Reports
Search reports, investigative results, and agency plansShowing 11 - 20 of 105 results
Department of Commerce OIG
Independent Program Evaluation of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Pandemic Relief Program
For the independent program evaluation of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Pandemic Relief Program, the evaluation objective was to determine whether NIST grantees and subrecipients accounted for and expended pandemic relief funds provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and subsequent funding authorizations in accordance with federal laws and regulations. We contracted with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), an independent firm, to perform this evaluation. Our office oversaw the evaluation’s progress to ensure that IDA performed it in...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Agile Oversight in a Time of Crisis: Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Conducting Oversight during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Recognizing the importance of an agile process, the PRAC, in coordination with CIGIE, hosted an Agile Oversight Forum in January 2023. This report captures the lessons learned and best practices shared by oversight experts from around the country at the Forum. The product is intended to be a starting point for offices and is not a standard for conducting oversight work.
Department of Education OIG
U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Audit Resolution Activities
The report presents information on independent audits with findings pertaining to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and audit resolution activities conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. Our review focused on independent audits of HEERF recipients from April 2020 through June 2023. We found that the number of independent audits with findings pertaining to HEERF and requiring resolution by the Office of Finance and Operations (OFO) increased significantly over the past few years, as did the number of audits with complex findings as determined by OFO staff. However, the...
Department of Education OIG
Kentucky’s Oversight of Local Educational Agency ARP ESSER Plans and Spending
The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Kentucky Department of Education (Kentucky) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies’ (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds in accordance with applicable requirements and their approved LEA ARP ESSER plans. Overall, we found that Kentucky had adequate processes to ensure that LEA ARP ESSER plans met applicable requirements. We also determined that the ARP ESSER plans for...
Department of Veterans Affairs OIG
Review of Personnel Shortages in Federal Health Care Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic put an unprecedented strain on the nation’s federal healthcare systems. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Health Care Subgroup surveyed more than 300 facilities across four federal healthcare programs to determine if the facilities had sufficient medical staff during the pandemic. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed staffing at Veterans Health Administration facilities, the Department of Justice OIG reviewed Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, the Department of Defense OIG reviewed medical treatment facilities, and the Health and Human...
Department of Education OIG
Washington’s Oversight of Local Educational Agency ARP ESSER Plans and Spending
The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (Washington) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies’ (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds in accordance with applicable requirements and their approved LEA ARP ESSER plans. We found that Washington did not have an adequate review and approval process to ensure that LEA ARP ESSER plans met all applicable...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Identity Fraud Victim Redress Processes and Systems
Following up on our previous work which highlights the decentralized nature of identity fraud redress across the federal government, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee commissioned the MITRE Corporation to conduct an independent study and define the elements needs for a whole-of-government approach to identity fraud victim redress. The report proposes a federal redress process that places the victim at the center and requires agencies to assist in a comprehensive manner. Framed as a single enterprise or “one-stop shop,” this process would provide an equitable experience for all...
Social Security Administration OIG
Controls over the Social Security Administration’s National 800-number Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Objective: To determine whether the Social Security Administration had and used management controls over the service its 800 number employees provided callers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Department of Education OIG
Federal Student Aid’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds
We found that as of November 30, 2022, FSA obligated nearly 100 percent of the $161.1 million in appropriations it received for pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. Nine FSA business units obligated approximately $157.8 million (98 percent) of the total pandemic assistance student aid administration funds, with one business unit, the Next Gen FSA Program Office, accounting for 78 percent of the obligations. The pandemic assistance student aid administration funds were used for personnel compensation and benefits, information technology systems and services contracts, and...
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
Tracking Pandemic Relief Funds that Went to Local Communities Reveals Persistent Data Gaps and Data Reliability Issues
The PRAC along with 10 of our member Offices of Inspectors General began a case study-based review, in part, to learn more about how much pandemic relief funding went to recipients within six randomly selected communities. Using a combination of federal, state, and local data sources, we identified that 10 federal agencies provided approximately $2.65 billion in pandemic relief funds to the six communities through approximately 89 pandemic relief programs and subprograms during the first 18 months of the pandemic (March 2020 through September 2021). We also found that tracking pandemic funds...