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Open Recommendations (32 total)

Bureau of Prisons: Improved Planning Would Help BOP Evaluate and Manage Its Portfolio of Drug Education and Treatment Programs

GAO-20-423
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should implement the revised program evaluation plan based on available funding and staffing levels for conducting them. (Recommendation 5)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and in July 2021 revised the program evaluation plan based on available funding and staffing levels. Further, in September 2021, BOP contracted with an external entity to evaluate its drug treatment programs and noted that it expected the external entity to complete its initial analyses in October 2022. In March 2023, BOP provided us with the contractor's first quarterly progress report for the period ending in December 2022. The report indicated that both descriptive and evaluative analyses - as well as a report on these findings- were to be completed by March 2023, but BOP did not provide evidence of the deliverables. In November 2023, BOP told us they would provide deliverables they received from the contractor. We will continue to monitor the status of the contract to ensure the contractor's efforts to evaluate BOP's drug treatment programs proceed as planned.

Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Assist Incarcerated People with Obtaining ID Documents Prior to Release

GAO-23-105302
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons In developing its new federal ID card, the Director of BOP should identify key stakeholders and leverage their expertise to help ensure that BOP maximizes the potential uses of the ID card. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
In December 2022, we reported on the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) efforts to assist incarcerated individuals with obtaining identification (ID) documents. We found that BOP had a process in place to provide this assistance, and was developing a new federal ID card for incarcerated people, which they may be able to exchange for a state-issued photo ID upon release. However, while BOP had begun outreach to state motor vehicle departments about accepting this new ID card, it had not identified or leveraged input from other stakeholders, such as public assistance providers or state health agencies, which could potentially accept the new ID card. Consequently, we recommended that in developing its new federal ID card, BOP should identify key stakeholders and leverage their expertise to help ensure that BOP maximizes the potential uses of the ID card. In response, in September 2023, BOP identified 8 key stakeholders such as the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs for outreach. In January 2024, BOP officials stated they continue outreach to other federal and regional agencies about ID acceptance. To fully address this recommendation, BOP should provide information on how it has leveraged outreach to these entities it identified to foster greater acceptance of its release ID.

Bureau of Prisons: Improved Planning Would Help BOP Evaluate and Manage Its Portfolio of Drug Education and Treatment Programs

GAO-20-423
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should implement BOP's plan for managing its portfolio of drug education and treatment programs. (Recommendation 7)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and indicated in December 2020 that it would provide GAO with a plan for managing its portfolio of drug education and treatment programs. In August 2021, BOP provided GAO with the Drug Education and Treatment Programs Management Plan. In March 2023, BOP updated the Drug Education and Treatment Programs Management Plan. This plan defined goals for each drug education and treatment program, along with specific monitoring activities and staff and funding resources that would be necessary to achieve those goals. In September 2023, BOP provided a Psychology Treatment Programs report, which listed the allocated drug treatment positions by region and indicated what positions are currently filled or vacant. To close this recommendation as implemented, BOP will need to provide documentation of how it is monitoring the goals defined in the Drug Education and Treatment Programs Management Plan. We will continue to assess actions BOP takes to implement this plan, including evidence that monitoring is taking place as described and that the indicated staff and funding resource needs have been addressed.

Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs

GAO-21-123
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop and implement a plan for analyzing data to help identify and address the causes and potential impacts of staffing challenges on staff and inmates. (Recommendation 2)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and has begun taking early steps to address it. In June 2021, BOP reported that it hired a contractor to assist the agency over several months in analyzing data to identify and address impacts of staffing challenges. In March 2023, BOP reported that the contractor had conducted research, including interviews with BOP leaders and focus groups across BOP, discussing topics such as staffing, recruiting, and retention. BOP reported that the contractor conducted additional interviews with 50 BOP employees to gain additional understanding related to employee retention. BOP reported that the research resulted in an assessment. In March 2024, BOP officials told us that the assessment was illustrative for determining trends related to what contributes to employee retention. However, BOP officials told us that limited data is available to determine additional impacts, such as the effects of staffing challenges on inmate programming, for example. We will continue to monitor BOP's progress toward addressing this recommendation.

Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Assist Incarcerated People with Obtaining ID Documents Prior to Release

GAO-23-105302
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should examine the existing data fields to ensure that the appropriate information is being captured to clearly inform BOP of the number of people who have ID documents at home and choose not to have them sent to BOP facilities, as well as the reasons for not having ID documents. (Recommendation 3)
Open – Partially Addressed
In December 2022, we reported on the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) efforts to assist incarcerated individuals with obtaining identification (ID) documents. We found that in 2018, BOP began recording the ID document status of incarcerated people in its case management system, but it had not assessed what data would provide the most useful information in its ID assistance efforts. We identified several examples of potential data that BOP could consider to provide clearer and more detailed information. For example, BOP has a data field to capture information on why a person may not have a Social Security card or birth certificate. These could be defined reasons, such as refusal to obtain the document, or selection of an "other" free-form data entry field allowing staff to provide a description of the reason. However, a large number of these "other" reasons were recorded as "not specified" or "N/A", thus making it difficult to ascertain why these people may not have the ID document. As a result, we recommended that BOP examine the existing data fields to ensure that the appropriate information is being captured to clearly inform BOP of the number of people who have ID documents at home and choose not to have them sent to BOP facilities, as well as the reasons for not having ID documents. In response, in September 2023, BOP began making changes to how such data are recorded in its case management system. Also, according to BOP officials, data analysis conducted in June 2023 showed that the largest reason for not having ID was recorded as "other", but staff were not using the "other" field correctly, so BOP is planning to change how the field is used. BOP officials also reported they are making changes to the relevant policy (Program Statement on Unit Management and Inmate Program Review). As of January 2024, BOP is working to incorporate changes to the "other" field to correct its misuse by staff and clarifying the reasons for not having ID. BOP provided us with screenshots showing the changes it is making to its data system. To fully address this recommendation, BOP should complete making changes to how the "other" and "reasons" data are gathered.

Bureau of Prisons: Opportunities Exist to Better Analyze Staffing Data and Improve Employee Wellness Programs

GAO-21-123
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3 Open Recommendations
3 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons
Priority Rec.
The Director of BOP should conduct a risk assessment of its overtime and augmentation use, including identifying risks to staff, inmates, and institution security; and determining actions to respond, as appropriate. (Recommendation 3)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and has taken steps to address it. In June 2021, BOP reported that it hired a contractor to assist the agency in assessing the risk of overtime and augmentation usage and develop an overtime calculation tool. In August 2022, the contractor finalized its risk assessment of overtime and augmentation use. The study concluded that there were few risks of overtime and augmentation, for example, related to sick leave, vacancies, or inmate and staff incidents. However, the study was based on limited data, and, in March 2024, BOP officials acknowledged that there are likely additional risks to overtime and augmentation than what was found in the contractor's report, but they do not have plans to pursue an additional study on the risks. Related to the same August 2022 contractor study, BOP reported that the contractor created a tool to retroactively track overtime spending. In March 2023, BOP reported that the contractor had finished the analysis and that BOP had been tracking overtime and augmentation usage and trends for several months. In March 2024, BOP reported that it has continued to track overtime and augmentation usage monthly and acknowledged that BOP needs to reduce its reliance on overtime and augmentation. Continued tracking will illuminate drivers and trends of overtime and augmentation usage and help BOP invest in short and longer-time solutions to mitigate associated risks. We will continue to monitor BOP's progress in addressing our recommendation.
Bureau of Prisons
Priority Rec.
The Director of BOP should assess the outcomes of the staffing incentives it utilizes by developing performance measures and goals, measuring outcomes against them, and adjusting incentives, as appropriate. (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and reported in February 2022 that its contractor was finalizing a risk analysis of the agency's current use of staffing incentives. In August 2022, the contractor finalized its analysis of staffing incentives. In March 2023, BOP stated that, based on the assessment, the contractor continued its work to standardize incentive usage, including working with BOP Executive Staff and other Human Resources staff to identify performance measures and goals for its use of incentives. In June 2023, BOP released its Incentives Playbook, with the intended purpose of standardizing BOP's approach to staffing incentives. The Incentives Playbook also includes performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the incentives. In March 2024, BOP reported that it will have sufficient data to be able to measure the outcomes of performance metrics in 2025. This ongoing work should help BOP determine the effectiveness of staffing incentives.
Bureau of Prisons
Priority Rec.
The Director of BOP should develop and implement a reliable method, or amend existing methods, for calculating staffing levels at BOP institutions. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and has begun taking steps to address it. In June 2021, BOP reported that it hired a contractor to assist the agency in calculating staffing levels at BOP institutions and, in August 2022, BOP reported that the contractor had completed its assessment and developed a new automated staffing tool prototype. BOP reported that the intent of the new tool is to address BOP staffing challenges by providing an updated, standardized, and transparent view of staffing guidelines, and also for assessing staffing levels. BOP also reported in August 2022 that the contractor was testing the new tool prototype, primarily focusing on correctional services positions, in one of BOP's regions before expanding it to additional regions. In March 2023, BOP reported that the contractor was testing a prototype of the tool in three of BOP's six regions, primarily focusing on positions in the correctional services discipline. BOP anticipated that the tool would be rolled out to all six BOP regional offices by June 2023, followed by positions from additional BOP disciplines. In March 2024, BOP reported that the tool will be fully implemented by October 2024, covering all regions and all position disciplines. We will continue to monitor BOP's progress toward addressing this recommendation by assessing (1) the extent to which the tool's test shows that it can effectively calculate staffing levels based on its expanded usage in more regions and all position disciplines, and (2) the implementation of the tool for all positions, so that BOP can address total staffing needs.

Bureau of Prisons: Enhanced Data Capabilities, Analysis, Sharing, and Risk Assessments Needed for Disaster Preparedness

GAO-22-104289
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should establish in policy a clear definition of "disaster" for the purposes of tracking maintenance and repair project information. (Recommendation 1)
Open – Partially Addressed
BOP concurred with this recommendation and stated in January 2022 that it would take steps to establish a definition of disaster for tracking maintenance and repair projects. In August 2022, BOP provided an update noting that it was currently working with multiple stakeholders to develop its definition. In February 2023, BOP officials reported to us that they had developed a definition and documented it in the draft Facilities Operations Manual Program Statement, which is in the process of being reviewed. As of November 2023, BOP reported that these efforts are still underway. We will continue to monitor BOP's efforts to establish in policy the definition it has developed.

Federal Prisons: Bureau of Prisons Should Improve Efforts to Implement its Risk and Needs Assessment System

GAO-23-105139
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1 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons
Priority Rec.
The Director of BOP should ensure its plan for evaluating evidence-based recidivism reduction programs has pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act, and includes clear milestone dates. (Recommendation 4)
Open – Partially Addressed
In March 2023, we reported that BOP's evaluation plan for its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs did not include pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act or clear milestone dates for the evaluation of most of its programs. Accordingly, we recommended that BOP ensure its plan included these elements and BOP concurred. In response, in August 2023, BOP updated its evaluation plan to include milestone dates (i.e. initiation and anticipated completion dates for all of its evaluations) through fiscal year 2026 and goals and research questions for those evaluations that have been initiated. In September 2023, BOP officials stated that while long-term outcomes will primarily focus on recidivism, short-term outcomes will vary by program. Officials stated that specific research questions for each project are developed in collaboration with the researchers. However, BOP's updated evaluation plan did not include timeframes for all of its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and did not include pre-established, quantifiable goals that align with the First Step Act. Specifically, the Attorney General is required to conduct ongoing research on which evidence-based recidivism reduction programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism. In February 2024, BOP officials stated they revised their evaluation plan in January 2024, which states that BOP will revise its plan in 2026 to include the evaluation of programs not currently included. It further states that plans for future evaluations are dependent upon the availability of resources and funding as well as the ability to prioritize evaluations from a current list of programs, which is subject to change. While the evaluation plan references the First Step Act requirements, it does not indicate how BOP will determine which programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism. To fully address this recommendation, BOP should ensure that its plan to evaluate evidence-based recidivism reduction programs include goals that align with the First Step Act. Specifically, BOP should include goals that ensure its planned evaluations will address the mandated requirements to determine which programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism.
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