OFFICE OF
THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
FISCAL YEAR 2001 QUICK
RESPONSE ACTVITIES
SUMMARY REPORT
May
2002
A-13-02-12057
MANAGEMENT ADVISORY REPORT
Mission
We improve SSA programs and operations and protect them against fraud, waste, and abuse by conducting independent and objective audits, evaluations, and investigations. We provide timely, useful, and reliable information and advice to Administration officials, the Congress, and the public.
Authority
The Inspector General Act created independent audit and investigative units, called the Office of Inspector General (OIG). The mission of the OIG, as spelled out in the Act, is to:
Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and investigations relating to agency programs and operations.
Promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency within the agency.
Prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in agency programs and operations.
Review and make recommendations regarding existing and proposed legislation and regulations relating to agency programs and operations.
Keep the agency head and the Congress fully and currently informed of problems in agency programs and operations.
To ensure objectivity, the IG Act empowers the IG with:
Independence to determine what reviews to perform.
Access to all information necessary for the reviews.
Authority to publish findings and recommendations based on the reviews.
Vision
By conducting independent and objective audits, investigations, and evaluations, we are agents of positive change striving for continuous improvement in the Social Security Administration's programs, operations, and management and in our own office.
MEMORANDUM
Date: May
9, 2002
Refer To:
To: The Commissioner
From: Inspector General
Subject: Management Advisory Report – Fiscal Year 2001 Quick Response Activities Summary Report (A-13-02-12057)
This Management Advisory Report provides you information on the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Quick Response (QR) workload. The report describes the sources and types of QR activities and categorizes them in line with issues OIG identified to be among the top 10 challenges facing the Social Security Administration (SSA) management. We prepared this report for your information and therefore it does not require that you take any action.
Anticipating an increase in requests to provide information and advice to Congress, SSA management, and the general public, we established the QR Team within the Office of Audit. The QR Team performs short-duration, time-sensitive projects that address requests from the Congress, SSA management, the general public, and others. Unlike traditional audits and evaluations, QR projects are not planned or scheduled in advance.
This report summarizes our QR activities from October 2000 through September 2001.
Nature and Source of QR Workload
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2001, the QR Team issued 17 responses. This workload consisted of inquiries concerning SSA’s service to the public, issues related to potential fraud, and the Representative Payment Program. Sources of these inquiries included the Congress, SSA management, the general public, and labor unions. The following chart shows the composition of the FY 2001 workload.
Agency Management Challenges and the QR Workload
The QR workload does not follow our traditional processes. Usually, Office of Audit activities consist of planned audits and evaluations that directly relate to the management challenges facing the Agency. In contrast, the QR workload consists of unplanned, short-duration, time-sensitive projects. Although unplanned, the QR workload can be correlated to the Agency’s management challenges. We categorized our QR workload in line with the following SSA management challenges.
Providing quality service to the public remains a critical management issue facing SSA. SSA recognizes there are several significant issues that affect its ability to deliver world-class service. One is the complexity of the programs SSA administers. Another is the steady reduction in staffing resulting in an aging and work-laden workforce.
Approximately 37 percent of SSA’s current workforce is projected to retire by the year 2010. As reported by the Social Security Advisory Board, the combination of growth in SSA’s workloads and a large wave of retirements by SSA’s aging workforce will place extraordinary pressures on the Agency to meet the public’s need for service. SSA will continue processing an increasing number of disability claims. These claims are often difficult to evaluate and require carefully informed judgment.
We received several inquiries from the Congress and the public that relate to SSA’s service to the public. Examples of the types of inquiries we received in this area follow.
Each year, SSA pays out almost $500 billion in benefits. Many unscrupulous individuals target SSA’s various benefit programs for their own gain. Realizing its responsibility to protect taxpayers’ dollars from losses associated with fraud and abuse, SSA established the strategic goal "To ensure the integrity of Social Security programs, with zero tolerance for fraud and abuse."
The OIG has worked cooperatively with SSA in its efforts to detect and prevent program fraud. Our QR activities pertaining to this issue include the following.
SSA provides benefits to the most vulnerable members of society—the young, the elderly, and the disabled. The Social Security Act grants SSA the authority to appoint representative payees (Rep Payee) for beneficiaries where there is evidence the beneficiary is incapable of managing or directing the management of their benefits. Rep Payees (organizations or individuals) receive and manage payments on behalf of these beneficiaries. SSA has the responsibility to ensure these payments are used for the beneficiaries’ benefit.
Our QR work in this area included the following.
The QR workload provides an opportunity for the OIG and SSA management to work cooperatively and leverage our resources to respond in a timely fashion to the Congress, the general public, and others with a vested interest in SSA’s programs and operations. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Agency as this workload evolves.
James G. Huse, Jr.
Appendix
Appendix A
OIG Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
OIG Contacts
Shirley E. Todd, Director, General Management Audit Division, (410) 966-9365
Acknowledgments
In addition to those named above:
Brian
Karpe, Team Leader
Evan
Buckingham, Program Analyst
Kim
Beauchamp, Writer-Editor
For additional copies of this report, please contact the Office of the Inspector General’s Public Affairs Specialist at (410) 966-1375. Refer to Common Identification Number
A-13-02-12057.
DISTRIBUTION
SCHEDULE
Commissioner
of Social Security 1
Management Analysis and Audit Program Support Staff, OFAM 10
Inspector General 1
Assistant Inspector General for Investigations 1
Assistant Inspector General for Executive Operations 3
Assistant Inspector General for Audit 1
Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit 1
Director, Systems Audit Division 1
Director, Financial Management and Performance Monitoring Audit Division 1
Director, Operational Audit Division 1
Director, Disability Program Audit Division 1
Director, Program Benefits Audit Division 1
Director, General Management Audit Division 1
Team Leaders 25
Income Maintenance Branch, Office of Management and Budget 1
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Ways and Means 1
Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means 1
Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security 2
Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Social Security 1
Majority Staff Director, Subcommittee on Social Security 2
Minority Staff Director, Subcommittee on Social Security 2
Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources 1
Ranking Minority
Member, Subcommittee on Human Resources 1
Chairman, Committee on Budget, House of Representatives 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Budget, House of Representatives 1
Chairman, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 1
Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Governmental Affairs 1
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Appropriations,
House of Representatives 1
Chairman,
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations,
House of Representatives 1
Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations,
House of Representatives 1
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate 1
Chairman, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate 1
Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations,
U.S. Senate 1
Chairman, Committee on Finance 1
Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Finance 1
Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy 1
Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy 1
Chairman, Senate Special Committee on Aging 1
Ranking Minority Member, Senate Special Committee on Aging 1
Vice Chairman, Subcommittee on Government Management Information
and Technology 1
President, National Council of Social Security Management Associations,
Incorporated 1
Treasurer, National Council of Social Security Management Associations,
Incorporated 1
Social Security Advisory Board 1
AFGE General Committee 9
President, Federal Managers Association 1
Regional Public Affairs Officer 1
Total 97
Overview of the Office of the Inspector General
Office of Audit
The Office of Audit (OA) conducts comprehensive financial and performance audits of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) programs and makes recommendations to ensure that program objectives are achieved effectively and efficiently. Financial audits, required by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, assess whether SSA’s financial statements fairly present the Agency’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flow. Performance audits review the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of SSA’s programs. OA also conducts short-term management and program evaluations focused on issues of concern to SSA, Congress, and the general public. Evaluations often focus on identifying and recommending ways to prevent and minimize program fraud and inefficiency.
Office of Executive Operations
OEO supports the OIG by providing information resource management; systems security; and the coordination of budget, procurement, telecommunicat
ions, facilities and equipment, and human resources. In addition, this office is the focal point for the OIG’s strategic planning function and the development and implementation of performance measures required by the Government Performance and Results Act. OEO is also responsible for performing internal reviews to ensure that OIG offices nationwide hold themselves to the same rigorous standards that we expect from SSA, as well as conducting investigations of OIG employees, when necessary. Finally, OEO administers OIG’s public affairs, media, and interagency activities, coordinates responses to Congressional requests for information, and also communicates OIG’s planned and current activities and their results to the Commissioner and Congress.
Office of Investigations
The Office of Investigations (OI) conducts and coordinates investigative activity related to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement of SSA programs and operations. This includes wrongdoing by applicants, beneficiaries, contractors, physicians, interpreters, representative payees, third parties, and by SSA employees in the performance of their duties. OI also conducts joint investigations with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
Counsel to the Inspector General
The Counsel to the Inspector General provides legal advice and counsel to the Inspector General on various matters, including: 1) statutes, regulations, legislation, and policy directives governing the administration of SSA’s programs; 2) investigative procedures and techniques; and 3) legal implications and conclusions to be drawn from audit and investigative material produced by the OIG. The Counsel’s office also administers the civil monetary penalty program.