IDVA signs key agreement with Chicago VA office
Goal to
streamline and improve claims process
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[June 04, 2013]
CHICAGO -- A significant step to
build on the current partnership between the Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs and the Chicago regional office of the U.S.
Department of Veterans' Affairs occurred Thursday in a brief
ceremony when the respective agency directors signed a three-page
Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, outlining six major points to
foster cooperation, information-sharing and access, which will
streamline and improve the claims process.
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Erica Borggren, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans'
Affairs, and Duane Honeycutt, director of the VA's Chicago regional
office, signed the memorandum in an event Thursday afternoon at the
Chicago VA office. The signing was witnessed by VA Secretary Eric
Shinseki, who is responsible for the nation's second-largest Cabinet
agency and was in Chicago to visit the regional office.
"This is a great step forward for our veterans and family members
who are seeking benefits," said Borggren. "The MOU is a major step
in formalizing and growing the great collaboration between our
agencies. We welcome and appreciate Director Honeycutt's leadership
and vision in making this a reality."
The memorandum outlines six main areas of increased cooperation,
access and information-sharing in which the Chicago VA office and
the IDVA resolve to:
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Maximize the
number of claims submitted using the VA's Fully Developed Claims
process, which should result in veterans receiving decisions on
their claims more quickly.
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Increase use of
the VA's Stakeholder Enterprise Portal, which will give the IDVA
access to Web-based systems to assist veterans and better
coordinate services and programs with the Chicago VA office.
-
Help the VA and
IDVA provide feedback on performance of specific programs and
support provided to veterans, in order to sustain or improve
delivery of benefits by IDVA service officers and programs.
-
Improve IT
connectivity between the IDVA and the Chicago VA office
throughout the spectrum of data-sharing systems and networks,
which will improve the knowledge base of available services and
programs and the delivery of benefits.
-
Improve advocacy and data-sharing
regarding common core veteran issues, to include employment,
homelessness, access to health care and mental health services,
education programs, and women veterans' issues.
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Pursue the
establishment of alternate appeals board locations for Illinois
veterans making claims outside the Chicago metro area. Working
with the Chicago VA office, the IDVA will make sites available
and work with the Chicago office to explore the necessary secure
communication and networking ability. This would reduce the need
for veterans to travel to Chicago for appeals board actions and
hearings.
"When fully implemented, this MOU will really help our veterans
with their claims," said Harry Sawyer, field service manager for the
IDVA. "Overall, this agreement will give our veteran service
officers, who work with the veterans on claims, with better access
to the process in the VA, visibility on where the claim is in that
process, and the ability to address issues or provide additional
documentation when it can make a difference. It will also give IDVA
a data-driven understanding of how our VSOs are doing in preparing
veteran claims, laying the foundation for future training and
performance improvement."
One of the key components in the memorandum is the access to and
interoperability between the IT systems of the IDVA and Chicago VA
office, to help streamline the claims process. Service officers with
the IDVA are using CyberVet, a new claims management platform that
was developed by the department and deployed earlier this year. The
Chicago VA office will assist the IDVA in providing service officers
with training and access to the Veterans Benefits Management System,
and the IDVA will pursue digits-to-digits connectivity as a pilot
platform CyberVet data and benefits management system.
The memorandum formalizes and documents the working agreements
and the results of multiple coordination meetings over the past six
months at the staff and director level. With the Chicago VA office
agreeing to participate in Illinois Joining Forces earlier this
year, this was the next logical step. The IDVA supports claims from
over 34,000 veterans to the Chicago VA office in the current fiscal
year and hopes to help more veterans in the future.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Veterans' Affairs file received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information] |