FAYETTEVILLE -- The new director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs has dropped the idea of changing the department's name to differentiate it from the federal VA and is instead proposing new mission and vision statements to "rebrand" the agency.
Matt Snead, who was sworn in as director in February, unveiled the new statements and some of his goals for the agency Tuesday in front of the Arkansas Veterans Commission, the governor-appointed oversight body for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. The meeting at the Fayetteville Veterans Home on Tuesday was the first the commission has held since Snead became director.
"I understand you all talked about a name change," Snead said. "I'm not so convinced we need a name change, but we need a rebranding. That rebranding is that we are the state's leading advocate for veterans.
"It seems like there's this culture that ADVA [Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs] in some loose way works for the federal VA. We are not part of the [federal] VA at all. In my mind, the federal VA works for us and we work for veterans, because that's where the rubber meets the road."
The state Department of Veterans Affairs operates the state cemeteries and the Fayetteville Veterans Home. It's managing the project to build a new veterans home in North Little Rock, and it employs about 15 people to help veterans and their dependents obtain benefits from the federal VA.
According to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the agency operates on an annual budget of approximately $12 million.
In October, then-Director Cissy Rucker introduced to the commission an idea to change the department's name to clarify that it was not part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. At the time, Rucker said scandal involving the federal VA was "splashed all over the news" and that Arkansas veterans thought the state agency was a part of it.
In January, then-interim Director Charles Johnson tabled the change until a new director was appointed.
Soon after he was appointed, Snead put together a group of 10 people, including five agency employees and five veterans involved with other organizations, to create a strategic plan for the department going forward.
In Rucker's time as director, the department went through a transformation period that included closing and selling the deteriorating Little Rock Veterans Home; starting the process of building a new veterans home in North Little Rock; and alleviating financial issues at the Fayetteville Veterans Home, which had been operating at a deficit.
"We couldn't be looking forward how we are without the work Cissy Rucker and Charles Johnson did. We owe them a debt of gratitude," Snead said Tuesday. "This is exciting stuff. We're looking forward now, instead of always having to look back."
The first phase in the strategic plan was creating a new mission and vision, Snead said. The vision that the group came up with states: "Recognizing the value of veterans to Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs will be the state's leading advocate and resource responsive to the changing needs of veterans and their families in attaining the highest quality of life."
The group also proposed adding more specific language into the current mission statement to include that the agency serves veterans and their dependents by providing long-term nursing care, burial honors and advocating for them to acquire their federal and state benefits.
Snead presented to the commission four areas in the agency that he and the group identified as needing improvement.
The group is near the end of creating a strategic plan and is now developing the steps needed to put it into action.
Don Berry, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who is part of the group working on a plan, said in an email earlier this month that the group was focused on a "new direction" for the department.
"We're taking on exceptionally important issues," Berry wrote. "It's not about changing a name anymore."
The first concern is the network of county employees who serve as the go-to for veterans with questions or issues regarding benefits and other needs. Before she retired in January, Rucker said the number of these county veteran service officers did not match the needs of each county and that the program required a "total rehaul."
The agency wants to increase training for service officers and restructure the network so that a state employee oversees county veteran service officers in seven- to 10-county regions.
Other goals include creating a database of "credible" veterans organizations and developing a business plan for the state's current and future veterans homes, as well as figuring out what resources are needed to operate the state cemeteries so they remain in line with the National Cemetery Administration.
The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs will soon be adding new staff members to help with its goals and rebranding. On Monday, a panel will interview candidates for the positions of deputy director and public affairs officer.
Johnson, who served as deputy for about two years, resigned in March -- about a month after Snead was appointed. The public affairs officer left when Rucker retired in January.
"Those positions are key in our strategic plan," Snead said.
The new statements, as well as any plans for the future of the department, will be sent to the governor's office for approval, Snead said.
Ken Griffin, the military and veterans affairs liaison for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, was in attendance Tuesday. He said what Snead presented was a "monumental step in the right direction."
The efforts also gained the support of the commission.
Bob Schoenborn, chairman of the Arkansas Veterans Commission, said the agency was "on the right track."
"I credit you for winding us up and pointing us in the right direction," Schoenborn said. "This has been exceptional."
Metro on 04/22/2015