SACRAMENTO, CA – Getting connected to veterans benefits and local services just got easier for California veterans thanks to the launch of CalVet’s newly designed and more intuitive web site and its myCalVet feature. The myCalVet tool turns the website user experience into a customized, interactive, intention-based encounter for each user.

The new site, developed with the support of Assembly Speaker John Perez, serves as a portal through which veterans, family members and stakeholders can connect to all the veterans benefits and services available throughout the state. “The newly-designed website brings the department’s digital presence into the 21st Century,” Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Sharon Quirk-Silva said today as the new site was introduced at a Capitol news conference.

“With this new website, veterans, their families and those who work with and for veterans have a new resource that will ensure a more smooth transition from military to civilian life,” said Peter J. Gravett, Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

The myCalVet tool allows website users to create a personal online profile based on their own interests and needs. Once a user logs in, the CalVet website browsing experience will be customized to their own profile and preferences. The myCalVet tool is GPS-enabled and will direct users to the healthcare, education, housing, employment, advocacy, claims assistance and other service providers nearest to them.

The myCalVet functionality also enables federal, state and local database sharing, revealing more about California’s veterans and allowing CalVet to more easily interpret state and national statistical and demographic information. The system developed in partnership with the California Department of Technology lets CalVet know who our state’s veterans are, what they need, and where they live. It is the conduit for all things veteran in the State of California.

California is currently home to nearly 1.8 million veterans, and another 30,000 are expected to return to the state every year. The new CalVet website and its myCalVet feature brings the Department’s digital presence into the 21st Century and enables CalVet to leverage technology to reach out to California’s growing number of veterans more cost effectively. The website will help veterans of every era connect with the impressive array of state and federal benefits that may be available to them and enable returning veterans and their families get the benefits and services they need to move successfully from military to civilian life.

To view the new CalVet website or try out the myCalVet feature, go to www.calvet.ca.gov.