Federal Reports

Background checks are an important safety measure that can help protect the 9 million beneficiaries who rely on long-term-care services each year for safe, dependable care. These checks can prevent individuals with disqualifying histories (e.g., convictions for patient abuse, patient neglect, and theft from patients) from being hired to care for beneficiaries. The National Background Check Program (Program) provides grants to States to develop systems to conduct background checks of State and Federal criminal history records for prospective long-term-care employees.

The OIG investigated allegations that a subcontractor on a National Park Service (NPS) contract submitted a falsified commissioning report on a multi-million-dollar construction contract. The complaint alleged the subcontractor had not performed the work as claimed and that the signature on the final commissioning report had been forged.We found no evidence that the subcontractor falsified the commissioning documents. We did find that the final report included the signature of an employee who had departed the company, but that appeared to be a clerical oversight rather than a forgery.

Our objective was to assess the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s compliance with criminal and administrative processes, including the effectiveness of internal controls. Specifically, we reviewed the areas of case management, accountable property, and training in the Fort Worth Division, which was judgmentally selected based on number of investigative cases.