All Reports

This evaluation issued nine recommendations to address findings in the areas of leadership, Volunteer health support, Volunteer safety and security support, training, and site management. Recommendations were directed to staff at the post with the exception of one recommendation that was directed to the regional director. We did not have any findings in the areas of Volunteer administrative support and programming.

The Peace Corps works in countries with histories of civil wars, ethnic clashes, cross-border conflicts, rebel incursions, foreign occupations, genocide, violent protests, and repressive dictatorships. These conflicts often have on-going impacts. This review evaluated the adequacy of Peace Corps guidance on new country entries and re-entries in conflict-affected environments.We found that the Peace Corps needed to more fully assess the conflict status of countries under consideration for opening, re-opening, or expanding a Peace Corps program. The agency should also address gaps in the current “New Country Assessment Guide” and the “New Country Entry Guide” to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency’s processes and procedures for opening posts in conflict-affected environments.

The objective of this limited scope follow-up review was to determine if the agreed upon corrective actions taken in response to four findings from the Final Report on the Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Namibia issued in March 2013 were fully implemented and had the intended effects. We found that, overall, the post had improved with respect to three of the four areas selected for review, particularly in iterating on feedback and agency guidance where technical training was concerned. This follow-up included four recommendations, all with which the post concurred.

The objective of this limited scope follow-up review was to determine if the agreed upon corrective actions taken in response to three findings from the Final Report on the Program Evaluation of Peace Corps/Nepal (IG-15-05-E) were fully implemented and had the intended effects. We found that, overall, Peace Corps/Nepal had improved regarding all three findings selected for review. We found 2 areas of concern related to the post's site selection criteria and whereabouts tracking. This report included 2 recommendations for management's consideration.

This evaluation had two objectives: (1) to describe the range of homestay models that Peace Corps posts were implementing and better understand their advantages and challenges; and (2) to assess the impact of homestay requirements on Volunteer safety, language acquisition, integration, and health. We found that the majority (63 percent) of Peace Corps posts implemented homestay requirements during service, though the number of months required varied. Evidence from this analysis does not support the assumption that better Volunteer outcomes will be achieved in all contexts. Given the costs of administering and potential risk associated with homestay programs, posts that transition to or increase homestay requirements should rigorously monitor safety and language outcomes.

This evaluation assessed the effectiveness and quality of the post's programming and training, Volunteer support, and leadership functions. Overall, we found that the post faced several challenges related to training Volunteers for working in their primary assignments, identifying and orienting community stakeholders for hosting and working with Volunteers, preparing for emergencies, supporting Volunteers who reported harassment and mental health challenges, and handling sensitive Volunteer information. This report included 16 recommendations for management's consideration.

This evaluation focused on the appropriateness of programming, training, and evaluation; the adequacy of Volunteer support; and the effectiveness of post leadership and management. While there are many strengths of the post, this report contains 21 recommendations. We found that an insufficient staffing model for programming and training had contributed to findings in the areas of Volunteer training and site development. In addition, our report contains findings related to the Volunteer Advisory Council and the post's health program.

This evaluation found overall that the post was well-run and meeting its mission goals effectively and efficiently. We did not issue any findings in the areas of programming, training, Volunteer administrative support, and staffing. We identified two best practices related to site management. We issued six findings in the areas of site management, Volunteer safety and security support, Volunteer health support, and staff communication and collaboration with stakeholders. Management concurred with all six recommendations.

OIG conducted the audit of Peace Corps/eSwatini from July 23, 2018 to August 10, 2018. The post’s financial and administrative operations required improvement to comply with agency policies and applicable Federal laws and regulations. Our report made 30 recommendations to improve the administrative and financial operations of Peace Corps/eSwatini.

This semiannual report informs Congress of the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General's work for October 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019.