Ohio Veterans Benefits & Disabled Veterans Benefits

Julie Provost

6 years ago

Veteran Benefits Programs in Ohio

The following are the Ohio veterans’ benefits programs for education, healthcare, nursing home care and employment.

Education Benefits for Ohio Veterans

In addition to federal programs such as the GI Bill, veterans benefits programs are provided by the state of Ohio. The following are the Ohio veterans’ benefits programs for education.

Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program

The Ohio National Guard offers a 100% tuition assistance program, which is provided in conjunction with Ohio University’s ROTC Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP), which offers an additional stipend up to $500 monthly.

Ohio War Orphans Scholarship

This scholarship is offered to qualifying children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio wartime veterans. The student must be enrolled as a full time undergraduate pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree at an eligible Ohio college or university. Ohio residency is required.

Applicants must be under the age of 25 and maintain a 2.0 GPA. The scholarship covers a portion of tuition and fees at two and four-year public schools and at eligible private colleges and universities, the amount changes every year. Apply for this benefit at the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Find colleges in Ohio with our School Finder. Use the filters to sort schools by state.

Housing Benefits for Veterans in Ohio

Ohio Heroes Discounted Mortgage Rate Program

The OHFA (Ohio Housing Finance Agency) offers qualifying veterans a “discounted” mortgage interest rate for its home buyer programs. These are need-based loans and applicants must meet income and purchase price limits.

Applicants may be veterans, active duty military, members of the Guard or Reserve, or surviving spouses. Other professions that serve the public can also qualify. Home buyer education courses may be required as a condition of this benefit.

RELATED: Best Practices for the VA Loan Process (@MyMilitaryBenefits)

Property Tax Exemption

100% service-connected disabled veterans in Ohio may qualify for a property tax exemption of up to $50,000 of the market value of their primary residence. Surviving spouses may also qualify, contact your nearest tax assessor’s office to learn how to apply for this benefit.

Health Care Benefits for Veterans in Ohio

OHIOcares

OHIOcares is a program described as an “enhanced safety net” of behavioral health services offered to Ohio military members and their families.

OHIOCares is operated by the Ohio National Guard in partnership with “independently licensed clinicians” to offer help to those who need “appropriate services.” This program does not operate like a crisis line and does not provide emergency services. Instead it offers to provide resources for local, community-based help.

Ohio State Veterans Homes

The State of Ohio operates two veterans homes and a domiciliary. One nursing home is in Georgetown, with the other location and the domiciliary are in Sandusky. There is a nursing home in Georgetown and a nursing home and domiciliary in Sandusky.

To qualify for care in one of these locations, veterans must be Ohio residents for at least a year, have an honorable discharge from the US Armed Forces, and must have served during a time of war.

Applicants should know that applicants with certain issues may not qualify for admission. Substance abuse issues, tuberculosis, and certain psychiatric issues may disqualify a potential applicant.

Depending on location, memory care, skilled nursing care, domiciliary care, and supervised living care options may be available.

Burial Benefits for Ohio Veterans

The State of Ohio operates the Veterans Home Cemetery in Sandusky, offering the following services for those who qualify:

Gravesite
Grave liner
Opening and closing of the grave
Headstone or marker
Perpetual care
Burial flag for the Veteran

To qualify, Ohio residents must meet the same criteria as required for burial in a VA national cemetery. In general, the deceased must have any discharge other than Dishonorable, and:

Died while serving on active duty, or
Served at least 20 years in the National Guard or Reserves and is eligible for military retirement pay or;
Reserve component Service members if activated for federal service
Spouses and dependents

Pre-need arrangements are possible, but physical reservation of a grave or niche is not permitted.

Employment Benefits for Veterans in Ohio

Military Retirement Pay

Retirement pay that was received for service when in active duty or the Guard/Reserve (including pay offered to surviving spouses through the Survivor Benefit plan) may be exempt from Ohio income tax.

According to the State of Ohio official site, “retired service members are entitled to deduct ‘retired personnel pay’ that is related to service in the uniformed services, the reserve components thereof, or the national guard.”

Ohio State Veteran Hiring Preference

Veterans may qualify for 20% credit added to Ohio civil service exams. Those who are current service members of a reserve component including the Ohio National Guard, who complete initial entry-level training, may qualify for an additional 15% added credit.

Veterans must have an Honorable discharge or must have transferred to a reserve component of the Ohio Guard/Reserve to qualify.

Ohio Educator License Fee Exemption

The Ohio Department of Education ended fees on educator licenses for veterans with honorable discharges, current service members (Guard and Reserve included) and spouses of active-duty service members.

A second program offers vouchers for Troops To Teachers and OhioMVEP candidates. These are meant to offset the costs of Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) required “as evidence of content mastery for licensure.” To learn more, contact OhioTTT@education.ohio.gov.

- Getting a Degree in Education
- Education Careers for Veterans and Military Spouses

Other Veterans’ Benefits in Ohio

Operation Legal Help Ohio

Operation Legal Help Ohio (OLHO) helps place low-income service members and veterans with volunteer lawyers and other services. Assistance may be available for landlord/tenant issues and evictions, credit card debt or related issues. Help may also be offered for those who need to claim employment rights under USERRA, and other legal matters.

To qualify for this assistance, a veteran must have an honorable or general discharge, be a current servicemember, or be an immediate family member. This is a need-based program so income restrictions may apply.

For more information regarding Ohio veterans’ benefits, please visit the Ohio Department of Veterans Services.