Enhancing New Mexico Veteran Services

About

With the support of the New Mexico State Legislature, the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) is leading a multi-phase project to design a coordinated care system for New Mexican service members, veterans, and their families. In the project’s first phase, the IVMF conducted a landscape assessment to understand the needs of the military-connected community and examined the viability of a coordinated care system for the state. We found that veteran-serving organizations that participated felt that a coordinated care network would be of value to New Mexico veterans, but questions on how best to implement such a network remained. In the current phase of the project the IVMF is working closely with its fiscal sponsor—the New Mexico State Department of Veteran Services—to engage with veteran serving organizations across the state to collect their thoughts and feedback on the design of a network. With this information, the IVMF will create a programmatic roadmap that lays out the steps necessary for implementing a coordinated care network in New Mexico.

Between January and March 2023, the IVMF engaged with 41 non-profit and government organizations servicing veterans and the military-connected community to assess the current state of New Mexico’s veteran services landscape. Key areas of interest were the needs of the veteran and military-connected community, current practices in coordination and collaboration, and opinions on a statewide coordinated care network. The IVMF developed a report providing recommendations for how the State can work toward implementing a coordinated care model for its veterans and military families.

Key Findings from Phase 1 Include:

Veteran-serving organizations that participated in this assessment felt that a coordinated care network would be of value to New Mexico veterans.

Unique factors facing the state, including rurality and resource concentration, means there is value in coordinated care for veterans in New Mexico.

Several questions were raised, including network leadership structure, how best to phase implementation, and funding and sustainability, highlighting the need for a community design and planning phase that is driven by New Mexico service providers.

Any design implementation must include transparent communications and ongoing data collection and sharing to inform the growth of the collaborative.

Read the Full Phase I Report

Building on insights from the statewide landscape assessment in Phase 1, the IVMF led a community design and planning phase of the project. We engaged with 72 stakeholders across New Mexico to create an implementation roadmap for coordinated care throughout the state. Key themes explored were model and implementation, leadership and accountability, and adoption and sustainability. The final report and roadmap provided recommendations on implementation strategies and considerations for a New Mexico veteran services coordinated care network.

Key Findings from Phase 2 Include:

Veteran-serving organizations that participated in this assessment felt that a regional model for a coordinated care network would be best suited for New Mexico veterans.
Participants consistently stressed the importance of trust when serving New Mexico’s veterans, highlighting the need for authentic, culturally responsive leadership backed by transparent reporting that ensures accountability.
To ensure the participation of veteran-serving providers across the state, participants noted the importance of generating awareness of the effort through transparent communication statewide.
Wide-scale adoption of the network will require measurable evidence of the network’s impact as well as a demonstrated pathway for long-term, sustainable funding.

The IVMF remains a supporting partner and resource as stakeholders across New Mexico carry the roadmap forward.