Va Placed A "level 8 Block" On My File...

[Cruinthe]

I am fairly familiar with 38 CFR, but in 10 odd years I have been dancing with the VA, I have never heard of a "level 8 block".

I did discuss this matter with one of the honchos over at Veterans for Constitutional Law, and he explained, in loose detail, what the block means to him. He confided that he also has a level 8 block, and in his opinion the level 8 block marks a veteran as being, in his words, "on the VA's s**t list".

Now, I can not verify anything aside from that fact that after vawatchdog, fox news, and a local TV station aired my story, the block appeared. So far, here is how the level 8 block effects me.

I can not use the 1 800 827 1000 number to verify anything but my name and social security number.

I can not access my wifes Chapter 35 information.

I can not walk into the VARO and speak to a VA case manger.

When I attempt to do the above, I am informed about the block, and that a manager must call me back, or I have to sit around at the VARO and wait for a level 7+ manager can fit me into his schedule, and each time I go to the VARO it takes longer and longer for me to be seen by a level 7 manager, if one is available at all.

I assume the VA public affairs people in DC placed the block on my wife to stop Fox News from accessing my file, as I did give them permission to do so.

Now, from the VA's perspective, it makes sense to limit less qualified VA staff from mucking up my file, and thus having another mistake smeared all over the Fox News lead page.

But, from my perspective, this borders on retaliation and harassment. Were I able to speak to someone about my file in a timely fashion, the point would be moot. But waiting around for days in the hopes manager calls me back is tedious, and even more so as I have an open NOD with a DRO in August.

It is difficult enough to process a VA claim without this sort of nonsense.

If anyone know about blocks being placed, who places them, and what levels there are, or anything of interest on this subject, please let me know.

Thanks!

[Cruinthe]

The www.veteransoutreach.info site is less about talk, and more about action. That said, how many of us actually take the time to visit the homeless shelters to pass out fliers about presumptive conditions or non-service connected pension? Or take a trip to the veterans retirement home to ensure the social workers are fully aware of the Aid & Attendance benefit? Or simply walk around the VA hospital or VA Regional Office passing out cards and explaining the Byzantine VA system to veterans that are clearly in need?

My point being, the mid and upper strata of veterans (30% VA rating and above) are very well represented on the internet. We have a world of information at our fingertips, and if we apply ourselves we can learn almost anything we so desire. The down side of this situation is we disabled veterans tend to develop something of an echo-chamber effect. We have created our own little "virtual reality". At best, a bubble that no one steps out of, or at worst a mentality of "Ive got mine, screw everyone else".

But what about those with no voice, no advocate, and no options? Perhaps as an infantryman, I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys in the trenches. I also found myself homeless as a direct result of the VA's incompetence and corruption, so I know what it is like to be completely without resources, understanding, and too sick and weak to do anything about it. I do not want to see other veterans suffer like that.

As to why I keep fighting the VA, even though I have been 100% T&P since 2001, the reason is simple. The more I fight, the more I learn. More sweat in training, less blood in war. Anyone remember the old joke, if you cant find someone to lead the attack, that someone is probably you? Since I became T&P, I have researched, requested, and been granted SMC-S Housebound, as well as the VocRehab Independent Living Program. I also documented and reported abuse by a VA nurse that resulted, directly, in her getting a reprimand by the state nursing board. Without going into too much detail, the pieces are being moved into place for another PR disaster for the VA, but more on that later. Point being, if I can do these things, so can any of you. All you need to do is step up and away from the keyboard. As Testvet so eloquently pointed out, "with all the veterans sites already online it's hard to get new ones going and to get traffic to them". A clear case of Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians.

So the Veterans Outreach Project wont be pretty, and it will get some dirt under its fingernails, but if what has been done the last few months are any indication, it will be a real blessing to many desperate veterans. And there are plenty of those. If anyone wants to join the effort, you are welcome. If not, you always have your pretty little web pages.

[carlie]

The www.veteransoutreach.info site is less about talk, and more about action. That said, how many of us actually take the time to visit the homeless shelters to pass out fliers about presumptive conditions or non-service connected pension? Or take a trip to the veterans retirement home to ensure the social workers are fully aware of the Aid & Attendance benefit? Or simply walk around the VA hospital or VA Regional Office passing out cards and explaining the Byzantine VA system to veterans that are clearly in need?

My point being, the mid and upper strata of veterans (30% VA rating and above) are very well represented on the internet. We have a world of information at our fingertips, and if we apply ourselves we can learn almost anything we so desire. The down side of this situation is we disabled veterans tend to develop something of an echo-chamber effect. We have created our own little "virtual reality". At best, a bubble that no one steps out of, or at worst a mentality of "Ive got mine, screw everyone else".

But what about those with no voice, no advocate, and no options? Perhaps as an infantryman, I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys in the trenches. I also found myself homeless as a direct result of the VA's incompetence and corruption, so I know what it is like to be completely without resources, understanding, and too sick and weak to do anything about it. I do not want to see other veterans suffer like that.

As to why I keep fighting the VA, even though I have been 100% T&P since 2001, the reason is simple. The more I fight, the more I learn. More sweat in training, less blood in war. Anyone remember the old joke, if you cant find someone to lead the attack, that someone is probably you? Since I became T&P, I have researched, requested, and been granted SMC-S Housebound, as well as the VocRehab Independent Living Program. I also documented and reported abuse by a VA nurse that resulted, directly, in her getting a reprimand by the state nursing board. Without going into too much detail, the pieces are being moved into place for another PR disaster for the VA, but more on that later. Point being, if I can do these things, so can any of you. All you need to do is step up and away from the keyboard. As Testvet so eloquently pointed out, "with all the veterans sites already online it's hard to get new ones going and to get traffic to them". A clear case of Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians.

So the Veterans Outreach Project wont be pretty, and it will get some dirt under its fingernails, but if what has been done the last few months are any indication, it will be a real blessing to many desperate veterans. And there are plenty of those. If anyone wants to join the effort, you are welcome. If not, you always have your pretty little web pages.

Cruinthe,

Some of your post above sure sounds a bit high and mighty.

Perhaps you've never checked out Hadit and it's history - it has taken Tbird

13 years of hard work to get "pretty little web pages" as you put it.

I guess it's necessary for some to go around tooting their own horn, but I find

the above post to be a bit judgmental.

jmho.

[LarryJ]

The www.veteransoutreach.info site is less about talk, and more about action. That said, how many of us actually take the time to visit the homeless shelters to pass out fliers about presumptive conditions or non-service connected pension? Or take a trip to the veterans retirement home to ensure the social workers are fully aware of the Aid & Attendance benefit? Or simply walk around the VA hospital or VA Regional Office passing out cards and explaining the Byzantine VA system to veterans that are clearly in need?

I don't know anyone like that. Any of you folks know anyone like that?

My point being, the mid and upper strata of veterans (30% VA rating and above) are very well represented on the internet. We have a world of information at our fingertips, and if we apply ourselves we can learn almost anything we so desire. The down side of this situation is we disabled veterans tend to develop something of an echo-chamber effect. We have created our own little "virtual reality". At best, a bubble that no one steps out of, or at worst a mentality of "Ive got mine, screw everyone else".

But what about those with no voice, no advocate, and no options? Perhaps as an infantryman, I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys in the trenches. I also found myself homeless as a direct result of the VA's incompetence and corruption, so I know what it is like to be completely without resources, understanding, and too sick and weak to do anything about it. I do not want to see other veterans suffer like that.

As to why I keep fighting the VA, even though I have been 100% T&P since 2001, the reason is simple. The more I fight, the more I learn. More sweat in training, less blood in war. Anyone remember the old joke, if you cant find someone to lead the attack, that someone is probably you? Since I became T&P, I have researched, requested, and been granted SMC-S Housebound, as well as the VocRehab Independent Living Program. I also documented and reported abuse by a VA nurse that resulted, directly, in her getting a reprimand by the state nursing board. Without going into too much detail, the pieces are being moved into place for another PR disaster for the VA, but more on that later. Point being, if I can do these things, so can any of you. All you need to do is step up and away from the keyboard. As Testvet so eloquently pointed out, "with all the veterans sites already online it's hard to get new ones going and to get traffic to them". A clear case of Too many Chiefs, not enough Indians.

So the Veterans Outreach Project wont be pretty, and it will get some dirt under its fingernails, but if what has been done the last few months are any indication, it will be a real blessing to many desperate veterans. And there are plenty of those. If anyone wants to join the effort, you are welcome. If not, you always have your pretty little web pages.

[Cruinthe]

Someone over at the yuku site answered my question. The quesrtion was asked on the same day as mine and it was clarified pretty well. That is odd because in all the years I have been coming here, it has been the hadit crowd that is usually more technically proficient, but here you have it.

Yes, sensitive levels are assigned to VA employees at different levels depending on their position within the organization. Politicians and others with celebrity type status are also afforded comparable restricted access to preclude random employees from snooping into their records. While extraordinarily rare, fraud cases and other situations deemed "restricted" for those you termed as "ordinary veterans" also may be given a sensitive level.

There are pros and cons to having a level assigned to a claim. The obvious pro is privacy in that very few people have access to their info. Attempts to access their information, even electronically, generates a security violation which must be investigated by an Information Security Officer unless they have access to that level of sensitive data. Level 7 and higher requires the files to be maintained at a controlled location where only individuals with that access may obtain them.

Cons, I guess there is only one I can think of in that again very few people have access to the material. If a claim is filed, it often takes longer to process since generally only a single individual at a Regional Office has access to be able to develop, one other that can rate the claim, and only one that can process the decision.

[Honibe]

VA employees must fill out a form (yearly) with the names and Social Security numbers of any family members who were in the Military. The information is processes by the RO security officer. If any of these relatives have submitted a compensation or pension claim and their file is at the RO where the employee works, the file is assigned a sensitive level and is then routed to a pre-determined alternative RO. This applies to the employee file too, if the VA employee had a claim being worked in the office. If the family member‘s claim is being processed by another office in a different state the file is just changed to a Sensitive file and is left at that RO. Most of these files are Sensitive 6 or Sensitive 7 files, depending on the case and the results from the background checks, etc. of the employee. A file could be sensitive just because a person is related to a VA employee, or their name was included in a VA employee questionnaire /background check.

[yelloownumber5]

Cruinthe,

Sorry to hear you have to go thru all that.

Y#5