|
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
Be sure to get all four
VA Watchdog dot Org
RSS feeds --
Daily VA
News Flashes
House CVA
Veterans' News
Senate CVA
Veterans' News
VA Press
Releases
Download your
free copy of the
2008 VA benefits
handbook here...
|
Printer-Friendly Version
UPDATE: VA EMPLOYEES "FIND" 700 VITAL
DOCUMENTS
DURING "AMNESTY" AT NEW YORK OFFICE -- The
irregularities in the New York office are only
the
latest in a string of embarrassing revelations
about the handling of veterans' claims.
For all articles about VA's mishandled documents
and the shredder scandal... go here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm
Your comments accepted at bottom of
page.
-------------------------
by Larry Scott
Here we go again!
We had reported about an "amnesty" at the Detroit
Regional Office (VARO) of the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) when
we first reported the shredder story. That here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/
nfoct08/nf101308-1.htm
The "amnesty" was a period of time when VARO
employees could "find" documents critical to veterans' claims and turn
them in without penalty.
Which immediately begs the question: Where
were these documents? Shredder bins? In a desk? A
personal briefcase? Hidden in a false ceiling? At an
employee's home?
Now, the New York VARO has held an "amnesty" and
come up with 700 documents. This is an astounding number for just
one office. But, it is in line with other problems at the New York
VARO. More here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/n
fnov08/nf112408-1.htm
So, stay tuned... this can only get worse as we
find out more about problems at other VAROs.
We have a news story here...
http://www.newsd
ay.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-livets045
951648dec04,0,6106511.story
Story below:
---------------
VA's New York office among slowest to process
claims
BY MARTIN C. EVANS
martin.evans@newsday.com
The New York office of Veterans Affairs is among the slowest in the nation
to process new disability claims, with local veterans languishing six
months or longer in one of three cases.
"It is much higher than we would like," said Michael Walcoff, the VA's
deputy undersecretary of benefits. "It is something we have been concerned
about."
 Only
the Detroit regional office, where 33.3 percent of claims take at least
six months, processed claims slower than New York as of Nov. 15, according
to VA data. New York, with 32.4 percent of claims taking that long, was
tied with Pittsburgh for the nation's second slowest processing center.
The national average is 21 percent.
Walcoff said the agency is addressing the backlog at its Manhattan office
by hiring about 30 veterans service representatives over the past 18
months - a 16 percent staff increase.
The VA became so concerned that employees had misplaced key documents such
as marriage certificates and medical records that they offered amnesty to
encourage their return. Some 700 documents were recovered anonymously,
Walcoff said.
The massive agency has already been pummeled by accusations that employees
have lost, misplaced or shredded documents across the country.
Three weeks ago, the agency decided to allow veterans who submitted claims
between April 14, 2007, and Oct. 14 of this year to reopen claims in cases
where they believe the agency had lost their documents.
 Those dates correspond with a period in which VA inspectors found evidence
that claims-related documents were being improperly shredded. Claims
refiled by Nov. 17, 2009, would receive benefits that correspond to the
original filing date.
The irregularities in the New York office are only the latest in a string
of embarrassing revelations about an agency that is expected to see a
large increase in claims, as more than 1.6 million personnel who have
served in Iraq and Afghanistan continue leaving the military.
The VA ousted its New York regional director in October after a summerlong
investigation found employees were affixing phony dates to claims to make
it appear they were being processed on time. Investigators also turned up
large quantities of unprocessed mail.
Last month, two national veterans groups sued to force the VA to handle
claims within 90 days, saying vets with physical or psychological troubles
often don't get services for a year or more. "Once the paperwork is filed,
the individual just waits and waits," said Francisco Muņiz III, an officer
with the Nassau County chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America, one
plaintiff. "For someone who has lost a limb or is disabled, these
individuals have no recourse."
Walcoff said he could not be certain that documents have not been
improperly shredded at the New York office, which is responsible for the
claims of some 800,000 veterans living in eastern New York State. But he
said an October inspection did not show evidence of shredding in New York,
and that the dating scandal did not reduce the retroactive benefits to
which veterans were entitled.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
-------------------------
-------------------------
Please post your comments below on Google
Friend Connect. You must sign in. For larger view and work
area, click blue "expand" button in upper right corner of comment box.
-------------------------
Don't forget to read all of today's VA
News Flashes (click here)
Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage
email Larry
(go
back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page) |
Military
Medical Malpractice
Legal
Network
VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.
|
