Service Members Receive Veteran’s Affairs Tuition Assistance

Our Armed Forces veterans make quite a few sacrifices, both on the battlefield and throughout their time served, both home and abroad. Some give their lives in the service of the United States. Others come home from battle with injuries. For many, these injuries include permanent disabilities that make it difficult for them to be employed as civilians. 

In many different ways the lives of spouses and children will be affected by the loss or permanent disability of a veteran. The spouse may not have the educational background to complete in fields that would provide enough funds to support the family. Children, who may have been on track to attend college, may find themselves without the monies needed to engage in this activity as their peers with non-affected veterans are able to do. 

Available for the families (spouse and children) of veterans injured or killed in the armed forces, is a benefits program available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For those dependents of certain veterans who are eligible for GI Bill education, the Dependents’ Educational Assistance program will provide training and educational opportunities. Those who qualify will find these education benefits are available for up to 45 months. Further educational choices under these benefits include apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and certificate and degree programs. Correspondence courses for a spouse, under prescribed conditions, are available. Refresher, remedial, and deficiency courses would be included in this. 

To be eligible, you must be the son, daughter, or spouse of: 

• A veteran who died or is permanently and totally disabled as the result of a service-connected disability. The disability must arise out of active service in the Armed Forces.
• A veteran who died from any cause while such service-connected disability was in existence.
• A service member missing in action or captured in line of duty by a hostile force.
• A service member forcibly detained or interned in line of duty by a foreign government or power.
• A service member who is hospitalized or receiving outpatient treatment for a service connected permanent and total disability and is likely to be discharged for that disability. This change became effective December 23, 2006. 

Children who meet eligibility must be between the ages of 18 and 26 to obtain benefit for job training and attending school. This is not ironclad as there are certain circumstances where a child may begin before 18 years of age and continue after reaching age 26. These <a href=”http://www.educationconnection.com/”>veteran benefits</a> are not affected by marriage. Those children in the Armed Forces are not eligible for this benefit while on active duty. Not surprisingly, a dishonorable discharge precludes receiving training under this program after military service. Your period of eligibility can be expanded on an equal day (months) basis for active duty time spent. Generally, the extension will not go past a child’s 31st birthday. 

If you are a spouse, benefits end ten years from the date VA finds you eligible or from the date of death of the veteran. If the VA rated the veteran permanently and totally disabled with an effective date of three years from discharge, a spouse will remain eligible for 20 years from the effective date of the rating. For surviving spouses (of service members who died on active duty), military spouse education benefits end 20 years from the date of death. 

The VA’s Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program Pamphlet will answer many of your concerns and is available for download on the Internet. You can also talk with someone about this by contacting your local VA Regional Office (toll-free at 1-888-442-4551). 

The spouses and children of our veterans deserve help navigating tricky to understand eligibility options. Education Connection has made helping the families of service personnel a priority. Those who have served and the families who have supported them have our thanks. We recognize the significant sacrifices made, both in terms of loss of life and those who survived with major injuries. We are prepared to help those eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs DEA program benefits, be it spouse or child, helping you maximize your participation. 

Bringing into play your DEA benefits to find the school that’ s just right for you, with the perfect education programs for the academia you need for your career goals, is how Education Connection can assist. Those DEA benefits may not be the only ones you qualify for and this is what we help you find out. Our service is always free, so getting started is quick and painless. Give us a call today or check out our website to jump start the new direction of your life.

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