The deputy commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs is imploring lawmakers to create a new position that would help connect women veterans in the state with benefits and services.Retired Lt. Col. Margaret Plattner told lawmakers on the Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection Thursday that there aren’t specialized programs for women veterans, and asked them to consider funding a full-time services coordinator for women veterans during the upcoming 2016 legislative session.About 30,000 women in Kentucky are veterans.“I think our women veterans deserve it," Plattner said. "Again, the statistics are going up for women veterans in Kentucky, in terms of the number, and I think we need to be paying attention to that more carefully.”Plattner said Kentucky’s 248 homeless women veterans are growing at a faster rate than their male counterparts.In a statement on Plattner’s proposal, Gov. Steve Beshear said he is “open to ideas to help ... better connect all veterans with the programs, services and education they deserve to enhance their quality of life.”
