Jefferson County Veterans Service Office

The Jefferson County Veterans Service Office is the county's veterans county service office under Government Code 434.032; see the Texas entry. Its page describes an office that "assists veterans and their dependents with applications for compensation, pensions, hospitalization and other benefits through an intake process that includes information and referral services", working "with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other nationally chartered veterans service organizations to ensure that veterans, their dependents and survivors receive their richly deserved entitlements". Where. Two offices, weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Beaumont: 1149 Pearl Street, Beaumont, Texas 77701; 409-835-8604. Port Arthur: 900 4th Street, Port Arthur, Texas 77640; 409-983-8385. The staff are Pamela Miller, Veterans Service Officer; Carolyn Wright, Supervisor; and account clerks Sonia Abraham (Port Arthur) and Arielle Scypion. What the office does. Its services page: it informs veterans, dependents and survivors of their eligibility for VA benefits; assists in obtaining addresses for benefits payable through the Social Security Administration or other government agencies; completes forms for benefits that may be payable through VA; completes forms and notifies the appropriate branch of service of the death of a retiree; informs survivors of procedures regarding military benefits; obtains supporting documents for claims by veterans, their spouses and dependents; and records original discharges (DD-214) with the County Clerk's office. Its FAQ answers "Does Texas keep my DD 214 confidential?" with "Yes", sends DD-214 seekers to the County Clerk's office, and says a DD-214 "can be ordered through the Veterans Service Office if it is not on file at the County Clerk's". The FAQ also lays out the non-service-connected pension's service test - 90 days of active duty with one day in a war period, which it lists from the First World War to the Gulf War - and the documents a veteran and spouse should keep for any VA or Social Security claim. The office's links page points veterans at VA-funded detox at Baptist Hospital's inpatient unit, MakeTheConnection.net and an honor guard group, the Southeast Texas Veterans Service Group. How it is funded. The FY 2026 budget the Commissioners Court adopted on September 4, 2025 carries Veterans Services under General Government at $423,998, after $341,732 in fiscal 2024 and $335,766 estimated for 2025, with four positions. The budget book describes the office: it "develops and submits claims for benefits to the Department of Veterans Affairs for disability compensation, pension, death pension, medical benefits, burial benefits, insurance, education, home loans, records requests, and various benefits through other government agencies". The Court's only veteran act in the year to October 2026 was a September 23, 2025 budget transfer adding $250 for office supplies and $250 for extra help.