3.4: Burial Needs
Ensure that the burial needs of veterans and eligible family members are met. Other Information:
Purpose and Outcomes: The purpose of this program is to ensure that the burial needs of our Nation’s veterans and eligible
family members are met. Annual interments in the VA national cemeteries are projected to increase from 91,000 in FY 2003 to
110,000 in FY 2008, an increase of 21 percent. VA projects a steady increase in cremation interments from 36.8 percent in
September 2002 to 38 percent in 2008. The outcomes identified to achieve this objective are to: • Increase access by establishing
additional national cemeteries in areas not served; • Expand existing national cemeteries to continue to provide service to
meet projected demand, including the development of columbaria and the acquisition of additional land; and • Develop alternative
burial options consistent with veterans’ expectations. Strategies and Processes: VA will pursue the following strategies to
achieve this objective: • VA will be developing new national cemeteries to serve veterans in the areas of Atlanta, Georgia;
Detroit, Michigan; South Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Sacramento, California. • VA will expand existing national
cemeteries by completing phased development projects in order to make additional gravesites and/or columbaria available for
interments. • National cemeteries that will close due to depletion of burial space will be identified to determine the feasibility
of extending the service period of a cemetery by the acquisition of adjacent or contiguous land, or by the construction of
columbaria. • State veterans cemeteries will be established or expanded to complement VA’s system of national cemeteries.
VA administers the State Cemetery Grants Program (SCGP) which provides grants to states for establishing, expanding, or improving
state veterans cemeteries, including the acquisition of initial operating equipment. • The Veterans Millennium Health Care
and Benefits Act, Public Law 106-117, directed VA to contract for an independent demographic study to identify those areas
of the country where veterans will not have reasonable access to a burial option in a national or state veterans cemetery
and the number of additional cemeteries required to meet veteran burial needs through 2020. Volume 1 of the study, Future
Burial Needs, published in May 2002, identifies those areas having the greatest need for burial space for veterans. This report
will serve as a valuable planning tool for new national cemeteries. • VA will also continue to provide highquality, responsive
service in all contacts with veterans, their families and friends, and other visitors. These contacts include scheduling the
interments, greeting the corteges and bereaved families for the committal services, and providing information about the cemetery
and the location of specific graves. • While VA does not provide military funeral honors, national cemeteries facilitate the
provision of military funeral honors and provide logistical support to military funeral honors teams. VA also works closely
with the different military services of DoD and veterans service organizations to provide military funeral honors at national
cemeteries. • VA will continue to elicit feedback from veterans, their families, and other customers to ascertain how they
perceive the quality of service provided by the national cemeteries. Since 2001, an annual nationwide mail survey, Survey
of Satisfaction with National Cemeteries, has been VA’s primary source of customer satisfaction data regarding national cemeteries.
The survey collects data from family members and funeral directors who have recently received services from a national cemetery.
The information is used in the strategic planning process to develop additional strategies for improving service delivery.
• To accommodate and better serve its customers, VA has designated Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery as the primary cemetery
to provide weekend scheduling of interments in national cemeteries for specific times in the ensuing week. • To further enhance
access to information and improve service to veterans and their families, VA will continue to install kiosk information centers
at national and state veterans cemeteries to assist visitors in finding the exact gravesite locations of individuals buried
there. To date, VA has installed 45 kiosks at national and state veterans cemeteries. In addition to providing visitors with
a cemetery map for use in locating the gravesite, a kiosk information center provides general information such as the cemetery’s
burial schedule, cemetery history, burial eligibility, and facts about VA’s National Cemetery Administration. External Factors:
• VA has established partnerships with states to provide veterans and their eligible family members with burial options. It
is difficult to project future activity for this program because requests for grants are generated from individual states.
A state must enact legislation to commit funding to a project that will serve a clearly defined population and require state
funds for maintenance in perpetuity. Performance Measures • Veterans and their families may experience feelings of dissatisfaction
when their expectations concerning the committal service (including military funeral honors) are not met. Dissatisfaction
with services provided by the DoD (military funeral honors) or the funeral home can adversely affect the public’s perceptions
regarding the quality of VA service.
Indicator(s):
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