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DEMOCRATIC PRESS RELEASE
September 19, 2008
-------------------------
Veterans Benefit Administration in Need of
Improved Training, Performance Management and Accountability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Thursday, September 18, 2008, John Hall (D-NY), Chairman of the House
Veterans’ Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee,
held a hearing to investigate the effectiveness of training and continuing
education provided to Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees.
The Subcommittee also examined the current performance management
practices of the VBA while soliciting critiques and recommendations.
“I am pleased that the American Federation of Government Employees is here
today to shed light on VBAs’ training, performance management, and
accountability,” stated Chairman Hall. “You are a critical link to those
on the front lines working to improve outcomes for our disabled veterans.
Training is not an issue that should be taken lightly. We all know the
importance of good training, but effective implementation that ensures
consistency and accountability can be elusive.”
Panel discussions focused on employee training and monitoring within the
VBA. Topics discussed included training of new VBA employees, annual
training requirements, employee performance standards, accountability,
training oversight, and quality assurance. Director of Education,
Workforce, and Income Security for the U.S. Government Accountability
Office, Daniel Bertoni, provided the following statement regarding the
needed improvements for VA’s training and performance management systems:
“Training for VA disability claims processors complies with some accepted
training practices, but VA does not adequately evaluate its training and
may have opportunities to improve training design and implementation. VA
has a highly structured, three-phase training program for new staff and an
80-hour annual training requirement for all staff. GAO found that VA has
taken steps to plan this training strategically and that its training
program for new staff appears well-designed and conforms to adult learning
principles. However, while VA collects some feedback on training for new
staff, it does not collect feedback on all the training conducted at its
regional offices. Moreover, both new and experienced staff reported
problems with their training. . . . Finally, the agency does not hold
claims processors accountable for meeting the annual training
requirement.”
 Representatives
from various organizations comprised the second panel, and emphasized how
the current VBA practices seem to reward productivity over quality.
Michael Ratajczak of AFGE stressed that it is essential for the VBA claims
processors to be properly trained in order to satisfy their dynamic and
complex duties. “[I]n addition to an initial orientation, effective
long-term training must be an essential component of VBA’s efforts to
increase the timeliness, accuracy and consistency of claims processing.
Ultimately, veterans seeking benefits are shortchanged by VBA’s failure to
have effective performance standards, which reflect the complexity of
claims and the demands to implement new legal requirements,” testified Mr.
Ratajczak.
Some of the various recommendations that panelists proposed for the VBA
included: enhancing VBA’s quality assurance and accountability program,
monitoring training, aligning training and performance management systems,
equipping both new and experienced staff, reconfiguring VA diagnostic
codes to those used in the medical community, and conveying technical
information to veterans in a manner that is well organized and easy to
understand.
“It seems that veterans and their families do not always receive the
benefits and services they deserve in a timely fashion, while at the same
time they were willing to give everything to our Nation without
hesitation,” stated Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs. “Therefore, it is crucial that the VBA provides
adequate training and remains accountable for each VA disability claim.
Too many veterans think VA stands for Veterans Adversary. We need a
complete paradigm shift at the VBA. VA should stand for Veterans
Advocate!”
Michael Walcoff, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits for the Veterans
Benefits Administration, testified that “[i]t is critical that our
employees receive the essential guidance, materials, and tools to enable
them to learn and develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to
be successful in their positions. To that end, VBA has deployed training
tools and centralized programs to provide a consistent approach to
training. . . . Along with an expanded training agenda to accommodate the
hiring initiative, VBA has enhanced its training oversight methods to
improve accountability. Managers at all levels are held responsible for
ensuring that training goals are set and training requirements are met.”
H.R. 5892, the Veterans Disability Benefits Claims Modernization Act,
passed the House of Representatives on July 31, 2008, by a vote of 492 to
0. This bill will lead to enhanced training, which will improve the
processing of compensation claims and ensure more accurate claims
adjudication results for our veterans and their families. Senator Clinton
introduced companion legislation to this bill, S. 3419, on August 1, 2008.
Chairman Hall stated that “today’s oversight hearing confirmed my
suspicion that problems still exist with the training and management at
the VBA. Panelists voiced their continuing concerns with what is occurring
over at the VBA. We owe it to our veterans to correct these problems.”
Witnesses:
Panel 1
Daniel Bertoni, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security,
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Panel 2
Michael Ratajczak, Decision Review Officer, VA Cleveland Regional Office,
American Federation of Government Employees
Kerry Baker, Assistant National Legislative Director, Disabled American
Veterans
Ronald Abrams, Joint Executive Director, National Veterans Legal Services
Program
Dr. Patricia Keenan, Program Manager, The Human Resources Research
Organization
Nick Bartzis, Veteran, Cleveland Ohio
Panel 3
Michael Walcoff, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, Veterans Benefits
Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Dorothy Mackay, Director of Employee Development and Training, Veterans
Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Brad Mayes, Director of Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans
Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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