VAAC Report June 2017

JUNE 7, 2017

REPORT TO THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The National World War I Museum in Kansas City is the center of the Centennial Commemoration. 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the entrance of the United States into WWI. Photo credit: Sarah Dressler, ODVA Public Affairs.

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE June 7, 2017 ADVISORY COMMITTEE Dennis Guthrie, Chair ....................................................................................... Redmond Tony García, Vice Chair ......................................................................................Portland Kim Douthit, Secretary .....................................................................................Portland John F. Howard ................................................................................................. Medford Mike Jones .......................................................................................................... Ontario Reyn Leno................................................................................................... Grand Ronde Rosy Macias............................................................................................................ Salem Jon Mangis ............................................................................................................. Salem Val Valfre, Jr. ……………………………………….....................................................Forest Grove

ODVA STAFF Cameron Smith .................................................................................................. Director Cody Cox ........................................................ Veteran’s Home Loan Program Manager Martha-Estela Garcia ................................................... Special Assistant to the Director John Haytas..................................................................... Information Services Manager Nicole Hoeft ..........................................................................Communications Manager Mary Jaeger.................................................................. Aging Veteran Services Director John Osborn .......................................................... Facilities and Construction Manager Julie Owens ......................................................................... Human Resources Manager Laurie Skillman ...............................................................................Senior Policy Advisor Bruce Shriver ................................................................................ Chief Financial Officer Mitch Sparks.......................................................... Statewide Veteran Services Director

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ADVISORY COMMITTEE Quarterly Meeting Agenda Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM VFW Post4108 / 1836 Veterans Way Redmond, OR 97756 I.

WELCOME AND ADMINISTRATION • Call to Order – Chair Dennis Guthrie • Pledge of Allegiance – Chair Guthrie • Committee Member Introductions • Meeting Rules – Tony Garcia • Audience Introductions • Review and Approval of March 1, 2017 Minutes

II.

ODVA DIRECTOR’S REPORT – Cameron Smith

III.

SUBCOMMITTEES UPDATES – ODVA Staff • Finance – Bruce Shriver • Legislative Affairs and Policy – Laurie Skillman • Statewide Veteran Services – Mitch Sparks • Home Loans Program – Cody Cox • Aging Veteran Services – Mary Jaeger

**********************************BREAK************************************* IV.

DISCUSSION – ADVISORY COMMITTEE STRATEGIC PLANNING • Structure / Work of Advisory Committee • Roles & Responsibilities • Challenges / Opportunities

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OLD BUSINESS ITEMS •Expo July 15, 2017 at Deschutes County Fairgrounds

VI.

NEW BUSINESS •Open for committee members • Nominations & Elections • Annual Report • 2018 Meeting Locations - Corvallis – March 2018 - La Grande – June 2018 - Roseburg – September 2018

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- Salem – December 2018 • Marion County Veterans Services •Fed VA Expenditures • Next Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting: Date: Wednesday, September 6, 2017 | Time: 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM Location: Medford, OR VII.

PUBLIC COMMENT (Speakers Limited to 3 Minutes) Public comment time is set aside for persons wishing to address the Advisory Committee on agenda matters. Action will not be taken at this meeting on citizen comments. However, the Advisory Committee, after hearing from interested citizens, may place items on a future agenda so proper notice may be given to all interested parties. At the conclusion of the meeting, there will be a Town Hall forum for individuals to bring up broader veteran community issues. Members of the community may also submit written public comments to the Committee at the following email address: vaac@odva.state.or.us

VIII.

BUSINESS MEETING ADJOURNED VETERANS TOWN HALL

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The Following Pages include the March 1, 2017 Meeting Minutes for Advisory Committee Approval

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Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting Wednesday, March 1, 2016 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM St. Helens Elks Lodge #1999 / 250 Belton Rd, St. Helens, OR 97051 Dennis Guthrie, Advisory Committee Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:33 AM. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chair Guthrie Committee Member Introductions: Dennis Guthrie – Redmond, US Army Veteran (medic) Kim Douthit – Portland, USCG, Student Veteran Advocate at Portland Community College, Navy spouse John Howard – Medford, US Navy Veteran, former legislative assistant to Congressman Walden Val Valfre – F orest Grove, US Air Force, Vietnam Veteran, Housing Director for Washington County Rosy Macias – Salem, US Marine Corps Veteran, Outreach Coordinator at the Salem Vet Center Mike Jones – Ontario, US Army, Vietnam Veteran Mitch Sparks – Director Statewide Veterans Services, ODVA, Navy Veteran Sue Farkash – Executive Assistant to Mitch Sparks Meeting Rules: Kim Douthit, Secretary, reviewed the rules of Advisory Committee public meetings for those in attendance.

Audience Introductions: Alta Lynch – Elks and Veterans Bunker Shaun Jones – ALA Paul Langer – citizen George M. – Elks Craig Reysor – Elks Cliff Multaner – Elks, VFW, American Legion Brittany Domingues – Elks, Veterans Bunker James Wilson – VFW, DAV Nancy Bowers – Elks Joshua Sprecher – Elks, Veterans Bunker Jay Lillie – Marine Corps Coordinating Council – PDX Doug MacEllven – MOAA – PDX Phil Butcher – OED Worksource Oregon James Hamilton – DAV Van Moore – Westcare / VCCO Mike Allegre – VCCO David Nelson – VFW Post 1440 Rose Creaston – Elks, Veterans Bunker, American Legion

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Doug P. – American Legion Larry Tomb – DAV Ch7 Don Reynolds – Don Reynolds Farms Toni Cordell – Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Dave Huntzinger – VFW Post 1440 Jerry Reed – VFW Post 4362, American Legion Post 42 Mary Jaeger – ODVA Director of Aging Veterans Services Sherry Belden – VFW Cody Cox – ODVA Home Loans Program Bruce Shriver – ODVA Chief Financial Officer Review and Approval of December 7, 2016 Meeting Minutes : A motion was made to accept the minutes as published, motion seconded, motion passed unanimously.

Director’s Report – Mitch Sparks, Director Statewide Veterans Services, ODVA Mitch Sparks reviewed the directors report. The directors report reminded everyone of how much support Oregonians showed veterans with the passing of Measure 96 at a historic 84% in favor of the measure. Now with the passing of the measure it is up to our legislators to fully fund ODVA’s general fund and use the lottery dollars to supplement ODVA’s budget. The director’s report also thanked the public support that has been given by Oregon veterans and veterans’ community. Director Smith gave a special thanks to Dennis Guthrie for his dedication and commitment to Oregon veterans.

ODVA Staff Updates: Finance – Bruce Shriver, Chief Financial Officer, ODVA Bruce reviewed the Finance report. He went over the difference in the Governor’s Budget and the Agency Request Budget in his report, mentioning that during the legislative session there are three stages that the budgets go through and we had two more stages to go. Request was made from the committee to have the dates posted of when the budget presentations would happen in which Bruce responded by letting all know that they could sign up through eSubscribe to get the notices as another way of notification.

Legislative Affairs and Policy – Laurie Skillman, Legislative and Policy Advisor, ODVA Laurie Skillman went over what legislation that is going through right now. She reviewed the Legislation Policy report for the meeting, taking the group through how to and where to sign up for weekly email updates. Laurie then gave a brief explanation of Senate Bill 79 – Home Loan Technical Fix, Senate Bill 80 – Tribal Veterans, and Senate Bill 81 – Health Care Navigation. She

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handed out a Veterans Bills sheet in which she had listed all bills relating to veterans to the group and gave the highlights of the veteran’s bills.

Statewide Veterans Services – Mitch Sparks, Director Statewide Veterans Services, ODVA Mitch reviewed the Statewide Veterans Services report for the Advisory Committee. He emphasized the work that the Portland and Salem office did with the board of veterans’ appeals hearings. They performed 89 hearings with a 90% showing of veterans and family members to the boards, which is a very good percentage. He shared that it is always most effective to have the veterans and family members appear when they can to the hearing.

Mitch also went over the work being done with the Oregon funeral homes in order to get veteran dependents into a VSO and see what benefits are available to them. Statewide Veterans Services held 2 VSO boot camps, and 7 VSO’s were accredited.

Liz Estabrooks, ODVA Women Veterans Coordinator gave a short presentation of the “I AM NOT INVISIBLE” Campaign. Mitch made mention of the project that ODVA’s LGBTQ Veteran Coordinator, Nathaniel Boehme, in partnership with Paul Iarrobino at NW Consulting is making a LGBTQ Veteran video. It will come to fruition in Spring 2017. When completed, a link will be posted on the ODVA website. He then went on to speak about the Highly Rural Transportation Grant, mentioning how it is a great plus up to the DAV vans.

Home Loans – Cody Cox, Home Loans Manager, ODVA Cody gave a quick review of 4th Quarter production in Home Loans. Home Loans closed were 66 loans for a gross dollar volume of $15,948, 208. He mentioned that production is going well, servicing portfolio is increasing and delinquency is going down, all great to see. The question was asked as to “How do Veterans know about the Home Loans program?” Cody shared the work he has been doing with realtors in Oregon and asking them to ask the question “Are you a veteran?” and then letting them know about the program.

Presentation - Van Moore, Veterans Care Centers of Oregon(VCCO) and West Care Management Inc. Van described how they worked with ODVA. West Care keeps the books for Veterans Care Centers of Oregon, and is the operational piece. In the operational piece, West Care is doing well and is solid. Regulatory wise, Lebanon Home just had their annual CMS survey, with the VA Survey following. Veterans Care Centers of Oregon is a 501(c)(3) and contracts with ODVA to operate the Oregon Veterans’ Homes.

The Dalles had a good survey last year with another coming up in April. Projects going on are the 1 % for Art Project at the Lebanon Veterans Home which should be finished in the spring.

At The Dalles a complete renovation is being worked on as the building up there is 20 years old.

ODVA has received a federal grant to do the renovation. The biggest challenge is how to do the renovation while having residents. One way is to do one wing spoke at a time, each spoke has

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about 15-16 residents, which takes a lot longer. It would take about 18 months or more. The other way is to close the wing for one whole week and bring the census down to 100 to remodel a full wing. This would take a year to a year and a half plus and would bring about $5$6 million in revenue loss. He also spoke about some of the surprise costs. One such surprise was a flu outbreak and just one medication cost $29,000.

Of special note was that The Dalles Veteran Homes was a Gold Status recipient. The 19th home in the Nation to receive it out of 16,000 nursing home in 2014. The first veteran’s nursing home to receive this award.

At VCCO there are 4 committees on the board, Finance Committee, Education Committee, Quality of Life Committee, and Quality of Care Committee. The education committee has developed a program in conjunction with ODVA and USDVA who are working on giving paybacks on student loans for nurses as recruitment tool. There is a shortage of nurses, so the program was extended to staff members who are LPN’s and Nurses’ Aides who want to go on and get their nursing degree and will commit to come back and work as a registered nurse.

Van spoke briefly about the new position at VCCO, the Quality of Care Coordinator. He introduced Mike Allegre who was hired into the position. Questions from the audience were fielded by Mike. One such question/comment was in reference to a county or local veterans service organization adopting a “wing or unit” at the veterans home to where they could do fundraisers for things that might needed, such as TV’s, carpets, furniture, etc. Advisory committee member Kim Douthit asked how the position was funded and how did VCCO plan on measuring the outcome of the program, to which the answer is that it is part of VCCO’s operational budget, not an ODVA position and there is no metrics yet, as it is very new and being developed as it goes.

Dennis Guthrie called for a 15 minute break.

Old Business: • Veterans Expo in July 2017 at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds New Business: • Get Liz Estabrooks with the tribes for Women Veterans April 21-23 the IANI exhibit will be on display at the Redmond VFW • Next meeting June 7, 2017 at VFW Post #4108, 1836 Veterans Way, Redmond, OR 97756 Public Comment: Doug MacEllven, MOAA, reviewed for all the differences between Oregon and Oklahoma and mentioned that it would be great if Oregon would use the money from Measure 96 to hire more VSO’s.

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Jerry Reed asked if ODVA had a way to evaluate and measure the performance of ODVA VSO’s and thanked ODVA for working on adding more service officers. He also asked ODVA to bring up the issue of the stigma that veterans face about being “trained killers” when they end up going to court and having to do community service. He asked that this issue to be brought up and worked through the veterans courts.

Russ Clark mentioned he as a County VSO had a hard time getting a hold of his counterparts in the VFW, American Legion, and / or DAV Portland office. Another gentleman discussed how the veterans’ service organizations really didn’t have much money and so had a hard time meeting the work load. Russ wanted to make sure that everyone knew that if the service organizations were having a hard time that they could and should reach out to the counties and send that veteran to the county for assistance. He emphasized that the communication between all veterans service officers (county, state, service organization) really needed to get better and continue to work together.

Alta Lynch thanked Russ Clark for all the work that he has done there for the county and shared with everyone some of the things he does to advocate for the veterans. She thanked all in the county for the ability to work together, the service organizations, the community, the county.

Jay Lillie shared with everyone about a program that he saw on the news that he feels can help the veterans community. The program is working on getting veterans off of the streets. In this program, it was a combination of different veterans’ organizations working together.

Chair Dennis thanked the Elks for hosting the meeting and let everyone know that the Advisory Committee would be around after the meeting for any further questions, comments, discussions that the audience would like to have with them.

Meeting adjourned at 1230.

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The Following Pages Includes Today’s Meeting Reports for June 7, 2017

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We are in the thick of the long legislative session. Much of our work with the legislature is around budget issues. Overall, the state now has a budget hole of approximately $1.4 billion. We are fortunate that the Legislature has the newly dedicated Measure 96 Lottery Funds to prevent cuts to key veteran programs and make further investments.

As you know, one major question and concern of the veterans’ community is whether ODVA’s existing General Fund will be reduced and back filled with the new Lottery Funds. At the end of March, we convened national service organizations’ leaders and many of you for a meeting with Governor Kate Brown at the Oregon Veterans Home Lebanon. It was a very productive discussion with the great outcome of the Governor’s strong statement of support.

Through the veteran community’s advocacy, the Governor committed to supporting General Fund for current veteran services and reserving the Lottery Funds for new and supplemental investments to better serve Oregon’s veterans and their families. She particularly emphasized investments for veteran services and veterans housing efforts.

The Governor’s support allowed ODVA to champion this full funding message back to the Legislature in April during our second phase budget hearings in front of our Ways and Means sub-committee. We continue to emphasize focused investments in veteran service officers and reducing the Home Loan program subsidy for veteran services. For broader partnerships, we continue to emphasize investments in suicide prevention efforts, veterans’ housing and student veteran supports.

Separately from the legislative work, we also had a key meeting with the Marion County Board of Commissioners in May regarding local veteran services. With the addition of Polk County earlier this year, Marion County is now the only county in the state that does not invest in local veteran services.

Historically, the over 24,000 Marion County veterans have relied on ODVA’s Statewide Veteran Services.

We relayed to the commissioners that this greater level of state support for Marion County veterans unfortunately comes at the expense of our efforts to best serve veterans and CVSOs across the state.

We were clear that to meet our shared county and state goals for veteran services going forward, we must continue to align ODVA staff and resources into training, claims review, appeals and statewide outreach and partnerships. We signaled that ODVA staff will not be able to focus on direct claims development after July 1, 2018.

As we continue to shift resources to support ODVA’s statewide mission, Marion County has the opportunity to decide whether it wants to support local veteran services. We will continue to work with Marion County leadership and if they decide to start a CVSO, we will work to ensure its success. Timing is excellent as they could participate in the likely increasing state pass through funding to expand and enhance local veteran services.

Please take the time to read through the other key program updates that follow and our team looks forward to seeing you all in May in Redmond!

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FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISION

Bruce Shriver, Chief Financial Officer Update on the Governor’s Proposed Budget for the Department Covering the 2017-2019 Biennium In December 2016, the 2017-2019 Governor’s Budget (GB) was published and contained the Governor’s proposed budget for the Department for the upcoming biennium. The 2017-2019 GB included new monies for the Department arising from the recent passage of Measure 96 (1.5% of net lottery proceeds) projected to be approximately $18.5 million. The 2017-2019 GB also included a reduction in General Fund resources of approximately $8 million; however this reduction was backfilled with the new lottery monies. Subsequently in March 2017, the Governor announced her support to not reduce General Fund resources providing current services to veterans.

On February 14 & 15, 2017, the Department presented its “Phase 1 Agency Profile” overview of the 2017-2019 GB budget before the Legislative Joint Committee On Ways and Means, Subcommittee On Transportation and Economic Development. On April 25 & 26, 2017, the Department again appeared before this Subcommittee for the “Phase 2 Discussion of Issues” budgetary presentation. The Department anticipates appearing for the “Phase 3 Work Session” budgetary hearing in late May or June 2017. It is anticipated that at the “Phase 3 Work Session” hearing, the Subcommittee will formulate its recommended budget for the Department for consideration by the entire Joint Committee On Ways and Means and then by the full Legislative Assembly.

Ultimately, the 2017 State Legislature will determine the Department’s budget for the 2017-2019 biennium and to what extent Measure 96 monies will become net additional resources available to fund veteran programs.

For comparative purposes, the Department portion of the 2017-2019 Governor’s Budget (GB), the Department’s 2017-2019 Agency Request Budget (ARB) and the Department’s 2015-2017 Legislative Adopted Budget (LAB) are shown graphically below. The most significant differences between the various budgets generally reflect additional resources in the 2017-2019 biennium in the Veterans’ Services Program area (providing additional funding for aging veteran services, county veteran service offices, national service organizations, partnerships and program funding alignments) and the Veterans’ Home Program area (reflecting increased numbers of veterans receiving care in the Lebanon and The Dalles Veteran Homes).

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Unaudited Quarterly Financial Statements The December 31, 2016 unaudited quarterly financial statements show an overall decrease in net position in the Veterans’ Loan Program of approximately ($2.1) million for the first six months of fiscal year 2017. The same period for the prior fiscal year showed an overall decrease in net position of approximately ($1.9) million. These current fiscal year reductions are primarily attributable to increased debt related expenses, higher operational costs, and the on-going subsidization of veteran services activities.

The Veterans’ Home Program unaudited quarterly financial statements show an overall increase in net position of approximately $2.3 million for the first six months of fiscal year 2017, compared to a increase in net position of approximately $0.3 million for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Included in these figures were transfers and capital contributions into the Veterans’ Home Program from the Veterans’ Home Trust Fund and federal grant monies which totaled approximately $0.2 million and $0.3 million respectively in fiscal years 2017 and 2016.

The Changes in Net Position for both the Veterans’ Loan Program and Veterans’ Home Program are shown in comparative form on the graph below.

Other Financial Services Division Activities: Over the past several months, the Financial Services team also worked on contracting & procurement efforts, processed federal grant reimbursements, worked on fiscal year 2017 financial reports, conducted post-issuance bond compliance activities, exercised early bond redemptions, prepared fiscal impact statements on various legislative bills requested by the Legislature, and performed other related financial activities as needed.

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Legislation, Administrative Rules and Agency Policy Laurie Skillman, Senior Policy Advisor

The 2017 Oregon Legislative Session began on February 1 and is targeted to end on June 23. As of February 1, over 1,500 bills had been filed. Note that 2,641 bills were filed during the 2015 Session.

Accessing Veteran Bills At the end of this report is a list of all veteran bills ODVA is tracking as of May 15. The report lists the bills that have passed out of both the House and the Senate and are ready for the Governor to sign; it lists pending bills grouped by subject; and it lists bills that were introduced but are no longer viable. ODVA has a great webpage on the 2017 Legislative Session that lists veteran bills and provides a lot of useful information. The public may also receive a weekly email update on these bills by signing up on the ODVA webpage.

ODVA legislative Webpage: http://www.oregon.gov/odva/Pages/VetsLeg.aspx

See the list of veteran bills. Sign up for weekly Email Updates. See Veterans Committees hearing agendas.

ODVA Proposed Legislation for 2017 •

SB 79 Home Loan Technical Fix The bill is a technical amendment to the veteran home loan statutes to make statutory requirements consistent with 2015 legislation. Passed House/Senate, to Governor’s desk.

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SB 80 Tribal Veterans: The bill recognizes and honors the service and sacrifice of Native American veterans and provides statutory authority for ODVA to assist Oregon Indian Tribes with their programs of service to veterans through Tribal Veteran Service Representatives. In House Veterans Committee 5-15-17.

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SB 81 Health Care Navigation: The bill recognizes the challenges and barriers to accessing and utilizing health care and mental health care from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, state, and local community resources, and authorizes ODVA to provide statewide expertise, advocacy, and assistance in navigating the complex health care systems for veterans. In House Veterans Committee 5-15-17.

Highlights of Veterans Bills • • • • • • • • •

Nine bills honor and recognize individuals for their sacrifices or honor Medal of Honor recipients.

Three bills enhance the existing property tax exemptions for veterans.

Several bills provide veterans with very low or no fees for vehicle registration (former POWs), access to state forests, and medical marijuana cards.

Uniformed service members and the Oregon National Guard may buy back up to four years of PERS. Education bills include a waiver of certain requirements of a veteran to obtain a high school diploma; gives priority to National Guard for the community college tuition waiver program; and clarifies veterans priority enrollment program.

A grant program is established for campus veteran resource centers and coordinators at community colleges and universities.

Apprenticeship programs for plumbers or steamfitters must give credit for military work. Return there are taskforces on innovative housing and on veterans with PTSD. A “Support Our Troops” license plate is established.

Military possess firearm on military property. Age reduced to 18 for concealed carry active service/vets.

ODVA Budget Bill: HB 5039 The Governor’s budget recommends an increase in total funds for veteran efforts (new Lottery Funds and a reduced level of current General Funds). The Ways and Means Co-Chairs Budget Framework proposes adding back some additional General Funds. The 2017 Legislature will have a robust conversation about funding for veteran efforts through Lottery and General fund dollars.

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Veterans Bills Passed Out of Both House and Senate Policy Bills o SB 79 – ODVA technical fix for home loans. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 2149 – One $15 fees vehicle registration for former POWs. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 2405 – Parks make rules on disbursing funds to tribes for veteran memorials. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 2930 – Requires efforts to determine military status of parents of abused child. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 2565 – Priority enrollment for veterans first goes to continuing students. [Passed by Senate/House] o SB 863 – Prohibits marijuana retailers from recording info on ID, incl. military ID card. [Passed by Senate/House] Honor and Recognition o HCR 1 – Designates Medal of Honor communities [Passed Senate/House] o HCR 9: Technician Fifth Grade Robert Dale Maxwell [Passed Senate/House] All Tracked Veterans Bills (includes bills passed out of both House and Senate) •

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ODVA Bills o SB 79 – technical fix for home loans. [Passed by Senate/House] o SB 80 – ODVA to provide aid and assistance to Oregon Indian tribes. [Sent to floor from House Vets] o SB 81 – ODVA to provide expertise, advocacy navigating health/mental health care. [House Vets] Bills that Impact ODVA o SB 129A – ODVA staff/participate on task force on veterans with PTSD. Amend: VAAC to review, consider and report to legislative committees by 2/1/2018 on establishing task force. [House Vets] o SB 143A - ODVA grant program for campus veterans resource centers/coordinators. Amend: VAAC to review, consider, report to legislative committees by 2/1/2018 on campus program. [House Vets] o SB 832A – ODVA to provide grants to nonprofits in rural areas for veteran services. Amend: VAAC to review, consider, report to legislative committees by 2/1/2018 on grant program. [House Vets] Ways and Means o HB 2233 – ODVA/counties help Korean Vietnam War veterans access health care. [W/M] o HB 2690 – ODVA administer bridge loans to vets receiving federal educational benefits. [WM] o HB 2908 – ODVA veteran volunteer coordinator created. [WM] o HB 3174 – ODVA pilot programs to provide training to veterans in construction. [WM] o HB 3341 - Task force to investigate shortage of nurses/med tech Douglas County. [WM] • Budget and Financing Bills, Ways and Means o HB 2891 – Placeholder.-2 Amendment establishes the VAAC Grant Fund. [WM] o HB 3132 – Establishes a Veteran Services Fund; lottery funds would be transferred ODVA. [WM] o HB 3319 - Establishes minimum GF appropriation to ODVA. [WM] o HB 5039 – ODVA budget bill. [WM]

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Tax Bills: Tax benefits, property tax benefits and tax credits Revenue o HB 2234 – Reduce fed taxable income by benefit received from veteran survivor benefit plan.

[Revenue] o HB 2235 – Allows county to provide vet tax exemption greater than statutory min. amount. [Revenue] o HB 2887 – Allows employers to receive tax credit for employing veterans. [Revenue] o SB 562 – Allows county to create property tax exemption, surviving spouse of active military KIA. [Revenue] o SB 694 – Grants higher property tax exemption for service-connected disabled veterans. [Revenue] DMV Bills o HB 2149 – One $15 fees vehicle registration for former POWs. [Passed by Senate/House] Ways and Means o SB 796A – DMV to issue Wounded Warrior parking permits to qualified veterans. [WM] Bills that Impact State Agencies: reduction in state fees and certain benefits from State Agencies o HB 2405 – Parks make rules on disbursing funds to tribes for veteran memorials. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 2930 – Requires efforts to determine military status of parents of abused child. [Passed by Senate/House] o SB 380 – Disabled veterans reservations for state parks one month earlier than the public. [WM] Revenue o HB 3357A - Increases county document recording fee from $20 to $40. [Revenue] o SB 116A – No fees for service-conn disabled veterans/active mil in state forests. [House Vets] Ways and Means o SB 200 – Extends PERS buy back to uniformed services (ONG, USPHS, NOAA – 4 years active duty) [WM] o SB 476A – Add service-connected disabled vets to Preferred Worker Program. Amend: VAAC to review, consider, report to legislative committees by 2/1/2018 on establishing task force. [House Vets] Education bills o HB 2220 – Eliminates certain requirements for veterans to obtain H.S. diploma.[To floor from Sen Education] o HB 2565 – Priority enrollment for veterans first goes to continuing students. [Passed by Senate/House] o HB 3423A - Exempts ONG enroll in CC college within six months of H.S. for Promise grant [Sen Education] Miscellaneous bills o HB 3087 - Creates leave insurance program (funded by employers/employees) to cover portion of employee wages while on family/medical or military leave. [Revenue] o SB 48 – Requires licensed health pros to take courses in suicide risk assessment/treatment. [House Health Care] o SB 863 – Prohibits marijuana retailers from recording info on ID, incl. military ID card. [Passed by Senate/House] o SB 851 – Placeholder. Amendment: Allows Oregon Military Department to receive terrorist threat information for threat management purposes. [Rules] o SB 1055 – Amends definition of “deployment” for family law proceedings. [House Judiciary]

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Ways and Means o SB 683 – Requires state to pay for ballot return envelopes for elections, including for military overseas. [WM] o SB 1021 – Placeholder. Amendment. Appropriates $3.5 million for military museum. [WM] Honor and recognition bills o HB 2100 – Memorial signs for 26 Medal of Honor recipients [Senate Vets] o HB 2880 – POW/MIA flag; expands definition of public buildings requiring display [Senate Vets] o HB 3207 – Designates portion of I-5 to be known as Atomic Veterans Memorial Highway [WM] o HCR 1 – Designates Medal of Honor communities [Passed Senate/House] o SB 573 – Remember those who gave lives in service for 21 seconds, noon on 21st day/month [House Veterans] o SB 992 - Designates third Friday in September Oregon POW/MIA Recognition Day (same day as National POW/MIA Remembrance) and flag must be flown on public buildings [Sent to floor by House Vets] o SB 993 – Designates August 7 of each year as Oregon Purple Heart Recognition Day [Sent to floor by House Vets] o Resolutions that Honor and Recognize Veterans  HCR 3: Private James Rowden and Private First Class John Rowden [Senate Vets]  HCR 6: Lance Corporal Dale Peterson [Senate Vets]  HCR 7: Sergeant David W. Johnson-DeFord [Senate Vets]  HCR 9: Technician Fifth Grade Robert Dale Maxwell [Passed Senate/House]  HCR 10: Bend Heroes Foundation [Passed Senate/House]  HCR 11: Sergeant Ronald W. Burkhart [Senate Vets]  HCR 22: Corporal Robert "Bobby" Leon Jones [Senate Vets]  HCR 25: Sergeant Adam Plumondore [Senate Vets]  HCR 30: Hospitalman Charles Eugene Johnson and Staff Sergeant Clifford Thomas Johnson [Senate Vets]  SCR 19A: Amended: Corporal Jeremy M. Loveless, Spec. Six Norman Francis Evans, Spec. Four David Lynn Evans [House Vets]  SCR 20: Sergeant Brennan C. Gibson [House Vets]  SCR 23: Technician Fifth Grade Robert Dale Maxwell [House Vets]  SCR 24: Bend Heroes Foundation [House Vets] Veterans bills that are no longer viable as of 4-17 o o o o o o o o o o

HB 2488 – Comm. college tuition waivers; prioritize for ONG if completed init. active duty training HB 2520 – OHCS disburse recording fee based on $ collected from county; return unspent HB 2689 – ODVA staff/participate on task force on innovative housing for veterans.

HB 2847 – ODVA to guarantee home refinancing loans. [ Rep. Evans to work on this during interim] HB 3328 – Modifies veterans’ preference in employment laws HB 3431 - Requires hospital that affiliates with CCO to provide care to low income children and veterans SB 130 – No fees for service-connected disabled vets medical marijuana card.

SB 320 – Appropriates General Funds for the Oregon Military Museum.

SB 456 – Interstate compact licensing emergency medical services (EMS) separating active duty SB 480 – “Support Our Troops” license plate 17

SB 572 – ODVA establish employment bridge program: paramedic, CDL, public safety employee training o SB 670 – Reduces age from 21 to 18 for concealed carry permit for service members/veterans o SB 676 - Requires apprenticeship for plumbers/steamfitters to give credit for military work o SB 681 – Allows federal/state military to possess firearm on military property on official business o SB 705 – Reduces uniformed services hunting license from $17 to free; fishing from $41 to free o SB 991 – DMV to issue Wounded Warrior parking permits to qualified veterans Placeholders o HB 2892 – ODVA to conduct statewide study on veteran-owned small businesses (placeholder) o SB 852– Directs ODVA to submit a legislative report (placeholder) o SB 853 – ODVA to conduct statewide study on veteran-owned small businesses (placeholder) o

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During the second quarter, Statewide Veteran Services has been pursuing interagency connectivity, to ensure all Oregon veterans have access to earned benefits and foster partnerships with state, county and non-profit agencies to broaden the outreach efforts to connect with more veterans across the state.

PROGRAMS Statewide Veterans’ Services, Salem Office—Pat McGuffin, Manager This quarter Salem claims has initiated a new outreach program with the Oregon State Hospital to meet with veterans who are patients there and work directly with them to obtain veterans benefits. With this new initiative we are also are reaching out to the OSH staff to provide broad training on veteran benefits and current programs. The goal of this program is to provide direct claims service to veterans at OSH and work closely with the transition team and the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) to ensure veterans are also engaged with federal VA services to offset costs of care to the state.

Statewide Veterans’ Services, Portland Office—Martin Ornelas, Manager Support County Veterans Service Officers through quality assurance and appellate representation, as well as direct liaison with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Portland Regional Office.

Update on electronic claims submission. The Federal VA’s Digit to Digits (D2D) electronic claims initiative to submit claims direct to the National Work Queue is now accepting eight VA claims forms. ODVA with our county VSO’s are submitting approximately 900 claims a month through the D2D portal. These claims can be worked by the VA within a one working day, non D2D claims are taking seven to ten working days to be placed on the National Work Queue.

Training Certification and Outreach—Gus Bedwell and Joe Glover, Program Analysts Mr. Bedwell presented on VA Culture at the Aging and Disability Resources Centers in both Marion and Lane Counties and to the Oregon Lifeline staff. He conducted one VSO Five Day Introductory Course for six new County VSOs (Deschutes, Josephine, Klamath, Polk, Multnomah, and Grant), conducted three One-Day regional VSO trainings (Willamette, Southern, and Central), and conducted two Training and Assistance Visits for Polk and Grant Counties.

Joe Glover, former Salem Claims Office Manager, joined the training team on March 1, 2017. He has since spent a week conducting Training and Assistance visits to Jefferson and Umatilla Counties, and a subsequent week doing the same for brand new VSOs in both Lincoln and Polk Counties. Joe hosted in-house trainings to staff in both Washington and Lake County.

Additionally he traveled to Multnomah and Linn Counties to administer accreditation exams to now accredited Veteran Service Officers.

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The training team was very engaged with the standing up of the new Polk County VSO. Starting in January Joe and Gus assisted in the physical setup of the office and training of their new VSO, Marie McCandless. During this transition period the training team spent approximately three weeks working with Polk county staff and meeting with Polk county veterans for benefit services.

Women Veterans Coordinator—Liz Estabrooks, Program Analyst Liz Estabrooks began the New Year coordinating a photo shoot, with 20 women veterans from around Oregon for the I Am Not Invisible exhibit. The exhibit celebrated its formal launch at the Portland Art Museum February 23, attended by over 300 people. Liz took the exhibit to St. Helens, the 304th Rescue Squadron (PDX), Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Salem Capitol, Brookings, and Portland VA Medical Center. She interviewed with 2 media people and 12 veterans, presented at 6 events, tabled at 5 events, attended the memorial service of a homeless veteran, testified on women veterans and homelessness to the Oregon Legislature, met with 12 different community partners, presented to 4 different VA executive staff teams, and held 2 listening sessions, making the total number of contacts she made in the first quarter approximately six hundred people and 24 veterans (one-on-one and listening sessions).

LGBTQ Veteran Coordinator—Nathaniel Boehme, Program Analyst The third quarter was again a time of growth and expansion for the LGBTQ Veterans Coordinator. We were able to connect with over ten new organizations to form partnerships and extend the ability of ODVA and the LGBTQ Veterans Coordinator to advocate for veterans and their families. During this period Nathaniel also received full VSO accreditation from the VA and is now able to officially represent veterans in a host of claims issues.

Nathaniel is still actively serving in the Oregon Air National Guard and was TDY in Savannah, Georgia for a month during this time.

Grants Management Emergency Financial Assistance Third Quarter 2016-17 (January – March): 38 applications for grants were received, with nine of those approved for a total of $12,899. The average grant was $1,433. Most approved grants continue to be for mortgage/rent and utility payments.

Highly Rural Transportation Grant The grant is active. Ten rural counties are receiving assistance transporting veterans to VA and non-VA medical appointments. The grant has been a successful cooperative arrangement between USDVA, ODVA, and rural counties and their transportation entities.

Each county is able to tailor the grant funding to work within their current framework, adding routes and drivers to existing programs.

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Reported for January through March: 2,894 1,644 73,798 268

Hours of time expended on medical trips Trips completed (one way: home to appointment) Total miles driven Veterans served

Lines For Life The grant is active. Lines For Life provides 24 hour phone and text services to at-risk veterans and their families. 409 calls from twelve identified counties were logged for the period January 1 – March 31, 2017. The calls had an average wait time of 36 seconds, and the average duration of a call was 12.5 minutes. Referrals were given to 69% of the callers for mental health appointments, drug and alcohol treatment, and assistance with the VA.

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Production Review •

For the 1st Quarter, 2017, the Home Loan Program closed 67 loans for a gross dollar volume of $16,503,855. This marks the single highest 1st Quarter Production levels since I arrived in December 2013. For the same period in 2016, the Home Loan Program funded 46 loans for $10,008,785 mil. This represents an increase of 45.65% in the number of units, with a 63.79% increase in dollar production over that same period.

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The chart below shows a 2014 - 2017 YTD monthly production comparison of dollar volume funded for the OrVet Home Loan program. $10,000,000 $9,000,000 $8,000,000 $7,000,000 $6,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 $-

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2014

2015

2016

2017

At the end of the First Quarter 2017, ODVA has a total of 1,849 loans in portfolio, with a total dollar amount under servicing of $281,853,150. Of these, 1,447 units and $268,090,497 are new loans. Old loans were at 402 units totaling $13,762,553. At the end of the First Quarter 2016, the ODVA had a total of 1,896 for $261,742,883 under servicing, with 1380 units at $245,438,500 as new loans and 516 units at $16,304,383 were Old Loans.

Our loan servicing portfolio grew by $20,110,267 (or 7.14%) while decreasing by 47 units, with 114 loans from the old loan portfolio paying off.

Loan Delinquency Review • • • • •

For the reporting period of 03/31/2017, there was 1 State Owned Properties/Real Estate Owned (SOP/REO) in inventory, a decrease of one property from the prior quarter.

There were 5 loans in a Foreclosure status, no change from the last report date.

The number of loans in Bankruptcy remains at 6, unchanged from the prior quarter.

The total of all loans reporting in the 90-day or greater delinquency position was at 18, expressed as 1.0% unit delinquency on a portfolio of 1,849 loans and at 0.4% dollar delinquency on the outstanding dollar portfolio balance of $281.9MM. ODVA continues to experience reduced delinquency rates as compared to other Government Residential Loan Programs. The Mortgage Bankers Association publishes a quarterly National Delinquency Survey and the following represents Oregon specific comparative data from the most recently available First Quarter 2017 report. The delinquency rate expressed as a percentage of total loans (units) past due for the Federal Veterans Affairs home loan program in Oregon was 2.14%, FHA home loans in Oregon were at 4.25% and Conventional Prime home loans Oregon were at 2.90%. Comparatively, for this reporting period, the total delinquency for the ODVA home loan program was 1.8% at 33 units, down slightly from the previous report.

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On March 28, 2017 ODVA hired Mariya Williams full time into the position of Office Specialist 1. In this position Mariya assists with duties of the Lebanon Veterans Home as well as part time assistance to the Representative Payee position. Mariya is an Army veteran who recently moved back to Oregon with her husband, also a veteran, and their two boys.

Conservatorship - Helen Ireland, Conservatorship Manager On May 12th all Conservatorship staff attended the annual Guardianship Conservatorship Association conference held in Eugene Oregon.

Conservatorship and Representative Payee Demographics

Period of Service

Residence type 23

5 32 42

100 46 18 67

Nursing Home (32) Residential Care Facility (42) Adult Foster Home (46) Assisted Living Facility (18) Room & Board Facility (7) Hospital (6)

WWII Korea

32

17 17

56

Independent Living (100) Relative Care (2)

15

Vietnam Peace Time

131

Gulf War Other (nonveteran)

(Note: some veterans have served in multiple campaigns of war.)

Oregon Veterans’ Home, Lebanon - Jeremy Woodall, Program Director Two Year Anniversary On April 19-20 the Native Caring Conference was held in Grand Ronde Oregon. Jeremy Woodall presented to this group about the Oregon Veterans’ Homes and general VA benefits. On April 22nd the OVHL held its third annual Spring Fling event. This event was very successful and also coincided with the dedication of the final Percent for Art outdoor structure as well as the portrait of Edward C Allworth. May 8-10th the Western States Hostage Negotiators Assoc. (WSHNA) held their annual training conference. The WSHNA holds fund raising events throughout the year and have chosen the Oregon Veterans’ Homes as their charity. Jeremy Woodall, Michael Springston, and Mary Jaeger were at the conference to both provide information on the Homes and veterans benefits and also to accept the donations received for the Homes.

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OVHL Demographics

Branch of Service

Service Period

Air Force

WWII Korea

2 14

6

20

Vietnam

31

35

Peace Time 63

Army

21

42

Gulf War

14

OIF/OEF

72

Coast Guard Marine Navy

2

(Note: some veterans have served in multiple campaigns of war, veteran of spouse (resident) not included.)

Oregon Veterans’ Home, The Dalles - Michael Springston, Program Director On March 1, 2017 Michael Springston was hired as the new Program Director for the Oregon Veterans’ Home in The Dalles.

Born in Bend Oregon, Michael was raised in The Dalles by his parents Steven and Tamie. His mom is a Special Education Assistant of 25 years at North Wasco School District. His dad has worked as a Fish Biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in The Dalles for nearly 30 years. A graduate of the “Last Class” of The Dalles High School in 2004, Michael went on to become an Emergency Medical Technician in Clackamas County. Michael worked as an EMT until he had the most amazing experience with an Army veteran who had suffered devastating injuries during his time in service.

Michael’s conversation with this veteran left him feeling he had more to give. He enlisted in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman in 2008. Later becoming a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman, Michael served in First Marine Division with 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion out of Camp Pendleton in San Diego California. Later he was attached to Second Battalion 5th Marines for deployment. Finding himself up for orders, Michael took a role at Naval Station Everett in Washington to finish his enlistment and be closer to family.

After his enlistment, Michael wanted to continue giving back to veterans. Working with the Everett Vet Center, Michael learned his passion for helping those who have served. Assisting veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while obtaining an education at the University of Washington was one of the most eye opening experiences of his life. Michael believes in helping veterans who struggle to help themselves. This 24

belief encouraged him to continue his passion of helping veterans through the Snohomish County Veterans Assistance Program where he worked with homeless veterans with children.

Michael is truly excited to bring his energy to the ODVA Veterans Home. He would like to thank the veterans and state of Oregon for this amazing opportunity to impact the lives of the community he loves. Most importantly, he would like to thank his wife Mary and son Clayton for coming along and allowing him to fulfill his goals.

OVHTD Demographics

Service Period

Branch of Service

WWII 26

33 4

42

Air Force Army

Korea 24

15

17

33

41

Vietnam 33

Peace Time

10

Coast Guard Marine

2

(Note: some veterans have served in multiple campaigns of war and/or have served in multiple branches.)

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THE DALLES VETERANS’ HOME The contract to preform renovations at The Dalles Home was awarded to LMC Construction Inc. LMC is now working on finalizing a project schedule and executing plans for the initial site work related to the exterior components of the project. The exterior work will be completed during the summer months prior to inclement weather in the fall and winter. As discussing previous reports, this project will require multiple phases across the entire facility and will likely take10 to 12 months to complete. We will start by constructing the new storage building, memory care addition and the remodel of the production kitchen. Renovations to the nursing care wings will follow.

The classroom associated with the Nursing education grant is now in production with site work to start by mid-June. The project will be on a fast track with the intention of providing an operational classroom by middle of August.

LEBANON VETERANS’ HOME The Parking lot drawings are ready and preparations are underway to begin solicitation of bids. This new carpark will provide parking for staff and overflow parking during major events at the home. The primary benefit of this additional parking is to provide visitors and family a member parking that is proximate to the neighborhood in which their loved one may be residing. We anticipate construction to begin after the legislative session in July.

A dedication for the Art projects was held on April 22. The portrait and the outdoor plaza were celebrated in conjunction with the Home’s Spring Fling events. The portrait of Edward C. Allworth is now hanging just off the main lobby and two large landscape paintings have also been hung near the canteen area. The Outdoor reflection plaza affords a wonderful space for residents, family members and staff to enjoy and relax.

On April 17th the grant for the construction of the Lebanon Veterans Home was closed by USDVA. This was a very successful project which came in, on time and under budget. It is worth noting, that USDVA now uses the Lebanon Home and its operational model, as an example of best practices for skilled nursing care in the country.

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Communications •

ODVA state Website: o ODVA’s state website is currently in full-time development. Over the last year, the team has performed focus groups, considered past analytics from state and agency web searches, accounted for required and desired performance capabilities, planned for automation of current content and developed a streamlined navigation with substantial state and federal benefit content. o There are four phases to the new website launch, the first phase encompassing the most pressing information and actions on veteran benefits, resources and location of services. Below is a screen capture of the staging environment and sample of expanded content that will be included on the new site. o Due to limited and changing communications staffing, the launch date has been postponed numerous times. The current time frame target for phase 1 launch is July-August.

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2017 Veterans Benefit Expo: o The 2017 Expo will be held in Redmond at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds on Saturday, July 15th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Based on feedback and after action observations, this years event is planned for a weekend day, and includes some new attractions to draw in more veterans who may have to travel to attend:  Veteran Job Fair – The employment section of the Expo will be transformed to a job fair where representatives from government agencies, organizations and companies specifically recruiting veterans will be onsite to promote career opportunities.  Veteran Trade Show – Veterans who own small business have been invited to participate in the trade show. This is an opportunity to match state and federal small 27

  



business resources to veterans who may not be familiar with the opportunities and benefits available to them as a veteran owned business. The tradeshow also raises awareness and support of veteran owned businesses within their community.

New this year - Kids area, military equipment display, entertainment and a food court.

We are currently promoting this event and have partnered with Deschutes County Fairgrounds for broader awareness through TV and radio PSA’s.

We are still accepting expo vendors applications (federal, state and local community agencies and service organizations that deliver resources and benefits to veterans are welcome to apply). Applications for sponsors, job fair and trade show participants are also still open.

Please visit www.expo.oregondva.com for more info.

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Information Services •

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•

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Desktop lifecycle replacements o Deploying a new, modern workstation platform o Completed new workstation deployments for 1/3 of ODVA staff this biennium ODVA Discovery Service vendor engagements o Completed low-level discovery and analysis of custom ODVA IBM i applications [e.g. Conservatorship, Home Loans, others] o Completed broad analysis of ODVA business processes and content management o Completed a comprehensive information and security risk assessment as part of Unifying Cyber Security for the State of Oregon o Outcomes from the engagements will be used to inform the strategic direction of ODVA Develop ODVA information systems modernization initiatives and planning o Close coordination with OSCIO and Legislature to fund Conservatorship and Home Loans applications o Continue consolidation of agency-wide multi-function printing and scanning o Evaluate new operational technologies o Mobile Device Management solutions o Video surveillance solutions o Wireless networking Continue to develop information technology tactics in support of the ODVA Strategic Plan.

Records and Information Management Services •

Statewide Records Management o New system to manage agency records o Update of agency record retention schedule and policies o Bi-annual destruction of records

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