VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program
GAO Comments on Key Task Force Findings and Recommendations Gao ID: GAO-04-853 June 15, 2004This report responds to a request by the Ranking Minority Member, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for an analysis of the findings and recommendations contained in the March 2004 report of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Task Force on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E). The mission of the VR&E program is to provide comprehensive services and assistance necessary to enable veterans with service-connected disabilities and employment handicaps to become employable, then obtain and maintain stable and suitable employment. We agreed to review and comment on the Task Force report's key findings and recommendations and make general observations about these findings and recommendations in light of our previous and ongoing work in the area.
In summary, we generally agree with the Task Force's three key findings. We agree that VR&E has not been a Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) priority in terms of returning veterans with service-connected disabilities to the workforce. GAO has reported that the VR&E program emphasized education and not employment, and we have recommended that VBA focus on obtaining suitable employment for disabled veterans. Although we have not specifically reviewed VR&E's capacity to manage its workload, we agree that many of the VR&E management systems identified by the Task Force as needing improvement are fundamental to the proper functioning of all federal programs. Finally, we agree that the VR&E program needs to be modernized. We have designated VA disability programs as high risk in part because they use outmoded criteria for determining disability. Regarding the Task Force recommendations, we observed that disabled veterans might continue to use the program for education in the absence of an equally beneficial alternative, even if VR&E adds employment tracks to reflect veterans' diverse employment-related needs. Furthermore, implementing the Task Force recommendations will be a major challenge for VBA.
GAO-04-853, VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program: GAO Comments on Key Task Force Findings and Recommendations
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United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
Report to the Ranking Democratic Member, Committee on Veterans‘
Affairs, House of Representatives:
VA VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM:
GAO Comments on Key Task Force Findings and Recommendations:
June 2004:
GAO-04-853:
Contents:
Letter:
Appendix I: Briefing Slides:
Related GAO Products:
Abbreviations:
C&P: Compensation and Pension:
DOD: Department of Defense:
DOL: Department of Labor:
IT: information technology:
VA: Department of Veterans Affairs:
VBA: Veterans Benefits Administration:
VHA: Veterans Health Administration:
VR&E: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment:
United States General Accounting Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
June 15, 2004:
The Honorable Lane Evans:
Ranking Democratic Member:
Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
House of Representatives:
Dear Mr. Evans:
This report responds to your request for an analysis of the findings
and recommendations contained in the March 2004 report of the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Task Force on Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E).[Footnote 1] You requested this
work as part of our ongoing review of VA's VR&E program. The mission of
the VR&E program is to provide comprehensive services and assistance
necessary to enable veterans with service-connected disabilities and
employment handicaps to become employable, then obtain and maintain
stable and suitable employment.
We agreed to review and comment on the Task Force report's key findings
and recommendations and make general observations about these findings
and recommendations in light of our previous and ongoing work in the
area. To meet these objectives, we attended Task Force public fact-
finding sessions, interviewed the Task Force chairman and VR&E central
and regional office staff, and reviewed and analyzed Task Force report
findings and recommendations. We conducted our work in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
On May 27, 2004, we briefed your office on the results of our work.
This report formally conveys the information provided during that
briefing. Appendix I contains the briefing slides.
In summary, we generally agree with the Task Force's three key
findings. We agree that VR&E has not been a Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA) priority in terms of returning veterans with
service-connected disabilities to the workforce. GAO has reported that
the VR&E program emphasized education and not employment, and we have
recommended that VBA focus on obtaining suitable employment for
disabled veterans. Although we have not specifically reviewed VR&E's
capacity to manage its workload, we agree that many of the VR&E
management systems identified by the Task Force as needing improvement
are fundamental to the proper functioning of all federal programs.
Finally, we agree that the VR&E program needs to be modernized. We have
reported that VA uses outmoded criteria for establishing disability
ratings, which are used to determine who is eligible for VR&E.
Furthermore, we have designated VA disability programs as high risk in
part because they use these outmoded criteria for determining
disability.
Regarding the Task Force recommendations, we observed that disabled
veterans might continue to use the program for education in the absence
of an equally beneficial alternative, even if VR&E adds employment
tracks to reflect veterans' diverse employment-related needs.
Furthermore, implementing the Task Force recommendations will be a
major challenge for VBA:
* Some recommended changes may require assistance from other agencies,
such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor.
* Other recommendations, such as changes to eligibility determination,
may require legislative changes.
* The large number of near-term recommendations will require
prioritizing to determine what can be done within the existing budget.
In providing oral comments on a draft of the briefing, VA generally
concurred with our comments and observations.
We are sending copies of this report to the Honorable
Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
and the Honorable Anthony J. Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
We will also make copies available to others upon request.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact me on (202) 512-7101 or Irene Chu, Assistant Director,
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, on (202) 512-7102.
Margaret Boeckmann, Connie Peebles Barrow, and Joseph J. Natalicchio
also made key contributions to this report.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Cynthia A. Bascetta:
Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Briefing Slides:
[See PDF for image]
[End of slide presentation]
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
VA Benefits: Fundamental Changes to VA's Disability Criteria Need
Careful Consideration. GAO-03-1172T. Washington, D.C.:
September 23, 2003.
High-Risk Series: An Update. GAO-03-119. Washington, D.C.:
January 2003.
Major Management Challenges and Program Risks: Department of Veterans
Affairs. GAO-03-110. Washington, D.C.: January 2003.
SSA and VA Disability Programs: Re-Examination of Disability Criteria
Needed to Help Ensure Program Integrity. GAO-02-597. Washington, D.C.:
August 9, 2002.
Vocational Rehabilitation: Opportunities to Improve Program
Effectiveness. GAO/T-HEHS-98-87. Washington, D.C.: February 4, 1998.
Veterans Benefits Administration: Focusing on Results in Vocational
Rehabilitation and Education Programs. GAO/T-HEHS-97-148. Washington,
D.C.: June 5, 1997.
Vocational Rehabilitation: VA Continues to Place Few Disabled Veterans
in Jobs. GAO/HEHS-96-155. Washington, D.C.: September 3, 1996.
Vocational Rehabilitation: Better VA Management Needed to Help Disabled
Veterans Find Jobs. GAO/HRD-92-100. Washington, D.C.: September 4,
1992.
VA Can Provide More Employment Assistance to Veterans Who Complete Its
Vocational Rehabilitation Program. GAO/HRD-84-39. Washington, D.C.:
May 23, 1984.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Department of Veterans Affairs. Report to the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs: The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program for the
21st Century Veteran (Washington, DC: March 2004).
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