Federal Reports

Continuity of operations (COOP) is an effort within the executive office of the President of the United States and individual federal executive departments and agencies to ensure that mission essential functions continue to be performed during disruption of normal operations. Mission essential functions are a limited set of agency-level functions that are directly related to accomplishing the mission of the organization and must be continued throughout, or resumed rapidly after, a disruption of normal activities.We included an audit of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) COOP plan on our annual audit plan due to the operational risks that could result from noncompliance with federal continuity guidance and/or inadequate COOP plan implementation. Our audit objective was to determine if TVA's COOP plan complies with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders and has been adequately implemented. Our audit scope included the TVA COOP plans and applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders implemented as of December 31, 2022.We determined TVA’s COOP plan generally complies with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders and has been adequately implemented. However, we identified three instances in which TVA’s COOP plan is not currently in compliance with federal continuity directive guidance, including:• Annual COOP training for TVA employees is not currently required.• COOP program essential records are not adequately maintained.• One organization’s COOP plan does not include a defined review cadence to ensure timely updates.Additionally, we determined COOP program guidance does not address TVA’s information management policy.

Our annual plan identifies the audits, inspections, and other activities that the OIG intends to undertake to assist the U.S. Department of Education in fulfilling its responsibilities to America’s citizens and students.

This audit focused on determining the root causes of poor service performance and customer service issues in Colorado mountain towns. The audit team visited 13 delivery units and one processing and distribution center throughout the mountain towns; conducted observations of processing, delivery, and retail operations; interviewed personnel on challenges faced; and conducted data analysis on service performance.

This Office of Inspector General Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the inpatient and outpatient care provided at the VA Providence Healthcare System, which includes the Providence VA Medical Center and multiple outpatient clinics in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:• Leadership and organizational risks• Quality, safety, and value• Medical staff privileging• Environment of care• Mental health (suicide prevention initiatives)The OIG issued two recommendations for improvement in two areas:1. Medical staff privileging• Equivalent specialized training and similar privileges for Focused Professional Practice Evaluations2. Mental health• Timely completion of Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluations