Inspection of the VA Regional Office, Indianapolis, Indiana

We evaluated how well the Indianapolis VARO accomplishes its mission. The staff timely processed homeless veterans’ claims and effectively provided outreach efforts to homeless shelters and service providers. Inaccuracies in temporary 100 percent disability evaluations resulted from not scheduling medical reexaminations. Also, an incorrect interpretation of VA policy resulted in inadequate medical exams for processing traumatic brain injury claims. Also, the quality assurance program did not identify errors in herbicide exposure-related disability claims. Overall, the VARO did not correctly process 41 percent of disability claims reviewed. Better management oversight would ensure errors identified by internal reviews were corrected, improve mail processing, and increase accuracy when addressing entitlement issues pertaining to the mental health treatment for Gulf War veterans.