All Reports

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

Our report contains 27 recommendations directed to the post and headquarters. We recommend that the post store controlled substances according to policy and maintain an adequate medical inventory count. We also recommend that the post strengthen its controls over management of inventory and disposal of property, collection of overpayments, and issuance of bills of collection in a timely manner. In addition, we recommend that the post follow agency contracting policy, provide security certifications for all personal services contractors, and conduct and record Volunteer allowance surveys.

This report provides the results of our review of the circumstances surrounding the death of Peace Corps Volunteer Bernice Heiderman on January 9, 2018, in Comoros. Our review identified several vulnerabilities associated with the Peace Corps’ failure to provide an early diagnosis and prompt treatment for PCV Heiderman’s malaria. This report makes 7 recommendations to the Peace Corps to address the vulnerabilities we identified and make it more likely that medical officers will provide timely diagnosis and prompt, effective treatment for malaria so that future Volunteer deaths from the disease can be prevented.

This semiannual report informs Congress of the Peace Corps Office of Inspector General's work for April 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018.

This case study describes examples of high quality site development practices that result in placing Volunteers in environments conducive to successful service. OIG intends that the site development best practices identified in this report may serve as a resource for other Peace Corps posts.

The objective of this review was to perform an independent assessment of the Peace Corps’ information security program, including testing the effectiveness of security controls for a subset of systems as required, for FY 2018. Our results demonstrate that the Peace Corps lacks an effective information security program. We found problems relating to people, processes, and technology. Furthermore, OIG found weaknesses across all the FISMA reportable areas. To ensure the agency’s information, operations, and assets are protected, it is critical that the Peace Corps achieve full compliance with FISMA and other Federal laws and regulations that apply to managing its IT security infrastructure.

This evaluation focused on the appropriateness of programming, training, and evaluation; the adequacy of Volunteer support; and the effectiveness of post leadership and management. This report contains 24 recommendations, which, if implemented, should strengthen post operations and correct the deficiencies detailed in the report.

These challenges illustrate the most significant areas the Office of Inspector General (OIG) believes need improvement for the Peace Corps to effectively manage its resources and minimize the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse occurring in its operations. Addressing the issues related to these challenge areas will enable the agency to increase operational efficiencies and improve mission effectiveness.

Our review found that the Peace Corps did not fully comply with applicable Federal requirements relating to cooperative agreements and lacked internal controls in making the award to Seed Global Health Services. Specifically, the Peace Corps did not have sufficient documentation to justify awarding the cooperative agreement without competition. This made the Peace Corps vulnerable to the perception of favoritism by obligating a total of approximately $7.5 million in Department of State funding to Seed Global Health Services. We found several weaknesses caused by insufficient controls: the lack of segregation of duties for a senior agency official, the lack of key policies governing cooperative agreements, poor file management and failure to obtain the necessary anti-lobbying certifications from Seed Global Health Services. This report makes five recommendations to help enhance controls over cooperative agreements.