Reports

Department of Education OIG

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEA) and institutions of higher education (IHE) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 7/18/2022

1.1 - Open

Provide documentation, or a full and detailed written explanation, of the process Oklahoma used to determine the initiatives it supported with GEER grant funds and the entities it selected to administer the initiatives.

1.2 - Open

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.

1.3 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that it administers current and future GEER grants in accordance with applicable Federal laws and grant requirements, including ensuring that grant subrecipients are provided the proper award documentation; and that any entity that is awarded Federal funds retains records relating to those awards in accordance with Federal requirements.

1.4 - Open

Perform a 100 percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the Stay in School Fund microgrant recipients to confirm that all students were eligible to receive GEER grant funds.

1.5 - Open

Develop and implement written policies and procedures to describe the specific circumstances under which deviations from procurement rules are warranted, including procedures about required documentation of such decisions for procurements that do not use competitive bidding but use Federal education funds.

1.6 - Open

Take appropriate action if the documentation and other information provided by Oklahoma in response to the above recommendations does not support that the State followed applicable requirements.

2.1 - Open

Return $652,720 to the Department for the unallowable Bridge the Gap expenditures we identified or provide documentation to support that the expenditures were allowable or the items were purchased with personal funds.

2.2 - Open

Perform a 100-percent review, or review a statistical sample, of the $5,473,894 in Bridge the Gap expenditures that we did not review to determine whether the expenditures were allowable, and if applicable, return the funds for any unallowable expenditures to the Department.

2.3 - Open

Develop and implement additional internal controls for the Skills to Rebuild, Learn Anywhere Oklahoma, Bridge the Gap, and Stay in School Fund initiatives that include written monitoring procedures for those processes that are already in place, and for additional procedures that include a review of expenditures and supporting documentation, and a review of documentation that supports the information in initiatives’ weekly status reports.

2.4 - Open

Develop and implement internal controls to ensure that fiscal agents for Federal grant programs obtain an understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding the grant programs they are tasked with overseeing.

3.1 - Open

Develop and implement controls to ensure that Oklahoma’s State agencies that receive Federal funds have written cash management policies and procedures, including policies for the draw down and disbursement of grant funds in accordance with Federal requirements.

3.2 - Open

Return to the Department any unexpended GEER grant funds applicable to our audit scope that are being held by GEER grant subrecipients.

3.3 - Open

3.4 - Open

Require its fiscal agent or State program representative to work closely with the Department to ensure that other GEER grants are administered in compliance with cash management rules and with any actions the Department determines are needed, if warranted.

Railroad Retirement Board OIG

The RRB Did Not Have Detailed Project Plans to Expend Information Technology Modernization Funds

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 6/29/2022

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: To Protect Mission Critical Workers, OSHA Could Leverage Inspection Collaboration Opportunities with External Federal Agencies

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/31/2022

Railroad Retirement Board OIG

Railroad Retirement Board Did Not Implement Sufficient Internal Controls in the Mobile Phones Deployed as a Result of the Pandemic

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/17/2022

1 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should update their mobile phone policies to include and implement a National Archives and Records Administration-approved records schedule and transfer procedures for electronic records associated with mobile phones.

10 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should develop and implement a records management and retention system for electronic records.

11 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should research the capabilities of Railroad Retirement Board's Microsoft Azure Cloud's functionality to determine feasibility of incorporating the automated records management and retention capabilities to govern the mobile phones electronic records.

2 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should submit a yearly affidavit to confirm electronic records associated with mobile phones have been identified and retained until the full transition into Microsoft Azure Cloud.

3 - Open

The Railroad Retirement Board's Director of Administration should define and communicate 'personal usage' establishing Railroad Retirement Board's core hours of 5:00 am to 7:00 pm. Any usage outside of core hours would be considered personal usage excluding business management purposes.

4 - Open

The Railroad Retirement Board's Bureau of Information Services should 1) continue efforts to update the Telecommuting and Mobile Security Computing Policy with current laws and regulations and 2) develop a periodic monitoring control to assess personal usage and address it according to agency guidance.

5 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should incorporate the mobile phones in an existing assessable unit and update their mobile phone policies to include documentation regarding the specific roles and responsibilities of each office overseeing the mobile phone program.

6 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should enforce and execute a review and approval process for application and software download and restrict access to specified applications found in their Railroad Retirement Board G-6 Rules of Behavior.

7 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should implement procedures to periodically track, log, and monitor iPhone usage and the completion of the G-6 Acknowledgement Statement.

8 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should periodically review the mobile phone inventory for completeness and accuracy to include a comparison with Railroad Retirement Board's personnel position index.

9 - Open

The Bureau of Information Services should implement the use of unique identifiers between disparate data sets (e.g., mobile phone inventory, personnel position index) to facilitate comparisons and reconcile inconsistent information.

Railroad Retirement Board OIG

Management Information Report - Railroad Retirement Board's Actions in Response to Pandemic Funding

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/16/2022

Department of Labor OIG

COVID-19: Safety and Remote Learning Challenges Continue for Job Corps

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 11/12/2021

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Increasing Transparency into COVID-19 Spending

The objective of this review was to identify specific gaps in transparency in award data for federal assistance spending in response to COVID-19. We looked at 51,000 awards worth $347 billion that supported the pandemic response (as of June 15, 2021). The report includes three findings, including we found more than 15,400 awards worth $33 billion with meaningless descriptions that make it difficult to know how COVID-19 relief money was used. The report includes five recommendations to help improve the transparency into COVID-19 relief spending.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Inspection / Evaluation | 10/19/2021

Department of Education OIG

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

The objective of our audit was to determine if Remington College used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds for allowable and intended purposes. Remington College generally used the Student Aid portion of its HEERF grant funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds in accordance with Federal requirements. We found that Remington College spent Institutional funds for several unallowable purposes and did not...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2021

2.1 - Open

Require Remington College to return to the Department the $80,121 in Institutional grant funds spent beyond the supplemental Institutional grant period or reallocate the funds to other allowable costs.

2.2 - Open

Clarify whether the costs that Remington College initially charged to its Institutional grant for student computers were allowable under the law and existing guidance, and determine whether Remington College’s subsequent reallocation of costs for other expenses in the amount of $64,985 (corrective actions) was appropriate.

2.3 - Open

Determine whether the $639,400 that Remington College charged to its Institutional grant for contracts awarded without a competitive procurement process was reasonable when compared to the quality and costs of suitable alternatives, and if not, require appropriate corrective actions.

2.4 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing HEERF grant funds the Federal requirements related to charging only allowable costs during the grant performance period, using competitive processes for selecting vendors when purchases are over $10,000, obtaining price or rate quotations from an adequate number of qualified vendors for purchases between $10,000 and $250,000, and using formal procurement methods for purchases over $250,000.

2.5 - Open

Require Remington College to ensure that school officials responsible for making purchasing decisions receive sufficient training on Federal rules and regulations related to grant administration and management.

3.1 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Institutional grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to minimizing the time between drawing down and spending Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds; maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account; and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Student Aid grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.3 - Open

Determine whether Remington College accurately calculated interest and ensure that the correct amount of interest is returned to the Federal government in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

Department of Labor OIG

Alert Memorandum: The Employment and Training Administration Does Not Require the National Association of State Workforce Agencies to Report Suspected Unemployment Insurance Fraud Data to the Office of Inspector General or the Employment and Training…

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Other | 7/01/2021

Department of Labor OIG

Alert Memorandum: The Employment and Training Administration Needs to Issue Guidance to Ensure State Workforce Agencies Provide Requested Unemployment Insurance Data to the Office of Inspector General

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Other | 6/16/2021

1 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Amend 20 CFR 603.5 and 603.6(a) through the rulemaking process to reinforce that UI information must be provided to DOL OIG for all IG engagements authorized under the IG Act, including audits, evaluations, and investigations.

2 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Issue a new UIPL within 15 days of this memorandum to instruct SWAs that disclosure of information to the OIG for audits, evaluations, and investigations is mandatory without need for a subpoena, and that the OIG will notify SWAs directly of current and future information disclosure requirements, to include data elements.

3 - Open

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Ensure the new UIPL guidance advises SWAs that they may not require the OIG to enter into data sharing agreements as a prerequisite to disclosure of information to the OIG for audits, consistent with the IG Act and federal law.

4 - Closed

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Ensure revisions to UIPL 04-17 advise SWAs that data sharing agreements are not required when sharing UI claim and wage data with the OIG for fraud investigations. The revised UIPL should make clear that SWAs shall share UI claim and wage data with the OIG for fraud detection and investigative purposes, not limiting the sharing to investigations into a particular instance of suspected UI fraud.

5 - Closed

We recommend the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training: Continue to work with the OIG, and within 30 days of the memorandum, meet with the OIG to develop a permanent approach for OIG access to UI data.

Date Range

Report Type

Report Category

Submitting Agency

State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Fraud Type

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

Oklahoma’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The RRB Did Not Have Detailed Project Plans to Expend Information Technology Modernization Funds

COVID-19: To Protect Mission Critical Workers, OSHA Could Leverage Inspection Collaboration Opportunities with External Federal Agencies

Railroad Retirement Board Did Not Implement Sufficient Internal Controls in the Mobile Phones Deployed as a Result of the Pandemic

Management Information Report - Railroad Retirement Board's Actions in Response to Pandemic Funding

COVID-19: Safety and Remote Learning Challenges Continue for Job Corps

Increasing Transparency into COVID-19 Spending

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

Alert Memorandum: The Employment and Training Administration Does Not Require the National Association of State Workforce Agencies to Report Suspected Unemployment Insurance Fraud Data to the Office of Inspector General or the Employment and Training…

Alert Memorandum: The Employment and Training Administration Needs to Issue Guidance to Ensure State Workforce Agencies Provide Requested Unemployment Insurance Data to the Office of Inspector General

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