error was not in the decision but in the communication of that decision, and claimant did not meet the statutory requirements for this benefit to begin with. m. Restrictions Draft rating decisions and notices are intended to be final and binding on not Placed on the VA and should be shared or transmitted by VSOs to their clients not Disclosure of (beneficiaries). Draft Rating Decisions ROs should exert sufficient diligence to ensure that decisions and Important: notices that have yet been finalized are provided to claimants. not not For more information on References: finality of decisions, see , and VSO review of new rating decisions, see M21-1, Part I, 3.B.3. 2. Special Requirements for Visually Impaired Veterans Change Date June 1, 2015 a. Preparing Use 14-point font when preparing a decision notice for a Veteran with visual Decision impairment that is at least 70 percent disabling. After the notice is mailed, a Notices for member of the Public Contact Team must make a minimum of three attempts Visually to contact the Veteran by telephone to explain the substance of the decision. Impaired Veterans The Public Contact Team must allow sufficient time for the decision notice to reach the Veteran before attempting to contact him/her, and document successful telephone contact on VA Form 27-0820, Report of General or Information, unsuccessful attempts to contact the Veteran as a contact note in Modern Awards Processing - Development (MAP-D) or VBMS. In order to readily identify the claims folder and corporate record Important: of a visually impaired Veteran, ROs must reverse file in the center VA Form 21-0178, Visually Impaired Veteran, section of the paper claims folder, if one exists, and Veteran’s add the flash to the record in Share. Blind Veteran Veteran’s For information about adding a flash to a record, see Reference: Veteran’s the .
error was not in the decision but in the communication of that decision, and claimant did not meet the statutory requirements for this benefit to begin with. m. Restrictions Placed on the Disclosure of Draft Rating Decisions Draft rating decisions and notices are not intended to be final and binding on VA and should not be shared or transmitted by VSOs to their clients (beneficiaries). Important: ROs should exert sufficient diligence to ensure that decisions and notices that have not yet been finalized are not provided to claimants. References: For more information on finality of decisions, see , and VSO review of new rating decisions, see M21-1, Part I, 3.B.3. 2. Special Requirements for Visually Impaired Veterans Change Date June 1, 2015 a. Preparing Decision Notices for Visually Impaired Veterans Use 14-point font when preparing a decision notice for a Veteran with visual impairment that is at least 70 percent disabling. After the notice is mailed, a member of the Public Contact Team must make a minimum of three attempts to contact the Veteran by telephone to explain the substance of the decision. The Public Contact Team must allow sufficient time for the decision notice to reach the Veteran before attempting to contact him/her, and document successful telephone contact on VA Form 27-0820, Report of General Information, or unsuccessful attempts to contact the Veteran as a contact note in Modern Awards Processing - Development (MAP-D) or VBMS. Important: In order to readily identify the claims folder and corporate record of a visually impaired Veteran, ROs must reverse file VA Form 21-0178, Visually Impaired Veteran, in the center section of the Veteran’s paper claims folder, if one exists, and add the Blind Veteran flash to the Veteran’s record in Share. Reference: For information about adding a flash to a Veteran’s record, see the .
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