VBA Organization and Description
Background
Since the Revolutionary War, America has provided benefits to the soldiers
who helped defend her. This compensation and care was granted by various
laws and administered by different government agencies until the Veterans
Administration was established in 1930.
The Veterans Administration
consolidated all federal veteran aid under a single agency which provided more
continuity in benefits delivery.
As the Veterans Administration grew in size so did the complexity of its
mission to provide service to veterans. In 1988, the Veterans Administration was
elevated to cabinet-level and became the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Current Direction
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is an agency within the Department
of Veterans Affairs that is responsible for the processing and delivery of veteran
benefits. Through 58 regional offices, VBA provides direct monetary benefits,
including disability compensation, pensions, educational assistance, and
vocational rehabilitation. VBA also has guaranteed more than 15 million home
loans and operates one of the world's largest life insurance programs.
VBA is a dynamic organization, constantly changing with new initiatives and
varying work requirements. Because of this, the facility that houses a VA
regional office must provide layout flexibility while maintaining an efficient
operation. There are several work environments in a VA regional office. One is
the public service area that has direct contact with the public and includes
Veterans Services Division, Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling Division,
and Veterans Service Organizations. A second function and the largest is the
benefits processing and delivery area that processes veterans claims and
ensures benefits delivery. Divisions in this work group include Adjudication,
Loan Guaranty, and Finance. Another function is the administrative and
management operations of the regional office.
These different work
environments have specialized space and layout requirements such as veteran
interview areas, large file banks that require additional floor load bearing
capacity, and Adjudication's "production type" work-flow. Yet these areas must
remain flexible to continually accommodate VBA's constantly changing work
processes.
VBA Design Guide
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