Incarcerated Veteran Coordinators Stay Busy During Pandemic

By Sarah Paris, Veterans News Magazine

In Oregon, an estimated six percent of the approximately 12,000 inmates throughout Oregon’s prisons are veterans. Justice-involved veterans may still be eligible for benefits, either at a full or reduced level.

Helping them to navigate this process are Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs Incarcerated Veteran Coordinators, Pat McGuffin and Shane Hagey.

Through constant contact with Oregon’s correctional institutions, the incarcerated veteran coordinators foster connections with inmates, counselors, and staff to educate them about available benefits and resources. The pandemic changed the structure of their outreach from in-person visits to remote, but they were able to find ways to adapt.

“We found workarounds for what we weren’t able to do in person,” Hagey said. “We maintained our workload.”

One example was McGuffin’s recent transfer to the Snake River Correctional Institution in eastern Oregon, where he continues to serve incarcerated veterans on behalf of ODVA. Snake River has the most veterans in custody among Oregon correctoinal facilities.

Another was the creation of their own Veterans in Custody Resource Guide, a pocket guide that they’ve distributed over a thousand copies of to date to the incarcerated veterans they visit.

“We’re happy to have been able to keep things up at all the prisons around the state,” commented Hagey.

In-person outreach efforts have resumed, and the coordinators are excited to continue their work in keeping veterans connected to benefits that help with successful re-entry to their communities.

For more information or to connect with the ODVA incarcerated veteran coordinators, visit www.oregon.gov/odva/Resources/Pages/Justice-Involved-Veterans.aspx or email incarcerated.vets@odva.oregon.gov.

How Incarceration Affects Eligibility for VA Benefits

VA can pay certain benefits to veterans who are incarcerated in a Federal, State, or local penal institution; however, the amount depends on the type of benefit and reason for incarceration. Disability compensation, pension, and education benefits are examples of affected benefits. The VA may also be able to take a portion of the amount that an incarcerated veteran is not receiving and pay it to his or her dependents, if they can show need. When a veteran is released from prison, his or her compensation or pension benefits may be restored.

More information: benefits.va.gov/persona/veteranincarcerated.asp

Health Care for Re-entry Veterans (HCRV) Program

The HCRV Program is designed to help incarcerated veterans successfully reintegrate back into the community after their release. A critical part of HCRV is providing information to veterans while they are incarcerated, so they can plan for re-entry themselves. A primary goal of the HCRV program is to prevent veterans from becoming homeless once they are reintegrated back into the community.

More information: va.gov/homeless/reentry.asp

Veterans Courts

There is a growing effort nationally and in Oregon to institute veterans’ courts or dockets to allow district attorneys to send military members and veterans into treatment, rather than jail, when they commit a non-violent offense.

These courts are staffed by people who take into consideration the charges and challenges facing veterans who return home from war. They may allow some military members to enter into mental health diversion programs as treatment for non-violent infractions as opposed to automatically jailing the offender. To learn more, contact your local District Attorney’s office.

More information:odaa.oregon.gov/members.htm

Veterans Justice Outreach Program (VJO)

The VJO initiative is designed to help veterans avoid unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and extended incarceration by ensuring eligible justice-involved veterans receive timely access to VA health care, specifically mental health and substance use services (if clinically indicated) and other VA services and benefits as appropriate.

More information: va.gov/homeless/vjo.asp