Federal Reports

Seek link below for the full report, report summary, multimedia or any agency follow-up.

Please also see the link below for the DOJ OIG's related Memorandum for the Deputy Attorney General, "Recommendation for a Department of Justice Policy Establishing Standards for its Security Offices to Review Misconduct Investigations for Security Clearance Adjudications," which was issued in conjunction with this report.

This memorandum was issued in conjunction with the DOJ OIG's related "Report of Investigation of the Actions of Former DEA Leadership in Connection with the Reinstatement of a Security Clearance." Please see the link below to access that report.

CNCS-OIG investigation disclosed that YMCA staff violated 45 CFR § 2540.100(f) Nondisplacement, when they knowingly allowed 13 AmeriCorps members to fill vacant staff daycare teachers and assistant teacher positions with the YMCA’s School Age Learning Center program for up to three months until the YMCA could hire suitable employees.Agency management concurred with CNCS-OIG recommendations and took the following action: (1) disallowed and recouped $22,312 in stipend payments disbursed to thirteen members placed in staff positions; (2) disallowed and recouped $22, 237.86 in Segal Education Awards awarded to eight members whose hours included staff displacement; and (3) elevate the risk level of the North Dakota Commission due to the poor program management of the YMCA grant. CNCS management declined to disallow any staff salary used as non-Federal match because the YMCA’s match contribution exceeded the legally required match amount.

OIG conducted a healthcare inspection to evaluate stroke care at the Manchester VA Medical Center (facility), Manchester, NH pursuant to an April 2015 request of Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster. The request was in response to a Federal court ruling that the facility failed to adequately diagnose and treat a stroke patient when he presented to the Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) in 2010. The purpose of the review was to determine whether system issues may have led to poor care of the patient and to evaluate changes that the facility may have made in response to this incident.We found that the patient should have been transferred to another facility with the capability to perform a complete diagnostic workup and care for stroke patients (acute care facility) and should not have received any diagnostic evaluations at the facility.We found deficiencies with the facility’s Peer Review process. Discussion of the specifics of the deficiencies is prohibited by 38 U.S.C. §5705.To determine compliance with VHA and facility policy and assess whether the system issues from 2010 remain today, we reviewed the records of 23 patients who presented to the UCC with a presumptive stroke between June 2014 and May 2015. UCC providers did not always transfer patients prior to conducting a diagnostic test and did not always designate the patient's primary care provider as a co-signer of the UCC discharge summary. When UCC providers transferred patients with a presumptive stroke to an acute care facility, they did not consistently observe facility managers' expectations to transfer patients to a non-VA acute care hospital, approximately 2.5 miles away (closest acute care hospital). During a follow-up site visit in February 2016, we found that facility managers made system and procedural changes in the UCC.We made three recommendations.

In May 2017, OIG evaluated the St. Louis, MO, VA Regional Office (VARO) to determine how well Veterans Service Center (VSC) staff processed disability claims, processed proposed rating reductions, accurately input claims-related information, and responded to special controlled correspondence. VSC staff did not consistently process one of the two types of disability claims reviewed. OIG reviewed 30 veterans’ traumatic brain injury claims and found staff accurately processed 29. Additionally, OIG reviewed 30 veterans’ special monthly compensation (SMC) or ancillary benefit claims and found staff incorrectly processed four. This resulted in improper payments totaling approximately $39,900. Errors occurred because staff did not see these cases frequently enough to gain familiarity with them. VSC staff needed to improve timeliness and accuracy in processing rating reductions. OIG reviewed 30 rating reduction cases and found staff delayed or incorrectly processed 16. Delays were due to prioritization of other workloads and resulted in about $83,100 in overpayments. Inaccuracies were due to ineffective training and resulted in approximately $5,300 in improper payments. VSC staff needed to improve accuracy of data entered into electronic systems during claims establishment. OIG reviewed 30 claims and found staff did not correctly establish 16 due to ineffective training. VSC staff needed to improve timeliness and accuracy in processing special correspondence. OIG reviewed 30 special correspondences and found staff incorrectly processed 25 due to insufficient staffing and lack of training. OIG recommended the VARO Director implement plans to provide training for SMC, rating reductions, and special correspondence. OIG also recommended the Director monitor the effectiveness of recent training for claims establishment procedures, ensure SMC decisions receive second signature reviews by designated staff, ensure benefit reductions are processed at due process expiration, and allocate resources to process special correspondence. The VARO Director concurred with the recommendations, and planned actions are responsive.