Education Committee

NACVSO offers the following educational opportunities:

• Basic Benefits - This virtual course is designed for the new or inexperienced CVSO/GVSO and for CVSOs seeking NACVSO accreditation. Basic Benefits is a 32-hour course.   For CVSOs seeking NACVSO accreditation, this course is mandatory with a required test at the completion of the instruction. Basic Benefits is a virtual course offered three times per year. You need to be employed as a County, State, Township, City, or Tribal Veterans Service Officer to take this course.
• Intro to VA Benefits Course - This virtual course is open to any interested party and covers basic veteran and survivor benefit entitlements. This course is offered once a year.
• Advanced Appeals - The virtual course is intended for County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) who are interested in obtaining an advanced level of understanding of the appeals process in order to represent veterans before the Board of Veterans Appeals, as well as CVSOs whose experience with the appeals process pre-dates the implementation of the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA) in 2019. Advanced Appeals is a virtual course.
• Certified Veterans Advocate (CVA) - Certified Veterans Advocate (CVA) is an advanced training certification course designed for NACVSO-Accredited Veteran Service Officers. The CVA Program will provide a high-level skill set unique to a CVSO to assist a claimant beyond the point of filing claims and/or Supplemental Claims or Higher Level Reviews. The CVA training will also cover more complex and comprehensive claims. The goal of the CVA certification is to enable NACVSO-Accredited CVSOs to analyze VA Benefit Decisions and strategize the best course of action for the claimant.  In order to qualify as a Certified Veterans Advocate, CVSOs must pass a rigorous final exam and have a strong working knowledge of the subject matter in the NVLSP Veterans Benefits Manual.  Quite simply, CVA graduates are elite County Veteran Service Officers.  CVA courses are offered at the conference (in-person) and in December (virtually).
• Continuing Education Units (CEUs) - CEUs are available through the Annual Conference and Advanced Appeals.