Two Adams County Veterans Affairs Office employees recently received accreditation from the National Association of County Veterans’ Service Offices.
John Farrell, director of veterans affairs for Adams County, and Tammy DeGroft, the county’s veterans service officer, are now accredited through the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Adams County veterans affairs office helps qualified veterans and their families access federal, state and county benefits including disability and education benefits, health care, pensions, home loan guarantees, emergency financial needs and obtaining copies of military records among other things according to the office’s mission statement.
Farrell said all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties have a veterans affairs office, which serve as a central resource for the distribution of information to veterans and veteran service organizations throughout each county.
Farrell said gaining the national accreditation consisted of an intensive, five-day training program in Mechanicsburg.
“We went through types of programs we offer,” Farrell said. “We learned about VA service-connected compensation, VA pensions, incarcerated veterans and what their benefits are. We also learned about collecting evidence to support a claim. Ethics always comes into play.”
Farrell said the national accreditation gives him and DeGroft access to more information and resources than the had with their state accreditation. He said he can get into national databases such as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, AmVets and the Department of Disabled American Veterans.
“In order for this office to be able to function efficiently and properly, a person needs to be trained,” Farrell said. “You can’t work for the office without quite a bit of information that the accreditation gives us.”
Becoming accredited at the state and national level came at no cost to the county, Farrell said.
Farrell said he first became accredited through the state agency when he started working for the county in 2009 after holding a job with the state for 33 years. Farrell, a U.S. Army veteran himself, wanted to help veterans.
“This is a calling, not just a job,” he said. “Being able to serve veterans and their families; it’s not a duty, it’s an honor for me.”