Seven Essentials to a Voc Rehab Win

Essential 1: Decide to win.

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." Theodore Roosevelt, 1903

You are entitled to a Square Deal. I am here to help you get it.

The main path to a Square Deal for most of us is Voc Rehab, but the path is anything but direct. In fact, it is more like a football game than a walk in the park. You need the eyes of a quarterback and the guts of a tackle to reach your goal.

In Voc Rehab, it’s the persistent and well-prepared veterans that win. The qualified veterans who give up, lose. Don’t give up. Instead, prepare for the game. Decide to win.

Bill’s win. Voc Rehab and Employment (VR&E) is the chance of a lifetime if you get it right the first time. I recently received the following letter from a veteran who followed my advice. We will call him Bill for the duration of these articles:

Ben,

I just wanted to let you know that I was accepted into the program. The case worker said that I was one of the most prepared and organized applicants that she has seen. ( All thanks to you for that). She proposed that I work on researching a degree in Social work since I listed that as an interest. The VA form 28-8606 she gave me states MSW as the proposed program. I was in shock of the whole situation and did not think to ask her about how long my entitlement was. I have researched MSW before and know that it could take six years to complete.

Well, I just wanted to let you know how it went and say thank you again.

V/R

Bill

Bill got it right. He will get 72 months of benefits, two years more than the published 48 month maximum. How? He knew his opponent and seized the opportunity to win.

Seven weeks until “game day.” Your first meeting with Voc Rehab is perhaps the most important meeting of your life. It is “game day” in spades.

What is at stake? The rest of your life. A successful result could allow you to complete a professional degree such as MD, JD or MBA. Or, it could allow you to study something you’re passionate about like social work, theology, journalism, construction or plumbing.

After you complete the online application on the Department of Veterans Affairs site, you have 45 to 60 days to prepare for game day, or your first meeting. That’s about seven weeks. I’ve written 7 Essentials to Winning at Voc Rehab to help you prepare. There is one article for each week, with tasks to complete. This is the first.

Your first meeting will either be the kick-off to a life you want or a loss you’ll regret. It is up to you. Decide to win and back up your decision by learning to know your opponent and adopting a set of strategic attitudes.

Know your opponent. To win, you need to know your opponent. Here are five things to know about the VA:

1. The VA, like any large bureaucracy, talks out of both sides of its mouth. One side is promising you benefits and the other side is saying you can’t have them. This is similar to insurance companies that say you have coverage but then deny it when you need it.

2. The VA is all about preventing unnecessary spending. To them, reducing costs is a big deal. And yes, you are a cost.

3. Voc Rehab failed its own audit conducted by the VA VR&E Task Force. It has failed this same audit for almost 30 years (DVA, 2004):

Total Voc Rehab funding divided per veteran in program – over $30,000
82 percent of veterans starting an education in Voc Rehab will not finish
66 percent of surveyed veterans report a bad experience with VR&E

The audit concluded, “In general, the current VR&E service delivery system is out of date, data poor, and understaffed to meet the needs of today’s veterans with service-connected disabilities,”

4. The national average for completing college is double that of VR&E participants.

5. Not all VRC’s are created equal. They all have too big a caseload but some handle it well and others don’t. We will talk more about this in a future article.

Adopt strategic attitudes.

In life, there are no guarantees, but going into the game with your head on straight will improve your chances.

Prepare yourself to win by adopting the following attitudes. Print them out and learn them. Make them yours.

Be proactive. You do not want to get tangled up in the land of appeals and poor guidance. Be your own best friend and advocate.
Know it’s not about you. The problems you will encounter existed prior to your involvement. It is not your fault and has nothing to do with you. Remember that when you get frustrated or upset.
Use honey, not vinegar. You know how the saying goes, “It is easier to attract flies with honey than with vinegar.” The flies are your benefits. Don’t lose sight of the goal.
Care more than they do. You will be the one who cares the most about your case and therefore you are the one who will have the most passion about it. Don’t get me wrong, many VRCs care deeply, but still you must care the most.
Manage your own case. This is a process you will need to manage because they may not have the time to do it for you. Yes, it is supposed to be their job but it is your life. No one else will need to walk a day in your shoes but you.
Don’t assume it will be done right and on time. Unfortunately, it is not realistic or in your best interest to make this assumption.

We begin today. The game is on. The win is yours if you play it well.
Prior to enlistment, recruiters made promises to us. Some came true and others had as much truth to them as a used car salesman wanting to offload that dusty jalopy in the back corner. “For you, my friend, a special car at a special price.” Yeah, right.

I want to help you get it right so you can come out the other side with the prize you were promised. Your first, and most important, task is to decide to win.

Ready? The ball’s been passed to you.

Next Essential: Tap into your purpose. We’ll look at ways to sort out your purpose and what you want to make of it.

You can review all Seven Essentials at:

DVA. (2004). “The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program for the 21st Century Veteran.” Retrieved May 4, 2007, from Department of Veterans Affairs. Web site: http://www1.va.gov/op3/page.cfm?pg=22

GAO. (2003). “College Completion.” Retrieved May 31, 2007, from United States...

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