Interest to Veterans with OTH

Public Act 18-47 – Benefits for Certain Veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury or Experienced Military Sexual Trauma.

Effective October 1, 2018 certain Veterans who received Other than an Honorable discharge(OTH) characterization might be eligible for certain State and Municipal benefits thanks to recently enacted Connecticut law – PA 18-47.

To be eligible, a Veteran with an OTH must be diagnosed with one or more of three qualifying conditions:

1.      Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) resulting from military service,

2.      A traumatic brain injury(TBI) resulting from military service, or

3.      Experienced military sexual trauma(MST) as described in 38 U.S.C. § 1720D.

The diagnosis/determination must be made by an individual licensed “to provide health care services at a United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility” which includes the following licensed persons: Physicians, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, Psychologists and Licensed Clinical Social Workers, who shall complete the newly promulgated CT DVA OTH Form 1.

The Veteran applying for State or municipal benefits must submit, along with the completed CT DVA OTH Form 1, all other required documentation (e.g. Discharge Form DD-214, relevant agency application, etc . . .) to the agency or municipality administering the benefit for which the Veteran is applying. The administering agency or municipality shall then determine the Veteran’s eligibility for the benefit.

A Veteran with a “Bad Conduct” or “Dishonorable” discharge is NOT eligible for Veteran’s benefits under this Public Act.