A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Automation and information technology (IT) are expected to play a critical role in the 2010 decennial census. The Census Bureau plans to spend about $3 billion on automation and technology that are to improve the accuracy and efficiency of census collection, processing, and dissemination. The Bureau is holding what it refers to as a Dress Rehearsal, during which it plans to conduct operational testing that includes the decennial systems. In view of the importance of IT acquisitions to the upcoming census, GAO was asked to (1) determine the status and plans for four key IT acquisitions, including schedule and cost, and (2) assess whether the Bureau is adequately managing associated risks. To achieve its objectives, GAO analyzed acquisition documents and the projects' risk management activities and compared these activities to industry standards."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last 10 years, the cost to confine federal Bureau of Prison (BOP) inmates in non-BOP facilities has nearly tripled from about $250 million in fiscal year 1996 to about $700 million in fiscal year 2006. Proponents of using contractors to operate prisons claim it can save money; others question whether contracting is a cost-effective alternative. In response to Conference Report 109-272, accompanying Pub. L. No. 109-108 (2005), this report discusses the feasibility and implications of comparing the costs for confining federal inmates in low and minimum security BOP facilities with those managed by private firms for BOP. GAO reviewed available data on a selection of 34 low and minimum security facilities; related laws, regulations, and documents; and interviewed BOP and contract officials."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (CARE Act), administered by the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), was enacted to address the needs of jurisdictions, health care providers, and people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and their family members. In December 2006 the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006 reauthorized CARE Act programs for fiscal years 2007 through 2009. In July 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3043, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2008, which contains a hold-harmless provision covering funding for urban areas that receive funding under the CARE Act. This bill has not been passed by the Senate. Under the CARE Act, funding for Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMA) and Transitional Grant Areas (TGA) is primarily provided through three categories of grants: (1) formula grants that are awarded based on the case counts of people with HIV/AIDS living in an urban area; (2) supplemental grants that are awarded on a competitive basis based on an urban area's demonstration …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Surgeon General reported in 1999 that about one in five children in the United States suffers from a mental health problem that could impair their ability to function at school or in the community. Yet many children receive no mental health services. While many of the existing mental health services for children are provided in schools, the extent and manner of school mental health service delivery vary across the country and within school districts. Federally led initiatives have identified schools as a potentially promising location for beginning to address the mental health needs of children. Both the report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health and the 2003 report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health--Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America--identified school mental health services as a means of improving children's mental and emotional well-being. At the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a stated mission of building resilience and facilitating recovery for people--including children at risk for mental health problems. Although SAMHSA is the federal …