Outcomes and Lessons Learned from the Tribal Veterans Representative Program: A Model for System Engagement

American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans are more rural than Veterans of any other race or ethnicity and face significant barriers to accessing care. Since 2001, the Tribal Veterans Representative (TVR) Program, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and tribal nations, has trained liaisons from tribal communities to facilitate access to VA benefits and services. We delineate the TVR program model alongside supporting data. We reviewed TVR training materials and program evaluations to identify components of the program essential for increasing access to VA services and benefits. We then report a quantitative assessment of benefits attained in one tribal community. The TVR model is characterized by the exchange of two sets of knowledge and resources—‘institutional’ and ‘community’—during a co-sponsored educational program aiming to train community liaisons about the institution. The institution leads the program’s content; the community’s traditions inform its process. Following the program, liaisons use support networks comprising trainers, trainees and local organizations to teach other community members to access health care and benefits. In the evaluation community, one liaison has facilitated access for hundreds of Veterans, with financial compensation exceeding $400,000 annually. The TVR program has begun to demonstrate its utility for other rural populations, though further formal evaluation is recommended. Compared with similar models to increase rural populations’ access to health care and benefits, the long-term support networks from the TVR model may be most useful when the institution must build trust and engage with the target population.