In July of 2011, the Department of Transportation, together with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Veterans Affairs, announced the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative, designed to increase collaboration among federal, state and local agencies and organizations to address the mobility challenges faced by our nation's veterans, service members, and their families. On this page, communities can find resources which may help them understand these challenges and coordinate to address them.

General Veteran and Military Community Resources

• Military Community Overview (PDF)
  Prepared by the VTCLI Technical Assistance Consortium, this guide provides an introduction to the military community, including the various needs and challenges, as well as where their support services are located across the country.
• A Guide to Serving Your Military Community (PDF) (Updated 3/7/12)
  This is the full-length guide to connecting with the veteran and military communities in your area which is introduced in the Overview document above. This guide, prepared by the TA Consortium, provides contact information for many of the potential partners below, including the Recovery Coordination Program, VSOs and the VTS (see below). This document will be continuously updated as resources are added.
• Transportation for America's Veterans and Their Families (PDF)
  Addressing the mobility and transportation-challenges of American veterans and their families is not just an issue for the Department of Veteran's Affairs or traditional Veterans Services Organizations -- they are shared, societal responsibilities. More specifically, these mobility and transportation related issues are a key component in the ongoing work of the network of mobility providers we call community and public transit and the human services transportation network. Prepared by the National Resource Center (see below).
• Veteran and Military Statistics
  • The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics provides a variety of datasets about veterans.
  • The Census Bureau also has data at varying levels of detail on veteran and military populations in their National Security & Veterans Affairs section.
  • There is also an excellent report from 2004 with numerous statistics about the military population, their families and the challenges they face, located here: http://www.prb.org/pdf04/59.4AmericanMilitary.pdf.

Potential Partners - Veteran and Military Communities

• Veterans Transportation Service
  The Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) is a new VA pilot program aiming to increase access for veterans, particularly those in rural areas with disabilities, to VA medical care facilities. As the VTS will be expanding across the country, VTCLI applicants should work with their nearest VA medical center in developing their proposal to incorporate the possibility of future VTS services. Use this Veterans Health Administration tool to find the nearest VA facilities.
• VA Veterans Transportation Service Regional Coordinators
  The VTS Regional Coordinators will serve as liaisons to local VA Medical Centers and other VA facilities for the VTCLI.
• Recovery Coordination Program (RCP)
  The RCP is a program of the Department of Defense’s Office Of Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy, which works to ensure that wounded, ill and injured service members receive non-medical support they require. The RCP provides a network of Recovery Care Coordinators (RCCs). Communities with an RCC should consider including their RCC in the application partnership.
• Veteran Directed Home and Community Based Services Program
  A partnership of the Administration on Aging and the VA, the VD-HCBS allows participating states to provide healthcare to qualified veterans through community providers rather than VA facilities.
• Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC)
  The ADRC program is a partnership between the Administration on Aging and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which creates local resource centers designed to improve and streamline access to services and long-term care.
  • In Aiken, South Carolina, the ADRC has expanded to include transportation resources and become the one-call transportation resource center.
• Department of Labor resources
  The Department of Labor (DOL) supports local One-Stop Career Centers that provide a variety of assistance to job seekers in one place. Additionally, the DOL's Veterans' Employment and Training Services provides a range of employment assistance to service members.
• Veterans and Military Service Organizations
  The Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) and Military Service Organizations (MSO) are non-profit groups that serve the needs of veterans, service members and their families. This spreasheet (Excel) includes contact information for state chapters of many national Veterans organizations. Visit the National Resource Directory database of VSOs.

One-Call/One-Click and Coordination Resources

The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative discretionary grant program has focuses on technology investments to build One-Call/One-Click Transportation Resource Centers, that make it simple for community members to find information about available transportaton and schedule rides. Below are resources that will help communities coordinate resources and implement One-Call strategies.

• One Call-One Click Transportation Services Toolkit
  The One Call-One Click Toolkit provides information and guidance for communities who are at the beginning stages of creating a coordinated one call-one click transportation center.
• Costs of Transportation One-Call/One-Click Technology Components for Budget Planning Purposes (PDF)
• Financing the Operation of Transportation One-Call/One-Click Centers (PDF)
  This document outlines Federal funding programs which may be available in communities to fund operations of a One-Call/One-Click center.
• Framework for Action
  A United We Ride guidebook for communities who want to coordinate their transportation resources and assess needs and gaps in service.
• National Resource Center for Human Resources Transportation Coordination
  The National Resource Center (NRC) is an FTA funded technical assistance center and primary support center for the United We Ride Initiative. The NRC has a large collection of coordinated transportation plans which may help community members identify appropriate partner agencies for their VTCLI application.
• Easter Seals Project ACTION
  Another FTA technical assistance center, Project ACTION has numerous resources for communities looking to improve transportation access and options for people with disabilities. Project ACTION's parent, Easter Seals, Inc., is currently supporting veterans and their families in a number of initiatives across the United States. Read more about the Veterans Counts Program in New Hampshire or contact Project ACTION for more information.

One-Call Examples

• In Aiken, South Carolina, the Lower Savannah Council of Governments (LSCOG) expanded its Aging and Disability Resource Center (see below) to include transportation resources and become the one-call transportation resource center.
  • Read LSCOG's final report (PDF) on their One-Call implementation.
• In California, the state undertook a major planning initiative to incorporate transportation information and resources into existing 2-1-1 call centers and County Emergency Services departments, in order to improve access to transportation for people in rural areas.
  • Read the Caltrans project summary (PDF).