[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 24, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29626-29627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10288]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

38 CFR Part 17

RIN 2900-AK01


Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residences Program; 
Correction

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is reinstating 
regulations that were inadvertently removed by a previous rulemaking. 
This final rule technical amendment corrects that error and restores 
the missing regulations.

DATES: Effective Date: This technical amendment is effective May 24, 
2005.
    Applicability Date: September 17, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard R. Robinson, Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel (023B), Department of 
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, 
202.273.6334 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 31, 2002, VA published a final 
rule in the Federal Register (67 FR 4667) amending 38 CFR part 17 to 
establish provisions regarding housing under the Compensated Work 
Therapy/Transitional Residences program (CWT). VA did this by 
redesignating the existing Sec.  17.49 (Priorities for inpatient care) 
as Sec.  17.48, and by adding a new Sec.  17.49, Compensated Work 
Therapy/Transitional Residences program. Subsequently, on September 17, 
2002,

[[Page 29627]]

VA published an interim final rule in the Federal Register (67 FR 
58528) to establish priorities for outpatient medical services and 
inpatient hospital care. In doing so, VA failed to consider the 
previous, January 31, 2002, amendment redesignating old Sec.  17.49 as 
new Sec.  17.48 and adding a new Sec.  17.49. As a result, VA 
mistakenly instructed the CFR editor to revise Sec.  17.49 instead of 
Sec.  17.48. Consequently, the revision to Sec.  17.49 erroneously 
removed the CWT rule and replaced it with the revised priority rule. In 
the CFR, the old priority rule (entitled ``Priorities for inpatient 
care'') is in Sec.  17.48; the new priority rule (entitled ``Priorities 
for outpatient medical services and inpatient hospital care'') is in 
Sec.  17.49; and the CWT rule was removed. To correct the inadvertent 
removal of the CWT rule, this final rule technical amendment revises 38 
CFR 17.48 to reinstate the CWT rule originally published as a final 
rule in the Federal Register on January 31, 2002, at Sec.  17.49.

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17

    Administrative practice and procedure, Alcohol abuse, Alcoholism, 
Claims, Day care, Dental health, Drug abuse, Foreign relations, 
Government contracts, Grant programs-health, Grant programs-veterans, 
Health care, Health facilities, Health professions, Health records, 
Homeless, Medical and dental schools, Medical devices, Medical 
research, Mental health programs, Nursing homes, Philippines, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements, Scholarships and fellowships, Travel 
and transportation expenses, Veterans.

    Approved: May 18, 2005.
Robert C. McFetridge,
Director, Regulations Management.

0
For the reasons set out above, 38 CFR part 17 is corrected as follows:

PART 17--MEDICAL

0
1. The authority citation for part 17 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 1721, unless otherwise noted.


0
2. Section 17.48 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  17.48  Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residences program.

    (a) This section sets forth requirements for persons residing in 
housing under the Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residences 
program.
    (b) House managers shall be responsible for coordinating and 
supervising the day-to-day operations of the facilities. The local VA 
program coordinator shall select each house manager and may give 
preference to an individual who is a current or past resident of the 
facility or the program. A house manager must have the following 
qualifications:
    (1) A stable, responsible and caring demeanor;
    (2) Leadership qualities including the ability to motivate;
    (3) Effective communication skills including the ability to 
interact;
    (4) A willingness to accept feedback;
    (5) A willingness to follow a chain of command.
    (c) Each resident admitted to the Transitional Residence, except 
for a house manager, must also be in the Compensated Work Therapy 
program.
    (d) Each resident, except for a house manager, must bi-weekly, in 
advance, pay a fee to VA for living in the housing. The local VA 
program coordinator will establish the fee for each resident in 
accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
    (1) The total amount of actual operating expenses of the residence 
(utilities, maintenance, furnishings, appliances, service equipment, 
all other operating costs) for the previous fiscal year plus 15 percent 
of that amount equals the total operating budget for the current fiscal 
year. The total operating budget is to be divided by the average number 
of beds occupied during the previous fiscal year and the resulting 
amount is the average yearly amount per bed. The bi-weekly fee shall 
equal 1/26th of the average yearly amount per bed, except that a 
resident shall not, on average, pay more than 30 percent of their gross 
CWT (Compensated Work Therapy) bi-weekly earnings. The VA program 
manager shall, bi-annually, conduct a review of the factors in this 
paragraph for determining resident payments. If he or she determines 
that the payments are too high or too low by more than 5 percent of the 
total operating budget, he or she shall recalculate resident payments 
under the criteria set forth in this paragraph, except that the 
calculations shall be based on the current fiscal year (actual amounts 
for the elapsed portion and projected amounts for the remainder).
    (2) If the revenues of a residence do not meet the expenses of the 
residence resulting in an inability to pay actual operating expenses, 
the medical center of jurisdiction shall provide the funds necessary to 
return the residence to fiscal solvency in accordance with the 
provisions of this section.
    (e) The length of stay in housing under the Compensated Work 
Therapy/Transitional Residences program is based on the individual 
needs of each resident, as determined by consensus of the resident and 
his/her VA Clinical Treatment team. However, the length of stay should 
not exceed 12 months.

    Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1772.

[FR Doc. 05-10288 Filed 5-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P