[Survey Report on Background Investigations for Albuquerque Area Education Employees, Bureau of Indian Affairs]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Report No. 99-i-143

Title: Survey Report on Background Investigations for Albuquerque Area
       Education Employees, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Date:  December 22, 1998




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U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Inspector General




SURVEY REPORT


BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS FOR ALBUQUERQUE
AREA EDUCATION EMPLOYEES, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS


REPORT NO. 99-I-143

DECEMBER 1998




MEMORANDUM

TO:               The Secretary

FROM:             Eljay B. Bowron
                  Inspector General

SUBJECT SUMMARY:  Final Survey Report -
                  "Background Investigations for Albuquerque
                  Area Education Employees, Bureau of
                  Indian Affairs" (No. 99-i-143)

Attached  for  your  information is a copy of the subject final
survey report.  The objective  of  the  survey was to determine
whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs performed,  in  accordance
with applicable  laws,  regulations,  and  policies, background
investigations and suitability determinations  for  Albuquerque
Area  education employees who work in Bureau-operated  schools.
The audit  was  conducted  in  response  to  a request from the
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

The  Albuquerque  Area Security Office did not timely  initiate
and properly complete all background investigations for new and
existing   education   employees.    However,   the   completed
background investigations received from the Office of Personnel
Management generally  were reviewed and adjudicated in a timely
manner by the Area Security  Officer and were documented in the
personnel files as completed and  approved.  These deficiencies
occurred because the Bureau did not  have  effective processes,
including written procedures, to identify all employees needing
background investigations and to obtain the  information needed
for   the   proper   and   timely   completion   of  background
investigations  and  security  clearances.   As  a result,  the
Bureau  could not be assured that the 37 individuals  who  were
employed without the requisite background investigations at two
agency offices  and  seven Bureau-operated schools, which had a
total student enrollment of 1,660, were suitable for employment
at these facilities. In  related  matters, the Albuquerque Area
Security   Office   did   not   always   complete   fingerprint
verifications  to  identify  individuals  who   had  unsuitable
backgrounds,  did  not  always  document required preemployment
reference  checks  in  the  personnel   files  as  having  been
completed   and   approved,   and  made  employee   suitability
determinations based on incomplete  information  for  education
employees.

In  its  response,  the  Bureau  agreed with the report's three
recommendations to address these issues. Based on the response,
we considered two recommendations  resolved and implemented and
one recommendation resolved but not implemented.

If   you  have  any questions concerning  this  matter,  please
contact  me  at  (202)  208-5745  or  Mr. Robert  J.  Williams,
Assistant Inspector General for Audits, at (202) 208-4252.


Attachment




December 22, 1998                          C-IN-BIA-002-98-R


SURVEY REPORT


Memorandum


     To:  Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

   From:  Robert J. Williams
          Assistant Inspector General for Audits

Subject:  Survey Report on Background
          Investigations for Albuquerque
          Area Education Employees,
          Bureau of Indian Affairs (No. 99-i-143)

INTRODUCTION

This report presents the results of our survey of background
investigations  for  Albuquerque  Area  education  employees
performed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  The objective of
the survey was to determine whether the Bureau performed, in
accordance  with applicable laws, regulations, and policies,
background investigations  and suitability determinations[1]
for education employees who work in Bureau-operated schools.
The audit was conducted in response  to  a request from you,
as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

BACKGROUND

The  legislative requirements for background  investigations
for education  employees  are  contained in the Indian Child
Protection  and  Family  Violence  Prevention   Act  (Public
Law 101-630, dated November 28, 1990) and the Crime  Control
Act  of  1990 (Public Law 101-647, dated November 29, 1990).
In general,  the  Acts  require  that all employees who have
regular    contact   with   children   receive    background
investigations.  The Code of Federal Regulations (25 CFR 63)
establishes  minimum  standards of character "to ensure that
individuals having regular  contact  with  or  control  over
Indian children have not been convicted of certain types  of
crimes  or  acted  in a manner that placed others at risk or
raised questions about their trustworthiness."  In addition,
the Code of Federal  Regulations  (5 CFR 736)  requires that
personnel background investigations be initiated  within  14
days  of placement (hire date) for all noncritical sensitive
positions.[2]   In that regard, the Bureau has designated as
noncritical  sensitive   positions  all  education  employee
positions within the Office  of  Indian  Education Programs.
Further, administrative instructions for personnel  officers
to   keep   security  officers  informed  of   all  relevant
personnel actions  are  contained  in  the Department of the
Interior Manual (441 DM 3.3C), and instructions for employee
selecting officials to conduct and document reference checks
and   obtain   information   on   any   previous  background
investigations are contained in the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Manual  (62 BIAM 11), dated April 6, 1990,  and  updated  on
November 7, 1996.

The Bureau's  background  investigation process begins after
an  applicant  is  conditionally  selected  for  employment.
First,  the  employing   school  or  related  agency  office
provides the applicants with  the  background  investigation
forms[3] and instructs the applicants to return  the   forms
on  or  prior to the date of hire.  Prior to April 28, 1998,
the school  or  agency  sent  the forms to the Area Security
Officer for the Officer's determination  that the forms were
complete.    The  Security  Officer  reviewed  and   updated
incomplete forms  by  contacting  the  appropriate employing
school  and  sent  the  forms  to  the Office  of  Personnel
Management.   On  April  28, 1998, the  Bureau  changed  its
process  and  made  the school  or  agency  responsible  for
submitting the forms  to the Office of Personnel Management,
which conducts the background  investigations  and sends the
results to the Area Security Officer.

To comply with the background investigation requirements for
Bureau employees, the Bureau has five Security Officers (one
Central Office Security Officer in Washington, D.C.,  and an
Area  Security Officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Aberdeen,
South Dakota; Billings, Montana; and Phoenix, Arizona).  The
four Area  Security  Officers  report  to the Central Office
Security  Officer.  For positions requiring  investigations,
the Area Security  Officers  are  responsible for initiating
education    employee    background    investigations    and
adjudicating  the  investigation results received  from  the
Office of Personnel Management.

During  1997,  the  Office   of  Indian  Education  Programs
employed approximately 5,165 employees in 82 Bureau-operated
elementary   and   secondary   schools    and   5 peripheral
dormitories  for  students who attend public  schools.   The
Albuquerque  Area  Security   Office   is   responsible  for
providing  oversight  of  and  coordination  for  background
investigations  related  to  329  education  employees at  2
agency  offices  and  10 Bureau-operated elementary  schools
that have a total student enrollment of 1,882.

SCOPE OF SURVEY

Our survey was conducted  in accordance with the "Government
Auditing Standards," issued  by  the  Comptroller General of
the United States.  Accordingly, we included  such  tests of
records  and  other auditing procedures that were considered
necessary  under   the  circumstances.   To  accomplish  our
objective, we (1) obtained  and reviewed applicable criteria
related   to   initiating,  processing,   and   adjudicating
background investigations;  (2) reviewed  and discussed Area
Security    Office    background   investigation   operating
procedures  with Bureau  officials;  and  (3)  selected  and
reviewed  a  judgmental   sample   of  education  employees'
security and personnel files.

We selected our sample from the 329  education employees for
the Albuquerque Area Office listed in  the  Bureau's payroll
system at March 16, 1998.  The payroll system indicated that
of  the  329  education employees, investigations  had  been
completed for 264  employees  and had not been completed for
65  employees.   Of  the  329  employees,   we  judgmentally
selected 66 employees (20 percent) for review,  of  which 29
employees  were  recorded as having completed investigations
and  37 employees were  recorded  as  not  having  completed
investigations.  The scope of our review did not include the
procedures  used  by  the  Office of Personnel Management to
perform background investigations.

As part of our survey, we reviewed  the  Departmental Report
on  Accountability  for  fiscal year 1996 and  the  Bureau's
annual assurance statement on management controls for fiscal
year 1997, both of which contain information required by the
Federal Managers' Financial  Integrity  Act.   We determined
that   neither   report   disclosed   any  internal  control
weaknesses   related to the objective of  this  survey.   We
also evaluated  the  Albuquerque  Area's  system of internal
controls  related  to  the  education  employee   background
investigation  process to the extent we considered necessary
to  accomplish  the   objective.    The   internal   control
weaknesses identified are discussed in the Results of Survey
section   of   this   report.    Our   recommendations,   if
implemented,  should  improve  the  internal controls in the
areas identified.

Our survey was performed from March 16 to April 9, 1998, and
included  visits to the Bureau's Albuquerque  Area  Security
Office,  Office   of  Indian  Education  Programs  Personnel
Office, and Southern Pueblos Agency Education Office, all in
Albuquerque.  In addition,  we  visited  the Bureau-operated
elementary schools in Isleta Pueblo and San  Felipe  Pueblo,
New Mexico.

PRIOR AUDIT COVERAGE

During  the  past  5  years, neither the Office of Inspector
General nor the General  Accounting Office has performed any
audits that addressed Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs  education
employees'   background   investigations   and   suitability
determinations.   However,  on June 27, 1997, the Office  of
Personnel Management issued the  report  "Appraisal  of  the
Personnel  Security/Suitability  Programs  of  the Bureau of
Indian Affairs Central Office East/West."  The report stated
that  personnel  security  and suitability programs  in  the
Bureau's   Central   Office   needed    to    be   improved.
Specifically, the report stated that 19 (22 percent)  of  87
personnel files reviewed had no indication that a background
investigation   had   been   performed.    The  report  made
recommendations  to  improve  procedures  for ensuring  that
background  investigations  are  initiated  timely   on  all
employees.  In its October 23, 1997, response to the report,
the Bureau stated that (1) the individuals identified as not
having had a background investigation had been provided  the
necessary  forms  and  that  background  investigations were
being scheduled with the Office of Personnel  Management and
(2) the Bureau had initiated "a 100 percent review"  of  the
official personnel files for the Central Office East/West to
determine   whether   additional   corrective  actions  were
warranted.  In its October 27, 1998,  response  (Appendix 1)
to  the  draft  of  this report, the Bureau stated that  all
19 of  the  individuals  identified  as  not  having  had  a
background investigation  were  Bureau employees but did not
work  for  the  Office  of Indian Education  Programs.   The
Bureau  further stated that  as  of  October 15,  1998,  the
status of the background investigations for the 19 employees
was  as  follows:  nine  employee  investigations  had  been
completed, nine employee investigations were ongoing pending
correction  of  security forms, and one investigation was no
longer necessary  because  the employee no longer worked for
the Bureau.

In  addition,  on October 24,  1997,  the  Acting  Personnel
Officer, Office  of  Indian Education Programs, provided the
Director with a report on the status of education employees'
background investigations  as  listed in the payroll system.
The  report stated that background  investigations  had  not
been completed  for 1,495 (29 percent) of the Bureau's 5,165
school employees.   The Acting Personnel Officer recommended
that background investigation  forms  be  included  with the
appointment documents sent to the Office of Indian Education
Programs  Personnel  Office  to  ensure  that  the forms are
completed  by the employee when the employee is hired.   The
report did not  require  a  response, and at the time of our
review, the Acting Personnel Officer said that no action had
been taken on the report's recommendation.

In its response to the draft of this report,
the Bureau stated:

More  than  half  of the 1,495 employees, however,
had  been  investigated  and  determined  suitable
under E.O. [Executive  Order]10450 standards which
are  the  same standards as  in  Pub.  L.  [Public
Law]101-630.     Most    of    these    background
investigations  were conducted in the late  1970's
or early 1980's.   The  OPM's [Office of Personnel
Management]  SII  [Security  Investigative  Index]
data   base   only   maintains    information   on
investigations conducted within the past 15 years.
Therefore,  an  SII  check of the OPM  files  will
denote a "No Record" for  investigations completed
prior to 1983.

The Bureau further stated:

To  determine  an  accurate universe,  the  Bureau
security specialists  conducted  a thorough review
of all OIEP [Office of Indian Education  Programs]
employees  using a July 20, 1998, payroll listing,
the employees'  Official  Personnel  Folders,  and
OPM's  SII  data  base.   Based on this review the
Bureau determined that 836  current OIEP employees
required investigations.  Of  that number, 26 were
employed at the Albuquerque Area.


**FOOTNOTES**

[1]:An  employee suitability determination
(adjudication)  consists  of determining whether
an employee  has  met  the  required  background
investigation standards.

[2]:The  Federal  Personnel   Manual,   Subchapter
2,  identifies  four sensitivity  levels  for
designating  positions   for  security-related
positions: nonsensitive, noncritical-sensitive,
critical-sensitive,  and special-sensitive.   The
subchapter  states  that noncritical-sensitive
includes positions that involve one of the following:
"access to Secret or  Confidential  national  security
materials, information,  etc.;   -Duties  that may
directly or indirectly  adversely  affect  the  overall
operations  of  the  agency;   -  Duties  that  demand
a high degree of confidence and trust."

[3]:All  education  employees  are  required by the
Office of  Personnel Management to complete a
"Questionnaire  for Public Trust Position" (SF-85P),
a "Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected  Positions"
(SF-85P-S), and a "Fingerprint Chart" (SF-87).

RESULTS OF SURVEY

The Albuquerque Area Security Office did not timely initiate
and properly complete all background investigations for  new
and  existing  education  employees.  Specifically, we found
that the Area Security Office  had  not initiated background
investigations for 37 (56 percent) of  the  66  employees in
our sample and had not submitted to the Office of  Personnel
Management background investigation forms in a timely manner
for 14 (48 percent) of the 29 remaining employees.  However,
the  completed  background investigations received from  the
Office of Personnel  Management  generally were reviewed and
adjudicated in a timely manner by  the Area Security Officer
and  evidenced  in  the  personnel files  as  completed  and
approved.  The Indian Child  Protection  and Family Violence
Prevention  Act,  the  Crime Control Act, and  the  Code  of
Federal Regulations contain  the requirements for performing
and  completing  background  investigations.   However,  the
Bureau did not have effective  processes,  including written
procedures,  to  identify  all employees needing  background
investigations and to obtain  the  information necessary for
the    proper   and   timely   completion   of    background
investigations  and  security  clearances.  As a result, the
Bureau could not be assured that the 37 individuals who were
employed without the requisite background  investigations at
two  agency offices and seven Bureau-operated  schools  that
had a  total  student  enrollment of 1,660 were suitable for
employment[4] at these facilities.  In  related  matters, we
found  that  employee  fingerprint verifications to identify
individuals  with unsuitable  backgrounds  were  not  always
completed, required  preemployment reference checks were not
always documented in the  personnel  files  as  having  been
completed    and    approved,   and   employee   suitability
determinations were made based on incomplete information.

Initiating Background Investigations

Section  408  of  the Indian  Child  Protection  and  Family
Violence Prevention  Act,  dated November 28, 1990, requires
that background investigations  be  performed  for employees
who  have  regular contact or control over Indian  children.
In addition,  Section  231 of the Crime Control Act of 1990,
dated  November  29,  1990,   requires   that  all  existing
employees   involved  in  child  care  services,   including
education employees,  receive  background  investigations no
later than May 29, 1991.  Also, the Departmental Manual (441
DM 3.3C) states that personnel officers are  responsible for
ensuring that security officers are immediately  notified of
all  relevant  personnel  actions, including (1) changes  in
program  or position placement  (sensitivity  levels)  which
require  additional   investigation  and  (2) reassignments,
details,  transfers,  or   terminations  for  all  sensitive
positions  and  for positions  such  as  education  employee
positions which require  security  clearances.   However, we
found  that  the Bureau did not have written procedures  for
transmitting the  necessary  information, including relevant
personnel actions, to the Area  Security Officer.   Instead,
the  Bureau  relied on the employing  school  or  agency  to
inform  the  Security   Officer   of  employees  who  needed
background  investigations.   However,   the   schools   and
agencies  did not always identify employees who did not have
completed background  investigations,  obtain  the  required
background investigation forms from the employees, or submit
the  background  investigation  forms  to  the Area Security
Office.

Based on our review of the security and personnel  files for
the  66  employees,  we found that background investigations
had not been initiated  for  9  (29 percent) of 31 employees
hired before the Crime Control Act  was  enacted on November
29, 1990, and for 28 (80 percent) of 35 employees  who  were
hired  on  or  after  that  date. Examples of the absence of
initiation of background investigations are as follows:

     - On August 18, 1991, the  Bureau  hired  an elementary
school  teacher  and then rehired the teacher on August  15,
1994, after a 2-year voluntary absence.  However, background
investigation forms  were  not  obtained  from  the employee
until June 29, 1996, approximately 5 years after the teacher
was  initially  hired.   On  September  20,  1996, the  Area
Security  Office returned the forms to the employee  because
they were incomplete.   As  of March 16, 1998, no action had
been taken by the Area Security  Office  to obtain completed
forms  from the employee so that an investigation  could  be
initiated.

     - On  October  31,  1994, the Bureau hired a substitute
elementary school teacher who was converted, on November 27,
1995, to full-time teacher  status.   However,  a background
investigation was not requested from the Office of Personnel
Management  until April 2, 1997, approximately 2 1/2   years
after the teacher  was  initially  hired. On April 25, 1997,
the Office of Personnel Management returned  the  background
investigation forms to the Area Security Office because they
were  incomplete.   As  of March 16, 1998, the Area Security
Office had not taken action to obtain the revised forms from
the employee so that an investigation could be initiated.

     - On September 15, 1989, the Bureau hired an elementary
school bus driver.  However,  as  of  March  16,  1998,  the
employee  had  not  received a background investigation, and
the Area Security Office  did not have documentation showing
whether the required background investigation forms had been
submitted by the employee.

     - On August 26, 1991,  the  Bureau  hired an elementary
school    teacher   who   had   completed   the   background
investigation  forms  on  June  28,  1991.   The  employee's
completed  forms  disclosed  a  1976  police  record for  an
alcohol/drug-related  offense.   However,  as  of March  16,
1998, approximately 6 1/2 years after the teacher was hired,
the  Area  Security  Office  had  not initiated a background
investigation.

Based on these examples, we believe  that  the Bureau should
improve   controls   over   the   initiation  of  background
investigations to ensure that all employees who have regular
contact with children receive background investigations.

Submitting Background Investigation Forms

The  Crime  Control  Act,  Section 231,  requires  that  all
existing and newly hired employees  involved  in  child care
services,   including   education   employees,   receive   a
background   investigation,   with  all  existing  employees
receiving background investigations  no  later  than May 29,
1991.  In addition, the Code of Federal Regulations  (5 CFR,
736)  requires  personnel  background  investigations  to be
initiated  within  14  days of placement (hire date) for all
noncritical sensitive positions.   Further,  the Albuquerque
Area  Security  Officer  position  description  includes   a
requirement   that    procedures  should  be  developed,  in
cooperation with the Office  of  Indian  Education  Programs
Personnel  Officer,  for  the administration of the Security
Program   covering  education   employees   throughout   the
Albuquerque  Area.  However, we found a lack of coordination
between the Area Security Office and the Personnel Office in
the development and implementation of the Security Program's
operating procedures.  For example, schools and agencies did
not  always  require  employees  to  submit  the  background
investigation  forms  in  a  timely  manner,  and  the  Area
Security  Office did not monitor and follow up on background
investigation  forms  that  were  returned  to employees for
completion.

Based on our review of security and personnel  files  for 29
employees whose background investigations had been completed
or   initiated,   we  found  that  the  required  background
investigation forms  for 14 (48 percent) of the 29 employees
had not been submitted timely by the Area Security Office to
the   Office   of   Personnel   Management.    Specifically,
background investigation  forms for 10 employees hired after
the November 29, 1990, enactment  date  of the Crime Control
Act  were submitted an average of 141 days after the date of
hire rather  than within the 14 days  required  by  the Code
of   Federal  Regulations   (5 CFR 736) and that 4 employees
hired  before  November  29, 1990,  were  not  submitted  in
accordance with the Act's deadline for submission of May 29,
1991.  For example:

     - On August 7, 1983,  the  Bureau  hired  an elementary
school teacher.  However, it was not until January 31, 1996,
that  the  employee  submitted  the background investigation
forms to the Area Security Office,  which returned the forms
to the employee because they were incomplete.   The employee
revised and resubmitted the forms on September 4,  1996, and
again  on  March 24, 1997.  As a result, the forms were  not
submitted by  the  Area  Security  Office  to  the Office of
Personnel Management until April 2, 1997, 6 years  after the
Act's due date for submission.

     -  On September 5, 1995, the Bureau hired an elementary
school teacher.   However,  the employee did not provide the
completed forms to the Area Security  Office until March 24,
1997.  As a result, the forms were not submitted by the Area
Security Office to the Office of Personnel  Management until
April 2, 1997, approximately 1 1/2 years after  the  teacher
was hired.

On  April  28,  1998,  the Bureau took action to improve its
controls over the security  program by issuing new operating
procedures  that  primarily  addressed   employee   position
sensitivity designations and the appointment of employees to
positions    requiring    background   investigations.    If
implemented, these procedures should improve the designation
of position sensitivity levels.   The  procedures  also made
the  employing  agency  or  the  school rather than the Area
Security  Officer  responsible  for  submitting   background
investigation  forms  to the Office of Personnel Management.
While  this change should  improve  the  timeliness  of  the
submissions,   the  procedures do not provide assurance that
all forms will be obtained  or independent verification that
the form has been properly completed  before  it  is sent to
the Office of Personnel Management.  Area Security  Officers
were   previously   responsible   for  these  functions.  In
addition, the procedures do not address  the  completion  of
background investigations for individuals who are employed.

Verifying Employee Fingerprints

Section 231 of the Crime Control Act of 1990 requires that a
set of the employee's fingerprints be submitted as part of a
criminal   history   check   to  be  conducted  through  the
Identification   Division   of   the   Federal   Bureau   of
Investigation   for  each  background   investigation.    In
addition,  the  Bureau's  Central  Office  Security  Officer
stated  that  when   fingerprint   verification  charts  are
unreadable  and  unclassifiable  by the  Federal  Bureau  of
Investigation,  a  second  fingerprint   verification  chart
should  be submitted to the Office of Personnel  Management,
along with  a  copy  of the initial Case Closing Transmittal
(the Transmittal informs  the  Area  Security  Office that a
second  fingerprint  verification  chart  can  be  submitted
within  1  year  of  the  Case  Closing  Transmittal  date).
However, we found that fingerprint verification charts for 4
(18  percent)  of  22 completed investigations in our sample
were returned to the  Office  of Personnel Management by the
Federal   Bureau   of  Investigation   as   unreadable   and
unclassifiable.

The Albuquerque Area Security Officer stated that the Bureau
had  not  established  a  uniform  policy  relating  to  the
processing  of  unreadable  and  unclassifiable  fingerprint
verifications  and  that  it  was not the Security Officer's
policy  to  obtain  a  second  set of  fingerprints  if  the
alphabetical name search conducted  by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation showed a negative response or found no record.
As  a  result, we determined that the Area  Security  Office
approved   the   background   investigations  for  the  four
education  employees for whom the  fingerprint  verification
process had not been completed.

Checking Preemployment References

The Bureau of  Indian  Affairs  Manual (62 BIAM 11) requires
(1)  employee  selecting  officials   to  conduct  telephone
reference  checks  with at least three prior  employers  and
three personal references before making a selection, (2) the
Office  of Indian Education  Programs  Personnel  Office  to
ensure that  the  selecting official has made and documented
the  necessary  preemployment   reference   checks  and  has
contacted  the Office of Personnel Management  to  determine
whether any  previous  background  investigations  have been
performed, and (3) applications without proper documentation
to  be  returned  to  the  selecting official with no action
taken.  However, we found that  the Personnel Office, Office
of Indian Education Programs, did  not always ensure that an
applicant's   preemployment  references,   including   prior
employers  and  personal   references,   were   checked  and
documented  by  the selecting officials before the  selected
applicants were hired.

Our review of employee  personnel  files  for  35  education
employees hired after April 6, 1990, disclosed that 17 files
(49   percent)   did   not   have   documentation  that  the
preemployment references had been checked.  For example:

     -  The  personnel file for a school  janitor  hired  on
August 9, 1992, contained no evidence that any preemployment
reference check  had been completed.  The education employee
had not received a  background investigation as of March 16,
1998.

     - The personnel  file  for an elementary school teacher
hired on October 1, 1995, did  not include any evidence that
a  preemployment  check  of  personal  references  had  been
completed.  We also determined  that  the education employee
had not received a background investigation  as of March 16,
1998.

The Bureau needs to use all the measures required, including
preemployment   reference   checks,  to  help  ensure   that
employees  who  have  regular  contact   with  children  are
qualified.

Determining Suitability

We  found  that  the  Area  Security  Officer did  not  have
procedures  for  determining  whether  the   results   of  a
background investigation provided sufficient information  on
which  to  base  a  suitability  determination.  Although we
identified   only   1  determination  in   our   review   of
22 suitability determinations  that  we believe was based on
insufficient   responses  from  the  Office   of   Personnel
Management, we are  reporting  this  matter  because  of the
sensitivity  of  the issue.  We found that the Area Security
Officer,  because  no   procedures  were  established,  made
employee suitability determinations based on the information
provided by the Office of  Personnel Management, even if the
information was incomplete.  For example, in the instance we
noted,   the   Case  Closing  Transmittal   concerning   the
background investigation  for  a  special  education teacher
indicated that the Office of Personnel Management was unable
to verify both of the two prior employer references  and two
of the three personal references and that all four local law
enforcement  agencies  either had not been contacted or  had
not  responded  to  the  Office  of  Personnel  Management's
request  for  a  check of criminal  history.   Although  the
information provided in the Office of Personnel Management's
Case  Closing  Transmittal   was  not  complete,   the  Area
Security Officer, on November  25,  1997,  made  a favorable
suitability determination for the employee.  However,  there
was  no  written justification for the determination because
there  are  no  standards  requiring  security  officers  to
document the basis for favorable suitability determinations.

Recommendations

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs:

     1. Direct the Central Office Security Officer to
establish policies and  procedures  to ensure that education
employees   who  have  not  received  completed   background
investigations   are  identified  and  that  all  background
investigation forms  are  obtained,  properly completed, and
submitted to the Office of Personnel Management.

     2.    Direct  the  Central Office Security  Officer  to
establish  policies  and  procedures   to  ensure  that  the
Albuquerque Area Security Office is notified  by  the Office
of   Indian  Education  Programs  Personnel  Office  of  all
relevant personnel actions, that requirements for compliance
with fingerprint  verification  have been complied with, and
that  a  clear  definition  has been  developed  as  to  the
quantity  and type of information  needed  to  determine  an
employee's suitability for employment.

     3. Direct  the  Personnel  Officer,  Office  of  Indian
Education  Programs,  to ensure that preemployment reference
checks are completed timely  and documented appropriately in
accordance with the Bureau  Manual.

Assistant Secretary for Indian  Affairs  Response and Office
of Inspector General Reply

In the October 27, 1998, response (Appendix  1) to the draft
report, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs concurred
with Recommendations 1, 2, and 3.  Based on the response, we
consider  Recommendation 1 resolved but not implemented  and
Recommendations   2   and   3   resolved   and  implemented.
Accordingly,  Recommendation  1  will  be  referred  to  the
Assistant  Secretary for Policy, Management and  Budget  for
tracking of implementation (see Appendix 2).

Additional Comments on Audit Report

In its response,  the Bureau provided additional information
on the Prior Audit  Coverage  section  of  the  draft report
regarding the  June 27, 1997, Office of Personnel Management
report  "Appraisal  of  the  Personnel  Security/Suitability
Programs  of  the  Bureau of Indian Affairs  Central  Office
East/West" and the October  24, 1997, report from the Office
of Indian Education Programs'  Acting  Personnel  Officer to
the   Director   pertaining   to  the  status  of  education
employees'  background  investigations   as  listed  in  the
payroll  system.   Accordingly,  we have revised  the  Prior
Audit  Coverage section of this report  to  incorporate  the
Bureau's comments as appropriate.

The  legislation,   as   amended,  creating  the  Office  of
Inspector requires semiannual   reporting to the Congress on
all  audit  reports  issued, the monetary  impact  of  audit
findings, actions taken  to implement audit recommendations,
and  identification of each  significant  recommendation  on
which corrective action has not been taken.

Since  the report's recommendations are considered resolved,
no further  response  to  the Office of Inspector General is
required (see Appendix 2).

We appreciate the assistance  of  Bureau  personnel  in  the
conduct of our survey.


**FOOTNOTES**

[4]:The  Personnel  Office  for the Office of Indian Education
Programs indicated, on May 7, 1998, that  for these 37
individuals, there were no reported incidents
of child abuse or molestation.


STATUS OF SURVEY REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS


--------------------------------------------------------
 Finding/
Recommendation
Reference   Status        Action Required
--------------------------------------------------------

    1       Resolved;     No further response to the
            not           Office of Inspector General is
            implemented.  required.  The recommendation
                          will be referred to the
                          Assistant Secretary for
                          Policy, Management and Budget
                          for tracking of
                          implementation.
--------------------------------------------------------
 2 and 3    Implemented.  No further action is required.
--------------------------------------------------------




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