Military assistance board moves

The program created by state Sen. Reggie Dupre (D-Houma) to help pay the incidental expenses of families with members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan has been moved from the state Department of Social Services to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The transfer was included in a bill this year authored by Dupre.

The senator said the reason he transferred the program was that National Guardsmen and reservists were reluctant to approach the Department of Social Services for assistance. They feel more comfortable dealing with the state Department of Veterans Affairs, he said.

“I detected no enthusiasm from (Social Services) for moving it forward,” Dupre said.

The Military Family Assistance Board, established in 2005 in a bill also created by Dupre, can pay for items like car repairs, children’s braces, electricity charges and rent of families of reservists deployed abroad. Dupre’s bill this year added transportation costs to the list of covered items.

The board started issuing grants in October. Complications arising from the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 caused a delay in making grants.

National Guardsmen and reservists often earn less in military pay than they do at their regular jobs, sometimes called the “Patriot Penalty” by military personnel.

“Some suffer considerable loss of income,” Dupre said. “They still have house notes and rent.”

The Military Family Assistance Fund is supported by voluntary contributions and receives no tax money. The fund contained $247,000 in October last year. Around 34 other states have similar programs.

The senator was inspired to create the fund after six members of a Houma unit were killed in Iraq in a single day in 2005.

More information about the program can be found on the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Web site by clicking on Military Family Assistance Fund.