Open Recommendations

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require OESE to review the work of program officers to ensure that for future SBMH grant competitions they consistently follow records retention policies for official grant files as described in the Handbook.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education verify that OESE developed, finalized, and implemented a program monitoring plan for the fiscal year 2022 SBMH Grant Program cohort. The plan should consider the use of desk reviews for a sample of grantees.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education verify that OESE retains records of all SBMH Grant Program monitoring activities, including but not limited to email and telephone communications, grantee performance-related calls, and reviews of drawdown reports and APRs, in official grant files.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary require OESE to develop, finalize, and implement procedures for reviewing grantees’ APRs and documenting the reviews of those APRs. At a minimum, the review procedures should cover (a) the quality of Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 data, (b) how to assess a grantee’s progress toward achieving approved goals, and (c) follow up with grantees when the information they provide is inaccurate or incomplete.

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary require OESE to implement the risk mitigation strategies as designed in the grant funding slates for new SBMH Grant Program awards and noncompeting continuation awards.

We recommend that the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education require the Nevada Department of Education to require Douglas to return to the U.S. Department of Education the $5,416 that Douglas improperly charged to the ARP ESSER grant for its LEA marketing project or reallocate the funds to other allowable costs. Identify any additional improper charges to the ARP ESSER grant for the LEA marketing project, including those made during periods not covered by our review, and if applicable, return the funds to the U.S. Department of Education or reallocate them to other allowable costs.

NIH should clarify for NIH-funded institutions which monetary donations they must report to NIH as other support.

We recommend that the USAID Mission Director for Ukraine take the following actions: Implement a comprehensive monitoring plan for items procured through the Energy
Security Project and the Securing Power, Advancing Resilience and Connectivity Activity, to
ensure that verification processes are aligned to track progress toward intended outcomes
and address any identified gaps.

We recommend that the USAID Mission Director for Ukraine take the following actions:
Implement a unified system to track, monitor, and address findings and recommendations
from Energy Security Project and Securing Power, Advancing Resilience and Connectivity
Activity delivery verification efforts

OFOM’s Associate Director, in coordination with OHRM should finalize and implement policies and procedures for the Agency’s administration of the background investigations and adjudication processes for federal and contractor employees that (a) are consistent with regulations and implementation guidance issued by OPM; (b) assigns roles and responsibilities; (c) establishes specific procedures; and (d) measures operational effectiveness criteria.

OFOM’s Associate Director, in coordination with OHRM should establish and implement a reporting mechanism or system to monitor the progress of background investigations of federal and contractor employees to include adjudication determinations, onboarding of contractor employees, and the issuance of physical and logical access cards.

The Deputy Director, DBR should consider whether examination work addressing specific supervisory priorities should be subjected to Examiner-in-Charge, Peer, or Independent Quality Control reviews. Update quality control procedures, as needed, to ensure that they assist management in achieving its objectives (e.g., specific supervisory priorities) and responding to identified risks.

The post works with the Peace Corps Safety and Security Officer to reassess the health and safety risk level of bush fires in the post risk assessment.

Review the Veterans Health Administrations current methods, assumptions, and approaches used to project medical care budget needs in the annual Presidents Budget to identify any gaps in the process or data limitations, and develop and implement a plan to strengthen the process.

Establish and implement a plan to review current processes and procedures for involving program offices and pertinent subject matter experts in developing the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model inputs for specific areas such as community care, staffing, pharmacy services, and prosthetics services, and formalize the expectations of their involvement in this process, through guidance or protocols.

Develop and implement an approach to estimate medical care personnel needs and costs to increase the accuracy and reliability of information included in the annual Presidents Budget.

Institutionalize a regular cycle of at least quarterly fiscal reviews among assistant under secretaries for health, network directors, and program offices that routinely assess key cost drivers and other areas of concern, such as staffing, community care growth, and local initiatives.

Establish and implement a plan to review current processes and procedures for involving program offices and pertinent subject matter experts in developing the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model inputs for specific areas such as community care, staffing, pharmacy services, and prosthetics services, and formalize the expectations of their involvement in this process, through guidance or protocols.

Develop controls that prohibit users from entering invalid dates into the Vehicle Information Transportation Analysis and Logistics system.

Insource highway contract routes when economically advantageous to the Postal Service and implement a waiver process when cost is not a main factor to insource.

Include specific requirements in the job announcements for Postal Vehicle Service operator positions (i.e. starting as part-time flexible or working outside of normal business hours).

Develop and make available the training to obtain a commercial driver's license to interested postal vehicle operators.

Determine complement and work toward hiring the number of schedule examiners vehicle runs and dispatch coordinators needed at nationwide Postal Vehicle Service sites.

FHFA’s DER should create examination procedures to assess the effectiveness of Enterprises’ internal controls and processes in ensuring compliance with FinCEN requirements for SAR filings, to include SAR narratives, and communicate the new procedures to the examiners responsible for this work.

FHFA's DER should consider whether to direct Freddie Mac to file an amended SAR containing a complete narrative for the case identified above, and whether to amend FHFA’s examination procedures to require this step if future examinations uncover a similar issue.