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A Women Veterans Coordinator the Statute Spells Out — Including Maternity Care

Most states appoint a women veterans coordinator by administrative choice. Here the post and its duties are written into the Veterans’ Services Law. Section 19 requires the coordinator to plan and coordinate statewide programmes for women veterans, run an information clearinghouse, deliver cultural competence training, report on the demographics of the women veteran population, and develop a maternity care programme addressing the mental and behavioural health needs of pregnant and postpartum veterans. Section 20 adds a twelve-member advisory committee of women veterans that must meet at least quarterly and report by 15 February each year.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

What it's worth: A statutory coordinator, a clearinghouse, cultural competence training, a maternity care programme, and a twelve-member advisory committee that reports every 15 February

The coordinator is appointed by the commissioner of the department of veterans’ services.
Section 19 requires the identification, development, planning, organization and coordination of all statewide programs and services to meet the needs of women veterans.
The coordinator must act as liaison with federal agencies, state entities and veterans organizations, and advocate for the interests of women veterans.
The coordinator must maintain an information clearinghouse, organise educational events, and run cultural competence training.
The coordinator must prepare demographic reports on the women veteran population and publish women veterans’ contributions on the department website.
The coordinator must develop a maternity care programme addressing the mental and behavioural health needs of pregnant and postpartum veterans.
The department website must display a link to the federal women veterans call center number 1-855-VA-WOMEN.
The coordinator submits an annual report of activities to the commissioner, who forwards it to the governor.
The advisory committee has twelve members: six appointed by the governor, two by the temporary president of the senate, two by the speaker of the assembly, and one each by the minority leaders of the senate and the assembly.
Appointees must be female veterans with an honorable discharge or a qualifying condition, chosen with regard to geographic balance between urban and rural areas and to the cultural diversity of the state.
Members serve four-year terms, without compensation but with reimbursement of necessary expenses, and the committee elects its own chair; a majority is a quorum.
The committee must meet at least quarterly and submit a report on or before February fifteenth of each year covering demographics, contributions, needs and outreach.
The department states the committee currently holds six governor-appointed members and one filled seat among the legislative appointments, with several legislative seats vacant.

Who is entitled to it

Your home is in New York.

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How to claim it

1Ask for the women veterans coordinator by name when you call the department on 1-888-838-7697, rather than being routed to a general benefits adviser. The post is statutory and the duties in section 19 are specific enough to hold it to.
2If you are pregnant or newly postpartum, ask specifically about the maternity care programme. Section 19 requires the coordinator to develop one addressing mental and behavioural health needs, and it is the single duty in that section that veterans almost never know to ask about.
3Use the clearinghouse before you assume a service does not exist. Maintaining an information clearinghouse for women veterans is a listed duty, not a courtesy.
4Read the advisory committee’s annual report. It is due on or before 15 February each year and covers demographics, needs and outreach — it is the closest thing to a published account of what the state knows about its women veterans.
5If your part of the state feels unrepresented, say so. Appointments are made with regard to geographic balance between urban and rural areas, and several legislative seats on the committee are recorded as vacant.
6Ask the department to arrange cultural competence training for a county or municipal office that is getting it wrong. Delivering that training to statewide government partners is in the coordinator’s remit.

Form: No form — contact the coordinator through the department
File with: The state department of veterans’ services
No renewal needed

Worth knowingThe difference between a statutory coordinator and an administrative one matters when you are being brushed off. Section 19 lists duties. If the clearinghouse, the training or the maternity care programme is not there, that is a gap against the statute, not a matter of departmental preference.

CorrectionThe advisory committee is often described as a full twelve-member body. The department’s own page shows six governor appointees and one filled legislative seat, with the remaining legislative seats vacant. A committee operating below strength is still the committee, but do not expect twelve people to be reading your letter.

Known gapNeither section, nor the department page read this session, sets out what the maternity care programme actually delivers, where it is delivered, or who is eligible. The duty to develop it is clear; its content is not published in either source read here.

Sources

authority · statuteN.Y. Veterans’ Services Law §19 — women veterans coordinator
authority · statuteN.Y. Veterans’ Services Law §20 — women veterans advisory committee
operating · published policyDepartment of Veterans’ Services — Women Veterans Advisory Committee

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