March 12, 2012 - Federal investigators expressed concerns Monday for the safety of some female veterans who rely on homeless shelters after inspections showed women housed in shelters approved only for men.The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs said that nearly a third of the 26 locations reviewed did not adequately address security risks, which included female and male residents on the same floor, and bedrooms and bathrooms with insufficient locks. The report will be the focus of a hearing Wednesday by the Senate's Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Investigators looked at only a small sample of the facilities participating in a program that received $217 million in the 2011 budget year — more than double the amount from four years earlier.
Auditors found that women were housed in some shelters simply because VA medical staff had been unaware the facilities were approved for males only. Those contractors receiving grant money did not specify in their applications the gender of homeless veterans who would be served. Also, the VA's medical staff did not review some of the security issues during annual reviews because they were not part of the inspection checklist. read more>>>
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