Protect The Veterans' Caregiver Program!
Final signature count: 8,831
8,831 signatures toward our 30,000 goal
Sponsor: The Veterans Site
Caregivers of veterans have seen their monthly stipends stop suddenly. This can't keep happening.
In 2010, the VA Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers Program was established to provide benefits for family members of injured veterans to act as caregivers for those veterans in the home. The program is for post-9/11 veterans, and includes eligibility for veterans with both physical and mental injuries [1]. It was a great leap forward in terms of caring for our veterans in the manner which they deserve.
Recently, however, thousands of caregivers around the country have stopped receiving their monthly stipend check from the VA – and without any warning, and with little or no explanation [2]. The veterans, the caregivers, and often entire families depend on that assistance to maintain the level of care in the home since they are unable to work otherwise.
According to a study done by the Government Accountability Office [3], the program was underfunded and problematic from its conception. That is because the Veterans Health Administration originally thought the program would see around 4,000 eligible caregivers sign up for support. The program today has around 23,000 caregivers enrolled [4]. Underestimating the need to begin with and then failing to provide adequate oversight has left the program in need of serious—and immediate—improvements.
Most of all, the caregivers of veterans in the program need to know that they will continue to receive the support they rely on and not have it stopped short without notice.
Family members, often wives, are giving up their own careers to care for wounded veterans at home, and the VA needs to stabilize and expand funding to compensate caregivers. Show your support of wounded veterans and their dedicated caregivers! Wounded veterans need the proper care and support at home, and so do their caregivers!