VA Vet Centers: Opportunities Exist to Improve Asset Management and Identification of Future Counseling Locations
Fast Facts
More than 300 Vet Centers provide counseling services to veterans, servicemembers, and their families. The Veterans Health Administration must ensure the centers are well-maintained and located where services are most in demand.
But VHA doesn't have guidance for managing annual inspections of the centers, so it's unsure if it has accurate data on their condition—including some that need improvements.
The agency developed a model to determine where centers should be located based on service demand. But it can't be sure it has the information it needs to fully understand the model's results.
Our recommendations address these issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) leases facilities to provide counseling at over 300 Vet Centers and satellite locations. RCS monitors the physical condition of these facilities through annual inspections. RCS's inspection process identified physical condition issues at 13 percent of Vet Centers in fiscal year 2023, according to GAO's analysis of RCS data. RCS addresses such issues and improves Vet Centers through projects ranging from replacing furniture to expanding space.
RCS's processes fully align with two of the six key characteristics of GAO's asset management framework, and partially align with four (see table). For example, RCS maintains leadership support and a collaborative organizational culture around asset management. However, developing an asset management plan and refining policies could help RCS ensure its assets support its mission, prioritize improvements to Vet Centers, and collect better inspection data. Also, better evaluation of asset management practices could help RCS ensure that these processes help RCS meet its counseling mission.
Alignment of Readjustment Counseling Service's Asset Management Processes with Key Characteristics of GAO's Asset Management Framework
|
Characteristic |
RCS processes |
Alignment |
|---|---|---|
|
Leadership support |
RCS leadership supports asset management and provides necessary resources. |
Fully aligns |
|
Collaborative organizational culture |
RCS promotes a culture of information sharing regarding their assets. |
Fully aligns |
|
Establishing policies and plans |
RCS has some policies related to asset management but does not have a strategic asset management plan that ties to its mission. |
Partially aligns |
|
Maximizing asset value |
RCS has some policies that consider mission need when identifying new locations but does not have policies for prioritizing improvements. |
Partially aligns |
|
Using quality data |
RCS collects some data on leasing and improvements but does not consistently collect quality inspection data. |
Partially aligns |
|
Evaluating asset management |
RCS evaluates some aspects of its inspection process but does not fully evaluate the performance of its asset management practices. |
Partially aligns |
Source: GAO analysis of Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) information and GAO 19-57 | GAO-25-106781.
RCS recently worked with VHA's actuarial contractor to develop a VHA model to project demand for counseling and identify where to locate future Vet Centers to better meet veterans' needs. GAO found that RCS's processes for developing the model do not fully align with three of eight actuarial key practices and internal control standards in four areas. Specifically, (1) RCS does not validate the data it provides the contractor, and RCS also does not require the contractor to provide (2) information on the contractor's assumptions, (3) documentation of its model validation, or (4) information on model uncertainty. By better aligning its modeling processes with key practices and internal control standards, RCS could better ensure it locates Vet Centers where demand is greatest.
Why GAO Did This Study
VHA's 303 Vet Centers provide counseling services to eligible veterans, servicemembers, and their families who are experiencing challenges from readjusting to civilian life or continuing military service.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a provision for GAO to review the physical infrastructure of Vet Centers. This report examines (1) how VHA monitors the physical condition of its facilities; (2) the extent to which VHA's processes align with key characteristics of GAO's asset management framework; and (3) the extent to which VHA's model for assessing future location needs aligns with selected key practices and standards, among other issues.
GAO analyzed RCS data on leasing and inspections and its demand model. GAO visited three Vet Centers selected based on factors including location and recent inspection results. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed RCS officials to determine the extent to which RCS's processes align with key asset management characteristics, actuarial practices, and internal control standards. GAO also interviewed a non-generalizable sample of Vet Center directors and regional officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making eight recommendations to VHA to better align its asset management processes with key asset management characteristics and ensure its modeling processes more fully follow actuarial practices and internal control standards.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of RCS should develop a strategic asset management plan that outlines RCS's asset management approach, as well as how that approach ties to RCS's mission and objectives. (Recommendation 1) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of RCS should develop written procedures to prioritize improvements to Vet Centers and outstations based on specific criteria. (Recommendation 2) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of RCS should develop guidance to clarify its processes and help ensure consistent data are collected related to inspecting Vet Centers and outstations and remediating deficiencies. (Recommendation 3) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of RCS should develop written procedures to evaluate the performance of its asset management processes to identify any necessary improvements to its management of those assets. (Recommendation 4) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Readjustment Counseling Officer of RCS should document processes for validating VA data used as an input to the demand model and communicate the findings including known relevant data limitations to the actuarial contractor. (Recommendation 5) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Strategy Office of VHA should require its actuarial contractor to provide documentation of its processes to validate external data and the key actuarial assumptions made using the external data, including the contractor's rationale for assumptions used in the demand model. (Recommendation 6) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Strategy Office of VHA should require its actuarial contractor to document and communicate to RCS the process for and results of the contractor's evaluation of the actuarial model risk. (Recommendation 7) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Veterans Health Administration | The Chief Strategy Office of VHA should require its actuarial contractor to provide documentation of the overall uncertainty associated with the demand model, including output variability of projected demand. (Recommendation 8) |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|