Reports

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Key Insights: State Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Programs

This insights report provides a contextual understanding of the cross-cutting challenges states faced within their unemployment insurance (UI) programs and highlights the substantial work that has been done by State Auditors to ensure their states’ UI programs are functioning effectively. This report examines four common insights across 16 State Auditor Offices: (1) UI workloads surged for states; (2) the claims surge exploited internal control weaknesses; (3) uncommon and varying fraud schemes began to occur as the amount of federal funding expanded; and (4) state workforce agencies...

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Department of Justice OIG

Management Advisory Memorandum: Impact of the Failure to Conduct Formal Policy Negotiations on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Implementation of the FIRST STEP Act and Closure of Office of the Inspector General Recommendations

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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

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

Increasing Transparency Into COVID-19 Spending

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Justice OIG

Review of the Office of Justice Programs’ Administration of CARES Act Funding

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Justice OIG

Staff Perceptions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Follow-Up Survey of BOP Staff

Results from this survey are available at the following link: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/582f32f0127c4c86870b2e129c05b9…

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

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 Education OIG

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

The objective of our audit was to determine whether Lincoln College of Technology (Lincoln) used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds for allowable and intended purposes. We also reviewed Lincoln’s cash management practices and the timeliness and quality of the data Lincoln reported on its use of HEERF funds. LESC generally used the Student Aid portion of Lincoln’s HEERF funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/24/2021

1.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to update its written policies and procedures to contain sufficient detail to ensure that (1) all the steps necessary to verify student eligibility and distribute funds to students under the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus legislations are addressed and completed, (2) funding determinations are adequately documented and supported in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.302, and (3) students with exceptional need are prioritized in accordance with CRRSAA and ARP.

2.1 - Closed

Regarding LESC’s decision to reallocate the amounts we questioned in this finding, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education review the reallocated funds and determine whether LESC’s use of $710,274 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds to write off unpaid accounts receivable for students, who withdrew from the school due to coronavirus, was allowable and for the intended purposes of applicable coronavirus relief legislation.

2.2 - Closed

If LESC’s reallocation of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds is deemed unallowable, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary require LESC to return to the Department the $700,155 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds that LESC improperly applied to credit student accounts for rent students paid to third-party landlords and the $9,838 that LESC improperly spent for subscriptions extending beyond the grant performance period and determine if these issues occurred at LESC’s other schools and take corrective action as appropriate.

3.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to incorporate in its policies and procedures the cash management requirements for minimizing the time between drawing down and disbursing Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds, maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account, and remitting interest earned more than $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education determine whether LESC accurately calculated interest and properly remitted the interest returned in January 2021, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

Department of Education OIG

Inconsistent Grantee and Subgrantee Reporting of Education Stabilization Fund Subprograms in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse

The purpose of this flash report is to share with the U.S. Department of Education (Department) observations made by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) concerning grantees and subgrantees inconsistently reporting audit data on Department subprograms, or unique components of a program, to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC), the designated repository of single audit data. We found that grantees and subgrantees are not consistently reporting expenditures of Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) subprogram awards in the FAC. Specifically, when entering Federal award information into the Data...

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General Services Administration OIG

PBS Did Not Always Follow CDC and Internal Guidance to Limit the Risk of COVID-19 Exposure

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 8/26/2021

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

Key Insights: State Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Programs

Management Advisory Memorandum: Impact of the Failure to Conduct Formal Policy Negotiations on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Implementation of the FIRST STEP Act and Closure of Office of the Inspector General Recommendations

Increasing Transparency into COVID-19 Spending

Increasing Transparency Into COVID-19 Spending

Review of the Office of Justice Programs’ Administration of CARES Act Funding

Staff Perceptions of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Follow-Up Survey of BOP Staff

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

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

Inconsistent Grantee and Subgrantee Reporting of Education Stabilization Fund Subprograms in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse

PBS Did Not Always Follow CDC and Internal Guidance to Limit the Risk of COVID-19 Exposure

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