to discuss if and how VA and General Relief can merge service representation for the purpose of employment. Wallin is also an advocate for two of the mental health regions. She has a high caseload. Wohlert is planning to retire at the end of the year. Josh Haack, VA Commission member noted that combining would not resolve the problem of the advocate would not be able to take 4 consecutive days off without another advocate to cover their cases. Wohlert reported that some Iowa counties have combined the services, and also noted that many counties having the combined service are trying to move away from the structure. He also reported one VA Director with whom he is familiar works 20 hours per week for VA and 4 hours per week for her county’s General Relief. Wallin explained that she felt the processes of VA and GR are similar. The programs are somewhat different, but also have similarities.
VA is expecting to advertise in June and hiring in August with the remainder of the year fulfilling training. Bootsma proposed advertising for the VA position with both GR and without GR. The question of if a candidate would want both positions is driving a bit part of the hesitation. Distraction from the core job, connecting veterans with needs to earned benefits is the other major concern of commission members. Wallin says she will always be available to assist with training aspects of General Relief. Wallin was also a learning resource for Wohlert when he was new to the VA position.
Commission member Roger Jurack explained how and why he felt the duties of the VSO (Veteran Service Officer) are more than the 20 available hours allows. He finalized that he feels it is too early in the VA search process to make the decision about the combined position. Haack went on to ask if there is VA turnover will the GR position be forever part of the VSO job. No decision was made but the thoughts and concerns about combining the two services were laid on the table for further discussion.