Question Period Note: SEAMLESS TRANSITION

• Veterans Affairs Canada is committed to working with the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure that the transition to life after service is as seamless as possible.

• We have focused our efforts on reducing the complexity of the transition process while enhancing the well-being of Canadian Armed Forces Members, Veterans and their families.

• We are closing the seam by improving service delivery through a single point of contact for transition assistance at the joint Transition Centre, by enhancing digital tools and increasing early registration on My VAC Account to improve contact with Veterans Affairs Canada, and by increasing awareness of the available resources and support.

• The objective is to deliver a standardized, personalized and professional transition process that supports and empowers Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans and their families before, during and after their transition to life after service.

BACKGROUND – SEAMLESS TRANSITION

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) is committed to working with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to ensure that the transition to life after service is as seamless as possible.

On average, 8,500 CAF members release each year, and of those approximately 1,500 are medical releases and 7,000 are non-medical releases. During the most recent Life After Service Survey in 2019, 39% of Regular Force Veterans reported difficulties adjusting to post-service life and 33% of Veterans reported that their families experienced difficulty adjusting to post-service life.

We are improving service delivery to releasing members through a single point of contact for transition assistance at the joint Transition Centres. This includes the Enhanced Transition Services (ETS) process implemented in 2015 for those medically releasing and a new Military to Civilian Transition (MCT) process for non-medically releasing (phased roll-out for MCT between January 2022 and March 2024).

Through early intervention using both mandatory and voluntary wellness screening tools, by improving support for training and education, by increasing employment opportunities post-release, and by improving the links to military services and the community, we are targeting gaps in the transition process.

In cooperation with Military Family Services (MFS) we have extended family transition and support programs to medically released Veterans and their families. We have also launched a pilot telemedicine service for medically released members and their families, as well as bereaved families, to provide basic acute, non-emergency medical services to bridge the gap while searching for a permanent family physician.

In addition, we are enhancing digital tools and increasing early registration on My VAC Account to improve contact with VAC; and improving the release notification process and available resources and support. This includes the use of a digital Member Transition Task List that empowers members in their transition process, and an alignment of benefits to allow releasing members to obtain information about medications and treatments that will be available to them post-release.

By reducing complexity in the application process, improving information sharing between CAF, VAC and MFS and improving the continuity of care for releasing members and their families through shared screening tools we are improving the transition experience.

WHEN PRESSED:

Q1 – How is Veterans Affairs Canada providing transition assistance in the Transition Centres?
Veterans Affairs Canada has been providing a form of transition assistance on Canadian Forces Bases and Wings since 2003 and we have continued to develop and improve our service delivery model in response to the needs of transitioning Canadian Armed Forces Members and their families. Our staff provide a Transition Interview with wellness screening for all transitioning members, a process which has been made mandatory by the Canadian Armed Forces. Since 2015, we have worked with the Canadian Armed Forces to provide Enhanced Transition Services for medically releasing Canadian Armed Forces members and their families. In 2019, in cooperation with the Canadian Armed Forces, we designed a new joint Military to Civilian Transition process for non-medically releasing Canadian Armed Forces members and their families. This process is now being implemented nationally. In addition, enhanced transition training courses have been developed and are mandatory for all releasing members. These e-learning modules cover a diverse range of topics such as: the psychological aspects of transition, Veterans Affairs Canada programs and services, Canadian Armed Forces Pension Plan, financial planning for retirement, release administrations, final move, and Defence Ethics post release. The current program will be replaced by an updated e-learning course which will be followed by an in-person course tailored to individual post-release plans (retirement, continuing work, education or entrepreneurship). The aim of these courses is to assist the member in preparing for release.
Q2 – What transition assistance is being provided to ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces Members?
As part of Enhanced Transition Services, we engage earlier with medically releasing Canadian Armed Forces members as part of coordinated and integrated support from both Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces. This includes joint case consultation and coordinated case planning. Case Managers or Veteran Service Agents are assigned pre-transition in order to align the transitioning member with the appropriate supports and ensure continuity of care.
Q3 – How is the new transition process different from the services that Veterans Affairs Canada was previously providing to support transition?
Although Veterans Affairs Canada has been providing transition assistance for a considerable length of time, the weight of effort from the Canadian Armed Forces was given to support for the ill and injured, leaving a gap where non-medically releasing Canadian Armed Forces Members who underwent a largely administrative process without support. The new Military to Civilian Transition process will address this gap within the Canadian Armed Forces and provide a standardized, personalized and professional transition process for non-medically releasing members. As part of this process, transitioning members will be supported by both Canadian Armed Forces transition advisors and Veterans Affairs Canada staff who jointly will provide assistance and transition planning throughout the process. This new approach has been trialled at Canadian Forces Base Borden since 2019 and Canadian Forces Base Petawawa since 2021. The process is now being implemented nationally and will be fully operational as of March 2024.

Q4 – How is Veterans Affairs Canada meeting the needs of families during the transition process?
Veterans Affairs Canada understands that transition to life after service is just as big a change for the families as it is for those who served. Medically releasing Canadian Armed Forces Members and their families are eligible for the Veteran Family Program, which provides continued access to the Military Family Resource Centres and to a suite of transition-support programs and services. Under this program, we have introduced a pilot program called the Veteran Family Telemedicine Service. This pilot program connects medically released Veterans and their families to a national network of Canadian-licensed doctors, nurse practitioners, and healthcare providers who are accessible online via secure text messaging, audio, or video. Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families have one year from their medically released date to sign up for this service. Finally as part of the new Military to Civilian Transition process, Military Family Services have been integrated into the joint transition centres where they will provide screening, transition assistance and transition planning for the families of releasing Canadian Armed Forces members.
Q5 – How has Veterans Affairs Canada reduced complexity for Canadian Armed Forces members undergoing transition?
Through Budget 2019, Veterans Affairs Canada established a project, Closing the Seam, which had as expected outcomes the reduction of the complexity of applying for benefits, the adequate preparation of Canadian Armed Forces members and their families for transition and the removal of the need to provide the same information multiple times. In support of these outcomes, there were nine different initiatives all of which are now complete or will be completed in the current fiscal year. My VAC Account has been improved to allow for early registration for transitioning Canadian Armed Forces members, increase capacity and the development of guided web forms which provide a more automated, guided application experience which uses the ‘tell us once’ approach. Several initiatives were aimed at improved information and data sharing between the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada including improvements to data quality and accuracy and providing direct access to service health records by Veterans Affairs Canada staff. Each of these will enable timely decisions, reduce wait times and remove the burden of providing this information from the Veteran. A number of tools and services were developed and help support members and their families as they transition to life after service, including: screening tools for potential risk and unmet needs, a new case management assessment which is interoperable with other tools and systems, a Member Transition Task List which is a digital and interactive transition planning tool and the Alignment of Treatment Benefits service which enables transitioning members to make informed decisions on their future healthcare needs after release, without delay or administrative burden.