California Veterans Board : Without a Clear Understanding of the Extent of Its Authority, the Board Has Not Created Sufficient Policies nor Provided Effective Oversight to the Department of Veterans Affairs

Concerns the Calif. Veterans Board¹s oversight and guidance of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. This report concludes that even though the Board has been in existence since 1946, this 7-member volunteer Board has not established itself as an effective policy-maker for the Dept. Further, the Board lacks independent counsel to minimize the legal risks of its responsibilities for making policy and ruling on veterans¹ appeals of services that the Dept. has denied. In addition, the Board¹s appeal process needs improvement to ensure that veterans¹ appeals are handled consistently and appropriately. The Board¹s effectiveness is also hindered by its reduced membership and the lack of board member training on their responsibilities.Howle, Elaine M. is the author of 'California Veterans Board : Without a Clear Understanding of the Extent of Its Authority, the Board Has Not Created Sufficient Policies nor Provided Effective Oversight to the Department of Veterans Affairs', published 2003 under ISBN 9780756737344 and ISBN 0756737346.