VAAC Staff Report December 2020

DECEMBER 2, 2020

REPORT TO THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Army Col. Aron Meadow works inside Operation Warp Speed headquarters in Washington, Nov. 13, 2020. Operation Warp Speed is an effort by several government components and public partnerships to facilitate the development, manufacture and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE December 2, 2020 ADVISORY COMMITTEE John Howard, USN, Chair .................................................................................. Medford Reynold “Reyn” Leno, USMC, Vice Chair ................................................... Grand Ronde Christine Gittins, USA, Secretary...................................................................... Redmond James Gardner, USA ........................................................................................... Eugene Robert “Bob” Van Voorhis, USA ....................................................................... John Day Nell Stamper, USCG………………………………………………………………………………………...Astoria Christina Wood, USAF…………………………………..………………………………………….…..Portland Micah Ashby, USN………………………….......................................................................Bend Mayme Cawvey, USA………………………………….………………................................... Portland ODVA STAFF Kelly Fitzpatrick, USA ......................................................................................... Director Martha-Estela Garcia, USA ........................................... Special Assistant to the Director Sean O’Day, USA ....................................................................................Deputy Director Vacant……..……………………………………………….Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director Jennifer Donovan ...........................................................................Senior Policy Advisor Lisa Durden ................................................................................. Internal Auditor Aaron Nicole Hoeft .......................................................................... Director, Communications Rebecca Cameron ............................................................... Human Resources Manager Sheronne Blasi, USN............................................. Director, Statewide Veteran Services Joseph Glover, USN ............................. Assistant Director, Statewide Veterans Services Martin Ornelas, USCG..………………………………………………………...ODVA Portland Manager Ana Potter ................................................................... Director, Aging Veteran Services Kelly Breshears.…………………………………...…… Assistant Director, Aging Veteran Services Helen Ireland………………………………………………………………………. Conservatorship Manger Aaron Hunter ............................................................................... Chief Financial Officer Cody Cox ........................................................ Veteran’s Home Loan Program Manager John Osborn, USN ................................................. Facilities and Construction Manager Vacant ............................................................................ Information Services Manager

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Quarterly Meeting Agenda Wednesday, December 2, 2020 | 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM Join by Zoom via Videoconference: You may pre-register for the meeting by clicking on this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpd-mtrjsuGNQenGY7aYVDDLnZ9knG-QAE Once pre-registered you will receive a link to the meeting. To prevent background noise, all attendees will be muted upon joining the meeting. To improve bandwidth during the meeting, only members of the Committee and Department staff will appear on video feed.

Join by Zoom via Telephone: You may join the meeting by dialing 1 (253) 215-8782. When prompted, enter the meeting ID: 824 0050 0420# and password/participant ID: 6959417# To prevent background noise, all callers will be muted upon joining the meeting.

Meeting Materials: Staff reports for individual agenda items, when available, can be found on the Committee’s website by clicking on the following link: https://issuu.com/odva/stacks/38107bb40c054695831edf5634865ca4 I. WELCOME AND ADMINISTRATION – Business Meeting • Call to Order – Chair John Howard • Moment of Silence – Chair John Howard • Meeting Rules – Vice Chair Reynold Leno • Committee Member Introductions • New Member Introductions – Director Fitzpatrick II. ODVA DIRECTOR’S REPORT – ODVA Director, Kelly Fitzpatrick III. Reports and Presentations • ODVA Internal Auditor Introduction – Lisa Durden, Chief Audit Executive • Campus Veterans Resource Grant & Veterans Service Grant Update – Jacqueline Kemp, Campus Veterans Resource & Veterans Service Grant Coordinator • Veterans Students Education Bridge Grants Update – Joseph Mah, Campus Veteran Coordinator • Legislative Session – Jennifer Donovan, Legislative Director IV. OLD BUSINESS ITEMS • Continue to share with veterans that they can apply at any time to be an Advisory Committee member through the ODVA website. Applications remain in the queue for consideration for two years.

• Open for Committee Members

V. NEW BUSINESS • Open for Committee Members • Next Advisory Committee Quarterly Meeting: Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2021| Time: 9:30 - Noon Location: Zoom VII. BUSINESS MEETING ADJOURNED TOWN HALL (Speakers Limited to 3 Minutes) The town hall time is 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

CONNECT WITH ODVA

WEBSITE www.oregon.gov/odva BLOG www.oregondva.com FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/odvavet TWITTER @oregondva or www.twitter.com/OregonDVA ADVISORY COMMITTEE vaac@odva.state.or.us PUBLIC INFORMATION ODVAinformation@odva.state.or.us SUBMIT AN EVENT www.oregon.gov/odva/Connect/Pages/Events.aspx SUBMIT A STORY VetsNews@odva.state.or.us EMAIL SUBSCRIBE & Vets News www.oregon.gov/odva (Under “Connect with ODVA then Agency Publications”) LEGISLATIVE Page www.oregon.gov/odva/Connect/Pages/Legislation.aspx

Director’s Message Kelly Fitzpatrick

As we close out 2020, ODVA continues to fully function despite challenging circumstances brought on by the national health crisis and the economic impact the pandemic continues to have.

As an agency, we’ve had to learn to be adaptable this year. Quickly converting nearly 100 percent our workforce to securely work from home while maintaining direct services to veterans was just the beginning of 2020. This last year I have witnessed our dedicated staff offer their creativity and skill-set to collaboratively solve our challenges. In October, the training team successfully transitioned the entire Annual Veteran Services Officer Training Conference — a mandatory four-and-a-half-day training event for the state’s 100 certified VSOs — to a virtual event. The quick planning, ingenuity and flexibility of the team was impressive to watch come together.

The agency also continued to develop and implement veteran grant programs while maintaining solid core operations and programs. This fall both the Veterans’ Loan Program audit and the Veterans’ Home audit resulted in “clean” opinions from external auditors with no qualifications noted in their stated audit opinions – in other words, the auditors could find no flaws in either major program. Although these findings are typical for ODVA year after year, the results are no less commendable and directly attributable to the hard work and careful stewardship by ODVA’s finance team.

In August, ODVA’s long tenured Human Resource Director Julie Owen retired after 42 years of State service. Although we could never replace Julie as a person, we were fortunate to welcome Rebecca Cameron, previously with Department of Consumer and Business Services, to the agency and team as our new HR manager.

From how we care for our aging veterans in our Homes during a pandemic to how we conduct our outreach to the state’s traditionally underserved veteran populations, every corner of the agency has been thrust into change and has risen to meet the challenge. I am especially proud of the heroic efforts that have been made to protect our most vulnerable veterans. The Oregon Veterans Home in Lebanon has had no new active cases of COVID-19 since April. The Home in The Dalles unfortunately has just experienced its first and only loss of a resident due to COVID-19. As the nation currently is in the third and most severe COVID-19 peak, ODVA and the staff at the homes

Director’s Message Kelly Fitzpatrick remain absolutely vigilant in working closely with state health officials to follow the latest infectious disease control and prevention protocols to continue to protect our veterans and residents.

This winter ODVA’s Executive Staff will begin work on a new five-year strategic plan that will build on the successes of the previous framework and further focus the agency’s efforts on ensuring all veterans in Oregon have access to their earned benefits and need resources. I am excited about that effort especially because we will incorporate a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lens going forward. This approach is more important than ever and is being addressed across state government. Speaking for our agency, we want to create an environment where all veterans’ voices are heard and respected, and move us to action, and to identify and eradicate systemic inequities in ODVA programs. As we continue through this unprecedented time, I share with you my commitment that ODVA will continue to work to fulfill our vision that all veterans and their families thrive in Oregon, regardless of race, ethnicity, or skin color, gender, ability, religious belief, or sexual orientation. By doing so, ODVA will make its own modest contribution to the larger effort to ensure that all Americans live free from institutional injustice, violence and prejudice, and have the opportunity to pursue a life of dignity, free from fear and full of hope.

I’m proud to say that the ODVA team continues to rise to every challenge in order to continue to serve and advocate for Oregon veterans and their families. As we now head into the winter and associated holidays, I hope that the members of our Veterans Advisory Committee remain safe and well.

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS Jennifer Donovan, Director

2019-2020 Legislative Interim As I reported in the last quarterly update, the 2019-2020 legislative interim has been unusual.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required the legislature to meet with much more frequency than in past interim periods. The tragic wildfires in early September have required additional legislative interim action. As the legislature works to disburse funding and create new policies to deal with the housing and community needs brought on by these events, precautions to the COVID-19 pandemic have fundamentally changed committee meetings and legislative interactions. All committee meetings and legislative interactions are now carried out via video platforms and through phone calls. As we near the 2021 Legislative Session, many questions remain as to how to create legislation in an open and public format while conducting all business remotely.

September Legislative Days In September the legislature held legislative days. Legislative days are normally held quarterly during legislative interim. During these, usually, three days of committee meetings, legislative interim committees meet to collect information about implementation of legislation passed in the previous session, get information reports on issues, and request information for upcoming legislation. This year, legislative days were held over the course of the week of September 21st.

ODVA was invited to present to both the Senate and House Interim Committees on Emergency Preparedness and Veterans Affairs.

For the Senate committee, ODVA was invited to provide information about the impact of COVID-19 on ODVA programs and funding. Additionally, Chair Manning requested information about the status of women veterans in Oregon. Chair Manning has said that he would like to highlight issues facing women veterans throughout the upcoming 2021 Legislative Session.

ODVA took this opportunity to shine a light on women veterans’ suicide. You can view this presentation on the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) here.

The House committee requested that ODVA provide updates on the status of the two Oregon Veterans’ Homes and an update on the Veterans Educational Bridge Grant program. Both presentations were very brief overviews of the impacts of COVID-19 on the programs. The Veterans’ Educational Bridge Grant program was passed into statute in the 2019 Legislative Session and rolled out by Statewide Veterans Services in May 2020. The purpose of the

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS Jennifer Donovan, Director program is to provide grants of up to $5000 to veterans who are unable to continue coursework in their higher education program due to the unavailability of required courses. The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant need for these funds due to many programs closing at the start of the pandemic. By September 2020 the program had already disbursed over 60% of its funding. The program has been well received by veterans and legislature. You can view both of these presentation on OLIS here.

Looking Forward In December the Legislature will hold December legislative days. This year December legislative days will span two weeks, from December 7th-18th. The Senate Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness will meet on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 1pm. The House Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness will meet on December 16th and 18th at 1pm. These meetings can be viewed live on the OLIS website. To view the committees’ live streams go to the OLIS website and choose the Veterans committee from the drop down menu under “Meetings Today”.

The 2021 Regular Legislative Session is expected to begin on its statutorily mandated day, January 15, 2021. At this time, it is anticipated that the meetings will be held via the same platform as legislative days and the two 2019 Special Sessions. It will be a new adventure in cooperation and patience as agencies, the public and the legislature work to create a transparent and collaborative process during these unprecedented times.

FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISION Aaron Hunter, Chief Financial Officer FY 2020 Audited Financial Statements

The audited financial statements show an overall increase in net position in the Veterans’ Loan Program of approximately $2.0 million for the full twelve months of fiscal year 2020. The same period for the prior fiscal year showed an overall increase in net position of approximately $3.6 million. The current fiscal year increase in net position is primarily attributable to a reduction in excess mortgage interest (which increased current period loan interest income), interest earnings from the loan portfolio, and increased leasing and other income.

The Veterans’ Home Program audited financial statements show an overall increase in net position of approximately $3.0 million for the full twelve months of fiscal year 2020, compared to an increase in net position of approximately $4.7 million for the same period of the prior fiscal year. Included in these figures was approximately $1.1 million in CARES Act Provider Relief Federal Funds provided to the Oregon Veterans’ Homes for lost revenue and increased expenses related to COVID-19.

Both the Veterans’ Loan Program audit and the Veterans’ Home audit resulted in “clean” opinions from the external auditors with no qualifications noted in their stated audit opinions. Copies of the audited FY 2020 financial statements as well as other reports can be found on the Department’s website at the following link: https://www.oregon.gov/odva/Connect/Pages/Reports.aspx The Changes in Net Position for both the Veterans’ Loan Program and Veterans’ Home Program are shown in comparative form in the chart below.

Other Financial Services Division Activities:

Over the past several months, due to the corona virus outbreak, the Financial Services team has continued to provide a mixture of in-office and teleworking staff. While the transition has been challenging, as the financial processes the Department employs is primarily paper-based, Department staff have gone above and beyond to ensure support provided to other ODVA Divisions has continued with limited impact.

FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISION Aaron Hunter, Chief Financial Officer

The Financial Services team has worked on contracting & procurement efforts, processed federal grant reimbursements, conducted post-issuance bond compliance activities, exercised early bond redemptions, interacted with the Department of Administrative Services - Chief Financial Officer and the Legislative Fiscal Office on budgetary & legislative matters, provided information to external auditors for the annual financial statement audits, and performed other related financial activities as needed.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director General AVS Update During this quarter, Aging Veteran Services has remained a busy division, in spite of several staff working from home. Conservatorship have begun going back out into the field when necessary to inspect properties and meet with veterans. All appropriate COVID-19 practices are followed, including personal protective equipment such as coverings, masks and social distancing. While many state agencies have closed their doors to walk-in visitors, ODVA has kept the reception area open to assist veterans. Staff at the front desk have assisted over 150 people who walked through our doors this quarter. Many visitors were thankful to talk with someone in person versus having to call and potentially leave a message.

•

Both Ana and Kelly have attended several virtual conferences including: Annual County Veteran Service Officer Conference • Oregon Health Care Association Special Projects: • Kelly Breshears continues to work with the IT and Communication units as well as the Project Management team to move forward with the replacement of the existing IT Conservatorship System.

Within the next few months the final business case and requirements list will be submitted to DAS for final approval. Once approved, we will be ready to move forward with opening a Request for Proposals (RFP).

Aging Veteran Outreach Lacey Carter As the Coronavirus pandemic continues, telecommuting for this position continues as well, but despite the ongoing changes in how we do this work, we continue to stay connected, virtually, to veterans, community partners and stakeholders.

This fall, the Outreach Coordinator helped to create an opportunity for formal partnership with North West Senior and Disability Services (NWSDS) and Veteran Service Officers (VSO) serving in Clatsop, Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Yamhill Counties as well as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. In their role as the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and Aging Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) serving seniors and people with disabilities in Clatsop, Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Yamhill Counties, ADRC Specialists encounter veterans and their families. Previously, the ADRC Specialist offered contact information for the Veteran Service Officer (VSO) to the veteran and there was not a formal process for referral from the VSO to the ADRC.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director The partnership entails a simple referral generated from the ADRC Specialist directly to the VSO via secure e-mail. Likewise, VSOs complete a simple one-page referral by checking the areas of interest, to be faxed or e-mailed securely, directly to the ADRC for assignment to an ADRC Specialist who then contacts the individual directly. This two-way referral collaboration is critical to the success of our most vulnerable senior and/or disabled veterans who are already struggling with impairments that make referral follow-through difficult.

This collaboration strengthens the partnership with the ADRC (NWSDS), enhances outreach efforts to veterans and their families, engages more veterans and their loved ones in needed services or benefits and, ultimately, better serves those who need it most by increasing the number of successfully completed “warm” referrals for both agencies. If successful for all parties, we will work to help expand this collaboration throughout the state.

On Veteran’s Day, a shared presentation between the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network with Oregon Health Sciences University and AVS on “Engaging Rural Veterans and Growing Community Partnerships” will be aired for the annual Oregon Rural Health Conference being held virtually this year.

AVS values our ongoing collaboration with Statewide Veteran Services. Most recently, AVS contributed in the evaluation of proposals for the Veteran Services Grant, that are aimed at enhancing and expanding services available to veterans and their families in Oregon communities.

We also continue to participate in the regular rotation of evaluation of applications for the Oregon Veterans' Emergency Financial Assistance Program.

Claims work, benefit access and advocacy, on behalf of aging veterans and their families, continues to occur by phone and e-mail. In-depth file review for potential claims and special benefits for those served in the ODVA Conservatorship Program continues as well as advocacy and claims assistance to the ODVA Veteran Volunteer Program, Program Directors of the OVHs, County and Tribal Veteran Service Officers, community partners and more.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director Veteran Volunteer Coordinator Mark Newell After the initial pilot program of 17 volunteers and three counties we expanded the program. We held our first statewide training for Washington, Multnomah, Columbia, Marion, and Yamhill counties. Prior to COVID-19 we had reached almost 1400 people and informed them of their earned benefits and where to get help connecting to them.

COVID-19 Update: With all long-term care facilities currently on lock down this aspect of the program has been temporarily suspended.

In light of COVID-19, the Veteran Volunteer Program devised and implemented a plan to reach out to our Veterans who are aging in place in their own homes through a brochure. These brochures inform Veterans and their family members about many of their potential earned benefits and encourages them to contact a volunteer to discuss those benefits further. The volunteers have been trained to get them in touch with their local county Veteran Service Office. We held a virtual training using Zoom to further train our volunteers regarding this program. We currently have 21 volunteers involved.

We have partnered with the Meals on Wheels Programs in every county to deliver one of these brochures to every household that receives meals and 13,000 brochures are now filtering out to the recipients of the Meals on Wheels Program. Additional brochures were provided to be shared with Oregonians who receive meals through the congregate meal program. While this program is in its infancy, to date we have received 29 calls from Veterans and their family members asking about their potential earned benefits Success Story: As a result of this effort, Mark Newell was contacted by a Gulf War veteran who had been laid off for 8 months and was trying to get his CDL. The veteran thought his GI Bill benefits had expired as it had been 10 years since he was in service. Mark, through the help of ODVA staff, found out that the veteran had 15 years after service to use his benefits. He called the veteran back and let him know to that he still had time to use his benefits and recommended the veteran contact the school he was attending to arrange file for his GI Bill benefits. The veteran called Mark back to tell Mark he was all set and his schooling was going to be paid for by the GI Bill.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director Conservatorship Helen Ireland, Conservatorship Manager • During this quarter, the payee program had a caseload of approximately 92 cases.

• During this quarter the conservatorship program had a total caseload of 114 active cases.

• All staff attended the quarterly Guardian/Conservator Association of Oregon meeting in August.

• On July 31st Kathie Fitzenberger, one of our Trust Officer Assistants, passed her certification exam to become a National Certified Guardian.

• Due to the stimulus payments being issued this year, the staff needed to apply on behalf of a large amount of our veterans to receive their entitled payments, as they were not automatically processed.

• Despite most of the conservatorship team working from home and the challenges that has presented, the team has been still been able to provide excellent service to our veterans with minimal disturbance on their lives.

Conservatorship and Representative Payee Demographics 1 6

9

21

13

5

6

26

27 43 35

95

49

7 5

Nursing Home

Residential Care Facility

Adult Foster Home

Assisted Living Facility

Room & Board Facility

Hospital

Independent Living

Relative Care

Incarcerated

Homeless

campaigns of war/branches.)

WWII

Korea

Vietnam

Peace Time

Gulf War

Other (non-veteran)

(Note: some veterans have served in multiple

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director Oregon Veterans’ Home, Lebanon Jeremy Woodall, Program Director Cultural Luncheon The Recreation Department hosted a Cultural Luncheon event to celebrate diversity in our ranks.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, these events were hosted in our Activity Room, included food, drink and dessert, entertainment, and images of the specific region and culture of the country/city selected. They were a highlight of the month for our veteran residents. Some examples of locations we’ve used for our lunches include Italy, Germany, Cuba, Mongolia, and Japan. The cool part is many of our veteran residents served in these places so it provided a lot of discussion and camaraderie.

Even in these COVID times we have continued to provide unique and diverse opportunities for our veteran residents. The Cultural Luncheons are still provided, but they are hosted in the individual Homes with most entertainment and images being played on the television in the Dining Room. In November the luncheon will focus on the unique culture of Native Americans.

It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas Our Maintenance Department is working with OSHA and our lighting vendor to assure safety when hanging the lights on the outside of the buildings across campus. The lighted Homes are really a delight for our veteran residents, their family, the staff, and the community. We are looking forward to bringing the joy of the holidays into the hearts of our residents.

COVID-19 Update The OVHL has had zero active cases since April, and there is much effort going in to keeping the virus out. Reminders to staff and veteran residents to wear a mask and maintain social distancing any time they are inside of the facility, screening of all visiting medical professionals, visitors, and vendors, and the diligent work of the IP (Infection Prevention) Team on the pulse of updates in regulations and recommendations from CMS, DHS, SOQ, the CDC, etc., are part of everyone’s effort to maintain zero active cases.

In July we began hosting Limited Outdoor Visitation (affectionately called LOV), which provided opportunities for families to meet in-person with their veteran. With the weather changing to cooler temps and more precipitation expected, the IP Team has been discussing Limited Indoor Visitation.

Again, following the guidance and recommendations provided, the Home has been working on its policy for providing opportunities for indoor visitation as we head into the winter season.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director OVHL Demographics 2 14

8

24

22

16

38 53

16

5

64

1

Air Force

Army

WWII

Korea

Vietnam

Coast Guard

Marine

Peace Time

Gulf War

OIF/OEF

Navy

Spouse

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

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director Oregon Veterans’ Home, The Dalles Melissa Craig, Program Director Training/Accreditation Melissa Sanders participated in several virtual training events this quarter, including an NVLSP webinar on 22 September and annual VSO conference from 20 October to 22 October. She took and passed the Veteran Service Officer accreditation exam on 26 October.

Admissions The Home has resumed admissions with new guidelines and procedures in place. OVHTD is admitting a maximum of two new residents per week, and the prospective resident must have a recent negative COVID-19 test result. After a 14-day self-quarantine in the Home a second COVID-19 test is performed and once a negative result is received, the resident is then released from self-quarantine.

Visitation Due to the changing weather, the Home will be implementing limited indoor visitation. A detailed policy is still being created but will include utilization of a plexiglass barrier, PPE, social distancing, and limit the number of visitors per time slot. Visitations will be scheduled with the Activities Director to ensure enough time between visits for full sanitization procedures to be completed.

COVID-19 The Home has completed baseline testing of all residents and staff and has implemented the required serial testing of staff per regulatory guidelines. The frequency of staff testing ranges from weekly to monthly and is based on County positivity rates. Enhanced testing is required when there is an active case involving either staff or residents.

Update: As of the writing of this report, the Home is currently under an Executive Order due to two residents testing positive for COVID-19 at the end of October. This finding has triggered weekly testing. Admissions and visitations are on hold until 14 days has passed with no additional positive cases for either residents or staff.

Construction The courtyard portion of the project is finished, and the new door fronts at either end of the main hallway have been installed. The re-roofing portion of the project is still underway, and the contractor has employed additional personnel to expedite the roofing and siding installation. The windowsill replacement portion of the construction project has been put on hold due to the COVID19 pandemic and will resume when safe to have construction workers in the building.

AGING VETERANS’ SERVICES Ana Potter, Director Kelly Breshears, Assistant Director Veteran Celebration On 9 September we celebrated the 100th birthday of a very special resident. He was a World War II veteran credited with 24 bombing missions over Germany and was a POW in Austria after his plane was shot down. He had family members come from as far away as Washington DC for a parade of law enforcement, fire department, classic cars, motorcycles, horses, friends, family, and even a WWII era airplane fly-over. There was music from a local radio station DJ as well as recognitions from the ODVA Director, The Dalles Mayor, Representative Walden, Senator Wyden, and the President of the United States.

OVHTD Demographics 1

14

21

14

12

25

52

15

43 8 2

WWII

Korea

Vietnam

Air Force

Army

Coast Guard

Peace Time

Gulf War

OIF/OEF

Marine

Navy

Spouse

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

COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES Nicole Hoeft, Director Communications Statewide Virtual Veterans Day 2020: As the state continues efforts to mitigate the community spread of COVID-19, ODVA hosted a virtual Veterans Day Celebration online with participation from Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon’s Congressional delegation, state legislators, and other special guests on Nov. 11. The event can be viewed on ODVA’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/odvavet/videos/367137957926890 Virtual Town Halls: As part of ODVA’s continued work to support traditionally underserved veterans, this fall ODVA is hosting a special series of live virtual town halls focused on women and LGBTQ veteran issues. ODVA works with traditionally underserved and marginalized veterans to address the impact of this inequality and the ceaseless need for such work to continue. During these town halls, ODVA Director Fitzpatrick will share benefit and resource information available as well as take questions from the public. Event information is being promoted broadly. To download the event flyers or register for the event visit www.oregon.gov/odva/Connect/Pages/Townhalls.aspx Lottery Beneficiary Videos: As beneficiaries of Oregon Lottery funding, ODVA partnered with Oregon Lottery to produce videos highlighting the state’s robust network of Veteran Service Offices across all 36 counties. The great work in Yamhill and Jackson County Veteran Services Offices are now featured on Oregon Lottery’s website: https://www.oregonlottery.org/veteran-services/ COVID-19 Communications: This quarter, ODVA has continued supporting COVID-19 communications about the impact on our veteran community and residents at both Oregon Veterans’ Homes including community communication about state and federal policy guidance and protocols to protect OVH residents. Current information about the status of COVID-19 at Oregon Veterans Homes can be found on ODVA’s website at www.oregonveteranshomes.com.

Veteran Resource Navigator: ODVA continues to assist Oregon veterans who have been impacted by the pandemic and the economic impacts have followed through maintaining the Veteran Resource Navigator microsite. This resource lists information about benefits and services that can help veterans and their families during this time with focused information on economic, education, health/behavior health, housing stability services. ODVA’s homepage (www.oregon.gov/odva) prominently features a Veteran Resource Navigator banner to link viewers to the microsite.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES Nicole Hoeft, Director Information Services Telework Support: Information Services continues to support remote work capabilities and improvements. As the state has extended teleworking, the team has implemented new applications to enable virtual trainings and meetings, procured hardware and trained users to use their equipment for teleworking.

Agency Email Migration: Information Services has begun planning efforts in coordination with DAS Enterprise Information Services to migrate ODVA’s email services to Office 365 as part of a statewide IT migration in early 2021.

Modernization Projects: IS continues to provide project management coordination and business solution work being conducted to support modernization efforts to the Home Loans origination system and the Conservatorship application. In August, the project team successfully released a Request For Proposals seeking vendor solutions for the Home Loan origination system. That work is ongoing.

Records and Information Management Services Records and Information Services continues to support the agency’s records functions and mandates including the management of more than 100,000 military service discharge records for Oregon veterans. Requests for records can be made online or by calling ODVA.

Veterans’ Home Loan Program Third Quarter 2020 Cody Cox – Home Loan Program Manager

Production Review •

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The 2020 interest rate environment continues to be challenging for ODVA production. However, 3rd Quarter production levels show an uptick over the prior quarter, as well as over the same Quarter 2019. Production levels for the 3rd Quarter 2020 was at 37 loans for $12,864,985. For the same period in 2019, production volume was 35 loans for $10,433,261. This reflects an increase of 31% over the same period in 2019. Our average loan size during this quarter now sits at $330,658 for all of 2020.

Year to date 2020 the Program has produced 119 loans for a total of $39,349,324. This figure is roughly the same as the entire year’s production of 2019. We still have one full quarter remaining.

The chart below shows a 2014 - 2020 YTD monthly production comparison of dollar volume funded for the OrVet Home Loan program.

$16,000,000 $14,000,000 $12,000,000 $10,000,000

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

$8,000,000 $6,000,000 $4,000,000 $2,000,000 $-

•

At the end of the 3rd Quarter 2020, ODVA has a total of 1,654 loans in portfolio, with a total dollar amount under servicing of $324,545,493. At the end of 3rd Quarter 2019, ODVA held 1,877 loans for a total servicing portfolio of $361,325,834. This reflects the one-year portfolio reduction of 223 units (11.88%) and $36,780,341 (10.17%). For the current quarter, 1,506 units and $318,108,812 are new loans. Old loans were at 148 units totaling $6,436,682.

Loan Delinquency Review • •

A bright spot for the Loan Servicing is our delinquency levels. For the reporting period of 09/30/2020, there were no State-Owned Properties/Real Estate Owned (SOP/REO) in inventory.

At the end of 3rd Quarter 2020, there are no loans in a Foreclosure status. Foreclosure proceedings are essentially on hold due to the court systems during the COVID-19 situation.

Veterans’ Home Loan Program Third Quarter 2020 Cody Cox – Home Loan Program Manager

• • •

At the end of the 3rd Quarter 2020, ODVA has 4 loans in a bankruptcy status; no change from the prior quarter.

The total of all loans reporting in the 90-day or greater delinquency position was at 9 units, expressed as 0.5% in unit delinquency on a portfolio of 1,689 loans and at 0.2% per total UPB amount under portfolio.

Our servicing portfolio continues to perform in spite of the employment issues experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ODVA portfolio performance shows a continued reduced delinquency rate 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 Third Quarter 2020 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 6.74%, an increase of 96 basis points over the prior quarter., FHA home loans in Oregon were at 12.00% an increase of 136 bps from the prior quarter, and Conventional Prime home loans Oregon were at 4.48% a decrease of 30 bps from the prior quarter. Increases shown in the 3rd quarter are due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the issues surrounding mortgage loan payments. For purposes of the national report, the MBA asked servicers to include loans in a forbearance program. For this reporting period, the total delinquency for the ODVA home loan program was 1.2% at 21 units. The ODVA servicing portfolio did not sustain any large issues from borrowers unable to make their mortgage payments. In fact, ODVA only has 1 loan that is in a forbearance plan, and that was initiated back in late April. That single borrower has completed the forbearance plan, and ODVA is recovering those forborne payments over a 12-month period. We do have 21 loans in our traditional Temporary Reduction of Payment plan, which still required the borrower to keep the interest and escrow payments intact.

Quarterly Staffing News No changes to staffing in the 3rd Quarter 2020.

FACILITIES AND CONSTRUCTION John Osborn, Program Manager

THE DALLES VETERANS’ HOME The roofing project is nearly complete, Griffin construction has indicated additional manpower has been added to make sure they are done by the end of the November. A combination of manpower shortages and material delivery issue have contributed schedule delays. The work in the garden area is completed and general clean-up in is now under way around the exterior of the building. In addition, work at other areas; air locks, painting of the facility, canopies at the community center and dining area at each wing are now complete. The total project cost has been reduced and now represents a total of $3,878,372 with a federal share of $2,519,642. and a State is $1,356,730.

LEBANON VETERANS’ HOME A project kickoff meeting with the winning contractor, Durbin Construction of Albany Oregon. is schedule for the week of the November 23rd. The sequence for construction will be to complete all site work concurrently, then start the storage building on the west side of the campus and move to the activity room addition at D wing spine. The project should take approximately 6 to 7 months to complete. The total project cost is $2,674,000. Federal share is $1,738,000. State share is $935,900.

ODVA Building While there have been some delays, the new signage package is in production and should be installed by the mid of December. In addition, the mural is now at the manufacturer and should be ready by the end of December. The facilities team is continuing to make progress on upgrades to the lighting in the building, we hope to be completed with this project by the end of December.

STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director PROGRAMS Statewide Veteran Services (SVS), Portland Office— During the quarter, SVS Portland staff attended 48 Virtual hearings (including Decision Review Officer and Pre-Determination hearings) and reviewed 2,224 Ratings Board decisions. The Portland office has caught up with all the pending document scanning with the assistance of the Aging Veteran Services team. For this quarter, the Portland office scanned and/or uploaded 9,656 documents for Veteran Service Officer (VSO) support, this also includes 422 replies to the Portland general email box.

Currently, the USDVA is still only conducting virtual appeals hearings. In this quarter, the Portland Team is again in the forefront of the number of virtual hearings being conducted across the nation.

Success Story: The newest member to join the Portland team, Ian Briggs, has received his Veteran Services Officer (VSO) accreditation with the USDVA. Training, Certification and Outreach (TCO)— This quarter, the training team continued their operations at full capacity. TCO completed their scheduled annual trainings to include: the one-day regional training for the Eastern region, the New VSO training, and the New Admin training, and the annual VSO Training Conference. TCO continues to partner with DPSST in support of law enforcement officer training, and conducted three monthly assistance and information visits this quarter.

Success Story: The 2020 Annual ODVA VSO Training Conference was held virtually October 2022, with 110 individuals attended the conference, plus all of the presenters. The virtual conference was highly successful and was the first of its kind for ODVA. Presenters ranged from National Veterans Legal Services Program to local VA leaders from Boise, Roseburg, and Portland VAMCs.There were also presenter on Traumatic Brain Injury, Community Care, and more.

Women Veterans Program In June, Liz Estabrooks resigned her position with ODVA. The first attempt to fill the position in the previous quarter was unsuccessful. An external out-of-state candidate was initially selected to fill the role, however unfortunately, she was unable to commit to the position. ODVA is currently conducting a second recruitment effort to fill this vacated position.

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STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director Incarcerated Veterans Program COVID-19 restrictions continue to impact Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) operations, and the team’s ability to support incarcerated veterans. Making things even more difficult, ODOC had to evacuate several of their facilities for the first time in their history due to heavy smoke and extremely poor air quality from wildfires. Because of the evacuations and short-term increased COVID-19 restrictions, the team’s efforts to interview veterans at the intake facility in Wilsonville was suspended for a month. Even though the team wasn’t able to visit the Wilsonville intake facility, they were still able to interview as many veterans as last quarter, determine their veteran status, and assist the veterans before transferring from the intake facility.

The team developed a new resource guide for incarcerated veterans. The pocket-size guide includes important ODVA, USDVA, and CVSO points of contacts, phone numbers, and mailing addresses. The publication also provides basic information about veteran benefits and support available in the areas of disability claims, discharge upgrades, burial benefits and several ODVA and USDVA outreach programs.

Success story: The team assisted a spouse with an application for apportionment of the veteran’s monetary payments, even when the spouse was unable return to Oregon from Australia due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The team leveraged email, fax and telephone conferencing to overcome time zone differences, conduct interviews, fill out required forms and gather documentation required for this claim. Despite the difficulties, the team was still able to submit the claim before the veteran’s benefits were reduced after 60 days of incarceration, thus ensuring the spouse continued to have access to critical funds for her financial needs.

Tribal Veterans Coordinator— (position currently vacant) In Fiscal Year 2021, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will receive pass-through funds to support its Tribal Veteran Services office. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation tribal council is in the process of finalizing an application for pass-through funding.

LGBTQ Veterans Program This quarter was a busy period for the LGBTQ program. In addition to the already ongoing stream of casework and files, the program worked with five new veterans and assisted each of them file 21-22’s. Four claims were filed, as well as, two discharge upgrades. One veteran who received a disability after being kicked out of the service for their sexuality, applied for Education Voc. Rehab benefits and was approved. The veteran is now enrolled and going to school for the first time with USDVA assistance. Six other individuals received service connected 2

STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director benefit information and casework assistance. One veteran was assisted with medications and housing support after being displaced due to the recent wildfires.

Success story: Assistance was provided to an individual who had become reclusive due to Covid-19 and service connected disabilities. This person was in dire need of medical care and assistance. Through efforts of the program, the veteran was sent a USDVA provided iPad to engage with tele-mental health treatment, re-engage with USDVA medical care services, and coordinate wraparound benefits.

State Approving Agency (SAA) – The SAA staff continue with remote compliance surveys of schools and training facilities. The SAA team plans to complete nine routine compliance surveys and one Risk Based Survey by the end of December. The team has continued their support of schools as they plan on maintaining a primarily distance learning plan through the Fall 2020 term. The VA’s Fiscal Year began on October 1, 2020 and as most of the State remains on a remote working schedule.

The accommodations put in place in response to Covid-19 have instituted a number of changes in Oregon’s educational facilities. The SAA team has been in constant contact with Oregon’s schools and training facilities to ensure they are kept informed of changes to VA education benefits to ensure that veterans and beneficiaries continue to receive benefit payments while schools remain compliant with VA regulations.

S.3503 passed to extend temporary law PL 116-128 that allows student veterans using GI Bill® benefits their full housing stipend while schools offer distance and hybrid course through December 21, 2021.

The team continues to monitor the ever-evolving Covid-19 effects on education facilities in Oregon and respond appropriately.

Veteran Educational Bridge Grant (VEBG) – ODVA was allocated up to $300,000 in funds to distribute to student veterans. Grant award amounts were based on demonstrated financial need during the period of program delay. As of this quarter, the VEBG has awarded 42 grants, totaling $198,961 in grant funds.

All the student veterans served by the VEBG are in programs that are in high demand by the labor market and have an immediate skill to offer employers. The grant has served veterans enrolled in flight programs, apprenticeships, culinary arts degrees, MBA programs, massage therapists training, and healthcare programs. Every applicant has had their academic progress interrupted due to the Covid-19 virus, and their programs have components that did not 3

STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director translate into distance learning. For example, flight labs, in-class skill learning for apprentices, and externships.

Due to the overwhelming demand for the VEBG as a result of Covid-19, ODVA has made some changes to how the benefit is distributed. To ensure the availability of grants through the end of the biennium, ODVA has had to limit the number of grants that can be distributed monthly, but continues to accept and review applications for the following month.

Emergency Financial Assistance Grant In this quarter, we received 22 applications emergency financial assistance. Due to limited funding, only 50% of veteran applicants were awarded. The most requested assistance type was for rental payments, mortgage, and various medical and utility bills. Of the applications awarded this quarter, there was a substantial theme of veterans reporting that their emergent need was caused by a Covid-19 related impact. Each applicant was sent the contact information for their County or Tribal Veteran Service office, local community action agency, and information for additional county and national service organization programs related to emergency assistance.

Success story: In September, there was a 71% increase in application submissions compared to the number of applications submitted in July and August. In order to maximize assistance for veterans in great need, two applications were funded through the Sowers Trust fund. One award assisted with rent for an 80-year-old veteran who had lost his job because he was at “high risk of severe illness� if he contracted Covid-19. In addition to stabilizing his rent, the team was able to assist the veteran and his daughter apply for the Caregiver program and review eligibility for additional service connected benefits.

USDVA Highly Rural Transportation Grant (HRTG) The Covid-19 pandemic created a substantial barrier in county transportation services and spending of the HRTG grant funds. Within this quarter, counties were able to resume coordinating transportation for veterans through HRTG. Trips increased by 55% from the third quarter to the fourth quarter (for the remaining counties that had grant funds remaining in the grant cycle).

As ridership increased in the quarter, it was a priority to ensure that riders and drivers were safe while resuming transportation services. Counties invested heavily in PPE for drivers and riders, hygienic supplies, and vehicle sanitation supplies in order to comply with CDC and state guidelines to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19. Overall, the counties have done an excellent job ensuring the safety of their drivers and riders this quarter.

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STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director Success stories: Despite the pandemic, this grant cycle the 10 grant awarded counties reported a total of 7,254 hours spent driving 239,405 miles on 3,022 separate trips, taking 222 Oregon veterans to vitally needed medical appointments.

During this quarter, ODVA was awarded $450,000 as continuation of the HRTG grant for the seventh consecutive year. Due to an increase number of highly rural county applicants awarded for this grant nationally, ODVA (as well as other prior grant recipients) experienced a decrease in the award amount for the 2020-2021 grant cycle.

Campus Veteran Resource Center (CVRC) Grants All CVRC awardees now have a grant agreement in place and have been onboarded for the grant work. This quarter’s work has been a difficult one for the college campus coordinators.

The effects of Covid-19 on the student population has had wide spread effects that include transitioning to online classes, loss of CTE based course work, loss or reduction of employment and reduction of contact with the support system at school. The campus coordinators have been working hard to adjust their programs and incorporate safe avenues for communication with the student veterans.

Success story: As of September 30, the schools are adjusting their resource centers “way of engaging” their students. Programs are being implemented to include virtual meeting times, events are being realigned from in-person to virtual. Zoom ‘office hours’ are available for drop in conversations with the coordinator or work-study personnel. Overall, the campus coordinators are making every effort to the student veterans and help them achieve their educational goals, and to ensure they know they have the support from them.

Veteran Services Grants During this quarter, the Request for Grant Proposal (RFGP) for the Veteran Service Grant was released. The application period was set to close late September, however due to the Oregon wildfires, this deadline was extended to October 11, 2020. ODVA received 30 proposals totaling funding requests of more than $1.7 million for $570,900 in available funding. We also received and accepted an offer for the Oregon Health Authority to provide up to $300,000 in funding for proposals addressing behavioral health. The proposals are currently under review.

Grants Management – Rural Veteran Medical Transportation Grant (ODOT) The purpose of these grants is to provide free transportation to veterans in rural areas seeking healthcare (physical or mental) at USDVA facilities, VA-authorized health centers, and other healthcare facilities. In order to leverage the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) 5

STATEWIDE VETERAN SERVICES Sheronne Blasi, Director Joe Glover, Assistant Director Public Transportation Division’s mobility expertise and existing partnerships, ODVA invited ODOT to develop and implement the RVHTG program. In July 2020, ODOT awarded the first grants to seven rural transportation providers, including one federally recognized tribe, and a second round of awards in September.

Veteran Convening in partnership with Oregon Housing & Community Services (OHCS) In partnership with Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), ODVA co-hosted a virtual 4th Homeless Veteran Convening on August 19th. There were 118 participants that attended the convening, ranging from direct service providers with majority of veteran clients, veteran advocacy organizations, indirect service providers or coordinators with a primary focus on homeless veterans, direct service provider with minority of veteran clients, and “others”.

Based on the feedback received from this convening, a series of virtual workshop sessions are planned over the next few months. The workshops will focus on the four areas: data, diversity equity and inclusion, increasing collaboration, and obtaining resources. The first of these workshops is planned to occur October 28th.

Lines for Life During the quarter, Lines for Life’s Military Helpline received 1,400 distinct contacts.

Approximately 85% of callers were calling about themselves. The age ranges of the callers were: 26-35 (19%), 66-75 (48%). 72% identified as a male, 6% female, and remainder did not identify.

“Reason of call” largely included the following themes: 42% struggled with general mental health challenges; 19% of callers mentioned isolation/ loneliness, 13% stated physical health concerns, and 10% mentioned Covid-19. With regards to suicide crisis, 5% (55) callers shared that they were thinking about suicide, and 5 calls to Emergency Services were made.

Additionally, over 300 other types of referrals were made.

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