Inspection of VA Regional Office Providence, Rhode Island

We evaluated the Providence VA Regional Office (VARO) to see how well it accomplishes its mission. We found the VARO staff did not accurately process 17 (31 percent) of 55 disability claims reviewed. We sampled claims we considered at increased risk of processing errors, thus these results do not represent the overall accuracy of disability claims processing at this VARO. Specifically, 8 of 30 temporary 100 percent disability evaluations we reviewed were inaccurate, primarily because management did not prioritize processing of claims requiring medical reexaminations. VARO staff processed 4 of 15 traumatic brain injury (TBI) claims incorrectly, generally by over evaluating TBI-residual disabilities. VARO staff also incorrectly processed 5 of 10 special monthly compensation (SMC) and ancillary benefits claims due to a lack of recent training. Management did not timely submit or complete 3 of 11 Systematic Analyses of Operations (SAOs) due to inadequate oversight. VARO staff also did not correctly process 7 of 20 benefits reduction cases due to other higher workload priorities. We recommended the Providence VARO Director review the 70 temporary 100 percent disability evaluations remaining from our inspection universe and take appropriate action, as well as provide oversight to ensure staff follow VBA guidance on processing reminder notifications for medical reexaminations. The Director should ensure staff receive refresher training on proper processing of TBI and SMC and ancillary benefits claims, and implement plans to ensure effectiveness of that training. In addition, action is needed to develop and implement a plan to ensure timely completion of SAOs and amend, implement, and monitor the Workload Management Plan to ensure benefits reduction actions are processed timely. The VARO Director concurred with all recommendations.