IDVA signs key agreement with Chicago VA office

Goal to streamline and improve claims process

[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.

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:

• 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.

• 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.

• 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]