The VA’s deputy undersecretary of health, Carolyn Clancy, told senators recently that her agency is in urgent need of mental health workers and is filling vacant positions, the AP reports. But Clancy also noted that the VA has restricted hiring for many human resources, benefits and administrative roles even as it struggles with recruitment. 

Overall, the VA has elected not to fill more than 4,000 openings, noting its goal of creating a more streamline agency, the AP reports in a separate story. VA leadership will take a “position by position” approach in deciding whether any of those jobs fill an “absolute critical need” to warrant hires.

These include about 4,000 for the VA’s health division, 200 in benefits, more than 400 in information technology (IT) and more than 100 in human resources. The HR freeze comes despite government auditors citing that the VA’s shortage in IT and HR has damaged its recruitment efforts. 

A recent analysis of the VA’s divisions showed that it had a shortage of HR specialists and that this had left the agency struggling to fill an increasing number of vacancies, the Military Times reports.

“A prolonged hiring freeze could further erode the Veterans Health Administration’s capacity to provide needed HR functions,” according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in March. “VHA's challenges recruiting and retaining clinical and HR employees are making it difficult to meet the healthcare needs of our nation’s veterans.”

VA officials had blamed antiquated federal regulations that stipulate a long hiring process and inflexibility with salary scales in testimony to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in March. In some cases, hiring can take more than a year, says Paula Molloy, assistant deputy undersecretary for health for workforce services.

Also in March, lawmakers in the House passed a bill calling for enhanced training for HR and the ability to make direct hires for many VA jobs. That bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), stressed the need to act fast. “As the existing VA workforce becomes eligible to retire in vast numbers, VA is not well-positioned to recruit and retain the young talent needed to guide the department into the future,” Wenstrup says. 

Meanwhile, the VA is failing big time with its own goals of having at least one HR specialist for every 60 workers. Only 23 of 139 VA medical centers in the nation meet that level of staffing and 58 centers have a one-to-80 ratio or higher, GAO officials noted.

The VA is working on a new performance management system it expects to be implemented by fall 2018, but noted only Congress can institute the major changes necessary to improve its recruitment process.

The VA’s Inspector General’s office noted in its own report last month that the Washington D.C. medical center has “been unable to sustain and maintain a sufficient HR program” and that this has led to the center not being able to maintain “direct authority over its recruitment and hiring functions,” Government Executive reports. As a result, the VA Maryland Health Care System is taking care of that center’s HR duties.