Boston Globe
August 18, 2009
Pg. 1
$10 Million For Veterans Goes Unused
State wants to ease path to bonuses
By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff
Three years after Massachusetts officials pledged to pay "Welcome Home'' bonuses of up to $1,000 to veterans returning from active duty, some $10 million set aside for the program still languishes in state coffers.
State officials and veterans advocates alike say they are vexed by the lack of participation in the program, launched in 2006 as a goodwill gesture toward members of the military who served after the World Trade Center attacks, many of whom went to war. More than a third of the estimated 30,000 qualified veterans have yet to receive their money.
Officials speculate that some returning veterans are reluctant to accept handouts or to tackle the application process. But some also blame bureaucratic problems that have made it harder for officials to track down veterans eligible for the payments.
"It's a concern,'' said Eugene Vaillancourt, director of veterans services for the city of Boston. "It's unfortunate.''
The bonus program pays Massachusetts veterans who served in any of the regular branches of the armed forces, the National Guard, or reserves for at least six months after Sept. 11, 2001. It pays $1,000 to service members who were deployed to the Iraq or Afghanistan theaters and $500 to anyone who served elsewhere.
"It's astonishing how few people sign up for some free money,'' said state Senator Stephen Brewer, a Democrat from Barre, who has been active in veterans issues on Beacon Hill.
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, whose office administers the program, said the bonuses have been a success but added that the Treasury is continuing with "grassroots outreach,'' such as distributing a pamphlet about the program to returning veterans.
Getting word to former full-time members of the armed services can be challenging, officials said. Unlike National Guard units, which deploy and return as a group, full-time service members usually leave individually. Discharge information forwarded to the states by the Defense Department often includes out-of-date addresses, which list where veterans lived at the time of their enlistment, rather than where they intend to settle.
National Guard units learn about the bonus as a group in demobilization briefings when they return to Massachusetts. Still, gaining their attention, even for a $1,000 check, can be a problem when thoughts are on a reunion with family and home after long deployments.
"If you spend a year and a half overseas and you haven't seen your family, the last person you want to see is someone giving you a benefits briefing,'' said Coleman Nee, undersecretary for the state Department of Veterans' Services.
Other veterans simply do not want to be bothered with the process, Nee said, or they reject the bonus as a form of unwanted charity.
"There's no one standard set of reasons,'' Nee said. "It ranges from, 'Yeah, someday I'm going to do that,' to, 'Well, I don't need a handout.' ''
To receive the check, veterans must fill out a two-page application and provide proof that they lived in Massachusetts for six consecutive months before their latest enlistment. After the application is submitted, the money should arrive within four to six weeks, according to the treasurer's office.
To Charles Bollinger, coordinator at the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center in Gardner, the program's participation rate could indicate that not all veterans know about the bonus. "Maybe the awareness isn't out there,'' Bollinger said.
Nee said that boosting awareness is one of the top priorities for state Veterans Secretary Thomas Kelley. "We want every single person who's eligible for this bonus to take advantage of it, particularly now,'' Nee said.
Each month, the state sends a list of names of discharged veterans to all local veterans agents. But those agents, many of whom are busy with a flood of wide-ranging inquiries each week, are not required to contact the veterans to ask whether they have applied for the bonus or to help them with the application process.
Chris Tighe, the veterans agent for Peabody, said he simply does not have time.
"There's no way for me to use the list,'' Tighe said. "If there was one more thing for me to do, I'd be working 70 hours a week.''
The list contains only the names and addresses of returning veterans, Tighe said, and does not include their age, branch of service, or any other identifying information that might help the agents locate them.
The paperwork, which Tighe said is confidential, simply notifies agents that a Welcome Home package has been sent to the veterans listed on the form.
Tighe said that he routinely helps veterans with the application but that many veterans discard the Welcome Home information. "Most of them throw it away,'' Tighe said. "They just want the hell out.''
In Abington, a smaller community than Peabody, veterans agent Joseph Colantoni said he works aggressively to spread the word about the bonus. Each returning veteran receives a letter from his office that outlines available services, including the bonus, Colantoni said. "It's not a requirement,'' Colantoni said, "but it's part of our job.''
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, chairman of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Veterans' Services, said that he and a delegation of Massachusetts officials met his year with Eric Shinseki, the US veterans affairs secretary, and urged him to provide more accurate discharge information to the states.
Shinseki, a former Army general, replied that he would consider including a current e-mail address on discharge papers, Murray said.
Such a move would greatly improve the tracking process, according to the lieutenant governor.
To Nee, finding effective ways to match veterans and their bonuses is essential.
"This is paying back the IOU,'' he said.


