discharge requesting the examination(s), and following up with the service member for his/her STRs. Continued on next page 3. Regional Office (RO) and Intake Site Responsibilities, Continued i. Pre-Discharge Claims Without STRs (continued) If ... Then the intake site must ... the intake site later obtains STRs through follow-up with the service member at least 60 days remain before his/her date of discharge, and the service member is still able to attend local examinations change the EP it initially established to the appropriate BDD EP, and process the claim as a BDD claim. the intake site later obtains STRs through follow-up with the service member, but less than 60 days remain before his/her discharge date, or the service member is no longer able to attend local examinations change the EP it initially established to the appropriate Quick Start EP, and process the claim as a Quick Start claim. the intake site does not receive the service member’s STRs before his/her discharge date forward the claim to the ROJ for processing. Exception: VA does not require members of the National Guard or Reserves who file a Quick Start claim during demobilization briefings to concurrently provide their STRs. Under these circumstances, Quick Start CPSs assume responsibility for obtaining the STRs through coordination with the appropriate unit of the National Guard or Reserves, and RO Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Coordinators. Note: Defer examinations that require the service member’s STRs if the STRs are unavailable. Reference: For information on EPs for pre-discharge claims, see .
Continued on next page 3. Regional Office (RO) and Intake Site Responsibilities, Continued j. Handling Pre-Discharge Claims Folders Intake sites must establish a separate Control of Veterans Records System (COVERS) location for all claims folders associated with a pre-discharge claim. The table below shows the actions intake sites must take if a claims folder already exists for a service member who submits a pre-discharge claim: If the service member submits a ... And the claims folder is ... Then the intake site must ... BDD claim located at another RO or records storage facility request the claims folder from its current custodian, and attach a paper flash to the folder that identifies it as a BDD claim. paperless follow the instructions in . Continued on next page 3. Regional Office (RO) and Intake Site Responsibilities, Continued j. Handling Pre-Discharge Claims Folders (continued) If the service member submits a ... And the claims folder is ... Then the intake site must ... Quick Start claim located at another RO or records storage facility not request the claims folder unless it is required for a local examination. required for an examination request the claims folder from its current custodian, and attach a paper flash to the folder that instructs the examining facility to forward the claims folder to the appropriate Quick Start CPS as soon as the examiner completes his/her
Received After Shipping a Claims Folder for Scanning already sent for scanning, the intake site must update MAP-D (NOTES) with a description of the documents the date of shipment for scanning, and any other information of importance to the RAS, such as new contentions attach a flash to the documents that identify them as INACTIVE follow the instructions in steps 6, 7, and 8 of the procedure described in , and ship the documents to: St. Paul PMC Attn: Triage Unit (Loose Documents) , 55111-4050 Exception: Intake sites do not need to include a shipping manifest/spreadsheet with a box containing inactive documents it sends to for scanning. They should, however, retain the tracking number for future reference, in case the box becomes misplaced during shipment. Note: Marking the mail/evidence INACTIVE alerts scanning personnel that the creation of a work item in is not necessary. 5. Intake Site Responsibilities Unique to Quick Start Claims Introduction This topic contains information about intake site responsibilities that are unique to Quick Start claims, including Quick Start claims intake sites do not place under EP control examination requests intake sites do not initiate checklist for Quick Start claims transferring Quick Start claims to a CPS, and CPS addresses. Change Date July 14, 2014 a. Quick Start Claims Intake Sites Do Not If an intake site receives a Quick Start claim ten or fewer days before the discharge date, it should not place the claim under EP control. Under these
CPS Quick Start CPSs are located at the following two ROs: , and . The jurisdiction of each CPS is determined geographically, as shown in the table below: If the intake site that received the claim is located in ... Then jurisdiction lies with the ... the Western Area the Central Area, or San Diego CPS. the Eastern Area the Southern Area, or Winston-Salem CPS. Important: Intake sites must ensure they process folder transfers through COVERS. After transferring a Quick Start claim to a CPS, intake sites must immediately forward to that CPS any documents it subsequently receives in connection with the claim. e. CPS Addresses The table below shows the addresses of the and San Diego CPSs: Winston-Salem CPS San Diego CPS VA Regional Office (318) Attn: Winston-Salem Quick Start CPS 100 North Main Street, Suite 1900 Winston-Salem, NC 27101 VA Regional Office (377) Attn: Quick Start Team 6. BDD Rating Activity Site (RAS) Responsibilities Introduction This topic contains information about BDD RAS responsibilities. It includes information about pre-discharge claims for both compensation and pension work items in initial RAS actions upon receipt of a work item
Continued on next page 6. BDD Rating Activity Site (RAS) Responsibilities, Continued k. Handling Claims Folders From Scanning Sites When a scanning site finishes scanning and uploading documents within a claims folder into , it ships the claims folder to the RAS with jurisdiction over the corresponding BDD claim. The RAS is responsible for creating a special COVERS location for claims folders it receives from scanning sites. It is also responsible for comparing the claims folders in the shipment from the scanning site against the shipping manifest that accompanied them, and updating COVERS to reflect receipt of the claims folders. (This also transfers jurisdiction for the pending EP to the receiving RAS.) l. Document Scanning at the RAS After an intake site sends a claims folder for scanning, the RAS with jurisdiction over the corresponding pre-discharge claim assumes responsibility for scanning and uploading into any documents the RAS subsequently receives or creates. RASs may use high-speed scanners or desktop scanners to accomplish this task. The table below contains instructions for scanning and uploading a small number of documents into , using a desktop scanner. Step Action 1 Retrieve documents that require scanning and uploading into from the location referenced in Step 6 of . 2 Scan the document(s) and save an electronic copy on the employee’s desktop, hard drive, or other location. 3 From within Virtual VA, click on INSERT DOCUMENT. 4 Complete all required fields. 5 Click FIND. 6 Enter the claim number of the corresponding eFolder, and click SEARCH. 7 Select the appropriate claim number. 8 Click INSERT. (If successful, the system will confirm insertion of the scanned document(s).) Continued on next page