Fiscal Year 2004 Performance and Accountability Report Published November 15, 2004
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FY 2004 Obligation ($ in Millions) |
% of Total VA Resources |
Strategic Goal 4: Contribute to the public health, emergency management, socioeconomic well-being, and history of the Nation. |
$1,039 |
1.5% |
Objective |
Performance Results
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4.5 Ensure that national cemeteries are maintained as shrines dedicated to preserving our Nation's history, nurturing patriotism, and honoring the service and sacrifice veterans have made. |
Increased the percent of respondents who rated national cemetery appearance as excellent to 98 percent (goal was 98 percent) |
$94 |
0.1% |
Performance
Our Nation is committed to create and maintain national cemeteries as national shrines that serve as an expression of the appreciation and respect of a grateful Nation for the service and sacrifice of her veterans. Each national cemetery exists as a national shrine and as such provides an enduring memorial to their service, as well as a dignified and respectful setting for their final rest. In FY 2004, VA met its primary performance goal related to Objective 4.5 as 98 percent of survey respondents rated national cemetery appearance as excellent. Cemetery appearance goals are set high in keeping with the expectations of all visitors.
VA will continue to maintain the appearance of national cemeteries as national shrines so that bereaved family members are comforted when they come to the cemetery for the interment, or later to visit the grave(s) of their loved one(s). Our Nation's veterans have earned the appreciation and respect not only of their friends and families, but also of the entire country and our allies. National cemeteries are enduring testimonials to that appreciation and should be places to which veterans and their families are drawn for dignified burials and lasting memorials. The willingness to recommend the national cemetery to veteran families during their time of need is an expression of loyalty toward that national cemetery. In FY 2004, 97 percent of survey respondents indicated they would recommend the national cemetery to veteran families during their time of need.
To ensure the appearance of national cemeteries meets the standards our Nation expects of its national shrines, VA performed a wide variety of grounds management functions, which included raising, realigning, and cleaning headstones to ensure uniform height and spacing and to improve appearance. The appearance of headstones, markers, and niche covers is of paramount importance to the appearance of national cemeteries as national shrines. The rows of pristine, white headstones that are set at the proper height and correct alignment provide the vista that is the hallmark of many VA national cemeteries. In FY 2004, VA collected baseline data that showed that 64 percent of headstones and/or markers in national cemeteries are at the proper height and alignment, and that 76 percent of headstones, markers, and niche covers are clean and free of debris or objectionable accumulations. National Shrine Commitment projects were initiated at 15 national cemeteries, including 8 that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These projects will raise, realign, and clean over 186,000 headstones and markers and renovate gravesites in more than 176 acres. While attending to these highly visible aspects of our national shrines, VA also maintained roads, drives, parking lots, and walks; painted buildings, fences, and gates; and repaired roofs, walls, and irrigation and electrical systems.
VA continued its partnerships with various VA and civic organizations that provide volunteers and other participants to assist in maintaining the appearance of national cemeteries. For example, an interagency agreement with the Bureau of Prisons provides for the use of selected prisoners to perform work at national cemeteries. Under a joint venture with VHA, national cemeteries provide therapeutic work opportunities to veterans receiving treatment in the Compensated Work Therapy/Veterans Industries program. The national cemeteries are provided a supplemental workforce while giving veterans the opportunity to work for pay, regain lost work habits, and learn new work skills.
Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) Evaluation
During the development of the FY 2004 budget, the Administration conducted a PART evaluation of VA's burial program that relates to the accomplishment of Objective 4.5. Due to its clear mission and outcome goals, this program received a "Moderately Effective" rating.
The evaluation included findings that VA needed to adopt more performance measures to address all burial benefits and the National Shrine Commitment, and to strengthen methods to link performance, budget, and accountability. VA has addressed these findings by introducing two new burial claims measures and two new measures for the National Shrine Commitment in the President's FY 2005 budget. VA may add additional measures for the National Shrine Commitment in future budgets. During FY 2004, VA collected baseline data for the new measures. In addition, VA has established the Organizational Assessment and Improvement Program for the national cemeteries. The program will strengthen accountability at the national cemeteries by assessing cemetery performance against operational standards and measures. The program will also strengthen the link between budget and performance by identifying improvement opportunities for prioritizing resources and by providing a scorecard for performance reporting at each of the national cemeteries.
Major Management Challenges
Neither VA's Office of Inspector General nor the Government Accountability Office identified any major management challenges related to Objective 4.5.
Program Evaluations
The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act, Public Law 106-117, directed VA to contract for an independent study to look at various issues related to the National Shrine Commitment and its focus on cemetery appearance. Volume 3: Cemetery Standards of Appearance was published in March 2002. This report served as a planning tool and reference guide in the task of reviewing and refining VA's operational standards and measures.
In August 2002, Volume 2: National Shrine Commitment was completed. This report identified the one-time repairs needed to ensure a dignified and respectful setting appropriate for each national cemetery. VA is using the information in this report to address repair and maintenance needs at national cemeteries.
New Policies and Procedures
Using the recommendations in Volume 3: Cemetery Standards of Appearance and building on previous efforts, VA has established standards and measures to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of operations at its national cemeteries. These standards and measures identify performance expectations in key operational processes including interments, grounds maintenance, and headstones and markers. VA has established the Organizational Assessment and Improvement Program to identify and prioritize continuous improvement opportunities, and to enhance program accountability by providing managers and staff at all levels with one "scorecard" related to the burial program. As part of the program, assessment teams drawn from national cemeteries, Memorial Service Networks, and VA Central Office staff in Washington, DC, will conduct site visits to all national cemeteries on a rotating basis to validate performance reporting. In FY 2004, the team conducted six site visits.
VA opened the National Cemetery Administration Training Center, establishing the first formal training program for the development of employees who manage and operate VA national cemeteries. The center will provide employees with the training necessary to continue to provide high-quality service to veterans and their families and to maintain our national cemeteries as national shrines. Initially focused on training cemetery directors and assistant directors, the new facility will eventually expand its classes to train foremen, equipment operators, grounds keepers, cemetery representatives, and other employees. As 11 new national cemeteries become operational, the center will ensure consistency in operations throughout the national cemetery system as well as a high-performing workforce and well-trained staff for key positions.
VA is partnering with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), an office of the National Park Service (NPS), to conduct research on the methods to clean historic headstones and markers. After VA, NPS has the largest number of national cemeteries, including Gettysburg National Cemetery, under its jurisdiction. Under a 2-year interagency agreement, NCPTT will identify alternatives for cleaning historic headstones and markers.
In FY 2004, VA launched a Web-based (Internet) Nationwide Gravesite Locator (NGL) system. This innovation will make it easier for anyone with Internet access to search for the gravesite locations of deceased family members and friends, and to conduct genealogical research. The nationwide grave locator contains more than 3 million records of veterans and dependents buried in VA's 120 cemeteries since the Civil War. It also has records of some burials in state veterans' cemeteries and burials in Arlington National Cemetery from 1999 to the present. Making burial locations more accessible may bring more visitors to the honored resting places that VA considers national shrines and historical treasures.
Objective 4.5 - Key Performance Goal: Increase the percent of respondents who rate national cemetery appearance as excellent to 98 percent in 2004.
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2000 |
82% |
2001 |
96% |
2002 |
97% |
2003 |
97% |
2004 Actual |
98% |
2004 Plan |
98% |
2005 Plan |
98% |
Strategic Target |
100% |
Description, Importance, and Results
Our Nation is committed to create and maintain national cemeteries as national shrines that serve as an expression of the appreciation and respect of a grateful Nation for the service and sacrifice of her veterans. Each national cemetery exists as a national shrine and as such provides an enduring memorial to their service as well as a dignified and respectful setting for their final rest. VA met its goal as 98 percent of survey respondents rated cemetery appearance as excellent.
Management and Policy Issues
To ensure the appearance of national cemeteries meets the standards our Nation expects of its national shrines, VA performed a wide variety of grounds management functions, which included raising, realigning, and cleaning headstones and renovating turf. VA initiated National Shrine Commitment projects at 15 national cemeteries. These projects will raise, realign, and clean over 186,000 headstones and markers and renovate gravesites in more than 176 acres. VA also maintained roads, parking lots, and walks; painted buildings, fences, and gates; and repaired roofs, walls, and irrigation and electrical systems.
The appearance of national cemeteries is influenced by many different external factors. Over time, cemeteries experience a variety of environmental changes that may require extensive maintenance. Extremes in weather, such as excessive rain or drought, can result in or exacerbate sunken graves, sunken markers, soiled markers, inferior turf cover, and weathering of columbaria.
To ascertain how our customers and stakeholders perceive the appearance of national cemeteries, VA will continue to seek feedback through annual surveys and focus groups. This information is used to determine expectations for cemetery appearance as well as specific improvement opportunities and training needs.
VA continued its partnerships with various civic organizations that provide volunteers and other participants to assist in maintaining the appearance of national cemeteries. An agreement with the Bureau of Prisons provided for the use of selected prisoners as a supplemental source of labor to assist in maintaining the national cemeteries.
Data Quality
Please refer to the Key Measures Data Table.
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