Services and Benefits

Eligibility for Benefits

To qualify for benefits from the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission, the applicant or the veteran on whose service is based must have been honorably discharged from active military service performed for other than training purposes. The applicant must have resided in Ohio for three months prior to application and in Mahoning County for three months prior to application.
Applicant must bring proof of income for the past thirty days for entire household, current utility bills, amount of rent payment/shelter payment and name and address of where payments are made to, and proof of any other monthly income. 

Disability Compensation

 - is a monetary benefit paid to veterans who are disabled by injury or disease incurred or aggravated during active military service. The service of the veteran must have been terminated through separation or discharge under conditions that were other than dishonorable. Disability compensation varies on degree of disability, number of dependents, and is paid monthly. Federal or state income tax exempt, military retirement pay, disability severance pay, separation incentive payments also affect the amount of VA compensation paid. Application and assistance in preparing your claim is available at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.

Pension

  - Veterans with low incomes who are permanently and totally disabled may be eligible for monetary support if they have 90 days or more of active military service, at least one day which was during a period of war. The discharge from active duty must have been under conditions other than dishonorable. The permanent and total disability must be for reasons other than the veteran's own willful misconduct. Payments are made to qualified veterans to bring their total income, including other retirement or Social Security income, to a level set by Congress. Unreimbursed medical expenses may reduce countable income. A veteran may be entitled to higher income limitations or additional benefits if a patient in a nursing home, in need of aid and attendance by another person or permanently housebound. Further information and applications are available at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.

Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC)

 - payments may be available for surviving spouses who have not remarried, unmarried children under 18, helpless children, those between 18 and 23 if attending a VA approved school. To be eligible, the deceased must have died from:

(1) disease or injury incurred or aggravated while on active duty for training (2) an injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty while on inactive duty for training; or (3) a disability compensable by VA. Death cannot be result of willful misconduct. If a spouse remarries, eligibility for benefits may be restored if the marriage is terminated later by death or divorce.

Further information and applications are available at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.

Death Pensions

 - based on need for surviving spouses and unmarried children of deceased veterans with wartime service. Spouses must not have remarried and children must be under age 18, or under age 23 if attending a VA approved school. 
Pension is not payable to those with estates large enough to provide maintenance. 
The veteran was discharged under conditions other than dishonorable and had 90 days or more of active military service, at least one day during a period of war, or a service connected disability justifying discharge for disability. 
If the veteran died in service but not in line of duty, benefits may be payable if the veteran had completed at least two years of honorable service. Children who became incapable of self-support because of a disability before age 18 may be eligible for pension as long as the condition exists, unless the child marries or the child's income exceeds the applicable limit. A surviving spouse may be entitled to higher income limitations or additional benefits if living in a nursing home, in need of aid and attendance by another person or permanently housebound. Further information and application are available at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office. 

Reimbursement of Burial Expenses

 - VA will pay burial allowance of up to $1500 if the veteran's death was service connected. In some instances, VA will also pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available gravesites. In such cases, the person who bore the veteran's burial expenses may claim reimbursement from VA. Applications are available at Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.
VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at time of death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation or would have been entitled to compensation or would have been entitled to compensation but for receipt of military retirement pay. Eligibility also may be established when death occurs in a VA facility, a nursing home under VA Contract or a state veterans nursing home. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be paid. There is no time limit for filing reimbursement claims of service connected deaths.
In other deaths, claims must be filed within two years after permanent burial or cremation. VA will pay a $150 plot allowance when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction. For further information and applications contact the Mahoning County Veterans Services Office. 

Headstones and Markers

  - VA provides headstones and markers for the unmarked graves of veterans anywhere in the world and of eligible dependents of veterans buried in military posts, state or national veterans cemeteries. Flat bronze, flat granite, flat marble, upright granite and upright marble types are available to mark the grave in a style consistent with the cemetery.
Niche markers also are available for identifying cremated remains in Columbaria.
For further information and applications contact the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.

Health Care Benefits

- For most veterans, entry into the VA health-care systems starts with enrollment at a VA health care facility. However, veterans with Internet access may apply for enrollment on line (http://www.va.gov) by completing VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits. Once enrolled, a veteran is eligible to receive services at VA facilities anywhere in the country. For further information and applications contact the Mahoning County Veterans Service Office.