A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal funding to states supported more than 200,000 youth in residential facilities in 2004, many seeking help to address behavioral or emotional challenges. However, federal investigations have identified maltreatment and civil rights abuses in some facilities. GAO was asked to provide national information about (1) the nature of incidents that adversely affect youth well-being in residential facilities, (2) how state licensing and monitoring requirements address youth well-being in these facilities, and (3) what factors affect federal agencies' ability to hold states accountable for youth well-being in residential facilities. GAO conducted national Web-based surveys of state child welfare, health and mental health, and juvenile justice agencies and achieved an 85 percent response rate for each of the three surveys. We also visited four states, interviewed program officials, and reviewed laws and documentation."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States is the largest global food aid donor, accounting for over half of all food aid supplies to alleviate hunger and support development. Since 2002, Congress has appropriated an average of $2 billion per year for U.S. food aid programs, which delivered an average of 4 million metric tons of food commodities per year. Despite growing demand for food aid, rising business and transportation costs have contributed to a 52 percent decline in average tonnage delivered over the last 5 years. These costs represent 65 percent of total emergency food aid, highlighting the need to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness. Based on analysis of agency documents, interviews with experts and practitioners, and fieldwork, this report examines some key challenges to the (1) efficiency of U.S. food aid programs and (2) effective use of U.S. food aid."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress requested information concerning differences in cost estimates for implementing the Department of Defense's (DOD) homosexual conduct policy reported by GAO and a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission (Commission). In February 2005, we estimated that the cost to recruit and train replacements for enlisted servicemembers separated under the policy from fiscal years 1994 through 2003 was about $190.5 million. A year later, the Commission estimated that the cost was at least $363.8 million over the same time period--91 percent more than our estimate. This report answers the following questions: (1) What factors contributed to the difference in estimated costs reported by GAO and the Commission? (2) What factors accounted for the difference in estimated enlistee training costs in our 1998 and 2005 reports?"

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The greater New Orleans area--Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes--has yet to fully recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. As a result of the hurricane and its aftermath, many children experienced psychological trauma, which can have long-lasting effects. Experts have previously identified barriers to providing and obtaining mental health services for children. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies have supported mental health services for children in greater New Orleans through various programs, including grant programs initiated in response to Hurricane Katrina. GAO was asked to study the federal role in addressing barriers to these services in greater New Orleans. In this report, GAO (1) identifies barriers to providing and to obtaining mental health services for children in greater New Orleans, and (2) describes how federal programs, including grant programs, address such barriers. To do this work, GAO used a structured interview and a written data collection instrument to gather views on barriers from 18 state and local stakeholder organizations selected on the basis of experts' referrals and the organizations' roles in children's mental health. To learn how federal …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As a result of widespread congressional and public interest in the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we conducted a limited investigation into allegations that military Meal, Ready-To-Eat (MRE) rations intended for use in the hurricane relief efforts were instead sold to the public on the Internet auction site eBay. We focused our efforts on confirming whether selected MREs being offered for sale on eBay were military issue and, if so, interviewing the sellers to determine how they obtained the MREs."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO provided information on how a Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD) contract would affect the Navy's financial reporting, focusing on: (1) whether accounting and auditing standards would require DVD contractors to report individual transactions through the Transaction Item Reporting (TIR) system; and (2) what level of reporting would be required under a DVD contract to meet accounting and auditing standards."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Because of the significance of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collections to federal receipts and, in turn, to the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government, which GAO is required to audit, and Congress's interest in financial management at IRS, GAO audits IRS's financial statements annually to determine whether (1) the financial statements IRS prepares are reliable, (2) IRS management maintained effective internal controls, and (3) IRS complies with selected provisions of significant laws and regulations and its financial systems comply with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA)."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the District of Columbia's funding for certain union employee pay bonuses."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the third largest department in federal procurement spending in fiscal year 2006, has faced ongoing cost, schedule, and performance problems with major acquisitions and procurement of services. In December 2005, DHS established an acquisition oversight program to provide insight into and improve components' acquisition programs. In 2006, GAO reported that DHS faced challenges in implementing its program. Congress mandated that DHS develop an oversight plan and tasked GAO with analyzing the plan. GAO (1) evaluated actions DHS and its components have taken to implement the acquisition oversight plan and (2) identified implementation challenges. GAO also identified opportunities for strengthening oversight conducted through the plan. GAO reviewed relevant DHS documents and GAO and DHS Inspector General reports and interviewed officials in the office of the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) and nine DHS components."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "As people age, some become incapable of managing their personal and financial affairs. To protect these people, state laws provide for court appointment of guardians to act on their behalf. In many cases federal programs provide these incapacitated people financial benefits. GAO was asked to examine: (1) what state courts do to ensure that guardians fulfill their responsibilities, (2) what guardianship programs recognized as exemplary do to ensure that guardians fulfill their responsibilities, and (3) how state courts and federal agencies work together to protect incapacitated elderly people."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report (1) reviews the usefulness of cooperative agreements as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contractual mechanism, (2) the reasons behind NASA's aggressive and rapid-style management of the X-33 and X-34 programs, (3) the timeliness of NASA's plans to generate adequate program cost estimates for gauging management reserves in the 15-20 percent range, and (4) the influence of the Young report on NASA's management style regarding the restructured X-34 Program. GAO found that the X-33 cooperative agreement limited NASA's exposure to cost growth and allowed industry to embark on such a program at relatively modest investment. To meet the goal set in 1994 by the White House Space Policy, NASA implemented the Reusable Launch Vehicle Program, incorporating a "fast-track" management approach and "new ways of doing business." NASA did not conduct cost estimates before awarding several contracts, thereby increasing the risk that the management reserves might not be sufficient to cover additional contract costs. NASA restructured the plan for the X-34 Program in response to both X-34 Program technical reviews and other internal assessments of NASA programs, including reports on the failed Mars missions, the shuttle …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To enhance aviation security, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) developed a program--known as Secure Flight--to assume from air carriers the function of matching passenger information against terrorist watch-list records. In accordance with a mandate in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008, GAO's objective was to assess the extent to which TSA met the requirements of 10 statutory conditions related to the development of the Secure Flight program. GAO is required to review the program until all 10 conditions are met. In September 2008, DHS certified that it had satisfied all 10 conditions. To address this objective, GAO (1) identified key activities related to each of the 10 conditions; (2) identified federal guidance and best practices that are relevant to successfully meeting each condition; (3) analyzed whether TSA had demonstrated, through program documentation and oral explanation, that the guidance was followed and best practices were met; and (4) assessed the risks associated with not fully following applicable guidance and meeting best practices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress and the Department of State (State) initiated changes to the visa process to increase security, but these changes also increased the amount of time needed to adjudicate a visa. Although maintaining security is of paramount importance, State has acknowledged that long waits for visas may discourage legitimate travel to the United States, potentially costing the country billions of dollars in economic benefits over time, and adversely influencing foreign citizens' opinions of our nation. GAO testified in 2006 that a number of consular posts had long visa interview wait times. This report examines (1) State's data on visa interview wait times, (2) actions State has taken to address wait times, and (3) State's strategy for dealing with projected growth in visa demand."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The security of U.S. commercial aviation is a long-standing concern, and substantial efforts have been undertaken to strengthen it. One of these efforts is the development of a new Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) to identify passengers requiring additional security attention. The development of CAPPS II has raised a number of issues, including whether individuals may be inappropriately targeted for additional screening, and whether data accessed by the system may compromise passengers' privacy. GAO was asked to determine (1) the development status and plans for CAPPS II; (2) the status of CAPPS II in addressing key developmental, operational, and public acceptance issues; and (3) other challenges that could impede the successful implementation of the system."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Food aid cargo must generally be carried on U.S.-flag ships under requirements set by the cargo preference program. Two groups of carriers compete for this cargo: (1) those that participate in the Maritime Security Program and receive an annual government subsidy--generally liners operating on scheduled routes and (2) those that do not--generally carriers operating on a charter basis. Congress directed GAO to study (1) how the cargo preference and Maritime Security programs are designed and who participates;(2) the nature and extent of MSF and non-MSF carrier participation and competition in the food aid program; and (3) how a tonnage limitation on bagged preference cargo for MSF vessels could affect MSF, other U.S.-flag ships, the cargo preference food aid program, and the ports servicing these ships."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Potential terrorist attacks and the possibility of naturally occurring disease outbreaks have raised concerns about the "surge capacity" of the nation's health care systems to respond to mass casualty events. GAO identified four key components of preparing for medical surge: (1) increasing hospital capacity, (2) identifying alternate care sites, (3) registering medical volunteers, and (4) planning for altering established standards of care. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the primary agency for hospital preparedness, including medical surge. GAO was asked to examine (1) what assistance the federal government has provided to help states prepare for medical surge, (2) what states have done to prepare for medical surge, and (3) concerns states have identified related to medical surge. GAO reviewed documents from the 50 states and federal agencies. GAO also interviewed officials from a judgmental sample of 20 states and from federal agencies, as well as emergency preparedness experts."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This is a follow up to our April 30, 2003, testimony on the proposed Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 (SARA). Because our testimony was based on a section-by-section analysis of the proposed legislation, the House Committee on Government Reform requested that we review the specific provisions of the bill as introduced and provide any additional comments."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Committee on Taxation identified improved taxpayer compliance with the real-estate tax deduction as a way to reduce the federal tax gap--the difference between taxes owed and taxes voluntarily and timely paid. Regarding the deduction, GAO was asked to examine (1) factors that contribute to taxpayers including nondeductible charges, (2) the extent that taxpayers may be claiming such charges, (3) the extent that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examinations focus on the inclusion of such charges, and (4) possible options for improving taxpayer compliance. GAO surveyed a generalizable sample of local governments, studied taxpayer compliance in two jurisdictions that met selection criteria, reviewed IRS documents, and interviewed government officials and others. Addressing the complexity of current tax law on real-estate tax deductions was outside the scope of this review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Strategy for Homeland Security calls for preventing foreign terrorists from entering our country and using all legal means to identify; halt; and where appropriate, prosecute or bring immigration or other civil charges against terrorists in the United States. GAO reported in June 2003 that the visa revocation process needed to be strengthened as an antiterrorism tool and recommended that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with the Departments of State (State) and Justice, develop specific policies and procedures to ensure that appropriate agencies are notified of revocations based on terrorism grounds and take proper actions. GAO examined whether weaknesses in the visa revocation process identified in its June 2003 report were addressed."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "As part of its involvement with the Navy Personal Property Working Group, GAO reviewed the Department of the Navy's implementation of the Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS). As requested by the working group, GAO visited six Navy activities to evaluate DPAS implementation at those selected locations. GAO found that (1) physical wall-to-wall inventories of personal property were not being done properly; (2) personal property items were not being included in DPAS at a component level to ensure accountability; and (3) policies, procedures, and training were not in place to ensure the sustainability of the property database."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This correspondence responds to follow-up questions to GAO's July 27, 2000, testimony before Congress on patient safety and quality of care at the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). The Patient Safety Centers of Inquiry and VA's Office of Research and Development are not directly linked organizationally. The four centers of Inquiry do not report to and are not funded by the Office of Research and Development. The Directors of the four centers report to either the Veterans Integrated Service Networks or Medical Center manager where they are located. The work at the Centers of Inquiry address some but not all of the known principal adverse and sentinel events at VA medical facilities. The key challenges to improving patient safety include setting goals, planning, and communicating the priority of patient safety to its employees. VA's patient safety program has not been fully implemented, because it is too early to predict whether, in the final analysis, it will be a model for other health care organizations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO has previously reported that the lack of control over inventory shipments increases the Department of Defense's (DOD) vulnerability to undetected loss or theft. GAO evaluated the Army's effectiveness in maintaining accountability of inventory shipped to repair contractors. To conduct its review, GAO analyzed shipment data for fiscal year 2004, surveyed repair contractors that were recipients of inventory shipments, and assessed the Army's adherence to internal control procedures. Inventory shipments included both secondary repair items--components, assemblies, and subassemblies, other than major end items, which may be sent to commercial facilities for repair, alteration, or modification--and government-furnished materiel--assemblies, parts, and other items provided in support of this work."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense's (DOD) cost estimates to implement recommendations from the most recent Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round have steadily increased each budget year since 2005. This BRAC round is the fifth such round undertaken by DOD since 1988 and, by our assessment, it is the biggest, most complex, and costliest BRAC round ever. With this round, DOD plans to execute hundreds of BRAC actions affecting over 800 defense locations and relocate over 123,000 personnel. Before it can realize savings from BRAC, DOD must first invest billions of dollars in facility construction, renovation, and other up-front expenses. To implement BRAC 2005, DOD plans to spend nearly $35 billion--an unprecedented amount, given that it has spent only about $25 billion to implement the four previous BRAC rounds combined."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reported in October 2002 that the visa process needed to be strengthened as an antiterrorism tool and recommended that the Secretary of State, in consultation with appropriate agencies, (1) develop a clear policy on the role of national security in the visa process, (2) create more comprehensive guidance on how consular officers should screen against potential terrorists, (3) fundamentally reassess staffing requirements, and (4) revamp and expand consular training. This report examines State's and other agencies' progress in implementing changes to the visa process since 2002, in the areas of policy and guidance; consular resources, including staffing and training; and information sharing."