Substantive Change Justification - White Paper

SUBSTANTIVE REVISION CHANGE REQUEST

APPLICATION FOR VA EDUCATION BENEFITS

VA FORM 22-5490

OMB #2900-0098

A REVISION  /  REDESIGN

Purpose:  The major purposes for the revisions to the VA Form 22-5490 are due to the Digital-GIB (DGIB) Modernization and Automation efforts Education Service has implemented in order to automate original claims processing through the new VA.gov electronic application portal.  Applicants may now use the VA.gov portal to provide answers to the most pertinent questions that are needed to render quicker eligibility determinations.  The VA.gov portal automatically pre-fills information into the application based on the answers provided. 

With the use of this system, certain questions are no longer necessary to render an eligibility decision.  Therefore, we are eliminating those questions and revising the layout and structure of the form so that it aligns with the specific questions being asked in VA.gov.  As a result of the revisions, the form has been reduced by 50 percent, which will reduce the burden time needed to complete it from 45 minutes to 25 minutes. 

The below is a listing of some of the major revisions made:

• Changed the question about the sex of the applicant to the gender of the applicant

• Revised Question #16 to add Biological and Adopted Child as options   

• Deleted Part IV - Questions #22A through #24 by redirecting the collection of those questions to the VA Form 22-5495

• Created a new PART IV to ask for the Child and Spouse’s Age and High School Information 

• Revised PART V by (1) changing Question #27E to “VETERANS EDUCATION ASSISTANCE BASED ON SOMEONE ELSE'S SERVICE” and (2) by deleting the following:

• TRANSFERRED ENTITLEMENT

• CHAPTER 35 - SURVIVORS' AND DEPENDENTS' EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (DEA)

• CHAPTER 33 - POST-9/11 GIBILL MARINE GUNNERY SERGEANT JOHN DAVID FRY SCHOLARSHIP, and

• "F" NONE

• Deleted PART VII and PART VIII

• Changing the Burden Time from 45 minutes to 25 minutes. 

As a result of these revisions, although substantive, the changes significantly decrease the burden.

Thanks,

Education Service

Procedures Team