Veterans

Why do we ask questions about veteran status and period of military service? (Asked 1840, 1890, 1910, since 1930)

Meeting Federal Needs

Veteran status, including period of military service, is used primarily by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to measure the needs of veterans and to evaluate the impact of veterans' programs dealing with education, employment, and health care. These data are needed to conduct policy analysis, program planning, and budgeting for federal veterans' programs and for reports to Congress on state projections of veterans' facilities and services.

• Yes, now on active duty
• Yes, on active duty during the last 12 months, but not now
• Yes, on active duty in the past, but not during the last 12 months
• No, training for Reserves or National Guard only
• No, never served in the military

• September 2001 or later
• August 1990 to August 2001 (including Persian Gulf War)
• September 1980 to July 1990
• May 1975 to August 1980
• Vietnam era (August 1964 to April 1975)
• March 1961 to July 1964
• Korean War (July 1950 to January 1955)
• World War II (December 1941 to December 1946)
• February 1955 to February 1961
• January 1947 to June 1950
• November 1941 or earlier

Community Benefits

Social Services
At state and county levels, veteran status is used for budgeting and program planning for medical services and nursing home care for veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs needs data about veteran status in planning the locations and sizes of veterans' cemeteries.

For the Public Health Service Act, veteran status is used as one factor to determine the segments of the population who may not be receiving needed medical services.

Employment
Data about veteran status are used to allocate funds to states and local areas for employment and job training programs for veterans.

• Veterans Benefits Program, 38 U.S.C. 317
• Veterans Employment and Training Program, 38 U.S.C. 4103 et seq.
• Veterans Needs, Reports to Congress on, 38 U.S.C. 542, 4107(c)
• Veterans Outreach Program, Disabled, 38 U.S.C. 4103A(a)(1) and (b)(2)
• Veteran Population, State Projections of, 38 U.S.C. 8131(l)
• Veterans Programs, Evaluation of, 38 U.S.C. 527
• Veterans, State Estimates of Nursing Home Care for, 38 U.S.C. 8134(a)(1)

Why do we ask questions about service-connected disability status and ratings? (Asked since 2008)

Meeting Federal Needs

Veterans Affairs (VA) service-connected disability rating was added to the American Community Survey (ACS) to enable the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to measure a veteran's service-connected disability compensation entitlement status. This information will improve the VA's ability to accurately anticipate the need for VA care and its associated cost.

The VA is required to provide an annual report to Congress that determines whether VA health care appropriations for the coming fiscal year are sufficient to cover expenditures associated with the expected demand for VA health care services. Adding the proposed service-connected disability status measure to the ACS will enable VA to make county-level estimates of veterans classified by income, service-connected status, and several other characteristics that are needed to classify enrollment priorities. This information will fundamentally improve VA's capability to describe the total veteran population in terms of age, priority, and market area and to more accurately estimate the demands for VA care.

• Yes (such as 0%, 10%, 20%, ... , 100%)
• No

• 0 percent
• 10 or 20 percent
• 30 or 40 percent
• 50 or 60 percent
• 70 percent or higher

Community Benefits

Health
VA medical centers and their associated outpatient clinics would use these data to measure key determinants of the demand for VA care.

Data on service-connected disability ratings would allow VA medical centers (and their regional networks) to engage in meaningful local area planning that accounts for expectations of the future demand for VA care.