Montana Board of Veteran's Affairs, Montana Veteran's Affairs Division : report to the legislature : performance audit

66 Pages·2002·1.9 MB·English

by  Montana. Legislature. Legislative Audit Division

s
353.538
L72MBVA
2002
Legislative Audit Division
StateofMontana
ReporttotheLegislature
Performance Audit
June2002
Montana Board of Veterans' Affairs
Montana Veterans' Affairs Division
ThisreportcontainsanexaminationoftheoperationsoftheMontana
BoardofVeterans"'AffairsandtheMontanaVeterans' AffairsDivision.
Areasassessedinclude:
> Mission.
* Availability'andUseofResources.
VeteransClaimsProcessing
''''^ms
couECTm
Otc im
53620
Directcomments/inquiriesto:
LegislativeAuditDivision
Room 160,StateCapitol
POBox201705
02P-07 HelenaMT 59620-1705
Helpeliminatefraud,waste,andabuseinstategovernment. CalltheFraudHotlineat1-800-222-4446
statewideor444-4446in Helena.
M0f4TANASTATE LIBRAPY
MONTANASTATELIBRARY
3 0864 1001 6891 6
PERFORMANCEAUDITS
Performance audits conducted bythe Legislative Audit Division aredesigned toassess state government
operations. From the audit work, a determination is made as to whether agencies and programs are
accomplishing their purposes, and whether they can do so with greater efficiency and economy. The
audit work is conducted in accordance with audit standards set forth by the United States General
AccountingOffice.
Members of the performance audit staff hold degrees in disciplines appropriate to the audit process.
Areas of expertise include business and public administration, statistics, economics, political science,
logistics,computerscience,andengineenng.
PerformanceauditsareperformedattherequestoftheLegislativeAuditCommitteewhichisabicameral
andbipartisanstandingcommitteeoftheMontanaLegislature. Thecommitteeconsistsofsixmembersof
theSenateandsixmembersoftheHouseofRepresentatives.
MEMBERSOFTHELEGISLATIVEAUDITCOMMITTEE
LEGISLATIVE AUDIT DIVISION
ScottA. Seacat,LegislativeAuditor Deputy'LegislativeAuditors:
JohnW.Northey, Legal Counsel JimPellegrini. PerformanceAudit
Tori Hunthausen, IS Audit&Operations
JamesGillett, Financial-ComplianceAudit
June2002
TheLegislativeAuditCommittee
oftheMontanaStateLegislature:
WeconductedaperformanceauditoftheMontanaBoardofVeterans' AffairsandtheMontana
Veterans' AffairsDivision. Theboardandthedivisionareresponsible forestablishinga
statewideservicefordischargedveteransandtheirfamiliesandtoactivelypromotetheirgeneral
welfare. Thisreportcontainsrecommendationsforincreasingoperationalefficiencyand
improvingservicesprovidedtoveterans. WrittenresponsefromtheBoardisincludedattheend
ofthereport.
WeappreciatethecooperationandassistanceofBoardmembersandstaff.
ectfullysubmitted.
—
<_->*^ ^-^
ScottA. Seacar
LegislativeAuditor
Room 160.StateCapitolBuildingPOBox201705Helena,MX 59620-1705
Phone[phone] FAX[phone] E-Maillad(ajstate.mt.us
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
IVIontana State Library
http://www.archive.org/details/montanaboardofve2002mont
Legislative Audit Division
Performance Audit
Montana Board of Veterans' Affairs
Montana Veterans' Affairs Division
AuditstaffinvolvedinthisauditwereTomCooperandAngieGrove.

51
Table ofContents
ListofTablesand Figures iii
AppointedandAdministrativeOfficials iv
ReportSummary S-1
ChapterI-Introduction 1
Introduction 1
AuditObjectives 1
Audit Scope 1
ScopeExclusions 2
AuditMethodologies 2
Compliance 3
ReportOrganization 3
Chapter11-VeteransAssistance 5
Introduction 5
WhatareVeterans'Benefits? 5
HowManyMontanaVeterans? 6
BoardofVeterans' Affairs 6
MontanaVeterans'AffairsDivision(MVAD) 7
MVAD
StaffandBudget 8
ServiceOfficersAreLocatedAcrosstheState 9
ProcessRequiresAuthorizationtoRepresenttheVeteran 10
Board/MVADandServiceOrganizationsRelationship 1
ClaimsProcessingatthe StateLevel 12
MostFrequentlyUsedApplications 12
VA
TransmittaltoFederal 13
EstablishmentofClaimsEffectiveDates 14
ClaimsProcessingattheFederalVALevel 14
InitialFederalVAReviewandRatingDetermination 14
DecisionsMaybeAppealed 15
DecisionReviewOfficerApproachisNew 1
AppealstoWashingtonandUSCourt 15
Need forAdditionalLegal Support 16
MontanaOperationsare SimilartoOtherWesternStates 16
ChapterHI-MissionAuthorityandResponsibility 19
Introduction 19
MontanaLawIdentifiestheCurrentMission 19
StatewideServicetoVeterans 20
CooperationBetweenStateandFederalAgencies 20
WorkingRelationshipBetweenMVADandFederalVA 21
PromotingtheWelfareofVeterans 22
Conclusion 22
Additional MVADMissions 22
OtherStatesMissionsAlsoFocusonAssistance 23
AdditionalMissionsWouldChangeOperations 23
Page
i
Table ofContents
MVAD
Current Board MissionDoesNotIncludeCemeterv'
Oversight 24
Conclusion 24
MVAD
DepartmentofMilitaryAffairsResourcesSupport 25
ServiceOfficeFacilities Locations 25
DMA SupportIncludesSupplies 25
Conclusion 26
ChapterIV-ResourcesforMission Support 27
Introduction 27
Additional MVADCommunication isNeeded 27
CommunicationsandManagementInformationImpact
Veterans' Assistance 28
Conclusion 28
MVADTravelResourcesCouldbeUsedMoreEfficiently 29
OtherStatesEvaluateTravelEfficiency 30
TravelAlternativesAreAvailable 30
Conclusion 30
ChapterV^-ImprovingVeteransClaimsProcessing 33
Introduction 33
StrongerQualityControlOverClaimsProcessingNeeded 33
CurrentProcessResultsinServiceInconsistencies 33
OtherQualityControl SystemsUsed 34
QualityControlistheNextStep 34
Conclusion 35
StandardPoliciesShouldStrengthentheClaimsProcess 35
MVADisNotinComplianceWithRecordsManagement
Statutes 35
PolicyShouldDefineClaimsEvidenceStandards 36
InconsistentUseofVeterans' OutreachMaterials 37
OfficersVaryonProvidingHomeVisits 37
ReportingStaffOvertime 37
RuralOutreachFacilitiesVary 38
StaffingChangeCouldImproveMVADEffectiveness 39
StandardizePositionClassifications 39
ServiceOfficerClassifications 39
ServiceOfficersvs. ServiceTechnicians 40
Conclusion 40
IncreaseTraining/Mentoring 41
OtherStatesProvideExtensiveOfficerTraining 42
Veterans' ServiceOrganizationsAlsoEmphasizeTraining 42
Conslusion 42
EstablishWorkloadAssessmentMethodology 42
Conclusion 43
Pageii
List ofTables and Figures
Figure 1 Special RevenueFundBalance 8
Figure2 FieldOfficeLocations 10
Pageiii
Appointed and Administrative Officials
BoardofVeterans' Affairs JohnnyBuck
DonaldBogut
KarenFuni
GeorgeHageman
RubenMcKinney
MontanaVeterans' Affairs JimJacobsen,Administrator
Division
DepartmentofMilitary MajorGeneralJohnE. Prendergast,AdjutantGeneral
Affairs
Pageiv