During December 2010, the Office of Inspector General continued work on its audit and investigation of the American Samoa Special Services Commission, a Corporation grantee which received Recovery Act funds. We also continued our financial systems reviews of higher-risk Recovery Act grantees and our comprehensive audit of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program.

During November 2010, a team of Office of Inspector General Special Agents traveled to American Samoa to investigate widespread abuses of grant funds, including Recovery Act funds, revealed by an OIG audit of the American Samoa Special Services Commission. We also continued our financial systems reviews of higher-risk Recovery Act grantees. Six OIG staff members participated in the “Focus on Recovery” 2010 Biennial National Procurement and Grant Fraud Conference.

During October 2010, the Office of Inspector General continued its audit of a U.S. Territory’s service commission, which received ARRA funds. Based on our preliminary findings, the OIG issued a Management Alert to the Corporation, which has placed a manual hold on the grantee’s drawdowns. We also continued our audit of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program and a series of financial systems reviews of higher risk ARRA grantees.

During September 2010, the Office of Inspector General initiated an audit of a U.S. Territory’s service commission, which had received ARRA funds. Based on our preliminary findings of widespread financial irregularities, the OIG issued a Management Alert to the Corporation, which placed a manual hold on the grantee’s drawdowns of grant funds. We also issued one audit report on an ARRA grantee.

During August 2010, Office of Inspector General began an evaluation of an ARRA-financed contractor and identified several compliance issues related to the Federal Information Security Act (FISMA). We also initiated four financial systems audits of ARRA grantees, briefed Congressional committee staff members on our oversight efforts, and continued our comprehensive audit of the VISTA program.

During July 2010, Office of Inspector General developed and adopted a Three-Year Work Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2013 that includes oversight initiatives for Recovery Act grantees and programs. Our Audit Section continued its financial systems audits of selected Recovery Act grantees and its comprehensive audit of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, which received significant Recovery Actfunding.

During June 2010, Office of Inspector General audit and investigative staff conducted Recovery Act fraud awareness training and other outreach activities for more than 120 individuals and 40 grantee organizations at the Corporation’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City. We also issued the first of a series of audit reports on Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), a Corporation program that has been greatly expanded with the use of Recovery Act funds.

During May 2010, the Office of Inspector General took its Recovery Act fraud awareness training effort halfway around the world to Guam. Special Agent Kevin Benefield conducted seven training sessions for nearly 100 personnel of Corporation grantees and other stakeholders on Guam. Since beginning its effort in early 2009, the OIG has conducted 39 training sessions nationwide, providing information on Recovery Act requirements and fraud prevention strategies to more than 800 individuals.

During April 2010, the Office of Inspector General continued work on three investigations of Recovery Act grantees and six grantee Financial Accounting Systems Reviews. We also monitored Corporation information technology contracts financed with Recovery Act funds and continued work on our comprehensive audit of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, which received Recovery Act funding for 3,000 additional members.

During March 2010, the Office of Inspector General opened three investigations of Recovery Act grantees as the result of complaints. We also continued work on Financial Accounting Systems Reviews of six grantees. We further presented a Fraud Awareness Briefing, focusing on Recovery Act issues, to representatives of 24 Corporation grantees at the Southwest AmeriCorps Conference in Dallas, TX.

During February 2010, the Office of Inspector General continued field work on its Financial Accounting Systems Reviews of Recovery Act grantees and conducted a Fraud Awareness Briefing and site visit at a grantee in Juneau, AK. We also scheduled additional proactive site visits and began planning for a follow-up risk assessment of grantees receiving Act funds for expanded AmeriCorps and VISTA programs.

During January 2010, the Office of Inspector General conducted field work on Financial Accounting Systems Reviews of two Recovery Act grantees. A total of six such reviews are now in process. We scheduled additional proactive grantee site visits and participated with the Corporation in a working group to monitor and evaluate Recovery Act policies, implementation, and grantee reporting. We also continued work on our comprehensive audit of the VISTA program.

During December 2009, the Office of Inspector General staff conducted nine grantee site visits and provided Fraud Awareness Briefings and training related to Recovery Act requirements to nearly 100 grantee officials and volunteer program participants. We also reviewed and commented on the Corporation’s draft policy for dealing with late and/or incomplete grantee reporting and conducted field work for a Financial Accounting Systems Review of a Recovery Act grantee.

During November 2009, the Office of Inspector General staff traveled to 12 locations in seven states, conducting grantee site visits and providing Fraud Awareness Briefings and training related to Recovery Act requirements to more than 260 grantee officials and AmeriCorps members. Our outreach included participation in a Corporation grantee conference in New Orleans, where we provided Recovery Act information, as well as insights into OIG audits and investigations, to representatives of 165 grantees.

During October 2009, the Office of Inspector General conducted a series of proactive site visits to Corporation grantees receiving ARRA funds. During visits to sites in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Maryland, OIG investigators and auditors interviewed grantee officials and program participants, reviewed documentation, and conducted ARRA Fraud Awareness Briefings. We also scheduled more grantee site visits for November, and completed and submitted our Recovery Act Data Quality Review. Two OIG staff members participated in 508 Compliance Training for ARRA reports.