A new Madera County grand jury
report released Feb. 20, states the administrative staff running the county
Veterans Services Office is knowledgeable, experienced, professional and
courteous, and any delays in processing claims are a result of the bureaucracy
of the United States Veterans Administration - and are beyond the scope of the
county Veterans Service Office.
The Madera County grand jury
received a complaint regarding customer service in the Madera County Veterans
Service Office in August 2014, and based on the complaint, the Madera County
Veterans Service Office was selected for investigation by the grand jury.
Facts pointed out by the grand
jury with regards to the veterans office were as follows:
1. Although office
administration and staff are employed by the County of Madera, claims
processing procedures are governed by the Veterans Administration Code.
2. The department head is the
Veterans Service Officer, who is contracted from the County of Fresno two days
per week to Madera County.
3. The 2013– 2014 Veterans
Service Office budget was $120,363 with a staff of one veterans service officer
and one veterans service representative. Both are trained and certified by the
Veterans Administration (VA) to assist veterans and their families in filing
claims for VA benefits.
4. The 2014– 2015 office budget
is $136,210 which includes the addition of one extra help clerical employee
funded by one-time special project monies from the VA.
5. The office initiates 350–400
claims and maintains approximately 2,000 open claims per year.
6. The veterans service
representative sees eight to nine appointments and eight to 10 walk-in visits
per day, and accommodates 25 appointments one day per month in Oakhurst. In
addition, the veterans service officer also maintains a full schedule of
appointments the two days per week in Madera.
Findings presented by the grand
jury were as follows:
1. The Madera County veterans
service office administrative staff is knowledgeable, experienced, professional
and courteous.
2. Newly hired extra help staff
has reduced the clerical burden of the veterans service representative.
Effectiveness of the clerical personnel should further improve with experience
in the position.
3. Delays in claims processing
are a result of the bureaucracy of the United States Veterans Administration -
and are beyond the scope of the county veterans service office.
Recommendation: The Madera
County grand jury recommends that the Madera County Board of Supervisors
allocate funding to reclassify the current temporary extra help clerical position
to permanent full time status. This would reduce the clerical burden for the
veterans service representative.
The county’s 19-member
2014-2015 grand jury was impaneled June 30, 2014. Leanne Thomson, of Madera,
serves as the jury foreperson, and the jury is overseen by Madera County
Superior Court Judge D. Lynn Jones.
California’s constitution
requires the appointment, every year, of a grand jury - a group of county
citizens with the purpose of investigating public complaints about county
government, and making recommendations on how to save county taxpayers money.
The 19-member jury is made up
of a wide range of citizens from the county, to allow for different view points
and opinions. The grand jury is an independent authority that is not answerable
to administrators or legislators.
Eastern Madera County residents
on this year’s grand jury include Carolyn Kelly, Thomas Allcock, and Heather
Kepler of Ahwahnee - Robert Owen of North Fork - Sue Greer of Raymond - and
Linda McConnell, Ben Savage, and Stephen Mitchell of Coarsegold.
Madera County citizens wishing
to make an official complaint to the grand jury, can download a complaint form
from the grand jury’s web site (google Madera County grand jury), and mail it
to P.O. Box 534, Madera, Calif., 93639.
Details: Madera County grand
jury, (559) 662-0946.
February
20, 2015
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