Better Collection of Family Preference Data May Minimize Risk of Burial Scheduling Delays

The OIG received a hotline allegation in June 2022 concerning delays of over 30 days to complete burials at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. In August 2022, the executive director of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) Pacific District substantiated the delays and attributed them to limited permanent committal shelter space (only one was available), the number of burials feasible per day (no more than nine), family preference, and COVID 19 restrictions. The OIG analyzed data for all NCA burials completed from January 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. On average, the time from notification to burial was 33 days with a range of 1 to 799 days. Although NCA policy does not set a time requirement, the OIG conducted this audit to determine whether NCA’s oversight ensures the preferences of families are appropriately considered when scheduling burials and can identify potential burial delays. The OIG found that NCA does not have sufficient data to determine if it is scheduling burials in accordance with family preferences and identifying potential burial delays. The two information systems that contain data on burials do not log family preferences. Therefore, the OIG team listened to recorded scheduling phone calls to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office (NCSO) for a sample of burials. The team projected those results to all 5,200 burials that took place in the audit period. The team estimated that for some 2,800 burials with a recorded call scheduling a burial, family preferences were met for about 97 percent. The other 3 percent lacked sufficient information because the scheduled burial was subsequently changed without documentation to indicate whether the changes were at the family’s or NCA’s request. The OIG recommended NCA obtain the capability to identify and monitor potential scheduling delays and ensure family preferences are being met at national cemeteries.