Madera County Veterans Service Office

The office. The county's own description: "The CVSO is an office established by the Board of Supervisors of Madera County to assist every veteran, their dependents and survivors in presenting and pursuing any claim in establishing the veteran's right for benefits provided by law." "We provide precise guidance from beginning to end of each and every benefit we pursue on behalf of our clients. Our duties consist of filling accurate claims in obtaining federal, state, and local benefits & entitlements from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA), and more. Our office has two Federally Accredited Representatives that take customer service to the highest level and one Office Assistant that guides our veterans with respect." The page warns: "WE ARE NOT THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS." Services, all free: service-connected compensation claims, wartime pension and aid-and-attendance, appeals and reopened claims, education benefits including the CalVet College Fee Waiver, life insurance, burial benefits and headstones, survivor benefits, discharge upgrades, VA medical-care applications, military records and medals, the Veteran ID card, and the DMV verification below. County Code. Ordinance No. 711, adopted June 3, 2025, recodified the office inside the Social Services department: section 2.30.030 creates "a veterans services office within the Madera County social services department, which shall be known as the 'Madera County Veterans Services Office,'" "primarily responsible for assisting veterans and their dependents in presenting and pursuing claims for rights, privileges, benefits, preference, care, or compensation provided for under state and federal law"; section 2.30.040 creates the office of veterans service officer to direct it, reporting to the social services director; section 2.30.050 lets the director appoint the officer; section 2.30.060 fixes its staff. The county's Veterans' Service Office page was read on 2026-10-21; the code sections on the same date. Where and when. "NEW OFFICE LOCATION: 1620 Sunrise Ave., Building 2, Madera CA 93638"; phone 559-675-7766 or 311, fax 559-675-7911, [email protected]. Hours as published 2026-10-21: Monday to Thursday "By Appointment Only. No walk-ins accepted on these days" for "VA Claims & Appeals, Benefits Eligibility & Counseling, Survivor and Dependent Services, Other Veteran-Requested Issues"; "FRIDAY ONLY Walk-In Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM" for document drop-off, CalVet College Fee Waiver assistance and "DMV License & Disabled Veteran Registration Verification." Staff as listed: County Veteran Service Officer Joshua Christopherson, Veteran Service Representatives I Natasha Owens and Philip Fernandez, Office Assistant Antonio Ortega. The November 18, 2025 board letter names the department contacts "Raeanne Jain, Josh Christopherson, Vivian Garcia" and records that Christopherson "is a veteran and has been appointed as the Veterans Service Officer since 2020"; the College Fee Waiver page still gives the old mailing address, 200 W. 4th Street, so both are recorded as published. The Board's year, read October 2025 to October 2026 on the county's eScribe portal. On October 21, 2025 the Board adopted Resolution No. 2025-117 in support of Operation Green Light for Veterans, "converting municipal and residential lighting to green in honor of our nation's veterans from November 4 through November 11, 2025" - moved by Supervisor Rogers, seconded by Supervisor Wamhoff, approved 5 to 0, the Veterans Services Division item on the day's agenda (the minutes were approved November 18, 2025). On November 18, 2025 the Board, on consent 5 to 0, entered into the two CalVet agreements of the Annual County Subvention Program and the Annual Medi-Cal Cost Avoidance Program for fiscal year 2025-26 (contracts MCC No. 13181-25 and MCC No. 13182-25); the staff letter records that the certificates are required yearly by Military and Veterans Code section 972 and make the office "eligible to receive an estimated $95,000 under the CalVet FY 2025-26 County Subvention Program and Medi-Cal Cost Avoidance Fund," and prices the office's work from its last full report: in FY 2023-24 "6,700 veterans and family members contacted the MCVSO, 3,000 in person and 3,700 by phone or email," from which "2,110 new claims were submitted with $3,786,847 in new awards to veterans and their families in Madera County," against a CalVet estimate of 5,937 county veterans in 2023. On February 3, 2026 the Board authorized a signed Letter of Support for SB 694 (Archuleta), "protecting veterans from unaccredited entities charging for services they should receive for free" - the letter, signed by Chairman Robert Macaulay and copied to the Governor, the legislative leaders and the author, says federal law "prohibits charging for initial benefit claims and requires that those representing veterans be VA-accredited, such as CVSOs," and that the office's work is why the county backs the bill. The Veterans Monument Project is the March 10, 2026 item and has its own entry. No veterans advisory board: the Clerk of the Board keeps committees for the Assessment Appeals Board, the City Selection Committee, the Cal-ID Remote Access Network Board, the Countywide Oversight Board and LAFCo, and the Board's own meeting portal lists no veterans body among its thirty boards. Veteran driver's licence or ID designation. The office holds the verification step California reserves to it: "Take your documentation with an honorable or General discharge (under honorable conditions) and government identification to your nearest CVSO to obtain your Veteran Status Verification form (VSD-001). DO NOT go to the Veterans Affairs, VA Regional Office, or the California Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet) as they DO NOT provide the verification form. Only your County Veteran Service Office can do this." Then the DMV appointment, with the DMV's $5 designation fee. Eligibility as the county page states it: active duty, Reserve or National Guard service and an Honorable or General discharge; an Other Than Honorable, Bad Conduct or Dishonorable discharge does not qualify, and an uncharacterized or unknown discharge is verified by the CVSO first. CalVet College Fee Waiver. The office takes the waiver applications (form DVS-40, which the county notes "must be the revised 01/24 edition") by mail, fax or drop-off, with the county's own information packet on the page; the waiver itself is the State programme, in the California entries.