Department of Veterans Affairs

  Annual FTEs General Fund State Other Funds Total Funds
  (Dollars in Thousands)
Estimated Expenditures 867.2 48,981 137,507 186,488
2021-23 Maintenance Level 868.7 45,237 138,328 183,565
Difference from 2019-21 1.5 (3,744) 821 (2,923)
% Change from 2019-21 0.17% (7.6%) 0.60% (1.6%)

2021-23 Policy Other Changes

Equipment Replacement Costs 0.0 898 0 898
Traumatic Brain Injury Program 2.0 466 0 466
Veteran-owned Businesses 1.0 230 0 230
Veterans Home Operations Director 1.0 86 384 470
Expand Suicide Prevention Program 0.0 898 0 898
Nursing Assistant Alignment 0.0 114 342 456
2021-23 Policy Other Changes Total 4.0 2,692 726 3,418

2021-23 Policy Comp Changes

Pension Adjustments, nonrate 0.0 90 0 90
State Employee Benefits 0.0 (64) 0 (64)
WFSE General Government 0.0 (1,079) 0 (1,079)
Temporary Layoffs and Other Savings 0.0 (1,568) 0 (1,568)
Juneteenth State Holiday 0.0 201 0 201
Rep Employee Health Benefits 0.0 (238) 0 (238)
Coalition of Unions 0.0 (631) 0 (631)
Non-Rep General Wage Increase 0.0 (282) (380) (662)
2021-23 Policy Comp Changes Total 0.0 (3,571) (380) (3,951)

2021-23 Policy Central Services Changes

Archives/Records Management 0.0 9 0 9
Audit Services 0.0 (4) 0 (4)
Legal Services 0.0 (2) 0 (2)
CTS Central Services 0.0 130 0 130
DES Central Services 0.0 18 0 18
OFM Central Services 0.0 1,132 0 1,132
Self-Insurance Liability Premium 0.0 105 0 105
2021-23 Policy Central Services Changes Total 0.0 1,388 0 1,388
Total Policy Changes 4.0 509 346 855
2021-23 Policy Level 872.7 45,746 138,674 184,420
Difference from 2019-21 5.5 (3,235) 1,167 (2,068)
% Change from 2019-21 0.63% (6.6%) 0.85% (1.1%)

Policy Changes

Equipment Replacement Costs

This funding will replace critical equipment items identified by the veterans’ homes as essential, job required, life and/or safety related. Many of these items have outlived their functional life and prevent staff from providing the most efficient care for veterans. (General Fund - State)

Traumatic Brain Injury Program

Funding is provided to continue support of two FTE staff for the Traumatic Brain Injury Program. For the last 12 years, this program has effectively kept veterans with tramautic brain injuries out of the justice and behavioral health systems. It also has helped these veterans succeed in higher education and reduced the need for services related to suicide prevention, homelessness, and domestic violence. This funding is required to keep the program sustainable in the future. (General Fund - State)

Veteran-owned Businesses

Our state economy is driven in large part by small businesses, many of which are owned by veterans or service members. Funding is provided to direct assistance and outreach to veterans and service members seeking to start businesses and to help them become certified through the Veteran-Owned Business Certification Program. (General Fund - State)

Veterans Home Operations Director

Funding is provided to establish the Home Operations Director position. This position will provide strategic and operational leadership to the Homes Program which, in the highly regulated arena of long-term care, has expanded to four facilities and over 760 FTE staff statewide. (General Fund - State, General Fund - Federal, General Fund - Local, other funds)

Expand Suicide Prevention Program

This item will expand opportunities for suicide prevention infrastructure across the state. Funds are provided to hire a full-time program specialist, pay for supplies and travel to provide training, and lead statewide and regional communities to develop suicide prevention infrastructure to serve veterans and their families. (General Fund - State)

Nursing Assistant Alignment

Funding is provided to address nursing assistant retention by increasing the step at which they are hired and adjusting current nursing assistant staff to correct for alignment. (General Fund - Federal, General Fund - Local, General Fund - State, other funds)

Pension Adjustments, nonrate

This funds the potential impact of Department of Retirement Systems request legislation on pension service credit and benefit calculation. It will prevent budget reductions such as temporary layoffs from negatively affecting employee retirement benefits. (General Fund - State)

State Employee Benefits

Health insurance funding is provided for state employees who are not represented by a union, who are covered by a bargaining agreement that is not subject to financial feasibility determination, or who are not part of the coalition of unions for health benefits. The insurance funding rate is $988 per employee per month for fiscal year 2022 and $1,018 per employee per month for fiscal year 2023. (General Fund - State)

WFSE General Government

Temporary Layoffs and Other Savings

This item reflects savings achieved from temporary layoffs or similar actions. (General Fund - State)

Juneteenth State Holiday

This funding is necessary to implement a new state holiday of Juneteeth, based on the cost of backfilling positions that require coverage at all times. (General Fund - State)

Rep Employee Health Benefits

This provides health insurance funding for the master agreement for employee benefits as part of a coalition of unions. The insurance funding rate is $988 per employee per month for fiscal year 2022 and $1,018 per employee per month for fiscal year 2023. (General Fund - State)

Coalition of Unions

Non-Rep General Wage Increase

This reflects savings from the cancellation of the July 1, 2020 general wage increase for some non-represented, non-classified employees. (Veterans Stewardship Account - Non-Appropriated, Veteran Estate Management Account - Private/Local, Veteran Estate Management Account - Local, other funds)

Archives/Records Management

Adjustments are made for each agency’s anticipated share of charges for archives and records management services provided by the Secretary of State’s Office. (General Fund - State)

Audit Services

Adjustments are made for each agency’s anticipated cost of audits performed by the State Auditor’s Office. (General Fund - State)

Legal Services

Adjustments are made for each agency’s anticipated cost of legal services provided by the Attorney General’s Office. Because legal services expenditures are based on consumption, funding provided in the central service model is not all inclusive. (General Fund - State)

CTS Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges for Microsoft 365 G5 licenses contracted for state agencies by the Consolidated Technology Services agency. This contract allows the state to achieve economies of scale and administrative efficiencies in the management of licenses. (General Fund - State)

DES Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges from the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) for campus rent, utilities, parking, and contracts; capital project surcharges; financing cost recovery; public and historic facilities; real estate services; risk management services; personnel service rates; the Perry Street child care center; small agency services; and the department’s enterprise applications. (General Fund - State)

OFM Central Services

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency’s anticipated share of charges for existing statewide financial applications, One Washington, and other central services provided by the Office of Financial Management. (General Fund - State)

Self-Insurance Liability Premium

Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's share of actuarily projected costs of the Self-Insurance Liability Account. This includes adjustments to existing funding levels as well as enhancements for anticipated liabilities in the 2021-23 biennium. (General Fund - State)