The Office of Inspector General provides independent oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It examines how the department delivers health care, benefits and other support to veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors, and it works to stop fraud, waste and abuse. It also looks for ways to make VA programs run more effectively and at lower cost.
The office operates separately from the programs it reviews. Audits, inspections and criminal investigations are its main tools, and its findings go to VA leadership and to Congress.
Hiring is concentrated in a few occupations. Auditors and accountants review spending and program results. Criminal investigators handle cases of fraud and other wrongdoing. Health care inspectors, among them clinicians, assess the care given at VA medical facilities. The office also employs attorneys, data analysts and administrative staff, and it keeps offices in Washington and in other locations around the country.