Summary

In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) grant award to the National Partnership to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse to determine the: (1) legality of the establishment of the Partnership and the grant award; (2) grantee's use of the grant funds; and (3) OJJDP management of the award.

GAO found that: (1) although OJJDP was closely involved with the Partnership's formation and provided it with federal funds, it did not violate any laws, since its actions did not constitute the establishment of a corporation as an agency of the federal government; (2) the grant award deviated from OJJDP internal policies for awarding noncompetitive grants; (3) an OJJDP review revealed financial improprieties such as the use of grant funds for entertainment, and the use of Partnership-issued credit cards for non-business-related purposes; (4) when OJJDP terminated the grant halfway through the grant period, the Partnership had spent about $950,000 of the $1 million award, including a separate contract to provide technical assistance; and (5) OJJDP believes that it should have provided closer oversight during the first 6 months of the grant period, since the Partnership lacked experience in federal assistance procedures and had management problems.