 veterans. With me today, a special guest, the Executive Director of the VA's Caregiver Support Program. It's Dr. Colleen Richardson. Dr. Richardson, thank you so much for joining us today. Hey, Todd, good afternoon. Thanks for having me this afternoon. Absolutely. So we're going to talk a little bit about the Caregiver Support Program and kind of what you guys are doing, what to expect in the coming year. But as we, as most folks might be aware, it's been somewhat of a complex process for some regarding the eligibility evaluations and reassessments and so forth. And Secretary McDonough put a pause on that facet of the program. I just want to kind of get an update from you on where you guys are out with that and if there is an expected lift, you know, whatever you can tell our viewers to make them more informed on the current situation with the program. Yeah, absolutely. So you're correct. There has been a pause on discharges from the program of comprehensive assistance for our veterans and caregivers. We are taking a giant step back and really wanting to re-examine and reevaluate the entire program as a whole. So looking at all the eligibility criteria, the operational flows and the veteran and caregiver experiences they are being evaluated for the program to make sure that we are getting this right as we move forward into the next phases of expansion. So as of today, there is a pause on discharges. If veterans and caregivers would like to be reevaluated for a higher tier, we highly encourage them to request that or go through a reassessment in order to get a second look. Okay, great. And so tell me a little bit about the plans for the program in the coming year. I understand you guys are looking to enhance some of the services. That is correct. So one of the biggest things coming into this fiscal year is I really want to focus on taking care of our caregivers. They do all the work and we want to make sure that we're offering services that are beneficial to them so that they in turn can turn around and take care of their veterans. So we're looking at two very, very specific things and that's enhanced respite for our caregivers. So really getting them access to respite care services so that they can take a few minutes for themselves, whether it's a cup of coffee on the back porch, a book. I personally love to just go to Walmart by myself without my children to have a break. We want to offer that for our caregivers moving forward. They need it and they certainly deserve it. The other piece that we're looking at is mental health services. We know that's a service that's very underutilized by our caregivers. So we have partnered with the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and they are supporting us as we move forward to staff our own mental health professionals for our caregivers here in BHA to support them with mental health services in-house. So more to come with that in the next few months. But that is on the docket to take care of our caregivers as we move into the next fiscal year. And also coming up here in the next year, so phase two expansion of the program. Can you tell us a little bit about that please? Sure. So last October, October 1 of 2020, we expanded to pre-1975 veterans. This October 1, we are going to expand the program yet again for phase two expansion to veterans and caregivers of all service era. So anybody who has served in the military that needs the eligibility criteria can apply to the program come this October. We have staffed up significantly across the country. We are at about 84% staffing to date to support this. I fully anticipate by the end of August we'll have about 90% of our staff on board to support phase two expansion in addition to the staff that we already have. Okay, great. So for the folks out there who might want to learn more about the program, see what the different eligibility criteria are, where can they go to learn more? Sure, they can go to our website, www.caregiver.va.gov. It's there at the bottom of the screen. They can get all the information that they need from eligibility requirements to appealing any decision that they otherwise disagree with as well. Okay, great. And if you are a veteran in need of representation, some help with the disability claims process, DAV is always there for you. You can check out DAV.org. Go up in the top right corner of the website and click find an office and that will direct you to your nearest NSO or benefits advocate who can help you along the way with filing a claim or an appeal of a decision, whatever it might be to help you get your earned VA benefits. Dr. Colleen Richardson, she's the Executive Director of VA's caregiver support program. Thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate your time.