Chester County's Department of Veterans Affairs, at the Government Services Center in West Chester, is the county director of veterans affairs' office: it helps veterans, spouses and dependents apply for county, State and federal benefits, keeps the county's veterans' grave registration record and gives out Memorial Day flags and grave markers all year. The county publishes no burial allowance figure; ask.
Also called: county director of veterans affairs, CVSO, veterans service officer, West Chester, Westtown Road, Veterans Advisory Council, Peer Ambassadors, grave markers, claims help.
For: Veteran or service member, spouse, child, survivor.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is the office every Pennsylvania county must have: a director of veterans affairs appointed by the commissioners (16 Pa.C.S. 15524) and holding VA accreditation (51 Pa.C.S. 1731). See the Pennsylvania entry on county directors. The director is Susanne Fink. The county created its veterans office in 1955 to help the commissioners grant burial allowances.
How to reach it. Chester County Government Services Center, 601 Westtown Road, Suite 170, West Chester PA 19380; 610-344-6375.
What it does. Benefit information and applications for veterans, spouses and dependents under county, State and federal law, including the State's real estate tax exemption and Veterans' Temporary Assistance (see the Pennsylvania entries); the county's veterans' grave registration record, which 16 Pa.C.S. 15523 requires; and flags and grave markers, free to veterans' organizations that place them and to families, for Memorial Day and year-round (call to arrange a pick-up).
Burial. The county site does not mention a burial allowance or headstone base. Title 16 makes the county pay at least $75 toward the funeral of a veteran who lived in the county and of a surviving spouse who had not remarried, claimed within one year of the death, and provide a base or lettering for a federal headstone at actual cost (sections 15509, 15510 and 15513). Ask the office what Chester County pays. See the Pennsylvania entry on county burial and grave benefits.
Around the office. Since January 2022 a Veterans Affairs Advisory Council of county residents appointed by the commissioners advises the department, and a Chester County Veterans Affairs Fund at the Chester County Community Foundation raises money for veterans' causes. The department has also begun a Peer Ambassador programme, in which veterans join its outreach events. The Archives holds the county's Veterans Burial Records from 1885 to 1979.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Chester County Department of Veterans Affairs
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Rule
Veterans, spouses and dependents
Any veteran, spouse or dependent can use the office. No rating is needed.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.