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Management Advisory Report: Volunteer Drug Use

Report Information

Date Issued
Report Number
IG-18-01-SR
Report Type
Review
Component
Agency-wide
Description
The objective of this Management Advisory Report was to create an understanding of how drug use among Volunteers has affected the agency and its Volunteers since 2015, and how challenges in enforcement and data gathering have impeded agency efforts to address the problem. This report included six recommendations.
Participating OIG
Peace Corps OIG
Agency Wide
Yes (agency-wide)
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
View report on Oversight.gov

Recommendations

Disclaimer: Open/Closed recommendations are updated semiannually.

We recommend that the Director of the Peace Corps provide country directors with additional support to resolve allegations of drug involvement under manual section 204, 3.5.1 and specifically consider the efficacy of reasonable suspicion drug testing as a means of doing so.

We recommend that the Office of General Counsel review the evidentiary standard required to administratively separate a Volunteer suspected of involvement with drugs to determine whether the standard, and its application, is consistent with promoting the integrity of the program and continues to serve the policy interest of the Peace Corps.

We recommend that the Director of the Peace Corps make necessary changes to policies, procedures, and forms related to Volunteer resignations and administrative separations, so that Volunteer files and early termination statistics include accurate information regarding unauthorized drug use.

We recommend that the Director of the Peace Corps take effective steps to ensure ongoing compliance and consistency in implementation of the Volunteer separation recordation processes.

We recommend that the Director of the Peace Corps gather and analyze continuous information on the prevalence of, and factors contributing to, unauthorized drug use in the context of Volunteer service, through the Annual Volunteer Survey or another data gathering tool.