Federal Reports

In March 2018, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported on deficiencies within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) personnel suitability program, concluding that neither VA nor VHA effectively governed the background investigation process to ensure requirements were met at medical facilities nationwide. In September 2023, the OIG reported on similar deficiencies during a follow-up audit of VHA’s personnel suitability program. These prior audits identified issues that could affect the entire VA enterprise, prompting the OIG to conduct this audit of the background investigation process for Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and National Cemetery Administration (NCA) staff and determine whether investigation actions were completed on time and recorded reliably.VBA and NCA did not effectively govern their personnel suitability programs to ensure that background investigations were completed within required time frames or recorded reliably. The team found problems at every stage of the process: completion by candidates of questionnaires that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency must have to begin background investigations, on-time initiation of background investigations, resumption of discontinued investigations, adjudications on schedule, and investigation documentation in employee personnel folders. Delayed adjudications were especially problematic. The OIG team estimated that 71 percent of VBA employees and 58 percent of NCA employees were not adjudicated by VA within the required 90 days of the date of the final investigative report.These issues occurred because VBA and NCA prioritized prescreening over adjudicating investigation results for newly hired staff. Further, whereas each administration tracked metrics for the prescreening process, neither tracked metrics for background investigation adjudications. As a result, both administrations assume unnecessary risk by allowing staff who are not fully vetted to handle sensitive personal information and interact with veterans.The OIG made two recommendations to the under secretary for benefits and two recommendations to the under secretary for memorial affairs.

Annual summary perspective on the most serious management and performance challenges facing the FTC, as well as a brief assessment of the agency’s progress in addressing those challenges.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered at vet centers. The OIG inspected four randomly selected vet centers throughout Pacific district 5 zone 1: Anchorage, Alaska; Eugene, Oregon; and Everett and Walla Walla, Washington.The OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. In the suicide prevention review, the OIG team evaluated vet center staff participation in the VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings resulting in one recommendation for two of four vet centers inspected. The consultation, supervision, and training review identified concerns with external clinical consultation, vet center director monthly chart reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in two recommendations across three of four vet centers inspected. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to cultural background information identified in the plan which resulted in one recommendation across all four vet centers inspected. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in eight recommendations across three of the four vet centers inspected.The OIG issued a total of 12 recommendations for improvement

During our unannounced inspection of Baker County Sheriff’s Office (Baker) in Macclenny, Florida, we found Baker and ICE staff complied with ICE’s 2019 National Detention Standards for Non-Dedicated Facilities (NDS 2019) for classification, grievances, recreation, segregation, facility conditions, and medical care. However, Baker and ICE staff did not always comply with standards related to the voluntary work program, staff-detainee communication, and use of force.