The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has received an Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award from the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs (NASDVA) for its California Veterans Health Initiative (CVHI).
CalVet Undersecretary Keith Boylan accepted the award on behalf of the department during the NASDVA Summer Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The recognition marks CalVet’s sixth Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award and the first recognizing CalVet’s work to expand access to mental health care for veterans and their families.
“This award recognizes a program that is making a meaningful difference in the lives of California’s veterans. Through CVHI, we are strengthening the connections, partnerships, and systems that help veterans access the support they have earned,” said CalVet Secretary Lindsey Sin. “This recognition reflects the commitment of partners across the state working together to ensure our veterans are among the most connected, protected, and respected in the nation.”
In May 2024, CalVet announced the availability of up to $38 million in competitive grant funding through the CVHI Mental Health Support Grant Program. The initiative is designed to help reduce veteran suicide by expanding access to timely, high-quality mental health care for California’s veterans and their families.
CVHI supports a range of strategies including outreach, peer support, case management, outpatient clinical care and innovative, nontraditional approaches. Grantees are delivering these services in urban and rural areas across California.
As of August 2026, CVHI grantees have provided:
6,360 case management appointments;
23,083 outpatient clinical appointments;
1,318 peer support appointments;
100 appointments for nontraditional care.
CVHI is meeting or exceeding key goals for timely access to care and improved mental health outcomes. Grantees have also conducted extensive outreach, connecting veterans and their families with counseling, crisis intervention, case management, peer support, and other direct assistance in their communities.
As a result, veterans who previously struggled to access care are connecting with services and receiving direct support.
“Every veteran deserves access to the care and support they need, when they need it. CVHI helps ensure veterans spend less time navigating complicated systems and more time receiving the services they have earned,” said Deputy Secretary Roberto Herrera.
The CVHI award marks CalVet’s sixth Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence, highlighting a history of innovative programs developed to serve California’s veterans and their families.
CalVet received two awards in 2016, recognizing its Women Veterans Outreach Program and Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention (VHHP) program. The first recognized CalVet’s leadership in establishing one of the nation’s first dedicated Women Veterans Divisions and elevating the voices of women who served. It honored the Division’s work to connect women veterans with earned benefits and services, increase awareness of their unique needs, and ensure California’s women veteran community is represented and supported.
The second recognized VHHP, which works with communities, developers, and other stakeholders to create permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless veterans, veterans at risk of homelessness, and extremely low-income veterans and their families.
In 2018, CalVet was recognized for the Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Program, which advances California’s 3% participation goal for disabled veteran-owned businesses in state contracting.
In 2019, CalVet received the award for its California Transition Assistance Program (CalTAP), a first-of-its-kind, state-specific transition program that informs and connects service members, veterans of all eras, and their families to earned federal, state, and local benefits. CalTAP provides a continued connection to support beyond transition from military service, recognizing that veterans’ and their families’ needs evolve throughout their lives.
CalVet also earned the award in 2022 for its Justice Involved Veterans Initiative, helping justice-involved veterans access earned benefits and resources from detention through release and successful reentry into their communities.
Visit calvet.ca.gov to learn more about veterans’ benefits and services.
