VEAC 30-Day FRN

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[OMB Control No. 2900-XXXX]

Agency Information Collection Activity under OMB Review: Veterans Engagement Action Center (VEAC) Surveys

AGENCY: Veterans Experience Office, Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, this notice announces that the Veterans Experience Office, 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: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting "Currently under 30-day Review - Open for Public Comments" or by using the search function. Refer to ‘VEAC Survey Feedback”.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maribel Aponte, Office of Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance Analytics (008), 1717 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, (202) 266-4688 or email [email protected]. Please refer to ‘‘VEO VEAC Survey Feedback” in any correspondence.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-21.

Title: Veterans Engagement Action Center (VEAC) Surveys

OMB Control Number: None.

Type of Review: ICR

Abstract: Veterans Experience Action Center (VEAC) is a Veterans Affairs (VA) program established to proactively assist Veterans in a selected state with a one-stop resource for all their needs. The VEAC brings together VA benefits, health care and other resources in partnership with state VA resources.

The VEAC gathers feedback from Veterans, Active Military, Guard/Reservist, Family members, caregivers, providers, and survivors. The VEAC then provides that feedback to VA leaders to measure the success of the outreach event and measure the ease, effectiveness, emotion, and trust from the participants as they exit.  

The surveys will further allow the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) to measure whether the needs of the participants were met.  Additional areas where the survey results will impact:

• Identifies gaps and challenges in health care, benefits, and service delivery.

• Identifies areas for how VA can best support local efforts in a holistic fashion.

• Identifies areas where there may be barriers to access, and outreach tailored to local communities.

Per FY2021 MILCON House report 116-445, the Committee directs the VA to provide quarterly reports on the status of the implementation of the VEAC pilot program; the effectiveness of the pilot program at reaching Veterans, particularly those in need, and increasing utilization of VA services:

• Congress (Quarterly Congressional Tracking Reports (CTRs)

VEAC surveys afford VEAC participants the ability to provide feedback to VA and allow the customer to share their experiences. VEO uses the customer’s feedback to enhance and increase outreach and engagement efforts and determine the direct value of our efforts.

The surveys and its delivery are an innovative approach to measure and improve customer experience based on the "voice of the Veteran." Through the use of the VSignals digital platform, VEO can identify gaps and challenges in the community, provide information on VA programs, increase access and outreach, identify what is and what is not working, and determine how VA can best support local community efforts in support of Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors. The Veteran Experience Office (VEO) has also been commissioned to measure the satisfaction of Peer-to-Peer organizations and veterans who recently interacted with the VEAC.

Survey respondents will be Veterans, Active Military, Guard/Reservist, family members, caregivers, and survivors that attend a VEAC event. Some VEAC participants may also be offered to provide feedback to surveys that capture their experience through their Peer-to-Peer connections or their attendance on a Veterans Experience Live Question and Answer event. Different surveys may be administered participants of events:

1. VEAC Exit Survey: Outreach event staff will verbally administer the survey to event attendees as the last step in the overall event process. The outreach staff will fill out the web-based survey on behalf of the outreach event participant.

2. VEAC Email Survey: A survey will be sent via email to event attendees that were not able to take the VEAC Exit Survey. The email survey will not be sent to event attendees that opted out of the VEAC Exit Survey.

3. Peer-to-Peer Survey: The survey is completed via an email-based survey design. After a Peer-to-Peer organization interacts with a VEAC Representative, the VEAC Representative will send an email to the Peer-to-Peer organization with a link to the Vsignals survey. The Peer-to-Peer organization can take the survey and share the survey to Veterans via email at the conclusion of each Peer-to-Peer interaction. Peer-to-Peer organizations and veterans will choose whether they want to participate in the survey.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published at 87 FR 24225, Publication Date:04/22/2022, pages: 24225-24226.

Affected Public: Individuals.

Estimated Annual Burden: 1,200 hours.

Estimated Average Burden Per Respondent: 4 minutes.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 16,000.

By direction of the Secretary:

Maribel Aponte,

VA PRA Clearance Officer,

Office of Enterprise and Integration, Data Governance Analytics,

Department of Veterans Affairs.

BILLING CODE 8320-01-P

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