This program  also helps VR&E staff identify those who could benefit from vocational  rehabilitation and employment services. VA Has Taken Steps to Expedite Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services for Seriously Injured Servicemembers

VA has instructed its regional offices to make seriously injured  servicemembers a high priority for all VA assistance and asked DOD to  provide data that would ensure VA’s ability to identify and monitor this  population. Because many seriously injured servicemembers are initially  treated at major military treatment facilities, VA has deployed staff to  these sites to provide information on all veterans’ benefits, including  VR&E services. The 12 regional offices we reviewed have developed  information of varying completeness and reliability. Nevertheless, some regional offices reported  maintaining contact with these servicemembers while others did not. VA Has Instructed Its Regional Offices to Make Seriously Injured Servicemembers a High Priority and Asked DOD for Data to Help Identify Them

In a September 2003 letter, VA instructed its regional offices to provide  priority consideration and assistance to seriously injured servicemembers  returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Individual Differences in the Recovery Process Complicate the Timing of Early Intervention

Individual differences and uncertainties in the recovery process make it  inherently difficult to determine when a seriously injured servicemember  will be ready to consider vocational rehabilitation. VA Is Challenged by DOD’s Concern that Early Intervention Could Work at Cross Purposes to Military Retention

VA is also challenged by DOD’s concern that outreach about VA benefits,  including disability compensation and VR&E services, could work at cross  purposes to military retention goals. In particular, DOD expressed concern  about the timing of VA’s outreach to servicemembers whose discharge  from military service is not yet certain. VR&E  services could begin earlier for injured members of the National Guard  and Reserve since these individuals usually expect to return to their  previous civilian employment. It also  poses the risk that some who are discharged with disabilities may be  overlooked and not afforded the opportunity for VR&E. Recommendations

To improve VA’s efforts to expedite VR&E services to seriously injured  servicemembers, we recommend that VA and DOD collaborate to reach an  agreement for VA to have access to information that both agencies agree is  needed to promote servicemembers’ recovery and return to work. We also recommend that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs direct the  Under Secretary for Benefits to develop a policy and procedures for  regional offices to maintain contact with seriously injured servicemembers  who do not initially apply for VR&E services, in order to ensure that they  have the opportunity to participate in the program when they are ready. VA’s written  comments are reprinted in appendix I.
DOD also concurred with our findings and recommendations.
Why GAO Did This Study

More than 10,000 U.S. military servicemembers, including National Guard and Reserve members, have been injured in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those with serious injuries are likely to be discharged from the military and return to civilian life with disabilities. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers vocational rehabilitation and employment (VR&E) services to help these injured servicemembers in their transition to civilian employment. GAO has noted that early intervention--the provision of rehabilitation services as soon as possible after the onset of a disability--is a practice that significantly facilitates the return to work. GAO examined how VA expedites VR&E services to seriously injured servicemembers and the challenges VA faces in its efforts to do so.

What GAO Found

VA has taken steps to expedite vocational rehabilitation and employment services for servicemembers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with serious injuries. The agency has instructed its regional offices to make seriously injured servicemembers a high priority for all VA assistance, including VR&E services, and has asked DOD to provide data that would help VA identify and monitor this population. It has also deployed additional staff to five major Army military treatment facilities where the majority of the seriously injured are treated. Pending an agreement with DOD for sharing data, VA has relied on its regional offices to learn who the seriously injured are and where they are located. We found that the regional offices we reviewed had developed information that varied in completeness and reliability. We also found that VA does not have a policy for maintaining contact with those with serious injuries who may later be ready for VR&E services but did not initially apply for VR&E. Nevertheless, some regional offices did attempt to maintain contact while other regional offices did not. VA faces significant challenges in expediting VR&E services to seriously injured servicemembers. These include: the inherent challenge that individual differences and uncertainties in the recovery process make it difficult to determine when a servicemember will be ready to consider VR&E services; DOD's concerns that VA's outreach, including early intervention with VR&E, could work at cross purposes to military retention goals for servicemembers whose discharge from military service is not yet certain; and the lack of access to data from DOD that would allow VA to readily know which servicemembers are seriously injured and where they are located. VA and DOD generally concurred with our findings and recommendations.