Open Recommendations

Distribute the 658 PII losses in Sampling Frame 1 to the appropriate component(s) for review to determine whether any losses are moderate, high, or major and, if so, identify and take the proper actions to mitigate those losses.

To prevent future employee errors related to reporting, assessing, and closing PII losses, evaluate the effectiveness of the processes and controls implemented by the Office of Privacy and Disclosure and implement changes as needed.

Update the Breach Response Plan to clearly explain all actions relevant to OIG referrals, such as when managers should use forms related to lost or stolen equipment.

Take appropriate action for the 80 records we identified.

Identify the factors contributing to employee errors during this process and implement appropriate corrective actions.

FHFA's DBR should assess the extent to which FHLBanks are relying on redacted ROEs when reviewing membership applications or performing ongoing monitoring.

FHFA's DBR should clarify and reinforce DBR’s expectation to the FHLBanks that they should request and receive from federal and state regulators ROEs that are not substantively redacted, and that other relevant supervisory reports should be collected when necessary.

FHFA's DBR should conduct outreach to federal financial regulators to reinforce the need for compliance with 12 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), which requires their production of reports, records, and information relating to the condition of any member of any FHLBank upon request by an FHLBank. As part of this outreach, make clear that such materials extend beyond ROEs, and that materials produced in response to an FHLBank requests should be provided without substantive redactions.

FHFA's DBR should assess the extent to which restrictions on access to state-issued ROEs may hinder the FHLBanks in making fully informed decisions when evaluating applications for membership and when making determinations to limit or deny member requests for advances in accordance with applicable FHFA regulations.

FHFA's DBR should, if applicable, continue to pursue outreach with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and state regulators to assist FHLBanks in accessing state-issued ROEs.

FHFA's DBR should complete its assessment of the extent of weaknesses in the FHLBanks’ enforcement of members’ material adverse change notification requirements, and provide guidance to FHLBanks on best practices, such as issuing periodic reminders of notification requirements, to help ensure members’ compliance with the FHLBanks’ contractual requirements.

Establish a process to periodically update training with the correct information and links to reports, systems, and tools.

Create a plan to provide recurring refresher training regarding managing workloads for all management staff, including field and regional offices.

Update written training materials with standardized steps and/or checklists for management to follow to ensure they are properly managing workloads and using the correct reports, systems, and tools.

Create one consolidated resource, which includes reports, trainings, systems, and tools, for information used to manage workloads.

Update systems and tools to reflect workload and software/application version changes and improve their compatibility with other systems and tools.

Verify that Tomorrow Youth Organization corrects the instance of material noncompliance detailed on page 18 of the audit report.

Establish and implement a comprehensive case management system to track cases from intake through adjudication.

Provide system training to all IOs and Maritime Center staff who access S&R information.

Create standard operating procedures for IOs and Maritime Center staff to ensure all ALJ decisions are accurately reflected in MMLD.

Create a policy governing the process IOs must follow when deciding to not pursue a preliminary case, to include the requirement to document justification for the decision in the case file.

Ensure suspension and revocation staff at the S&R NCOE can search for suspended and revoked credentials.

Ensure ALJ staff notify both the IO and Maritime Center staff when an ALJ issues a decision.

We recommend that the FTC Executive Director, in coordination with relevant offices, designate a single point of coordination to ensure all offboarding tasks are completed accurately, consistently, and in a timely manner

We recommend that the FTC Executive Director, in coordination with relevant offices, establish overarching policies and procedures to clearly identify roles and inform officials of their responsibilities in the offboarding process.

We recommend that the Grantee establish policies and procedures for the timely submission of progress reports in accordance with the Uniform Guidance and grant agreement.

Revise policies and procedures over the maintenance of accounting records to ensure costs incurred for Federal awards are accurately recorded and supported by documentation prior to reporting financial information to ARC.

Work with ARC to resolve the questioned costs totaling $4,231 of ARC funded personnel cost and $324 of ARC funded fringe benefits cost.

We recommend that the Acting PBS Commissioner provide PBS project teams with annual training on the CMc project delivery method and any updated policies or guidance implemented in response to the audit findings. Training should provide PBS project teams with sufficient information to: 1. obtain adequate price competition for construction work under the GMP; 2. negotiate fees for contract modifications (overhead and profit) based on actual overhead rates and the degree of cost risk for each change; and 3. comply with FAR and GSAR accounting and auditing requirements to ensure that the government only pays actual costs under the GMP.

We recommend that the Acting PBS Commissioner update existing controls to ensure proper award and administration of CMc contracts. Revise the existing contract file checklist to include specific requirements for CMc contracts. Implement procedures to review, authorize, and monitor all contract changes that impact the GMP. Implement procedures to delegate Cost Accounting Standards administration responsibilities within PBS to a cognizant federal agency official. Implement procedures for interagency coordination when PBS is not the cognizant federal agency for a contractor. Develop and implement consistent monthly reconciliation procedures to ensure that contractors properly accumulate and record incurred project costs. PBS should also…

We recommend that the Acting PBS Commissioner implement a comprehensive review and approval process governing the use of the CMc project delivery method for new projects and those projects in the early stages of development (e.g., acquisition planning phase). At a minimum, the process should ensure that: 1. the assigned project teams clearly understand the requirements of the CMc project delivery method; and 2. effective internal controls are in place to properly award and administer the underlying CMc contracts.

We recommend that the Acting PBS Commissioner review PBS’s open CMc contracts to determine if PBS can make retroactive adjustments to recover the taxpayer dollars that have been used to pay excessive fees on CMc contracts.

We recommend the Senior Vice President, Transmission, evaluate Transmission’s budget and determine if there are other funds that could be reallocated to close the funding gap or consider escalating the request for additional funding.

Verify that Tech2Peace corrects the instance of material noncompliance detailed on pages 17 to 18 of the audit report

The Country Director establishes memoranda of understanding, or informal cooperative agreements with clear expectations, with the Madagascar ministries of health, education, and agriculture.

The Office of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection, the Office of Communications, and the post work together to develop and implement strategies that address applicant concerns specific to Madagascar to increase application and retention rates.

The Country Director develops post-specific procedures for receiving and responding to Safety and Security incidents, to include roles and responsibilities, and then trains staff in those procedures.

The Country Director works with the Peace Corps Medical Officers to ensure they visit more Volunteers at site per TG 204 requirements and develop and implement a plan to assess healthcare facilities and consultants as required.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures that VA homeless program staff consistently document, in patients electronic health records, the clinical information from the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System.

The Under Secretary for Health makes certain that a suicide risk screening is completed with patients during intake into VA homeless programs, consistent with Veterans Health Administration policy.

The Under Secretary for Health ensures that staff complete suicide risk screening in response to danger of self-harm identified in the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System.

The Under Secretary for Health makes certain that homeless program staff provide and document care coordination to address patients mental health and substance use disorder treatment needs as identified in the Homeless Operations Management and Evaluation System.

Executive leaders ensure there are clear signs during construction projects, and maps at the main entrance information desk to help veterans navigate the facility.

The Medical Center Director ensures contractors inspect and test emergency generators and fire doors as required, and staff report compliance to an environment of care committee.

The Associate Director of Patient Care Services/Nurse Executive ensures nursing staff monitor proper food clean-up, storage, and disposal in the Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program’s areas.

The Medical Center Director ensures staff refill hands-free sanitizer dispensers throughout the facility.

Executive leaders ensure staff develop service-level workflows for the communication of test results for each service.

The Medical Center Director ensures staff implement a process to monitor providers’ compliance with communicating abnormal test results to patients.

Executive leaders ensure staff complete improvement actions from root cause analyses within one year.

Facility leaders ensure providers who order tests communicate the results to patients timely.