1. AVECO Conference 2016 Education Division
St. Louis Regional Processing Office
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July 21, 2016

2. Agenda Jurisdiction FY16 Staffing Claims Processing Performance
Post-9/11 GI Bill Automation Update
REAP Sunset
COWC
Questions
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3. Current Staffing Level
FY16 Staffing
Current Staffing Level
FY16 Ceiling
Current Education Employees
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4. RPO Jurisdiction & Distribution of Students
Approximately 25% of National Workload
Snapshot of Recipients on the roles as of July 1, 2016
Georgia = 43.9%
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5. Claims Processing Performance
Date
Pending Claims Inventory
July 1, 2016
15,645
July 1, 2015
14,897
Peak Workload:
September 4, 2015
60,870
This represents a -21.9% change in workload from April 2015 to April 2016 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Claims Processing Performance
FYTD
As of
July 1, 2016
FYTD 2016
Performance Targets
FYTD 2017
Original Claims Timeliness
19.11 Days
28.0 Days
21.0 Days
Supplemental Claims Timeliness
9.37 Days
14.0 Days
9.0 Days
Payment Accuracy
98.95%
98.0%
RNW Timeliness
3 days
5 days
RNW Over 5 days
33 VAIs
N/A
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7. Post-9/11 GI Bill Automation Update
Full Automation: Long-Term Solution (LTS) processed the claim entirely (including letter generation)
Partial Automation: LTS pre-populates certain information from the VAONCE document (i.e. enrollment certification), but the case requires a Veterans Claims Examiner (VCE) to review and authorize the action
Manual: Claims that require a full review by the VCE from start to finish
ST. LOUIS RPO
Total CH33 Electronic Receipts
Full Automation #
Full Automation %
April 2016
45,799
22,224
48.5%
May 2016
55,674
26,393
47.4%
June 2016
57,021
25,111
44.0%
Decrease due to capacity issues. More claims to automate than LTS can do. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Post-9/11 GI Bill Automation Update
There are several factors for which will preclude full automation:
VAONCE Remarks listed from School Certifying Official
Change of Student Address submitted by School Certifying Official
New Facility Code reported
Validation Errors (i.e. orphan amendments)
Mitigating Circumstances
Full Automation:
Partial Automation:
Manually Processed: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________MitC began in LTS in MONTH/YEAR ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) Sunset
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2016 ended the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) on Nov. 25, 2015, for new school enrollments.
Current REAP beneficiaries – Veterans who were attending an educational institution on Nov. 24, 2015, or during the last semester, quarter, or term ending prior to that date, are eligible to continue to receive REAP benefits until Nov. 25,
REAP beneficiaries not attending school – Veterans who applied for REAP but were not attending an educational institution on Nov. 24, 2015, or during the last semester, quarter, or term ending prior to that date are no longer eligible to receive REAP benefits.
New REAP applicants – Veterans who have not enrolled in school and applied for REAP benefits prior to Nov. 25, 2015, are no longer eligible for REAP benefits. However, in most cases, those Veterans will be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Due to Congressional mandate, Veterans Affairs (VA) will only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school before November 25, 2015, or during their school’s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date
Many of the REAP beneficiaries not attending school may be eligible to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VA will evaluate all applications for REAP received on or after Nov. 25, 2015, to determine eligibility for another program, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and will award benefits under a different program if found eligible.

10. Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COWC)
Starting June 1, 2015, the St. Louis RPO began processing all Committee of Waiver Claims for the nation. 
Staffing
Currently this team consists of 1 coach, 4 Senior Veteran Claims Examiners, 19 Veteran Claims Examiners, and 1 Program Support Assistant.
FY16 Waivers
As of July 12, 2016, the St. Louis RPO has completed 7,522 waivers
Due to Congressional mandate, Veterans Affairs (VA) will only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school before November 25, 2015, or during their school’s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date
Many of the REAP beneficiaries not attending school may be eligible to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VA will evaluate all applications for REAP received on or after Nov. 25, 2015, to determine eligibility for another program, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and will award benefits under a different program if found eligible.

11. Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COWC)
Timeliness
The goal is to complete 50% of waivers within 30 days, 75% within 60 days and 99% within 120 days. As of July 12, 2016, 65% of waivers have been completed within 30 days, 75% have been completed within 60 days, and 99% have been completed within 120 days.
Top 3 debts requested for waivers
Debts created when the Obligated end date was not met by Veteran (Chapter 33 TOE Claim)
Debts created from Reduction/Withdrawal
Notice of Disagreement with debt
Due to Congressional mandate, Veterans Affairs (VA) will only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school before November 25, 2015, or during their school’s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date
Many of the REAP beneficiaries not attending school may be eligible to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VA will evaluate all applications for REAP received on or after Nov. 25, 2015, to determine eligibility for another program, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and will award benefits under a different program if found eligible.

12. Committee on Waivers and Compromises (COWC)
Please reminder your students to not ignore letters involving debts from DMC and/or COWC
Due to Congressional mandate, Veterans Affairs (VA) will only grant REAP eligibility to those enrolled in school before November 25, 2015, or during their school’s last term, quarter, or semester ending prior to that date
Many of the REAP beneficiaries not attending school may be eligible to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
VA will evaluate all applications for REAP received on or after Nov. 25, 2015, to determine eligibility for another program, including the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and will award benefits under a different program if found eligible.

13. Questions