Federal Reports

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this inspection report to determine whether the SBDC met financial, programmatic, and performance requirements as prescribed in the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make grants to states, institutions of higher education, and Women’s Business Centers to establish Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs). SBDCs, which generally consist of a lead center that manages a network of service centers, provide free business consulting and low-cost training to small businesses.

For every dollar received from SBA, SBDCs are required to provide an equal amount of funds. For program year (PY) 2023, SBA awarded the Kentucky SBDC $1,756,008 in federal funds and the SBDC contributed $1,756,008 in matching funds, for a total of $3,512,016. The period of performance for PY 2023 was from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024.The SBDC generally met financial requirements as prescribed in the agreement for the transactions we reviewed.

We made five recommendations for SBA to enhance and enforce financial and program compliance to strengthen program integrity, and address risks in program performance.

Management agreed with Recommendations 1 through 4 and disagreed with Recommendation 5. Notwithstanding the one disagreement, management’s actions to work with the Kentucky SBDC officials to review questioned costs, update the SBDC’s website to include service center hours and addresses, evaluate the whistleblower policy, and review reported counseling hours and capital infusion transactions resolved all recommendations.

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Indiana Healthcare System in Indianapolis. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued two recommendations for improvement in two domains:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Maintain clean environment of care and prevent repeat findings
   2.    Patient safety
     •    Review laboratory scheduling practice change and minimize
           effect on clinic efficiency

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Battle Creek Healthcare System in Michigan. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued four recommendations for VA to correct identified deficiencies in two domains:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Clean and safe environment
     •    Medical equipment maintenance
     •    Repeat findings prevention
   2.    Patient safety
     •    Service-level workflows for test result communication

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Healthcare Facility Inspection program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the care provided at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in North Las Vegas. 

This evaluation focused on five key content domains:
     •    Culture
     •    Environment of care
     •    Patient safety
     •    Primary care
     •    Veteran-centered safety net

The OIG issued one recommendation for VA to correct identified deficiencies in one domain:
   1.    Environment of care
     •    Labels for reusable medical equipment

Background 

The U.S. Postal Service is redesigning its processing network with the goal of creating a best-in-class mail and package processing network as part of its 10-year strategic Delivering for America plan. The Postal Service plans to create a modernized network based around regional processing and distribution centers (RPDC), local processing centers, and sorting and delivery centers. The Postal Service spent over $600 million to build out and set up the new 1.2 million square foot Indianapolis RPDC and expects net savings of $1 billion over 30 years from consolidating regional operations.

What We Did

Our objective was to assess the operational impacts related to the launch of the Indianapolis RPDC and identify successes, opportunities, and lessons learned. We reviewed and analyzed financial and service performance data and conducted observations at the Indianapolis RPDC and surrounding mail processing facilities.

What We Found

The Postal Service successfully implemented several key initiatives to launch the Indianapolis RPDC and consolidate operations from nearby facilities. Despite a temporary decline in service performance from November 2024 to February 2025, the facility stabilized operations and improved service.

However, persistent challenges identified after other RPDC launches—such as high absenteeism, poor workplace culture, and unstable management— also presented at the Indianapolis RPDC and undermined operational effectiveness. Significant deviations from the original operating plan increased costs at the Indianapolis RPDC, offsetting anticipated savings. While the changes may save costs nationally, the Postal Service did not analyze cost impacts for the facility and region. The facility also faced difficulties meeting mail scanning targets. Additionally, the Postal Service incurred over $20 million in funds that could have been put to better use due to the purchase of unnecessary and unused mail sorting equipment.

Recommendations and Management’s Comments

Of the seven recommendations in the report, Postal Service management agreed with five and disagreed with two. Management’s comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding and recommendation. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) considers management’s comments responsive to recommendations 1-3, 6, and 7 as corrective actions should resolve the issues. We will pursue recommendations 4 and 5 through the audit resolution process. See Appendix B for management’s comments in their entirety.

Pursuant to the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), an independent external auditor, on behalf of OIG conducted an annual independent audit of AmeriCorps’ information security program and practices. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 FISMA audit concluded that AmeriCorps’ information security program remains ineffective, assessed as of July 31, 2025. Control weaknesses in the following areas prevent AmeriCorps’ cybersecurity program from maturing: (1) Cybersecurity Governance, (2) Risk and Asset Management, (3) Configuration Management, (4) Information Security Continuous Monitoring, and (5) Contingency Planning. AmeriCorps concurred with the findings and recommendations and remains committed to addressing cybersecurity risks.  AmeriCorps’ response is included in its entirety in Appendix D of the audit report. Nine new recommendations added as a result of this year’s audit and five recommendations related to prior years’ audits will remain open until corrective actions have been fully implemented.