[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59769-59771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23564]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900-0782]


Agency Information Collection (Veterans Benefits Administration 
(VBA) Voice of the Veteran (VOV) Line of Business Tracking Study); 
Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans 
Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501-21), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits 
Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the 
collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes 
the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and 
burden and it includes the actual data collection instrument.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 28, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information 
through www.Regulations.gov, or to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attn: VA Desk Officer; 725 
17th St. NW., Washington, DC 20503 or sent through electronic mail to 
[email protected]. Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-
0782'' in any correspondence.
    For Further Information or a Copy of the Submission Contact: 
Crystal Rennie, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of 
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 
632-7492 or email: [email protected]. Please refer to ``OMB Control 
No. 2900-0782.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Voice of the Veteran 
(VOV) Line of Business Tracking Study.

a. Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service Surveys

    J.D. Power will be fielding three survey instruments for the 
Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service line of business. Based on the 
numerous interviews conducted, JDPA has separated the Veterans 
experience with C&P into two categories--Enrollment in a Benefit and 
Servicing of a Benefit. There will be one survey instrument for the 
Enrollment category that will be used for both compensation and pension 
claimants; compensation beneficiaries and pension beneficiaries will 
receive separate Servicing instruments. The Enrollment questionnaire 
will include factors relating to benefit eligibility and the 
application process, benefit entitlement, benefit information, and VA 
personnel. The Servicing questionnaires will include the same factors 
as Enrollment, with the exception of benefit eligibility and the 
application process factor. The results of the continuous measurement 
will be used to track and measure beneficiary satisfaction and to 
provide insights that will enable VA/VBA leadership to identify 
opportunities for improvement and measure the impact of improvement 
initiatives.
    The survey pool for the C&P Enrollment questionnaire will include 
individuals who have received a decision on a compensation or pension 
benefit claim within 30 days prior to the fielding period. The sample 
will be stratified as follows: (1) Type of benefit (i.e., Compensation, 
Pension) (2) claimants who were found eligible (3) claimants who were 
found ineligible and are not appealing their claim. The survey pool for 
the Compensation servicing questionnaire will include individuals who 
received a decision and have been receiving compensation benefits. The 
survey pool for the Pension servicing questionnaire will include 
individuals who have been receiving pension benefits for at least 6 
months prior to the field period.

b. Education (EDU) Service Surveys

    J.D. Power will be fielding two survey instruments for the 
Education (EDU) Service line of business. Based on the numerous 
interviews conducted, JDPA has separated the Veterans experience with 
Education into two categories--Enrollment in a Benefit and Servicing of 
a Benefit. There will be one survey instrument for the Enrollment 
category and one survey instrument for the Servicing category. The 
Enrollment questionnaire will include factors relating to benefit 
eligibility and the application process, benefit entitlement, benefit 
information, and VA personnel. The Servicing questionnaire will include 
the same factors as Enrollment, with the exception of benefit 
eligibility and the application process factor. The results will be 
used to track and

[[Page 59770]]

measure beneficiary satisfaction and to provide insights that will 
enable VA/VBA leadership to identify opportunities for improvement and 
measure the impact of improvement initiatives.
    The survey pool for the Education Enrollment questionnaire will 
include individuals who have received a decision on their education 
benefit application within 90 days (i.e., the original end-product has 
been cleared within the past 90 days) prior to the fielding period. The 
sample will be stratified as follows: (1) Accepted and enrolled, and 
(2) accepted and not enrolled. The survey pool for the Education 
Servicing questionnaire will include beneficiaries who have been 
enrolled and receiving education benefit payments for at least 2 
consecutive school terms prior to the fielding period.

c. Loan Guaranty (LGY) Service Surveys

    J.D. Power will be fielding two survey instruments for the Loan 
Guaranty (LGY) Service line of business. Based on the numerous 
interviews conducted, JDPA has separated the Veterans experience with 
Loan Guaranty into two categories--Home Loan Enrollment and Processing, 
and Specially Adapted Housing Servicing (Assessment and Grant Process). 
There will be one survey instrument for the Home Loan category, and one 
survey instrument for the Specially Adapted Housing category. The Home 
Loan Enrollment questionnaire will include factors relating to benefit 
eligibility and the application process, benefit entitlement, benefit 
information, and VA personnel. Additionally, the Home Loan 
questionnaire will address areas specific to the Loan Process. The 
Specially Adapted Housing Servicing questionnaire will include the same 
factors as Home Loan, but will address the grant process rather than 
the loan process. The results o will be used to track and measure 
beneficiary satisfaction and to provide insights that will enable VA/
VBA leadership to identify opportunities for improvement and measure 
the impact of improvement initiatives.
    The survey pool for the LGY Enrollment questionnaire will include 
individuals who closed a VA home loan in the 90 days prior to the 
fielding period. The sample will be stratified as follows: (1) Those 
who closed on purchase loans, (2) those who received loans for interest 
rate reductions, and (3) those who obtained cash out or other 
refinancing. The survey pool for the SAH servicing questionnaire will 
include individuals who are eligible for a specially adapted housing 
grant and in the past 12 months have: (1) Received an approval on their 
grant and are currently somewhere post-approval, (2) those who have had 
all their funds dispersed and final accounting is not yet complete, and 
(3) those who have had all of their funds dispersed and final 
accounting is complete. i.

d. Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service Surveys

    J.D. Power will be fielding three survey instruments for the 
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service line of 
business. Based on the numerous interviews conducted, JDPA has 
separated the Veterans experience with Education into three 
categories--Enrollment in a Benefit, Servicing of a Benefit, and Non-
Participants. There will be one survey instrument for the Enrollment 
category, one survey instrument for the Servicing category, and one 
survey instrument for the Non-Participant category. The Enrollment 
questionnaire will include factors relating to benefit eligibility and 
the application process, benefit entitlement, benefit information, and 
VA personnel. The Servicing questionnaire will include the same factors 
as Enrollment, with the exception of benefit eligibility and the 
application process factor. The Non-Participant questionnaire will 
include similar factors to Enrollment and Servicing, however, the 
questionnaire will address the experience that is unique to potential 
beneficiaries who applied for the benefit but decided not to pursue the 
benefit or services provided, including the reasons why they chose not 
to continue with the benefit application process or the VR&E program. 
The results will be used to track and measure beneficiary satisfaction 
and to provide insights that will enable VA/VBA leadership to identify 
opportunities for improvement and measure the impact of improvement 
initiatives.
    The survey pool for the VR&E Enrollment questionnaire will include 
individuals who had an initial meeting with their VR&E counselor and 
were granted a decision regarding their entitlement in the past 30 days 
prior to the fielding period. The sample will be stratified as follows 
by those who applied/applied and showed up for the initial appointment 
and: (1) Were found entitled to and decided to pursue the program, (2) 
were found entitled to and decided not to pursue the program, and (3) t 
were not found entitled to the program. The survey pool for the VR&E 
Servicing questionnaire will include individuals who have entered and 
been enrolled in one of the five tracks for at least 60 days prior to 
the fielding period. The sample will be stratified as follows: (1) 
Veterans who have been rehabilitated, and (2) Veterans who have reached 
maximum rehabilitation gain and could not proceed in the program. The 
survey pool for the VR&E Non-Participant questionnaire will include 
individuals who dropped out of the program prior to completing a 
rehabilitation plan. The sample will be stratified as follows: (1) 
Applicants who never attended the initial meeting with a counselor, and 
(2) applicants who started, but did not complete rehabilitation (i.e., 
negative closures).
    OMB Control Number: 2900-0782.
    Type of Review: Revision of an approved collection.
    Abstract:
    In 2008, VBA recognized a need to develop and design an integrated, 
comprehensive Voice of the Veteran (VOV) measurement program for its 
lines of business. This continuous measurement program will help VBA 
understand what is important to Veterans relative to VBA services and 
will provide VA/VBA leadership with actionable and timely customer 
feedback on how VBA is performing against those metrics. Insights will 
help identify opportunities for improvement and measure the impact of 
improvement initiatives.
    The program started with numerous interviews with stakeholders at 
various levels within the VBA organization and Veterans Service 
Organizations to identify information needs and perceived gaps in 
current processes. Surveys are designed to address those needs.
    VBA has engaged J.D. Power and Associates to conduct this survey 
initiative. The questionnaires are drafted in accordance with the J.D. 
Power and Associates Index Model--the cornerstone of all proprietary 
and syndicated research studies conducted by J.D. Power. The model will 
allow J.D. Power to quantify, based on the survey data, what is most 
important and least important with regard to satisfying our nation's 
Veterans.
    All survey instruments for each line of business, Compensation and 
Pension Service, Education Service, Vocational Rehabilitation and 
Employment Service, and Loan Guaranty Service, will contain common 
factors to allow VBA to compare scores across lines of business. In 
addition, JDPA will be in a position to provide VBA with an Overall 
Satisfaction score for their experience across all benefits provided by 
VBA.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information

[[Page 59771]]

unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment June 20, 2013, at pages 37278-
37279.
    Affected Public: Individuals and households.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 32,701 hours.
    Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 15 minutes.
    Frequency of Response: Once Annually (Respondents will not be 
surveyed more than once in a given year.)
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 130,800.

    Dated: September 24, 2013.

    By direction of the Secretary.
Crystal Rennie,
VA Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013-23564 Filed 9-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P