Legal Meets Practical

Did you know that by the end of this year, there will be no more homeless veterans? That’s right. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) announced a five-year plan to end veteran homelessness. This means that by the end of this year, we can expect that there will be no more homeless veterans in America.

Of course, we know that’s not going to happen. Even with endless resources and an aggressive, bulletproof plan, the VA couldn’t deliver on this promise. It might as well have told us it would deliver us the stars.

That is the first point of this blog. VA, we know you can’t achieve the impossible. Don’t set unreasonable goals, and then you won’t be criticized for not meeting them.

The second, and more important, point is the VA has done good work in this arena, and it should be recognized for it.

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as of August 2014, there are 49,933 homeless veterans living in the United States. This is based on HUD’s Point-in-Time Count it conducts every January to estimate the number of homeless veterans. While it is likely that not all veterans are accounted for, this number represents a significant 33% drop in veteran homelessness since 2010.

Part of this drop is attributed to the VA’s Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program, where the VA awards grants to private, non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that provide services to very low-income Veteran families living in – or transitioning to – permanent housing. (More information can be found here).

Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald announced the award of nearly $93 million in 3-year grants under this Program. These grants will help approximately 45,000 homeless and at-risk Veterans and their families, providing additional resources as it applies to 24 non-profit agencies in 15 communities across 11 states. (The full list of organizations impacted by this grant is available here).

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to using evidence-based approaches such as SSVF to prevent homelessness and produce successful outcomes for Veterans and their families,” said Secretary McDonald. “This is a program that works, because it allows VA staff and local homeless service providers to work together to effectively address the unique challenges that make it difficult for some Veterans and their families to remain stably housed.”

Through the homeless veterans initiative, VA committed more than $1 billion in FY 2014 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans. The VA provides a range of services to homeless Veterans, including health care, housing, job training and education.

As President Obama has said, “[W]e’re not going to rest until every Veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.”

Those are lovely words. Now make them count.

Did you find this blog informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on veterans issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

*UPDATE – On Monday, April 13, it was announced that Ms. Paul has resigned. She refers to the incident as a “misunderstanding” and claims that harassment forced her out of the job.

Less than two weeks ago, I blogged about an email circulated by a senior-level VA employee that joked about veteran suicide. This email prompted many veterans service organizations (VSOs) to rally for the employee’s removal, especially in light of the employee’s role as a licensed social worker entrusted with caring for transitioning combat veterans.

Now it looks like these VSOs might get their wish.

Today, the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Board voted to impose a 90-day suspension of Ms. Robin Paul’s license. This is only two weeks after the VA placed Ms. Paul on paid administrative leave following the outcry over the email. (Ms. Paul is a case manager for the Roubedash VA Medical Center’s STICC – the Seamless Transition Integrated Care Clinic. She makes approximately $88,000 a year in that position).

“Due to the nature of Ms. Paul’s work at the VA medical center in a transitional clinic for veterans dealing with mental health issues, the state felt that she did represent a clear and immediate danger based on the nature and contents of the email,” Deputy Attorney General Laura Sahm told the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Board.

Ms. Paul will remain on paid administrative leave while an internal VA investigation takes place. Julie Webb, a spokeswoman for VA Roudebush, denied that the move was a form of discipline.

VA, are you sure you want to say that? Aren’t you already in enough trouble for not keeping your employees in check? (For another blog on that subject, see here).

As background, the email that has gotten everyone so fired up had the subject line: “Naughty Elf in the STICC,” and it included four photos of a Christmas elf character in various rooms of the STICC. For example, one photo included a note next to the character that read “Out of Xanax please help!” Another photo (featured at bottom) depicted the elf hanging from a strand of Christmas lights and a caption that read “Caught in the act of suicidal behavior (trying to hang himself from an electrical cord).”

The truly disturbing thing about the photos is they were tailored specifically to the medical center; i.e., someone went to the trouble to create them. It is unclear whether that person was Ms. Paul; all we know is she passed them along to her staff.

An online petition calling for the Ms. Paul to be fired has more than 6,000 signatures as of mid-March. May the people be heard!

*Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on veterans issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

“I’m so uncomfortable here.”

“I really shouldn’t be here. Oh my God, I shouldn’t be here.”

These were the quotes of a Project Manager who served on the Market Survey Team (MST) evaluating property sites for a new Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) healthcare center, after she realized that properties to be reviewed included those owned by her extended family member.

After uttering those words, the Project Manager effectively left it at that. Rather than recuse herself from the evaluation process due to the appearance of impropriety, the Project Manager instead participated in the selection and provided scores for the land she thought most suited the project. Later, when her family member was selected, a staff member of the local newspaper queried the VA, asking how the Project Manager’s position as the assistant chief engineer wouldn’t have been able to sway other committee members. The VA never responded to this inquiry.

Following a thorough investigation, in a 28-page VA Office of Inspector General Report (OIG) released on March 10, 2015, the VA OIG found that while there was no actual conflict of interest, the Project Manager’s action of not recusing herself from the source selection created the appearance of a conflict of interest.  The VA also found that the Project Manager’s supervisors erred by not conferring with an agency ethics official prior to allowing the Project Manager to participate in the selection.

The VA OIG issued a recommendation that the Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Operations Management determine whether “appropriate administrative action” against the Project Manager and her supervisors was necessary. It also recommended that the involved individuals take refresher ethics training directly related to the matters described in the report. Last, it prodded the VA’s Office of General Counsel to “review this entire matter from start to end.”

Maybe it’s just me, but this entire situation seems like an incredible waste of tax dollars. I’m not suggesting that this situation did not warrant investigation, but that the situation never should have existed in the first place. Not only did this Project Manager know about the possible conflict of interest, but so did numerous individuals involved with the source selection. Despite this, the Project Manager’s involvement continued, and the result is an extensive investigation that surely cost tens of thousands of dollars, as well as a costly review of the matter by the VA’s General Counsel. This is not to mention the considerable time the VA has wasted – not only by the hours spent investigating the impropriety, but by the time spent by the employees in ethics training.

And I have to ask – is it really necessary to tell someone that evaluating a proposal submitted by their family member might look a bit shady?

In the future, when a procurement official’s first statement while being led to the selection table is “oh my God, I shouldn’t be here,” maybe the second statement should be, “I’ll see you all later.”

Access the VA OIG report on this matter VAOIG-12-03002-102.pdf.

Did you find this article informative? If so, access Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on veteran and small business issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

Not since Garfield has a cartoon garnered so much attention…but the attention sure ain’t positive.

On March 9, 2015, a story broke regarding an email circulated by an Indianapolis VA Medical Center (“Center”) employee, where the employee used cartoons to poke fun at possibly the most unfunny subject ever – veteran suicide.

The culprit is Ms. Robin Paul, a licensed social worker who manages the Center’s transitional clinic for returning veterans. This is a woman who is supposed to have empathy and sensitivity to the plight of veterans in an extremely vulnerable situation.

The email that has created a blogging storm across the country (see the comments to the story as posted on military.com here) depicts an elf in various rooms of the Center. One photo depicts him peering between the legs of a female doll. “Trying his skills as a primary care provider (doing a pap),” the email says. Another shows the elf next to a sticky note with the words, “Out of XANAX — please help!” A caption says, “Self-medicating for mental health issues when a CNS would not give him his requested script.” A third photograph shows the elf hanging from a strand of Christmas lights. “Caught in the act of suicidal behavior (trying to hang himself from an electrical cord),” reads the caption.

Apparently, the email was sent in the pre-holiday season, around November 18. Veterans service organizations across the country have issued many public statements on the issue, calling for Ms. Paul to be fired and asking why the VA did nothing about the email for nearly four months. It doesn’t help that the entire country is already fired up about the waiting time manipulation scandal at Phoenix.

A veteran client sent me the article on this subject in military.com, and I was reluctant to blog on the topic. The rage directed at Ms. Paul was palpable, and I almost felt slightly empathetic for one careless email having created such a stir.

Then I thought about the situation some more. I am a veterans advocate, and a lawyer, and everyone tries to make light of their jobs to alleviate stress. This is why I love a good dead lawyer joke. I would not, however, under any circumstances or context, come anywhere close to touching a veteran mental health issue with a joke. I cannot wrap my head around the concept of someone senior in the VA doing so. Ms. Paul has a fiduciary duty to care for the veterans she is charged to protect, and circulating an email like this isn’t simply careless. It demonstrates a lack of empathy and basic decency, which is dangerous considering her job.

That’s a message directly to you, Secretary McDonald. Consider her job. Consider eliminating it.

*Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on veterans issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

*Did you find this article depressing? If so, look below for two genuinely funny cartoons, by Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes and Gary Larson (The Far Side), respectively (and respectably).

In response to the scandal which rocked the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last year, which included several scathing Inspector General reports regarding wait times, the firings of several high-ranking employees, and the resignation of Secretary Erik Shinseki, two bills designed to reform the broken VA passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 2, 2015.

The Long-Term Care Veteran Choice Act will give veterans the ability to transfer to a non-VA medical foster home for long-term health care needs instead of staying in a VA facility. This, however, is met with scrutiny from many veterans service organizations, especially the American Legion, which has been vocal about  opposing privatization or vouchering out of VA care as a long-term solution. This comes on the heels of a veterans Choice Card, which was established last year to allow veterans facing long wait times or a long drive to a VA facility to go to a private provider.

The second bill will allow the VA Secretary to force senior executives to repay bonuses, a safeguard against the current practice which rewards bonuses despite gross incompetence. The VA paid more than $380,000 in cash bonuses in 2013 to top executives at 38 hospitals that are under investigation for falsifying wait times or where there have been excessive delays in patient care

H.R. 280 would require notifying affected employees before they had to repay the money, and would give them an opportunity for a hearing conducted by the Secretary. But the Secretary’s decision would be final and not subject to review by “any other agency or any court,” according to the text of the bill. The idea is to give the VA chief another tool to punish those engaged in misconduct – in this instance by allowing the department to rescind bonuses those employees have received.

But the legislation does not specify criteria that would be grounds for ordering a repayment, giving the Secretary broad discretion. Also, note that it only applies to those at an executive level – it won’t apply to the vast percentage of VA employees.

If Secretary McDonald wants to make people forget about the unfortunate statement he made last January, implementing this accordingly would be a good way to do so. It would also be wonderful if he could actually fire those individuals responsible, but we all know what kind of red tape that presents. (General rule of thumb regarding government employment: unless you light something on fire, you can’t get fired).

The bills are now before the Senate. Stay tuned for updates.

Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on veterans issues at legalmeetspractical.com. Make sure to click the link sent to your email to activate your subscription!