Reno VA office among 10 hit with surprise inspections
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs claims office in Reno was one of 10 regional centers picked for surprise inspections last month as the agency investigated document-shredding practices in its outposts, officials said Monday.
Inspectors showed up unannounced on July 20 to examine the contents of shredding bins. Besides Reno, VA offices examined were in Atlanta; Baltimore; Chicago; Houston; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Oakland, Calif.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Deputy Inspector General Linda Halliday said the probe uncovered preliminary evidence of inappropriate shredding and weak controls to prevent the practice. She said the results of the spot-checks will be published when the investigation is complete.
Officials in the Reno office did not immediately respond to a call on Monday. It could not be determined how the office fared in the surprise inspection.
The check on regional offices grew from an investigation the Office of Inspector General conducted earlier this year of the VA regional office in Los Angeles.
Acting on a whistleblower tip, inspectors on a surprise visit in February discovered staff in Los Angeles were inappropriately shredding mail related to disability compensation claims. While they could not determine the scope of the practice, they found nine claims-related documents incorrectly placed in shred bins, Halliday said in a summary accompanying a 15-page report released Monday.
The position of Records Management Officer had gone unfilled in Los Angeles since August 2014, and support staff responsible for reviewing documents for shredding lacked proper training, inspectors found.
Halliday said the investigation did not substantiate whether supervisors were instructing staff to shred documents.
A VA spokesman in Los Angeles said in response to the findings, the records manager position has been filled and staff training has been reinforced “to ensure proper procedures are being followed at all times.”
“Improper shredding of veterans’ claims-related documents, no matter how small, has to be completely eradicated if the department hopes to regain veterans’ trust.” Halliday said.
Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC
