Inspection of the VA Regional Office Cleveland, Ohio

We conducted this inspection to evaluate how well the Cleveland VARO accomplishes its mission of providing veterans with access to high-quality benefits and services. We found VARO staff inaccurately processed 26 percent of the disability claims we reviewed. These results do not represent the overall accuracy of disability claims processing at this VARO as we sampled claims specific to certain medical conditions we considered at higher risk of processing errors. They inaccurately processed 53 percent of the temporary 100 percent disability evaluations; and 17 percent of the sampled traumatic brain injury claims were inaccurately processed. In contrast, VARO staff accurately processed 93 percent of the herbicide exposure-related claims we reviewed. They generally corrected errors identified by VBA’s STAR program. Management ensured staff completed and used adequate data to support SAOs. However, insufficient oversight caused the improper processing of mail. They also inconsistently addressed Gulf War veterans’ entitlement to mental health treatment. The VARO did provide outreach to homeless veterans. The VARO Director concurred with our recommendations.