Arizona Department of Veterans' Services

This report addresses improvements made in the Department’s Veteran’s Conservatorship/Guardianship and Veterans’ Services programs, and at the Arizona State Veteran Home. First, the Department has made significant improvements in how it administers and protects the assets of incapacitated veterans, primarily by adding new staff, regularly reconciling client accounts, reducing its backlog of decedent estates, and establishing better controls to inventory and protect client assets. Additionally, the Department corrected previously identified deficiencies related to the quality of resident care and Medicare billing practices at the Arizona State Veteran Home, and resolved concerns with the Department’s procurement function. The Department has also initiated efforts to improve its nursing staff recruitment and retention at the Home; however, while these efforts have produced some success, turnover and nursing costs remain high. Finally, the Department should adopt a time accounting system that more accurately determines the portion of personnel costs that should be charged to the Home.