§ 19 — Women veterans coordinator

§ 19. Women veterans coordinator. 1. Definitions. (a) "Veteran" shall\nhave the same meaning as defined in section one of this article.\n (b) "Department" shall mean the state department of veterans'\nservices.\n (c) "Women veterans coordinator" shall be a veteran.\n 2. Such women veterans coordinator shall be appointed by the\ncommissioner.\n 3. Establishment of women veterans coordinator. There is hereby\nestablished within the department, a "women veterans coordinator" who\nshall work under the direction of the commissioner and whose duties\nshall include, but not be limited to, the:\n (a) identification, development, planning, organization and\ncoordination of all statewide programs and services to meet the needs of\nwomen veterans;\n (b) recommendation to the commissioner to ensure compliance with all\nexisting department policies and regulations pertaining to the needs of\nwomen veterans on the state and federal level and make recommendations\nregarding the improvement of benefits and services to women veterans;\n (c) liaison between the department, the United States Department of\nVeterans Affairs center for women veterans, the United States Department\nof Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, state veterans\nnursing homes, state agencies, community groups, advocates and other\nveterans and military organizations and interested parties and, as it\npertains to the veteran maternity care program established pursuant to\nsection twenty-nine-c of this article, the commissioners of health and\nmental health, hospitals, federal, state, and local health officials,\nobstetricians, midwives, pediatricians, veterans and veterans advocates;\n (d) advocating for all women veterans in the state;\n (e) development and maintenance of a clearinghouse for information and\nresources for women veterans;\n (f) promote events and activities that recognize, educate and honor\nwomen veterans, including but not limited to seminars required under\nsubdivision six of section four of this article, veteran human rights\nconferences, veterans benefits and resources events, and veterans\ncultural competence training;\n (g) inclusion of the contributions women veterans have made on behalf\nof the United States and this state on the department's official\nwebsite;\n (h) preparation of reports on topics including, but not limited to,\nthe demographics of women veterans, the number of women veterans listed\nby county, and the unique needs of the women veterans population, to the\nextent such information is available, to the commissioner on the status\nof women veterans within New York state;\n (i) development and implementation of a maternity care program, in\nconsultation with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the\ndepartment of health and the office of mental health, to improve the\ncapacity of maternity care providers to address the unique needs of\npregnant and postpartum veterans, particularly regarding mental and\nbehavioral health conditions; and\n (j) conspicuously posting on the department's website a link to the\nfederal women veterans call center number 1-855-VA-WOMEN.\n 4. Reports. The women veterans coordinator shall submit a report to\nthe commissioner each year after the effective date of this section.\nSuch report shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the\nwomen veterans coordinator's activities for the calendar year and the\nprograms developed pursuant to the provisions of this section. The\ncommissioner shall submit the report or a synopsis of the report to the\ngovernor in accordance with the provisions of section four of this\narticle.\n