Open Recommendations

5. Strengthen its post-award process to confirm that cybersecurity protections have been implemented to adequately safeguard sensitive and confidential data.  

Rec. 1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Commander of the United States Africa Command modify United State Africa Command Instruction 3200.21, "United States Africa Command Joint Targeting Instruction," June 1, 2020, to include the requirement to maintain specific documents for target development and targeting operations based on the procedures used to develop the target.

CMS should clarify that States should review their Medicaid managed care plans' MLR reports to verify the accuracy of reported data elements.

CMS should provide additional guidance to States regarding Medicaid managed care plans' reporting of non-claims costs in MLR reports.

CMS should design an annual MLR reporting template for States to provide to their Medicaid managed care plans.

CMS should clarify that States should verify the completeness of their Medicaid managed care plans' MLR reports.

We recommend that the Chief of Border Patrol develop and implement a comprehensive policy for use of different pathways for expedited processing during times of increased apprehension activity. The policy should require: x Issuing A-numbers for all migrants released into the United States to ensure DHS and other Federal agencies can track migrants throughout the immigration process; and x Ensuring processing pathways comply with existing law and policy.

The Director, Collection Policy, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should monitor the average processing time of CDP hearing requests and, if warranted, outline and make recommendations to revise procedures and/or develop automation tools to ensure the timely input of the transaction code.

The Global Engagement Center should clarify and codify the roles and responsibilities of the Policy, Plans, and Operations Division and the Interagency and International Coordination Cell in the Foreign Affairs Manual.

The Global Engagement Center should approve a plan to implement its Functional Bureau Strategy, update its major programs to include key priorities, and assess its execution by conducting regular reviews with its staff, in accordance with Department standards.

The Global Engagement Center should appoint an evaluation coordinator with decision-making authority to conduct evaluations appropriate to its portfolio, in accordance with Department standards.

The Global Engagement Center should review risks to its strategic objectives, implement processes for identifying and responding to risk, and communicate risk response guidance to staff in accordance with Department standards.

The Global Engagement Center should comply with federal and Department standards with respect to pre-award design and approval processes for its federal assistance programs.

The Global Engagement Center should complete the closeout process for awards currently overdue and implement procedures for the timely close out of future awards.

The Global Engagement Center should comply with Department contracting officer’s representative program standards.

The Global Engagement Center should use domain names for the Global Engagement Center’s analytics platforms that comply with Department standards.

The Global Engagement Center, in coordination with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, should require the Information Systems Security Officers for the Global Engagement Center analytics platforms to perform their duties in accordance with Department guidance.

The Global Engagement Center should implement procedures to ensure all aspects of its analytics platforms’ systems documents are completed and current, in accordance with Department standards.

The Global Engagement Center, in coordination with the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, should conduct a cost-benefit analysis for its analytics support program.

Develop and implement guidance for Border Patrol sectors to address the expiration of the CDC order pursuant to Title 42.

Develop and implement contingency plans for increased apprehensions and processing.

Require I.R.C. §§ 6103(e)(7) and (e)(8) refresher training for all appeals officers and settlement officers in Appeals regarding employee requirements to disclose collection activity on jointly filed returns when requested from individuals who are no longer married or no longer reside in the same household, whether or not they have mirrored accounts, and the nondisclosure of prohibited taxpayer information.

Implement a process to monitor connections to the NSF network from outside the U.S., ensuring the system accurately captures the user’s country location, and take any necessary measures to protect NSF’s network and data when unauthorized connections are identified.

Provide documentation, or a full and detailed explanation, of the process Michigan used to determine that the four education-related entities that received GEER grant funds were essential for carrying out emergency educational services, providing childcare and early childhood education, providing social and emotional support, or protecting education-related jobs.

Develop and implement a process to ensure that it documents the criteria and decisions made for awarding future GEER grant funds in accordance with applicable requirements.