Programs for Service-Connected Disabilities
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program assists veterans who have service-connected disabilities obtain and maintain suitable employment. Independent living services are also available for severely disabled veterans who are not currently ready to seek employment. Additional information is available on VA’s Web site at www.vetsuccess.gov.

Eligibility: A veteran must have a VA service-connected disability rated at least 20 percent with an employment handicap, or rated 10 percent with a serious employment handicap, and be discharged or released from military service under other than dishonorable conditions. Servicemembers pending medical separation from active duty may also apply if their disabilities are reasonably expected to be rated at least 20 percent following their discharge.

Entitlement: A VA counselor must decide if the individual has an employment handicap based upon the results of a comprehensive evaluation. After an entitlement decision is made, the individual and counselor will work together to develop a rehabilitation plan. The rehabilitation plan will specify the rehabilitation services to be provided.

Services: Rehabilitation services provided to participants in the VR&E program are under one of five tracks. VA pays the cost of approved training that is included in an individual’s rehabilitation plan. Subsistence allowance may also be provided. The five tracks are:

Reemployment with Previous Employer: For individuals who are separating from active duty or in the National Guard or Reserves and are returning to work for their previous employer.

Rapid Access to Employment: For individuals who either wish to obtain employment soon after separation or who already have the necessary skills to be competitive in the job market in an appropriate occupation.

Self-Employment: For individuals who have limited access to traditional employment, need flexible work schedules, or who require more accommodation in the work environment due to their disabling conditions or other life circumstances.

Employment Through Long-Term Services: For individuals who need specialized training and/or education to obtain and maintain suitable employment.

Independent Living Services: For veterans who are not currently able to work and need rehabilitation services to live more independently.

Period of a Rehabilitation Program: Generally, veterans must complete a program within 12 years from their separation from military service or within 12 years from the date VA notifies them that they have a compensable service-connected disability. Depending on the length of program needed, veterans may be provided up to 48 months of full-time services or their part-time equivalent. These limitations may be extended in certain circumstances.

Work-Study: Veterans training at the three-quarter or full-time rate may participate in VA’s work-study program and provide VA outreach services, prepare/process VA paperwork, work at a VA medical facility, or perform other VA-approved activities. A portion of the work-study allowance equal to 40 percent of the total may be paid in advance.

Specially Adapted Housing Grants
Certain veterans and servicemembers with service-connected disabilities may be entitled to a Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant from VA to help build a new specially adapted house, to adapt a home they already own, or buy a house and modify it to meet their disability-related requirements. Eligible veterans or servicemembers may now receive up to three grants, with the total dollar amount of the grants not to exceed the maximum allowable. Previous grant recipients who had received assistance of less than the current maximum allowable may be eligible for an additional SAH grant.

Eligibility for up to $63, 780: VA may approve a grant of not more than 50 percent of the cost of building, buying, or adapting existing homes or paying to reduce indebtedness on a currently owned home that is being adapted, up to a maximum of $63, 780. In certain instances, the full grant amount may be applied toward remodeling costs. Veterans and servicemembers must be determined eligible to receive compensation for permanent and total service-connected disability due to one of the following:

1.Loss or loss of use of both lower extremities, such as to preclude locomotion without the aid of braces, crutches, canes or a wheelchair.
2.Loss or loss of use of both upper extremities at or above the elbow.
3.Blindness in both eyes, having only light perception, plus loss or loss of use of one lower extremity
4.Loss or loss of use of one lower extremity together with (a) residuals of organic disease or injury, or (b) the loss or loss of use of one upper extremity which so affects the functions of balance or propulsion as to preclude locomotion without the use of braces, canes, crutches or a wheelchair.
5.Severe burn injuries
Eligibility for up to $12, 756: VA may approve a grant for the cost, up to a maximum of $12, 756, for necessary adaptations to a veteran’s or servicemember’s residence or to help them acquire a residence already adapted with special features for their disability, to purchase and adapt a home, or for adaptations to a family member’s home in which they will reside.

To be eligible for this grant, veterans and servicemembers must be entitled to compensation for permanent and total service-connected disability due to one of the following:

1.Blindness in both eyes with 5/200 visual acuity or less.
2.Anatomical loss or loss of use of both hands.
3.Severe burn injuries.
Eligible veterans and servicemembers who are temporarily residing in a home owned by a family member may also receive a Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant to help the veteran or servicemember adapt the family member’s home to meet his or her special needs. Those eligible for a $63, 780 grant would be permitted to use up to $14, 000 and those eligible for a $12, 756 grant would be permitted to use up to $2, 000. Grant amounts will also be adjusted annually based on a cost-of-construction index.

The first adjustment occurred on Oct. 1, 2009, with future adjustments each Oct. 1 thereafter. These adjustments will increase the grant amounts or leave them unchanged; they will not decrease the grant amounts. The maximum amount for a TRA grant is not indexed and remains unchanged.

The property may be located outside the United States, in a country or political subdivision which allows individuals to have or acquire a beneficial property interest, and in which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in his or her discretion, has determined that it is reasonably practicable for the Secretary to provide assistance in acquiring specially adapted housing. For more information on the use of such grants, contact Brian Bixler, Specially Adapted Housing, at 202-461-9546 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Supplemental Financing: Veterans and servicemembers with available loan guaranty entitlement may also obtain a guaranteed loan or a direct loan from VA to supplement the grant to acquire a specially adapted home. Amounts with a guaranteed loan from a private lender will vary, but the maximum direct loan from VA is $33, 000.Additional information about the Specially Adapted Housing Program is available on VA’s Web site at www.homeloans.va.gov/sah.htm.

Automobile Allowance
Veterans and servicemembers may be eligible for a one-time payment of not more than $11, 000 toward the purchase of an automobile or other conveyance if they have service-connected loss or permanent loss of use of one or both hands or feet, permanent impairment of vision of both eyes to a certain degree, or ankylosis (immobility) of one or both knees or one or both hips.

They may also be eligible for adaptive equipment, and for repair, replacement, or reinstallation required because of disability or for the safe operation of a vehicle purchased with VA assistance. To apply, contact a VA regional office at 1-800-827-1000 or the nearest VA health care facility.

Clothing Allowance
Any veteran who is service-connected for a disability for which he or she uses prosthetic or orthopedic appliances may receive an annual clothing allowance. This allowance also is available to any veteran whose service-connected skin condition requires prescribed medication that irreparably damages outer garments. To apply, contact the prosthetic representative at the nearest VA medical center.

Aid and Attendance for Housebound Veterans
A veteran who is determined by VA to be in need of the regular aid and attendance of another person, or a veteran who is permanently housebound, may be entitled to additional disability compensation or pension payments. A veteran evaluated at 30 percent or more disabled is entitled to receive an additional payment for a spouse who is in need of the aid and attendance of another person.

Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Rates
In some cases, a veteran requires additional education or training to become employable. A subsistence allowance is paid each month during training and is based on the rate of attendance (full-time or part-time), the number of dependents, and the type of training. The charts below show the rates as of Oct. 1, 2009.

Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for training in an institution of higher learning.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

3/4-time
$411.41
$510.12
$598.38
$44.86

1/2-time
$275.28
$341.07
$400.92
$29.93


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for full-time training only in non-pay or nominal pay on-the-job training in a federal, state, local or federally recognized Indian tribe agency; training in the home; and vocational training in a rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for full-time training only in farm cooperative, apprenticeship, and other on-job training. Payments are variable, based on the wages received. The maximum rates are:

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$478.73
$578.92
$667.21
$43.40


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for non-pay or nominal pay work experience in a federal, state, local or federally recognized Indian tribe agency.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

3/4-time
$411.41
$510.41
$598.38
$44.86

1/2-time
$275.28
$341.07
$400.92
$29.93


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for training programs that include a combination of institutional and on-job training.

Greater Than Half-Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Institutional
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

On-job
$478.73
$578.92
$667.21
$43.40


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates for full-time training only for non-farm cooperative institutional training and non-farm cooperative on-job training.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Institutional
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

On-job
$478.73
$578.92
$667.21
$43.40


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates during the period of enrollment in a rehabilitation facility when a veteran is pursuing an approved independent living program plan.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

3/4-time
$411.41
$510.12
$598.38
$44.86

1/2–time
$275.28
$341.07
$400.92
$29.93


Subsistence allowance is paid at the following monthly rates during the period of enrollment in a rehabilitation facility when a veteran requires this service for the purpose of extended evaluation.

Training Time
Veterans With No Dependents
Veterans With One Dependent
Veterans With Two Dependents
Additional Dependent

Full-time
$547.54
$679.18
$800.36
$58.34

3/4-time
$411.41
$510.12
$598.38
$44.86

1/2-time
$275.28
$341.07
$400.92
$29.93

1/4–time
$137.62
$170.55
$200.45
$14.93