the regular agenda and engage in full discussion regarding any proposed responses

Recommendations 12

• R1

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  County Executive Office to stagger current VSO staff start, end, and break times to allow hours of operation to include lunch, evening, and occasional weekend day by September 30, 2016. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. Response: Prior to the Grand Jury report, attempts to stagger the Shasta County VSO staff proved to be unsuccessful. Shasta County VSO clients prefer to see the same Veterans Services Representative (VSR) during the process of their claim and benefit counseling. In addition, the California Department of Veterans Affairs agrees and highly recommends not having multiple VSRs working with PTSD/Military Sexual Trauma victims. Further, it is anticipated that CalVet is transitioning the claims process to a paperless operation by December 31, 2016. The Shasta County VSO business hours should correlate with the CalVet's hours of operation, Monday through Friday. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R2

  Page 77
  County Executive Officer to implement a system by September 30, 2016, that will offer veterans the option of scheduling an appointment to meet with VSO staff. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. Response: Prior to the Grand Jury report, attempts in scheduling appointments to serve veterans proved to be inefficient. A standard appointment system would reduce staff availability to veterans and reduce funding from the California Subvention program. Walk-ins allow the VSO to handle 30 or more cases per day rather than the 24 cases per day with appointment scheduling, which does not allow for 4 The Honorable Gregory Gaul Shasta County Superior Court July 19, 2016 mandatory training, community outreach and assisting homeless veterans. By Shasta County operating on a walk-in basis, veterans are afforded the opportunity to complete each case in one visit preventing backlog. Most California County VSOs that have implemented an appointment program schedule 50 minute visits per client. Those same offices are closed to clients on Fridays to complete their administration and training requirements. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R3

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  County Executive Officer to update the Shasta County VSO website to include links to Federal and State of California Veterans benefits pages and National Archives by December 31, 2016. This recommendation will be implemented by December 31, 2016. Response: The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R4

  Page 78
  County Executive Officer to immediately implement a system to review all open, pending, and denied claims to ensure all are reviewed by September 30, 2016. The recommendation has been implemented. Prior to the Grand Jury report, the Response: VSO re-established policies to review all open, pending and denied claims. Suspense dates are established in the VetPro system for staff to follow-up on all open/pending claims at four months for pensions and one year for compensations from the date the claim was submitted. The VSO follows-up monthly thereafter. The current VA Fully Developed Claims processing time for compensations is approximately 8-14 months. Upon notification of a denied claim, the staff notifies the client to come in to start the appeals process, if the client prefers to proceed. The client has one year from the date of the denied claim letter to provide new evidence for service-connection. The appeals process may take up to ten or more years. The VSO assists the claimant throughout the entire process. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R5

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  County Executive Officer to implement within the VSO by September 30, 2016, a comprehensive case management process that will provide consideration for all eligible benefits available to Veterans, including burial and survivor benefits. The Honorable Gregory Gaul Shasta County Superior Court July 19, 2016 The recommendation has been implemented. Prior to the Grand Jury report the Response: VSO implemented a procedure for following up with veterans on their cases. The Shasta County VSO has had no backlog in over six months. In addition, the veteran/applicant can view his/her claim anytime on www.ebenefits.va.gov. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R6

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  County Executive Officer to reinstate the Work-Study Program and posting a link to the Program Application on its website by December 31, 2016. The recommendation to reinstate the Work-Study Program has been implemented. Response: Prior to the Grand Jury report the VSO implemented the VA work-study program and currently has two students assigned. As for posting a link to the Program Application on the VSO website, that recommendation requires further analysis as to the benefits of posting such a link and will be considered by the Veterans Officer by Executive County the Officer and Service December 31, 2016 when updating the VSO website as indicated in the response to Recommendation R3. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the R7. County Executive Officer to post notice and re-establish consistent and regular monthly outreach to Burney by December 31, 2016. The recommendation has been implemented. Prior to the Grand Jury report the Response: Burney outreach program was re-established. The VSO is available to serve the veterans of northeastern Shasta County on the third Friday of every month, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Intermountain Community Center. According to the VA, Burney has 360 of the 19,463 Shasta County veteran residents and to date, 102 Burney residents have qualified for and utilized VA services. During many of the Burney outreach trips, the VSO had no contact or claims processed. The VSO has also implemented advertisements through multiple media outlets (radio, TV, social media, both Chamber of Commerce, medical clinics, VFW) in Burney and Fall River to attract more veterans to utilize our services. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R7

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  The Grand Jury recommends that no later than September 30, 2016, the Board of Supervisors revises applicable County Ordinances for Castella CSA 3, Jones Valley CSA 6, and Keswick CSA 25 to remove any automatic rate increases if determined through legal review to be in violation of Government Code 53756. The recommendation includes review of all other CSA County Ordinances to ensure that the County in in compliance with the Government Code. The recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted, as explained Response: in the response to Grand Jury Finding F7. The rate ordinances comply with applicable law. The Grand Jury recommends that no later than December 31, 2016, the
• R8

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  County Executive Officer to ensure the Veterans Services Officer focuses on the functions of the office rather than attending non-vital community events. The recommendation has been implemented. Response: 6 The Honorable Gregory Gaul Shasta County Superior Court July 19, 2016 The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R9

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  County Executive Officer to establish a hiring process by December 31, 2016, that will provide for encouraging and considering the applications of local qualified veterans when hiring Veterans Service Officer. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted. Response: Shasta County has had and will continue to have an equal employment opportunity hiring process for all positions. When a position becomes available, persons may apply regardless of their residential region so that the County has the opportunity to consider hiring the most qualified individual. To establish a hiring process that would indicate preferential treatment based on local residency would unnecessarily limit the County's ability to consider qualified applicants and may expose the County to potential litigation. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors instruct the
• R10

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  County Executive Officer to monitor progress of all newly-hired staff, including the Veterans Services Officer, to ensure anyone assisting veterans with claims will be accredited within one year of hire. During transition of the The recommendation has been implemented. Response: Veterans Service Officer, retired Veterans Service Officer Robert Dunlap and retired Veterans Service Officer David Lanford returned to the VSO on an interim basis to assist in the transitions, trainings and peering of new staff and to assist the veterans of Shasta County. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct the
• R11

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  County Executive Officer to initiate a plan by September 30, 2016, for all VSO staff to attend available State of California trainings on an ongoing basis. The recommendation has been implemented. Shasta County Veterans Services Response: Representatives attended the February 2016 California Association of Counties Veterans Service Officers Training Conferences and will be attending the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers Training Conference in June 2017. The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors immediately instruct the
• R12

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  County Executive Officer to take a more proactive supervisory role over the new Veterans Services Officer. The Honorable Gregory Gaul Shasta County Superior Court July 19, 2016 The recommendation will not be implemented as it is not warranted. Prior to the Response: Grand Jury report the County Executive Officer has taken and will continue to take a proactive supervisory role over the Veterans Service Officer consistent with his supervisory oversight of other County Department Heads as authorized by law. This concludes the responses of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors to the FY 2015-2016 Grand Jury Report, The Shasta County Veterans Services Office, Veterans' Lives Matter. Sincerely, PAM GIACOMINI, Chairman Board of Supervisors County of Shasta . • . : 8 Shasta County BOARD OF SUPERVISORS David A. Kehoe, District 1 1450 Court Street, Suite 308B Redding, CA 96001-1673 (530) 225-5557 (800) 479-8009 (530) 225-5189-FAX February 10, 2017 The Honorable Gregory S. Gaul Presiding Judge, Shasta County Superior Court 1500 Court Street, Rm. Redding, CA 96001 Dear Judge Gaul: Subject: Further Response by the Board of Supervisors to the 2015-16 Grand Jury Report At the request of the Shasta County Grand Jury Foreperson, additional information for the 2015-16 Grand Jury Final Report in relation to the reports "Shasta County Veterans Services Office - Veterans' Lives Matter" and "Following the Call - The First 72 Hours Matter" are contained herein for your consideration. Shasta County Veterans Services Office - Veterans' Lives Matter