Tompkins County Department of Veterans Services (J.R. Clairborne, director)
The Tompkins County Department of Veterans Services - J.R. Clairborne, director, 111 North Albany Street, Ithaca (607-274-5920) - connects county veterans and their families with federal, state and local resources through counseling, referral and direct assistance.
What the department's page says. "Tompkins County Department of Veterans Services exists to connect local Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces - and their families - with federal, state, and local resources." The department "make[s] these connections through a combination of counseling, referral, and direct assistance" with: "Compensation for service-connected and non-service-connected disabilities; Compensation to caregiving family of homebound Veterans; Compensation/pension to families of deceased Veterans; Burial benefits and grave markers; Health care; Life insurance; Education Benefits; Home loan guarantees; Obtaining military records" and "Federal, State & Local medals/awards; New York State blind annuity; New York State property tax exemption."
Where and who. J.R. Clairborne, Director; 111 North Albany Street, Ithaca, NY 14850; 607-274-5920; fax 607-697-7923; [email protected]; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The department's calendar and news sit on its own pages; its help links list the Tompkins County VA Clinic, 2-1-1 Tompkins-Cortland, the New York State Department of Veterans' Services, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, programs for homeless veterans, Soldier On and Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County.
The county's own resources page. "Tompkins' Resources for Veterans" records what the rest of county government offers: the Assessment Department's veterans property-tax exemptions (RP-458-a and RP-458-b, see the State entry), the County Clerk's DD-214 filing and FAVOUR discounts (see the clerk's entry), the DMV veteran designation, and Human Resources' welcome letter to veterans with Workforce New York's priority for veterans and their eligible spouses.
The department's year. The Legislature's 2025 departmental-achievements presentation records the office's work: it "celebrated staff expansion with the hiring of the department's first dedicated veterans service officer", "hosted first program in observance of veterans day with focus on women veterans, in collaboration with ithaca alumnae chapter of the delta sigma theta sorority", "expanded traditional veterans resources fair into the department's first veterans expo" (a combination of "more than 20 various veteran, state, and community resources", presented with Leg. Lea Webb), saw "veterans week" featured on Cornell's "All Things Equal" podcast, served as a panelist at "With Duty and Dignity: Veterans' Human Rights" (Cornell Law School's veterans law practicum with the gender justice clinic and the NYS Department of Veterans' Services), and joined the Dwyer Veterans Peer Support Project coalition - see the Legislature's entry.
Thresholds
Thresholds for Tompkins County Department of Veterans Services (J.R. Clairborne, director)
Gate
Rule
Veterans, dependants and survivors
Free claims help and referral from the county veterans services department; no rating is needed to ask.
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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.