U.S. AbilityOne Commission Office of Inspector General

U.S. AbilityOne Commission

The AbilityOne Program is administered by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission, the operating name of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. The Commission is an independent Federal agency composed of 15 Presidential appointees: 11 represent Federal agencies, and four serve as private citizens who are knowledgeable about employment barriers facing people who are blind or have significant disabilities.

U.S. AbilityOne Program

The AbilityOne Program facilitates the use of government procurement to provide employment in the United States for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. More than 36,000 individuals, including more than 2,500 veterans, are employed nationwide at approximately 450 nonprofit agencies from Maine to Guam. AbilityOne provided nearly $4 billion in products and services to approximately 40 Federal government agencies in FY 2022.

U.S. AbilityOne Commission Office of Inspector General

On December 18, 2015, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-113) amended the Inspector General Act of 1978 (IG Act) and created the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at AbilityOne as a designated federal entity IG. The OIG is responsible for conducting audits and investigations, recommending policies and procedures that promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of agency resources and programs, and detecting and preventing fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The IG Act requires the IG to keep the Commission and Congress fully and currently informed about problems and deficiencies in the Commission’s operations and the need for any corrective action.

U.S. AbilityOne Commission OIG News

AbilityOne OIG issues FY23 Top Management and Performance Challenges Report (TMPC) facing the U.S. AbilityOne Commission in Fiscal Year 2024

The OIG identified the Top Management and Performance Challenges (TMPC) facing the Commission in FY 2024 as: 1) Implementation of the Strategic Plan: a) Implementation of new Cooperative Agreements with CNAs to Modernize and Enhance Program Compliance; b) Successful Implementation of the Section 898 Panel Recommendations; c) Use of an Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM) Framework. 2) Breakdowns in Internal Control over Financial Management and Reporting. Appendix A – Watch Item 1: List of Unimplemented OIG Audit Recommendations Watch Item 2: Program Growth and Resulting Risk Appendix B –898 Panel Recommendations for Commission action. OIG provided a draft of this report to Commission management, whose comments on the Commission’s progress in each challenge area have been considered and/or incorporated into this final version.

Quarterly Audit Recommendation Status Report

We are pleased to provide the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Quarterly Audit Recommendation Status Report. As of July 30th, 2021, there are 81 open recommendations, 36 of which are considered “Overdue,” and another 26 reported by management as “Implemented.” Since the date of the OIG’s last semiannual report to Congress, dated March 31st, 2021, 13 new recommendations were added, and no recommendations were closed.

Connecticut Employment Contractor, CW Resources, Pays $600K to Resolve Federal False Claims Act Allegations

On October 13, 2021, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with New Britain-based CW Resources Inc. to resolve allegations that CW Resources submitted claims that falsely certified compliance with program requirements and failed to maintain adequate medical documentation of significantly disabled employees pursuant to the AbilityOne Program.

Quarterly Audit Recommendation Status Report (4th Quarter, FY2021)

We are pleased to provide the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Quarterly Audit Recommendation Status Report. As of September 30th, 2021, there are 58 open recommendations, 6 of which were reported as “implemented” by management; and 3 of the remaining 52 categorized as “Overdue.” Since the date of the OIG’s last recommendation status report, dated July 30th, 2021, no new recommendations were added, and 11 recommendations were closed.

Top Management and Performance Challenges Report

OIG is pleased to provide the Top Management Challenges Report. In accordance with the Reports Consolidation Act of 2000, the Office of Inspector General reports on the most serious management and performance challenges facing the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. In this year’s Top Management and Performance Challenges Report, we include the most pressing challenges and added two watch list items.