Open Recommendations

We recommend that the BIE locate or develop lease agreements with businesses using Chemawa Indian School land.

We recommend that the BIE verify that past and current lease payments are paid in accordance with the terms of the lease agreements.

We recommend that the BIE develop and disseminate policies and procedures to BIE-operated schools for establishing, managing, and overseeing leases that include, at a minimum, requirements and provisions outlined in 25 C.F.R. part 48, defined roles and responsibilities, and requirements for validating that lease payments are paid in accordance with the lease agreements.

We recommend that the BIE develop and provide training for Chemawa Indian School personnel on Indian Affairs Manual part 23 to ensure that Chemawa maintains an inventory of and tags nonexpendable property under $5,000 and to ensure understanding of requirements for expendable property tagging and recordkeeping.

We recommend that the Florida Department of Children and Families provide training to CPIs and caseworkers on medication management and administration that addresses requirements for updating case records in FSFN for children who are prescribed psychotropic medications (including related medication logs and authorizations) and opioid medications.

We recommend that the Florida Department of Children and Families coordinate with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to obtain access to Medicaid claim data for all children under its care and supervision.

We recommend that HRSA identify additional improper UIP payments for services provided to insured individuals or services unrelated to COVID-19, which we estimate to be $783.6 million, and take remedial action.

We recommend that HRSA commit to strengthening its procedures that may apply to future programs of a similar nature to expand insurance verifications using additional data fields on each patient for whom an SSN is not submitted as part of a prepayment check or postpayment review process to identify potential exact matches for health insurance coverage, ensure data sources used to verify health insurance coverage are reliable, and develop in a timely manner an assessment strategy to ensure claims are appropriately reimbursed to providers.

We recommend that HRSA recover the $294,294 in improper UIP payments identified in our sample.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, develop and implement a risk-based methodology to select programs for evaluation. CA should include the amount of funds invested and the risk to its portfolio as factors considered in the methodology.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, map control gates for the program management methodology used for the Consular Systems Modernization program to the Department of States Managing State Projects guidance, as required by 5 Foreign Affairs Handbook-5 H-211.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, develop and implement a plan to create documentation required by Department of State program and project management guidance (including 18 Foreign Affairs Manual 300) for the overall Consular Systems Modernization program and discrete projects related to the program. This documentation would include, but not be limited to, a program monitoring plan, a logic model, and a situational analysis.

OIG recommends that if, following implementation of Recommendation 6, the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) determines that its current program management methodology is not optimal, CA should develop and implement a plan of action, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, to adopt a different program and project management methodology that aligns with Department of State program and project management guidance.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, perform an internal control gap analysis related to program and project management of the Consular Systems Modernization program to identify key controls that are needed to comply with Government Accountability Office requirements for maintaining a sufficient internal control environment.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Information Resource Management, develop and implement a mechanism to track required IT governance reviews to ensure that all governance reviews of IT systems have been completed.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning, develop and implement a process to periodically assess program and project management activities related to the Consular Systems Modernization program.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning and the Bureau of Information Resource Management, develop and implement a process to annually verify that designated project managers assigned to the Consular Systems Modernization program meet qualification requirements specified in 5 Foreign Affairs Manual 623.2 and the Federal IT Project Manager Guidance Matrix.

OIG recommends that if project managers as described in Recommendation 11 are identified as not meeting qualification requirements, the Bureau of Consular Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Budget and Planning and the Bureau of Information Resource Management, develop and implement a plan of action to provide training and guidance to the project managers so that they comply with 5 Foreign Affairs Manual 623.2 and the Federal IT Project Manager Guidance Matrix.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, develop and implement bureau-specific procedures requiring CAs assigned Contracting Officers Representatives to (a) maintain documentation of their invoice review that demonstrates that costs and supporting documentation were verified and (b) confirm that labor hours billed had supporting documentation that was sufficient to support the approval for payments.

OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, develop and implement procedures to ensure that Contracting Officers Representatives who oversee Consular Systems Modernization program task orders complete and submit reports in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System within the required 120 days.

Explore more efficient options for DSN scheduling, such as maintaining a list of DSN users by priority that is updated in real-time and accessible to all users.

Ensure completion of the DAEP's remaining antennas and transmitters and finalize requirements for the LEGS project.

Finalize international agreements, obtain appropriate clearances for installing the remaining 80 kW transmitters, and establish mechanisms to allow for greater oversight of DAEP project sites.

Ensure vulnerabilities are remediated within established time frames.

We recommend that Excellus Health Plan, Inc. identify, for the high-risk diagnoses included in this report, similar instances of noncompliance that occurred before or after our audit period and refund any resulting overpayments to the Federal Government.