August 8, 2013
08/09/13 During Monday morning’s Marshall County Commissioner meeting, Pam Schweizer-Betz, the Veterans Service Officer told them a letter from the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs indicates a new accreditation requirement.
House Bill 1387 passed into Public Law 169-2013 requires VSO to be certified by the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs through training and testing. The law will require Veterans Service Officers employed prior to July 1, 2013 to attend a course and become accredited by July 1, 2015. To be considered for accreditation, the VSO must work no less than 1,000 hours annually, according to the Combined federal Regulation 38 14.629.
Betz told the commissioners that in the state of Indiana there are currently one two VSOs with accreditation. They were also informed that the Federal Government won’t accept submissions from a Veterans Service Officer who does not have accreditation.
Although they were notified during their spring convention that packets of information would be sent out, nothing has arrived yet.
Betz and several other Veterans Service Officers have contacted Walorski and Donnelly’s offices for additional information and clarification on the matter. As of Monday’s meeting she had not heard back from them.