Summary: A 1976 report found that overpayments of educational assistance by the Veterans Administration (VA) were generally caused by delays in reporting training status changes, advance payments and prepayments of benefits, and processing delays or errors. Recommendations were made to Congress and VA to correct these deficiencies. In August 1976, Congress enacted legislation to eliminate prepayments and restrict advance payments. A follow-up review performed in 1978 revealed that overpayments were still significant and that additional action is needed. Actions to correct untimely reporting of changes in status were inadequate. For example: compliance surveys were sometimes ineffective; state approving agencies did not receive adequate guidance from VA; assessments of overpayments against schools were seldom collected; and there was inadequate guidance on the use of Veterans Representatives on Campus. VA has increased efforts to notify veterans of their obligation to report status changes. Although VA has complied with recommendations for reducing processing delays and errors, more action is needed to improve automated processing of status changes, limit special payments, and the use of teletype stop payment notices. VA has implemented a system to determine costs of collection so that determinations may be made on the justification for collection action. The timeliness of collection on special overpayments could be increased by decreasing the period that they are held.
