Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) joined his colleagues today at the Million Dollar Staircase in Albany to advocate for New York to elevate the Division of Veterans’ Services to a full service, cabinet-level Department. The Division of Veterans’ Services was first established in 1945 to serve World War II veterans, and very little has changed with the Division since its adaptation. Thirty-five states have Departments that serve veterans, and many of these states have smaller veteran populations than the over 838,000 veterans that live in New York state. Currently, oversight, funding and distribution of benefits and programs span multiple state departments and only an estimated 17 percent of all veterans are accessing their earned benefits.