Federal Reports

Due to concerns with the high number of hearing loss claims filed by employees, we performed an evaluation of the actions taken to minimize TVA’s financial exposure for hearing loss claims. We determined some Hearing Conservation Program requirements were not met, including: (1) personal noise monitoring and noise surveys in nuclear and (2) annual audiograms and training. Additionally, we identified opportunities for improvement related to (1) hearing loss claims documentation provided to DOL, (2) management statements provided to DOL, and (3) documentation of disciplinary actions for hearing protection violations. In addition, we determined that TVA did not verify the accuracy of the amounts billed by DOL.

District managers may suspend the operations of any post office, classified station, or branch under its jurisdiction for the following reasons: a natural disaster; termination of a lease or rental agreement; lack of qualified personnel to operate the office; irreparable damage when no suitable alternate quarters are available in the community; severe damage to, or destruction of an office; challenge to the sanctity of the mail; and lack of adequate measures to safeguard the office or its revenue. Our objective was to assess whether emergency suspensions of Postal Service facilities in the Eastern Area are executed in compliance with policies and procedures, including actions taken to reopen or discontinue facilities.

Our objectives were to determine whether the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (1) claimed allowable, allocable, and reasonable costs, (2) complied with grant terms and conditions, administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements, and (3) met performance requirements of the grants.

Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. (Heartland), generally met applicable safety standards for the care and release of children in its custody. Heartland met State licensure requirements and requirements for inspections, performed adequate oversight, and followed guidance when reviewing background investigations for employees who care for the children. However, we observed one classroom where the staff-to-child supervision ratio was significantly less than required, and we observed one classroom and hallway that lacked required monitoring equipment. We also found that some Heartland case files were missing documentation assuring that required records were provided upon the child's release to a family member or other sponsor.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Indian Health Service (IHS), did not always resolve audit recommendations in a timely manner during Federal fiscal years (FYs) 2015 and 2016. Specifically, IHS resolved 138 of the 651 recommendations that were outstanding during FYs 2015 and 2016. However, it did not resolve 123 of the 138 recommendations (89.1 percent) within the required 6-month resolution period. In addition, as of September 30, 2016, IHS had not resolved 513 audit recommendations that were past due for resolution. These 513 past-due recommendations were procedural in nature and typically involved policies and procedures and internal controls; none of them involved dollar amounts such as recommended disallowances.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for inspecting all international mail arriving at U.S. airports, with limited exceptions. A major challenge for CBP is preventing imports of opioids and other illegal items mailed from overseas through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). We conducted this audit to determine whether CBP's air mail inspection processes at JFK airport are effective and have adequate information technology (IT) security controls. CBP has ineffective processes and IT security controls to support air mail inspection operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), the largest of nine USPS facilities that receive and handle incoming international mail. Despite legislative requirements to systematically target and widely prevent illegal imports, CBP inspects only a limited number of the hundreds of thousands of pieces of incoming air mail each day, largely due to difficulty inventorying and locating targeted mail, as well as having inadequate guidance, equipment, and resources. These air mail inspection deficiencies hinder CBP's efforts to prevent prohibited items (particularly opioids) from entering the United States.

Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. (Heartland), generally met applicable safety standards for the care and release of children in its custody. Heartland met State licensure requirements and requirements for inspections, performed adequate oversight, and followed guidance when reviewing background investigations for employees who care for the children. However, we observed one classroom where the staff-to-child supervision ratio was significantly less than required, and we observed one classroom and hallway that lacked required monitoring equipment. We also found that some Heartland case files were missing documentation assuring that required records were provided upon the child's release to a family member or other sponsor.