Welcome to Manatee County Veterans Services!
We are a benefits office. Our purpose is to connect Veterans and their families to VA benefits they have earned through their time in service, as well as to provide any local or state resources that they need. All services are provided at no cost as your service to country paid that price.
No matter if your first contact with Veterans services is from making a phone call to set up an appointment with one of our Veteran Services counselors or wandering into our office at 1401 3rd Ave. W, in downtown Bradenton, because you spotted the office while on your way to the Central Library, things proceed the same way. You will be greeted by someone working the front desk and an appointment is made.
After that, your information is passed on to an intake specialist and you will be contacted by them within 24-48 hours. They will ask you questions about you, your spouse and dependent children, and your time in service. Those questions will include personal and confidential information, like your social security number. This is needed to file any paperwork with the VA and the MCVS office is trained on how to keep things confidential and safe.
Your intake specialist will check and see if we have access to you in the VA system. If not, they will ask you to sign a form granting them access. Depending on what your aims are, they might ask you to sign an "intent to file" form, which informs the VA that you might file a claim within the next year. If the claim is successful, it will be backdated to this date, so payments would be retroactive. They also might have you sign a form requesting your records, including your DD-214 or equivalent or your service treatment records. All of this is done so that your first visit with a Veterans Services counselor is productive and informative.
Your intake specialist may also give you a list of things to bring to your first visit. This will always include your DD-214 or discharge papers but depending on what will be discussed may also include current day diagnosis, marriage records or paperwork for income and assets.
All counselors are accredited VSOs, can be verified with the VA and take continuing education and training courses throughout the year, through twice-yearly conferences and other means. We are knowledgeable with VA requirements and work with VA changes and updates to policies to make sure you and your family receive everything you qualify for through the VA. We consider it an honor to take care of you and look forward to meeting you!