PVA issues statement on delay of expansion to veterans’ family caregiver program
MEDIA CONTACT: Liz Deakin, lizd@pva.org
Washington, D.C. (Sept. 26, 2019) — Paralyzed Veterans of America Executive Director Carl Blake issued the following statement on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ announcement of its delay to include catastrophically-injured veterans from eras before 9/11 in the agency’s Comprehensive Family Caregiver Program, as required under the VA Mission Act:
“We are extremely disappointed with this delay since it directly impacts many of our members, veterans with spinal cord injury. Many of our members have relied on their caregivers for decades. Our seriously injured veterans expected to be able to enroll in the VA’s family caregiver program starting this fall, but now improvements to their quality of life are on hold until at least the summer of 2020. We urge the VA to take the proper actions necessary for the successful expansion of this program as soon as possible. Continuing to delay this program is simply unacceptable. Our nation’s catastrophically disabled veterans and their caregivers are counting on it.”
