Federal Reports

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families, manages the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program. The UAC program served between 7,000 and 8,000 children annually from fiscal years (FYs) 2005 through 2011. In FY 2012, the number of children served in the program increased to 13,625. In FY 2014, ORR served 57,496 children. In FY 2015, ORR served 33,726 children.

In this data brief, we analyze nursing home deficiencies that were identified by State survey agencies (State agencies) across the Nation for calendar years 2013 through 2017 (review period). This data brief offers the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other stakeholders (e.g., State agencies and nursing home management) insight into deficiency trends at nursing homes nation-wide. It also complements our previous report on State agencies' verification of correction of nursing home deficiencies.

The objective of our audit was to determine the effectiveness of Federal Student Aid’s (FSA's) (1) evaluation of its processes for selecting Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data elements to be verified and (2) evaluation and monitoring of its processes for selecting students for verification. Our audit covered FSA’s verification processes implemented for the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 award years. We found that FSA did not evaluate its process for selecting FAFSA data elements to verify. FSA also did not effectively evaluate three of its four processes we reviewed for selecting students for verification but did effectively evaluate one process. Additionally, FSA did not evaluate the effectiveness of its 30-percent limitation for selecting students it required postsecondary educational institutions (institutions) to verify. Finally, FSA did not monitor its processes for selecting students for verification to ensure the processes performed as expected and any significant differences were addressed. As a result, there is no reasonable assurance that the verification processes effectively identified FAFSAs with errors that would result in improper payments.

This report was submitted to the Comptroller General in accordance with Section 5 of the Government Accountability Office Act of 2008. The report summarizes the activities of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the six-month reporting period ending March 31, 2019. During the reporting period, the OIG continued or initiated fieldwork on three audits and completed a peer review of the Office of Inspector General at the Corporation for National and Community Service. The OIG closed 11 investigations and opened 4 new investigations. In addition, the OIG processed 53 hotline complaints, many of which were referred to other OIGs for action because the matters involved were within their jurisdictions. At the end of March, the OIG issued an alert to GAO management based on vulnerabilities identified during an investigation into a privacy incident due to unauthorized activity by a GAO employee. The OIG continues to focus on GAO management challenge areas—including human capital management and information technology. The OIG remained active in the GAO and OIG communities by briefing new GAO employees on its audit and investigative missions, and participating in committees and working groups of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. Details of these activities and other accomplishments are provided in the report.