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Duty, Reservists, Veterans VA To Survey Veteran Households By Rick Rogers DefenseTracker.com WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced in early December that the Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a national survey of veterans, active duty service members, activated National Guard and reserve members, and family members and survivors to learn if they are aware of VA services. "By hearing directly from veterans and their family members, we gain valuable information to help us serve them better. We hope those who receive the survey will respond to it," Secretary Shinseki said. Besides assessing awareness, the survey will collect important health care, benefits, employment, and demographic information that the VA will use to inform policy decisions and improve benefits. Recognizing a broader client base than just veterans, the VA has included family members in its survey for the fist time. VA is mailing surveys to more than 130,000 households. The initial survey or "screener" asks if anyone in the household is a member of one of the identified survey groups -- veterans, family members and survivors, active duty, National Guard or reserve members. Eligible survey participants may then be requested to participate in a full-length survey. Participants will be able to select a preferred survey method: through U.S. mail, telephone or a password-protected Internet address. VA expects approximately 10,000 Veterans to complete the full-length survey. This is the sixth VA National Survey of Veterans since 1978. The information collected will help the VA design and conduct outreach to veterans. It is also hoped that it provides a clearer picture of the veteran population's characteristics to help evaluate existing programs and policies and measure their impact. The data collection is expected to be finished by the end of February and the final report released by December 2010.
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