Authorizes the Department of Veterans' Services to consult and collaborate with relevant offices in the federal department of veterans affairs, the department of health, the state office for the aging and other HCBS experts to develop educational materials for veterans and their families about the accessibility to home and community-based services.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7786--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 6, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
ty and Military Affairs -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to availability
of information on home care services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 4 of the veterans' services law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 40 to read as follows:
3 40. To collaborate with relevant offices of the federal department of
4 veterans affairs, the state department of health and the state office
5 for the aging to disseminate educational resources to veterans and their
6 families regarding the availability of and accessibility to home and
7 community-based services including but not limited to the federal Veter-
8 an-Directed Home and Community Based Services program(VD-HCBS). Such
9 resources may include development of dedicated websites and weblinks to
10 such resources. Such materials may also be made available in printed
11 form. Any such information shall be reviewed and updated annually. To
12 effectuate the provisions of this subdivision, the department may also
13 consult with or seek input from various home care stakeholders, includ-
14 ing home care providers and professional associations, with expertise or
15 experience with serving veterans and their families.
16 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 15 of the veterans' services law, as
17 amended by chapter 445 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as
18 follows:
19 1. A local veterans' service agency shall have power under the direc-
20 tion of the state veterans' service agency, and it shall be its duty to
21 inform military and naval authorities of the United States and assist
22 members of the uniformed services and veterans, who are residents of
23 this state, and their families, in relation to (1) matters pertaining to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11096-05-5
S. 7786--A 2
1 educational training and retraining services and facilities, (2) health,
2 medical and rehabilitation services and facilities, (3) provisions of
3 federal, state and local laws and regulations affording special rights
4 and privileges to members of the uniformed services and veterans and
5 their families, (4) employment and re-employment services, (5) the proc-
6 ess of submitting an application for a discharge upgrade to the
7 discharge upgrade advisory board, and (6) other matters of similar,
8 related or appropriate nature. The local veterans' service agency may
9 also assist families of members of the reserve components of the
10 uniformed services and the organized militia ordered into active duty to
11 ensure that they are made aware of and are receiving all appropriate
12 support available to them and are placed in contact with the agencies
13 responsible for such support, including, but not limited to, the divi-
14 sion of military and naval affairs and other state agencies responsible
15 for providing such support. The local veterans' service agency may also
16 post on its website and make available at its office location educa-
17 tional materials relating to the availability of and accessibility to
18 home and community-based services that have been developed by the
19 department pursuant to subdivision forty of section four of this arti-
20 cle. The local veterans' service agency also shall perform such other
21 duties as may be assigned by the state commissioner.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
23 have become a law.
