Open Recommendations

ACF shpould improve data-sharing with States about incidents of child abuse, lack of supervision, and unauthorized release in Head Start centers.

ACF should disseminate information about innovative practices that OHS regional offices have developed to better identify and prevent incidents that threaten children's safety.

Coordinate with the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service executive director to (1) develop and issue guidance clearly articulating eligibility requirements for the lifetime benefit amounts to address non-service-connected disabilities and (2) communicate this guidance in an effective manner, such as including specific language in handbooks, providing examples of scenarios to reinforce the requirements, and requiring annual training to make sure all prosthetic staff responsible for the program understand these eligibility requirements.

Reduce RRMB medical services expenses by implementing a strategy that considers: (1) incentivizing contractors to reduce medical claims by structuring awards in a way that eliminates premiums on healthcare costs; (2) structuring awards in a way that does not commit the BOP to reimburse contractors at Medicare rates when the provider bills are less than the Medicare rate; (3) whether the BOP should have a more central role in negotiating out-of-network costs; (4) how the BOP can minimize invoicing errors and improper use of CPT codes; and (5) cost saving mechanisms for pharmaceutical costs and interest costs resulting from late…

We recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: direct the MACs to recover from acute-care hospitals the portion of the $39,310,499 in identified improper payments for our audit period that are within the 4-year reopening period in accordance with CMS's policies and procedures;

based upon the results of this audit, notify appropriate providers (i.e., those for whom CMS determines this audit constitutes credible information of potential overpayments) so that the providers can exercise reasonable diligence to identify, report, and return any overpayments in accordance with the 60-day rule and identify any of those returned overpayments as having been made in accordance with this recommendation;

identify any outpatient claims after our audit period for services provided to beneficiaries who were inpatients of other facilities and direct the MACs to recover any improper payments;

(U) Rec. 1.a: This recommendation is Controlled Unclassified Information

We recommend that the NIST WCF and Departmental WCF develop, document, and implement a policy to require divisions providing services to customers to periodically solicit formal feedback from customer bureaus, document and assess the feedback received, and document the 'going-forward' considerations surrounding the feedback received.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator collaborate with the National Board to reallocate all unclaimed and unpaid funds for all phases with closed spending periods to the earliest possible phase.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator collaborate with the National Board to develop a more proactive approach to determine, as early in the process as possible, whether Local Boards and State Set-Aside Committees are willing to accept funds, so that funds can be reallocated from jurisdictions unwilling or unable to participate in the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator collaborate with the National Board to implement a plan to enforce already established guidance including Local Boards’ deadlines for board plan submission and the disbursement of funds to Local Recipient Organizations within the McKinneyVento Homeless Assistance Act’s 3-month required timeframe.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a standard risk assessment process before initiating new Federal grant programs. This risk assessment should focus on identifying and evaluating program risks that may affect FEMA’s ability to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in its programs and mitigating those external risks to the extent practical.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator update the State Administrative Plan template to incorporate a requirement for grantees to include a description of the steps to prevent improper payments.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator develop and implement a process to monitor whether grantees implement and use the controls attested in FEMA-approved State Administrative Plans.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator work with state workforce agencies to evaluate the Lost Wages Assistance program payments and verify that all recipients who received payment have a self-certification on file, as required; to determine whether the claimant meets eligibility requirements if no self-certification is on file; and, if not, to recover the payment.

We recommend the FEMA Administrator conduct an after-action study of the Lost Wages Assistance program and update FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program based on the lessons learned from the study.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Implement immediate measures to ensure SWAs are required to provide ongoing access to the OIG by amending its current guidance to require disclosures to the OIG for audits and investigations as necessary, mandatory, and without time limitation for the proper oversight of the UI program.

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Expedite OIG-related amendments to 20 C.F.R. § 603.6(a) to make ongoing disclosures of UI information to DOL OIG mandatory by expressly adding the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (including its agents and contractors) to the list of required disclosures that are necessary for the proper oversight of the UI program without distinction as to purpose (e.g., audits versus investigations).

We recommend the Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Expedite 603.5(i) to expressly make disclosures of UI information to federal officials for oversight, audits, and investigations of federal programs mandatory.

Collect data on the number of CSP-funded charter schools that remain open for at least 2 years after CSP funding ended and make that information available to the public.

Ensure that CSP grant recipients report in FPRs, APRs, and data collection forms clear, reliable, and timely information on the number of charter schools that they opened or expanded using CSP funds.

Ensure that program officers routinely compare the information reported in FPRs and APRs with the information reported in data collection forms and require CSP grant recipients to timely reconcile any identified discrepancies.

ACF should ensure that ORR's employees and employees of ORR contractors and recipients are informed about Federal whistleblower protections.

We recommend ICE’s Acting Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations and CBP’s Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field Operations ensure analysts are following the requirements in the Visa Security Program’s standard operating proceduresand other guidance as they vet visas and document their activities.