Veterans in need

California should do more to provide veterans with services like health-care benefits and pension payments, a report concludes.

The 13-member Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency, focused on efforts to increase funding for the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) and counties to improve veterans’ services, according to California Healthline. The commission concluded that CalVet “has been slow to anticipate and implement necessary changes,” adding recommendations that the department be granted flexibility to shift funds internally to meet demands; create a database of veterans to help them obtain benefits and services; and make women and younger veterans a priority.

There are about 2 million veterans in California, with roughly 35,000 more returning each year as military action in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down.