The American Hero Books™ series is the signature line of books produced by Heart Star Press, LLC. This series is written and designed for infant through preschool age children. The books use age appropriate text, concept portrayal, and pictures. Each book is specific to a service branch and available in both a “Mommy” and “Daddy” version. Additionally American Hero Books™ are formatted to allow the reader to insert a photograph over each picture printed in the book thereby creating a unique and personal product.

American Hero Books™ fulfill a dual purpose. They 1) give an age appropriate description of the service member’s job allowing the child to understand the job and feel proud of the parent, and 2) the insert your own picture™ format allows the child to hold the service member present in his/her mind which can alleviate some of the anxiety caused by separation due to training and deployment.

American Hero Books™ comply with CPSIA standards for children’s book safety. Plant based inks and materials are from sustainable sources are used in the production of our books. Additionally child labor was not used in the production of these books. Heart Star Press, LLC and Crown Media & Printing, Inc. print American Hero Books™ in an ISO 9001 certified workplace that has been approved by the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative.)

Heart Star Press is proud to support United Through Reading, the nation’s first nonprofit to promote the read aloud experience for separated militaryfamilies.

]]> http://coalitionforveterans.org/2012/01/american-hero-books-here/feed/ 0 http://coalitionforveterans.org/2012/01/combat-to-community-cultural-competence-training-prepares-law-enforcement/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=combat-to-community-cultural-competence-training-prepares-law-enforcement http://coalitionforveterans.org/2012/01/combat-to-community-cultural-competence-training-prepares-law-enforcement/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:44:33 +0000 admin http://coalitionforveterans.org/?p=4694 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, please contact:

Colleen Corliss, Communications Director

Office: 415-655-7248; Mobile: 202-415-6101 (media only)

Email: ccorliss(at)stp-sf.org

Responding to Recent Violence Perpetrated by Iraq Veterans

SAN FRANCISCO (January 19, 2012) – The tragic violence recently perpetrated by Iraq veterans is being met with widespread response. Reports by friends and family indicate that Benjamin Barnes, who fatally shot a Washington State park ranger, and Itzcoatl Campo, who is accused of stabbing four homeless men in California, both suffered from post-traumatic stress.

Post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are being reported in record numbers amongst returning Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans. Both serious mental health injuries, PTS and TBI are often at the center of a growing number of crisis situations occurring between law enforcement and veterans throughout the country. It is vital to note however, that while many veterans are struggling with PTS, TBI and transitional issues, the vast majority of veterans do not engage in violent behavior.

Even so, we are witnessing an increase in critical incidents which has law enforcement reaching out to veterans service organizations in search of answers. Swords to Plowshares, Institute for Veteran Policy developed as part of their Combat to Community Program, an eight-hour training for law enforcement, “Law Enforcement Crisis Interaction with Veterans.” The course is certified by the California Commission of Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) and to date Swords to Plowshares has trained over 2,000 officers throughout California.

The training details the current era veterans’ experiences, as well as provides a cultural competency component that illustrates the transitional challenges these veterans face when returning home. The clinical component of the training focuses on providing officers with tools to identify veterans who may be suffering from PTS and TBI, recognizing common triggers, and how to deploy effective de-escalation techniques to help ensure a positive and safe interaction between veterans and law enforcement.

“This is a rapidly growing public safety issue and these tragedies need to be examined by law enforcement and veteran communities to implement meaningful solutions,” said Keith Boylan, Swords to Plowshares’ Policy Coordinator and Training Facilitator. “As more troops return home, we can expect to see a rise in crisis situations.  It is vital we address this problem now to prevent violence before it occurs.”

Important Resources:

• Combat to Community Cultural Competency Training
• Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)  866-966-1020
• The VA Veterans’ Crisis Intervention Hotline   1-888-899-9377

War causes wounds and suffering that last beyond the battlefield. Our mission is to heal the wounds, to restore dignity, hope, and self-sufficiency to all veterans in need, and to reduce homelessness and poverty among veterans. Learn more about the work of Swords to Plowshares, and ways in which you can help, by visiting our website at www.swords-to-plowshares.org

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Federal Agencies, Private Sector Companies Partner to Hire Veterans on the Spot

WASHINGTON — Answering the President’s call to expand employment opportunities for America’s Veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs will host a major Veteran-focused career fair and exposition with thousands of public and private-sector on-the-spot hiring opportunities for Veterans on Wednesday, Jan. 18, in Washington.  Senior VA officials are expected to attend the event, which will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

“Ensuring that Veterans are educated, trained and able to translate their military skills into careers in both the public and private-sector continues to be a top priority for the Obama Administration,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.  “Now more than ever, America needs the knowledge, skills and abilities of our Veterans, and this generation of heroes is capable of transforming the Nation at a time when we need their leadership and ingenuity.”

Approximately 6,400 public and private job opportunities are available to be offered to qualified applicants Wednesday; the majority of which will be private-sector job offers.  Other participating federal agencies include the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Labor, and EPA.  Over 20 private-sector partners will participate, including Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Citigroup, Safeway, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Philadelphia Police Department, Johns Hopkins Hospital, JPMorgan and many others.

“Veterans play an important role in our Department’s mission, and every day these men and women bring their skills, talents and experience to our many mission areas in order to keep our nation more safe, secure and resilient,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.  “Together, we recognize the invaluable sacrifices that Veterans make for their country, and DHS is committed to increasing Veteran employment opportunities and enhancing Veteran engagement within the Department.”

Representatives of public and private-sector organizations will interview Veterans onsite for job openings.  The Career Fair will also feature interactive training sessions and workshops for resume-building, interviewing, and one-on-one career coaching.

In addition to onsite interviews and hiring, VA will showcase its VA for Vets program, which provides first-in-class online “high-tech” and “high touch” approach to recruiting, hiring, and reintegrating Veterans into civilian careers.  VA for Vets offers the most advanced integrated military skills translator and career assessment tool available in the federal sector; a resume builder and search engine; and avatar-based technology that connects deployed Servicemembers to VA during their operational missions.  In the coming months, VA expects to make VA for Vets technology available to other federal agencies.

“Veterans face two barriers to finding careers in the federal government,” said VA’s Assistant Secretary for Human Resources John U. Sepulveda. “First, translating and marketing their skills and experience gained during military service into language that civilian employers can understand, and, second, navigating the complex federal hiring process.  VA for Vets helps them address both.”

Currently, Veterans make up 30 percent of VA’s total workforce and Secretary Shinseki has set a goal to increase that total to 40 percent.  The Expo will also explain various VA programs, and Veterans service organizations will help participants understand and enroll in VA benefits and services, including new education benefits provided through the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  Veterans will also learn about small-business opportunities.  VA for Vets was launched this past Veterans Day as the Department’s new online platform for Veterans to join VA’s workforce.

There will be a registration desk for credentialed media. To RSVP, email josephine.schuda@va.gov.  To learn more, visithttp://www.vaforvets.com/DC/ and www.VAforVets.VA.gov.

“The Welcome”

a Documentary Film

“The Welcome” offers a fiercely intimate view of life after war: the fear, anger and isolation of post-traumatic stress that affects vets and family members alike.  As we join  them in a small room for an unusual five day healing retreat, we witness how the ruins of war can be transformed into the beauty of poetry. Here our perceptions are changed, our psyches strained, and our hearts broken.  And at the end, when this poetry is shared with a large civilian audience, we begin to understand that all of us are a vital piece of the Welcome as Veterans try to find the way back home.  Their examples of unflinching honesty, courage and love lift us up, inspiring all of us once again to feel our common humanity, always the first casualty of war.

Special Screening:

October 6-16.  Mill Valley Film Festival, Mill Valley, CA

October 13, 6:15pm – Rafael Theatre, 4th St., San Rafael, CA

October 16, 4:00pm – Throckmorton Theatre, Mill Valley, CA

“The Welcome” is now complete.

For more information visit thewelcomehomeproject.org

On The Death of a Young Suicide Bomber, a poem by Laura C.

For more information visit thewelcomehomeproject.org

The Army found Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann’s body at a training area of Joint Base Lewis McChord a few weeks ago.

A spokesman for the base tells KOMO News that the nature of the death is still undetermined. But Staff Sgt. Hagemann’s widow says her husband took his own life – and it didn’t need to happen.

“It was just horrible. And he would just cry,” says Ashley Hagemann.

Ashley says her husband Jared tried to come to grips with what he’d seen and done on his eight deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“And there’s no way that any God would forgive him – that he was going to hell,” says Ashley. “He couldn’t live with that any more.”

Ashley says her Army Ranger husband wanted out of the military.

“He just wanted to know what it felt like to be normal again,” she says.

Staff Sgt. Hagemann had orders to return to Afghanistan this month for a ninth tour of duty.

Instead, on June 28, Ashley says her husband took a gun and shot himself in the head on base. She claims the Rangers never took his pleas for help seriously.

“There’s no way that they should not have been able to pick up on it,” Ashley says. “When he’s telling them, he’s reaching out ….”

And on Friday she found out she’s not alone in wanting to speak out.

Mary Corkhill Kirkland lost her son Derrick to suicide more than a year ago.

She says doctors at Madigan Army Hospital considered him a low risk for suicide despite three earlier attempts. They sent him back to his unit – where he hanged himself.

Mary says she thinks the Army absically killed her son.

“My son did not want to die. He wanted help. He was crying out for help,” she says.

Now Mary Kirkland is reaching out to Ashley Hagemann in her grief.

“You’re in good hands, you’re not alone here,” Mary tells her.

“It’s so nice to meet somebody else who understands,” says Ashley. “Thank you so much.”

KOMO News has contacted the 75th Ranger Regiment about Hagemann, but there is no comment as yet.

The two women are joining forces with several veterans and active-duty soldiers to speak out about what happened with Sgt. Kirkland – and what’s being done to prevent further soldier suicides.

With nearly 214,000 women on active duty and roughly 240,000 women having deployed to operational theaters since 2001, researchers are poring over information and interviewing female veterans to study a host of issues.

More studies have been produced on women in the military in the past six years than were issued in the previous 25, said Dr. Bevanne Bean-Mayberry, a clinician for the Veterans Affairs Center for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior.

Researchers are examining topics ranging from the causes of homelessness for female vets, post-deployment health and treatment, traumatic brain injury in women, and female veterans’ impressions of medical care received at VA health facilities.

“Women are the fastest growing group of veterans in the VA health system. VA has to address women’s health concerns,” said Susan Wood, director of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health at George Washington University.

A special edition of the journal Women’s Health Issues published by the Jacobs Institute in July contains 18 articles related to female veterans’ health studies, focusing on the changing demographics and demands placed on VA health care as a result of the surge of female veterans entering the system.

VA provided funding to make this issue of the subscription-only journal available to the public. It is online at www.whijournal.com/supplements.

VA is likely to be pleased by some of the researchers’ findings. For example, in one study, female veterans reported being highly satisfied with their medical treatment if they are seen at a VA facility containing a primary care clinic tailored to women. In 2008, VA began an initiative to ensure that female patients have access to a primary care provider who treats illness, provides gender-specific health care and mental health services.

Researchers also found that female veterans who experienced sexual trauma on active duty reported very good or excellent satisfaction with their health care at VA facilities. According to researchers, patients in the general population who are victims of sexual assault or abuse tend to look less favorably on the general medical care they receive.

But the female veterans in that study also said VA needed to improve communications between multiple doctors and health care providers — and between doctors and the patients themselves.

“Opportunities exist to educate providers on the special coordination needs of female veterans with histories of military sexual trauma,” wrote Rachel Kimerling, a clinical psychologist with the National Center for PTSD at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

Other findings published in the journal supplement include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder is the most common psychiatric condition diagnosed for those with traumatic brain injury for both genders, although women are less likely to receive a PTSD diagnosis than men.

• Women with TBI also are twice as likely than men to receive a depression diagnosis and report more severe neurobehavioral symptoms related to their TBI than men — sensory problems, mood swings, memory processing and problem solving.

• More female vets smoke (29 percent) than male veterans (23 percent).

From 2006 to 2010, an anonymous donor (since revealed) invested approximately $250 million in the well-being of service members, veterans, families and survivors impacted by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The funds were distributed to over 50 organizations, including the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV), to build a network of care, to shepherd ties between grantee agencies serving individuals and build public/private partnerships with our colleagues in the DoD, VA, Department of Labor, and other relevant government entities. This investment has been phenomenal, and services have grown and matured, but we find ourselves facing new challenges in a tough economy.

At the time, movements had been bubbling up in communities around the country to respond to the fallout of the wars. Small start-up organizations like Jacob’s Light,Vets4Vets and Homes for Our Troops, that were already offering services and support in their communities, were able to help more people in need. Dorine Kenney, a Gold Star mother had been sending care packages to soldiers in Iraq who had served with her son, Jacob. Vets4Vets, a peer-based support group nurtured by a Vietnam veteran has grown to have 25 chapters, providing retreats and supportive programs for returning. Homes for Our Troops, established by John Gonsalves, a construction supervisor, sought ways to organize communities to build accessible homes for wounded warriors.

Established agencies had begun to see the impact of the new landscape and develop programs specifically tailored for the needs of today’s warriors and their families. The TIRR Foundation in Texas, a nationally recognized brain injury treatment facility, established Project Victory for service members and veterans with traumatic brain injury,Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) stood ready to embrace a generation of sisters, mothers, and spouses of those lost in these wars. TAPS continues to be at the forefront of providing support for survivors of suicide who were left to grieve without recognition of their loved one’s service. Swords to Plowshares (my agency), a nationally recognized veteran service organization that also oversees the CIAV has developed programs specifically tailored for young veterans ranging from help seeking careers in a tough job market to providing free VA benefits advocacy.

We have learned that there are still too many gaps in services, gaps in capacity, access and gaps in knowledge. While thousands of government and private programs exist, it is a daunting task to navigate the quality, capacity, eligibility requirements of them all. How can a commander, chaplain, spouse, or even a professional case manager navigate this maze of good will? We hope that by building a network through collaborative relationships and through Web-based forums like Craigconnects that we can speed access to quality care.

It has been almost ten years that we have been at war. As our service members return, our responsibility to serve them will grow, next year and for decades to come. It is incumbent on us, as individuals, professional care providers, researchers, non-profits, businesses and government to maintain supports and to do a better job of ensuring that care is accessible. That remains the goal of the CIAV.

Amy Fairweather serves as the Program Director of the Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, a group comprised of more than 50 organizations nationwide dedicated to helping those impacted by deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here for her full bio.

Attorneys for the veterans, the Justice Department and the military jointly filed a motion on Thursday that spelled out the terms. The settlement must be approved by a judge to be final.

It also affects another thousand veterans who already had lifetime retirement benefits, but would receive a higher disability rating from the military. All of the veterans affected by the settlement would potentially receive new monthly disability compensation.
The settlement stems from a 2008 class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington by veterans unable to serve, at least in part, because of the anxiety disorder who said they were illegally denied benefits.

The law requires the military to give a disability rating of at least 50 percent to troops discharged for PTSD, but each of the plaintiffs received a disability less than that, said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, a nonprofit organization that represented the veterans.

As part of the lawsuit, the military in January 2010 said it would expeditiously review the cases. But attorneys for the veterans grew concerned about the pace in which the cases have been reviewed by military boards. One of the boards reviewing the cases was moving so slow, it was going to take seven years for all the cases to be reviewed, Stichman said. That led to settlement talks.

Timothy Martin, 32, a former specialist in the Tennessee National Guard, who struggles with panic attacks and nightmares related to his war service in Iraq, would benefit from the settlement. He said the health care benefits from the settlement would help with health care for his kids, ages 2 and 5.

“The extra money, the back pay, the insurance, it’s going to really help change our lives,” Martin said.

Each of the veterans in the suit was released from the military between Dec. 17, 2002, and Oct. 14, 2008.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a terrifying event in which a person felt physically harmed or threatened.

By Kimberly Hefling – The Associated Press

The bill, HR 2301, is an attempt to cut down on situations in which a student ends up owing money to the Veterans Affairs Department because of an overpayment.

As passed Thursday by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s economic opportunity panel, the bill would stop the current practice of paying full tuition and fees at the start of a term. Instead, a school will send an invoice to VA for payment after the date when a student is allowed to add or drop classes, normally two or three weeks into the start of the term.

This is a change from the original bill introduced by Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., the subcommittee chairman, who wanted to wait until the end of the term so VA could pay based on the final number of courses taken.

Both schools and veterans complained that paying at the end of the term could create problems. If VA did not pay the charges before a new term starts, rules at many schools could prohibit student veterans from attending classes.

Stutzman said he doesn’t want that to happen, but he also wants to cut down on errors so that veterans don’t end up owing money. The compromise bill, passed by voice vote and scheduled to be taken up by the full committee next week, calls for early payments that give plenty of time for disagreements to be worked out between VA and schools, he said.

As extra protection, the bill also would prohibit any institution receiving GI Bill payments from charging a late fee or denying enrollment to a student if VA hasn’t paid tuition. There is one exception: A student may be denied enrollment if the payment is being withheld because the student is indebted to the government.

Because of concerns raised by VA, the new payment system would take effect Aug. 1, 2012, rather than this year. Stutzman said VA reported that it needed more time to prepare.

By Rick Maze

www.militarytimes.com

Washington - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it is offering a $50,000 prize to the first team that builds a personal health record (PHR) using the Blue Button? download format, and arranges to install the PHR on the websites of 25,000 physicians across America.  Sponsored by the VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2), the Blue Button Prize Competition is open to all U.S. organizations and individuals.  The contest started July 18.

“Over six million Veterans who receive health care from VA can already download their personal health data using the Blue Button,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “We want to be sure the 17 million Veterans who receive care from non-VA doctors and hospitals can do the same.”

VA first offered Blue Button downloads through its My HealtheVet website in August, 2010; since then nearly 300,000 Veterans have downloaded their PHR data, including upcoming appointments at a VA Medical Center, medications, allergies, health reminders and, in a recent upgrade, their laboratory results.

The Department of Defense also provides Blue Button download capabilities to its TRICARE beneficiaries, and Medicare beneficiaries can download their claims histories using the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Blue Button functions.

“Veterans can now expect that downloading their data will be a routine part of the care they receive from VA,” said White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.  “We want Veterans across America – and the general public – to think of Blue Button downloads as something they receive from their family doctors as a routine matter.”

Getting a low-cost user-friendly application into hands of physicians is a key part of the competition, according to VA Chief Technology Officer Peter L. Levin.

“Moving health data can and should be safe, simple and inexpensive,” Levin said. “Blue Button technology is all of those things.  Doctors who use PHRs developed as part of this competition can give their patients the ability to keep and control their own health data. Blue Button’s simple format can even support patient-authorized health data transfers to other doctors or hospitals.”

The Blue Button Prize Competition is sponsored by the VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2). VAi2 is a department-wide program that solicits the most promising innovations from VA employees, the private sector, non-profits, and academia to increase Veterans’ access to VA services, improve the quality of services delivered, enhance the performance of VA operations, and delivering of those services more efficient.  Through prize contests, private sector innovators help improve federal government operations and technology developed using tax dollars is made readily available to the public.

Qualifying PHRs must be easily installed by physicians and other clinical professionals, must be readily available to all of the physicians’ patients, and must allow patients to download their data using VA’s Blue Button’s simple text-based format – which can be read and printed on any computer without using special software.

Contemporary PHRs are designed to address consumer health information needs by enabling individuals to access, manage, and share their personal health information in a private and secure environment. The meaningful use of technologies such as PHRs has the potential to improve health care processes and outcomes.  The PHRs must also meet data-security requirements. The contest will run through October 18, 2011, unless a winner is declared sooner.

Contest rules are available at http://challenge.gov/VAi2/198-blue-button-for-all-americans.