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AGENCY TESTIMONY
SWOT analysis of the Department of Veterans Services
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Commissioner Hendon presents a comprehensive SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of DVS, highlighting key factors affecting the agency's performance.
- Strengths: robust service connections, growing veteran data awareness, strong partnerships
- Weaknesses: young organization, economic challenges, technology rollout delays
- Opportunities: improved data sharing, increasing women veteran population, Dwyer program resources
- Threats: aging veteran population, housing constraints, potential federal workforce reductions
James Hendon
0:27:10
Now to the SWAT analysis.
0:27:11
Strengths for DVS are we're able to connect veterans to a robust array of services and offerings.
0:27:17
DVS has a strong grasp of the veterans in New York City of who they are down to the name, address, and contact information level.
0:27:24
Our awareness in this space is growing.
0:27:26
We leverage our brand and the imprimatur of government to inspire partners and be inspired by them to collaborate and deliberate needed synergies.
0:27:33
We have access to housing choice vouchers that are specifically for veterans who are not eligible VA VA health care.
0:27:39
Speaking of the HUD VASH collaborative case management voucher.
0:27:42
Weaknesses.
0:27:43
We're still a young and growing organization.
0:27:45
For many things that we do internally and externally, we're establishing precedence by doing what has never been done before at DVS.
0:27:51
It takes time, learned experience, and sweat equity to come up the learning curve.
0:27:56
The evolution of the agency has moved slower than planned due to the city's economic backdrop.
0:28:00
I'm speaking of headwinds presented by the COVID nineteen pandemic followed by the migrant crisis.
0:28:04
Five of the department's eight years of existence, the most recent five, have been impacted by this challenge.
0:28:10
The rollout of our new technology platform to undergird VetConnect NYC, DVS' digital referral pro portal, was delayed.
0:28:18
The reason, additional time needed to be taken to configure our new portal to meet the requirements of local law 37.
0:28:25
In essence, local law 37 requires city agencies to ask a veteran identifier question on client facing forms.
0:28:31
The quantitative aspect of those responses, how many veteran community members responded to x or department y, are to then be reported broken down by city council district.
0:28:40
No one on the speaker's side or the mayor's side has technology that is able to take a group of addresses in bulk and tell you for all those addresses which city council district each respondent lives in.
0:28:51
Absent having someone on our team do this individually for each of the thousands of local law 37 respondents, we took the approach of adding this application to VetConnect NYC.
0:28:59
It helps us accurately and efficiently track this data point.
0:29:03
This has led to a delay in the rollout of the new platform that undergirds VetConnect NYC.
0:29:07
Nonetheless, the work still goes on.
0:29:09
VetConnect NYC is an effort is fully functional.
0:29:12
It always has been.
0:29:14
The new technology component that bolsters it will be integrated this spring.
0:29:18
Visit nyc.gov/vetconnect to learn more.
0:29:21
To opportunities, the penetration that DBS has made regarding data represents an opportunity.
0:29:26
I'm speaking to data tied to local law 37, data sharing agreements with the New York State Department of Veterans Service and Department of Defense asking partner organizations to ask a veteran identifier question involuntarily, not through law, and using VA veteran identifier tools such as VA squares.
0:29:41
The increase in women veteran population in New York City at a rate faster than the national projected rise in female veterans is a favorable occurrence.
0:29:48
The Dwyer program and resources that we are now just now starting to inject within the veteran community offers a powerful life line of support.
0:29:55
Also, have the New York State service disabled veteran owned business program, and our agency's role as a promoter and ambassador of it provides swift economic opportunities for large numbers of service disabled veterans who may soon be unemployed given the current federal work backdrop.
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Threats.
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New York City's Veteran community is aging.
0:30:12
We need to accommodate our older veterans accordingly.
0:30:14
To reiterate, seventy point seven percent of New York City's Veterans are aged 55 or older.
0:30:19
Seventeen point five percent are between the ages of 55 and 64, 20 one point five percent are between the ages of 65 and 74, 30 one point eight percent are aged 75 or older.
0:30:28
The veteran community like all in New York City face availability and price constraints when it comes to housing.
0:30:34
It is incumbent on DVS to be as connected, knowledgeable, and as possible when assisting and informing our community members on housing related issues.
0:30:42
If the federal government continues the massive reduction in force that is currently planned, then we'll see more New York City Veterans thrown into insecurity.
0:30:51
This is economic and housing ramifications.
0:30:53
Add to that, on one hand, we'll see an increase in the number of veterans who engage the VA for support, those who are unemployed.
0:30:59
At the same time, the VA will be less effective at responding to those veterans recognizing that approximately 20% of its staff, more than 80,000 people, will have been terminated.
0:31:08
It is important to note that one out of 10 working age veterans is employed by the federal government, 30% of federal workforce is comprised of US Military Veterans, separately 20% of all US employees works for a firm that is a federal contractor.
0:31:20
Veterans who are direct federal employees and those affiliated with contractors will be affected.
0:31:25
We fear that the VA will use an upcoming review of its medical infrastructure assets to close the VA hospitals in Manhattan and Brooklyn along with a community based outpatient clinic on Staten Island.
0:31:36
This process which occurs once every four years and is known as an asset infrastructure review commission will resume again in the spring of twenty twenty six.
0:31:43
Air commission recommendations are made based on the number of veterans in a community who self identify and use their local VA health care facilities.
0:31:51
This is another reason why New York City Veteran self identification is key.