How do social workers help veterans? This is a big, open-ended question with answers that may surprise you. Did you know that the Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the largest employers of social workers in America?

If you have ever called the VA, gotten treatment or evaluations at a VA clinic, or otherwise have used services offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, it’s likely that a social worker was involved, or can be made available for your needs depending on circumstances.

But social workers don’t just work for the VA; they open private practices, form non-profit organizations, work in civilian clinics or outreach, and even help Veteran Service Organizations such as the USO, VFW, DAV, etc.

In some cases, a Veterans Service Organization may have help, advice, or funding for programs that help train vets to become social workers-an April 2019 article published by the University of Minnesota lauded the DAV for providing a donation to the School of Social Work, which the school promptly turned into a scholarship that benefitted a veteran attending classes there and performing field work.

How Social Workers Help Veterans

You can’t simply decide to become a social worker and vets who need the services of social workers aren’t getting help from untrained, inexperienced newcomers.

There is a range of minimum required training and experience–the most entry level social worker is required to have an advanced degree to perform clinical work, and most states have a minimum required number of hours of experience in social work before state credentials are issued.

Social work takes place, as discussed above, within the VA system as well as outside it. Social workers within the VA healthcare system help veterans in a variety of ways. From the more well-known services including counseling, therapy, substance abuse counseling, and related areas, there are other ways veterans can get help from social workers at many stages in their journey through the VA health system:

• Information “linkage and referral”
• Discharge planning
• Homeless veteran outreach
• VA Case management
• Financial Assistance referral
• Housing and community living options
• Advance Directives
• Mental health issues
• Long term term planning

VA social work outreach also includes working with veterans and family members for readjustment counseling, coping with disability, those who need durable powers of attorney, end-of-life issues, and the financial aspects of all of the above.

Social Workers who want to help veterans in the private sector and not as a VA employee have a variety of options. One is to work with or volunteer for social work duties in a non-profit agency, Veterans Service Organization, or in private practice.

In more rural areas, you may find a social worker at a mental healthcare clinic, via a counselor or even as a referral from a primary care provider. In more urban areas there may be entire agencies dedicated to social work for veterans or including veterans as a primary part of their outreach programs.

Non-VA programs that feature social workers may also be involved in advocacy. Depending on the agency (a VSO versus a non-military-focused nonprofit) you may find that the company that pays your social worker also pays more money to lobby on your behalf for improvements in the law, enhancing availability of services to veterans, and awareness raising for programs that already exist. Lobbying and advocacy are important aspects for both vets and caregivers and resource managers. The role of a VSO or veteran-focused agency in this area should not be taken lightly. Why?

According to the National Association of Social Workers, “Elected officials take heed to mass numbers— When a group of people from an elected official’s district requests a meeting regarding a particular issue, the elected official wants to hear their point of view.” Lobbying is a time-honored way of getting the relevant issues in front of your elected officials at the local, state, and national level.

Finding a Social Worker

By the time you reach this point in the article, it may seem obvious that a great place to begin looking for a social worker to help you is none other than the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But if you wish to remain outside the VA system or don’t have access to it, there are some important places to start looking for a social worker. The usual VSO agencies are a great place to begin, but you should also look at your state-level Division of Veterans Affairs official site, state level Department of Veterans Affairs, etc.

Some will need the help of a professional to plan their healthcare, others may require assistance with payment plans or copay waivers; still others will need counseling, therapy, and other services within the VA.

Fortunately, these are also available outside the VA system. Any health-and-wellness websites feature “find a social worker” search tools, and you can search the Psychology Today site for mental health professionals who may do social work for veterans. You may also find a health-care-specific type of social worker at local hospitals and clinics. In general, the services offered by these professionals can include:

• Advocacy within the civilian health care system
• Identify barriers to medical care
• Risk assessment
• Evaluating needs after discharge
• Crisis intervention
• Supportive counseling
• Referrals to community resources
• Provide assessment and support to victims of abuse or neglect
• Assessing institutional abuse or neglect

One thing some veterans will notice in non-VA settings; there is often similar emphasis on the “whole healthcare team concept” of which social workers play a part. A good example of this is found within the University of Illinois at Chicago UI Health department–social workers and healthcare officials there urge current patients who need more information on social work to call the Health Social Work Office at 312.996.0293.

Government Agencies Providing Social Work Services Outside The VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a monopoly on providing social work services to veterans and family members. For example, did you know the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides some military-specific resources as well as help with government benefit programs overall? HHS offers the following:

• Adoption services
• Home Visiting programs for pregnant women, expectant fathers, and parents and caregivers of children under five
• Home Energy Assistance for low-income households (includes financial assistance for home heating and cooling costs)
• HHS Programs for those with Disabilities
• Programs for Seniors
• Homelessness
• Supporting Military Families
• Benefits.gov–the official benefits website of the U.S. government

You can find local branches by searching “social services near me” or by contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs at 1-800- 827-1000.

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News

Does the Department of Veterans Affairs assign disability ratings to those who suffer from migraines?

This is an important question–more than 37 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches (also commonly referred to simply as suffering from “migraine”) and since the United States military is thought to be a cross-section of American society, it makes sense that the question of migraines as related to VA disability benefits would need addressing.

A 2017 article published on the Department of Veterans Affairs official site notes that military members who have been deployed are “more likely” to develop migraines or migraine-like symptoms. Those who have experienced traumatic brain injuries are more prone to them, and there are other conditions which may also lead to the development of migraine attacks.

New migraine sufferers learn their condition is on a spectrum–not all who have migraines experience identical symptoms, or pain intensity. Not all attacks are severe, and not all migraines are mild. Your experience will definitely vary.

What Are Migraines?

In order to discuss how the VA reviews and rates the condition, we have to understand how the Department of Veterans Affairs interprets the symptoms we know today as migraines.

The American Migraine Foundation describes migraine attacks as having distinct stages, which include:

• A “pre-headache” known as prodrome. This can last hours or days with varying symptoms.
• Some migraine sufferers experience something called “aura” as a phase of a migraine attack. This refers to blurry vision, the appearance of geometric patterns, perceptions of flashing lights, loss of vision or blind spots.
• The onset of a headache may be experienced as pain on one side or both sides of the head. This can last days, with pain that ranges from minor to totally debilitating.
• The postdrome phase is thought of as a “hangover” occurring at the end of the headache phase. Not all migraines involve a postdrome, but when they do there can be dizziness, lightheadedness, difficulty concentrating, and other problems.

Not all sufferers experience all of these symptoms, and not all sufferers experience them in the same intensity.

How The Department Of Veterans Affairs Defines Migraines

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the Department of Veterans Affairs list of relevant medical conditions (under their Health Benefits section) does not include a description of migraines. To find the information, it’s necessary to dig deeper.

The VA lists migraines under the VA Schedule of Disabilities in the section titled Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders, under a subsection labeled “Miscellaneous Diseases.” In this section we find that the VA does seem to prioritize the effects of the migraine attack (whatever the symptoms might be) over splitting hairs about what might or might not be part of the migraine experience.

What the VA is interested in here (and for all the other conditions listed in this section of the VA Schedule of Disability Ratings) has more to do with establishing a connection between military service and the migraine, and whether any condition (including migraines) listed in the section meets criteria advised for evaluators:

“Consider especially psychotic manifestations, complete or partial loss of use of one or more extremities, speech disturbances, impairment of vision, disturbances of gait, tremors, visceral manifestations, etc., referring to the appropriate bodily system of the schedule.”

The VA wants to know that the condition being evaluated has some connection with military service–causing or aggravating a condition. The VA examiner must determine where the patient fits into the VA rating scale of severity of the problem:

Migraine sufferers may experience:

• “Very frequent” migraines that result in “complete prostration” with prolonged symptoms that can seriously interfere with the ability to maintain a job.
• Prostrating attacks averaging once a month over several months.
• Prostrating attacks averaging one in 2 months over several months.
• Less frequent attacks than any of the above.

The VA may rate the first category at as much as 50% disability, with a sliding scale downward after that. The lowest disability rating you can get with migraines is zero, for the last item in our list.

Condition Definitions And VA Disability Percentages

The definition of “prostrating” in this context has to do with being bedridden due to your condition–the longer you cannot do anything but lie down when experiencing an attack, the higher your chances are of being awarded a higher VA disability percentage for the condition.

Remember that your ability to work and maintain employment is an important factor in such ratings–if your condition is “very frequent” the ability to maintain a job may be an important factor in the rating.

And that is one reason why it is crucial to submit supporting documentation from civilian doctors who may have treated you, “buddy letters” from co-workers and colleagues attesting to the nature and severity of your condition, etc.

Some veteran advocacy sites warn VA claims applicants that you should be evaluated on the potential harm to your employability; some report that veterans may be asked (improperly or not) to prove they HAVE experienced unemployability due to migraine.

If you are able to do so, you definitely should, but for those who feel their claims are being reviewed on the basis of whether they have actually experienced financial hardship as a result of their condition it may be wise to seek the assistance of legal counsel or get the help of a Veteran Service Officer or a VSO organization.

Disability claims are never one-size-fits-all, but there are some common rules to keep in mind when submitting a claim related to migraines. The first is to get all available supporting documentation to reinforce your claim that your condition is service-connected. The second is to avoid delays in submitting your claim–the longer you wait post-service to do so, the more limited your options might be depending on circumstances, current regulations, or future changes/additions to the existing rules.

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News