The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

B. Engaging Schools
The VetSEd mobile model presumes that the peer VetSEd provider will be making
contact with schools and training settings and that the majority of these contacts will be
on the behalf of an individual Veteran. (In other models, you may have responsibility for
building bridges between VA and the campus on a larger scale). This may involve, for
example, helping connect the Veteran with a student Veteran center, promoting
awareness among faculty about Veteran mental health issues, organizing Veterans
student events, or sponsoring visits from VA Medical Center to the campus or vice versa.
The following section describes strategies that may be helpful as you approach a school
system on behalf of a Veteran. Two main types of school contacts are highlighted:
Contacts for Information and the School Development Interview.
i. Contacts for Information
When you have a Veteran who is specifically looking for more information about a
school or training program, it is usually best to contact the school or training program.
For this contact, you can go wherever it makes sense given the Veteran‘s questions. For
example, if the Veteran has a question about financial aid, it would make sense to go
directly to the financial aid office. If the Veteran has a question about specific courses or
about a program of study, it would make sense to contact the head of that department.
If the Veteran wants you to do this on his/her behalf, you will need the VA Release of
Information (ROI). A sample ROI with instructions for the proper completion of an ROI
is provided in Appendix F. Ask the Veteran or use the school‘s Web site to identify the
most appropriate persons who may be able to answer your question. Some questions may
be effectively answered over the phone or through an e-mail exchange (do not to use the
Veteran‘s name or any identifying information in the e-mail; if you need to share this
information in order to get the question answered, the business must be conducted over
the phone or in person).
You can introduce yourself as an Education Specialist from the Department of Veterans
Affairs. You may also decide to include that you are a peer and fellow Veteran who
assists other Veterans in a number of ways, mainly transitioning from military to civilian
life, including entering school and using their GI Bill benefits. That is usually enough
information for most folks to begin helping you.
If you are speaking on behalf of the Veteran, it may be helpful to bring the VA ROI with
you, but understand that they may also require the student to sign the school‘s own ROI
to talk with you. In some cases, you will definitely need to pursue this path. But, it is also
74 | P a g e