Office of Inspector General | Enhancing Confidence in the Program.<br>Improving Economy and Efficiency.

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

“This settlement represents the government’s commitment to hold any AbilityOne contractor accountable for noncompliance and ensure that federal dollars intended to employ workers who are blind or have significant disabilities are indeed used for that purpose” said Acting Inspector General Stefania Porter of the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. “Working with the United States Attorney’s Office and our investigative and law enforcement partners, the AbilityOne Office of Inspector General protects the integrity and public trust in the largest employment program in the nation of blind and significantly disabled workers.”

U.S. AbilityOne Commission

The AbilityOne Program is the largest source of employment in the United States for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Through the AbilityOne Program, over 45,000 Americans who are blind and have significant disabilities are employed in the service, manufacturing, and delivery of over $3.6 billion in federal contracts for products and services to the Federal Government.

The Commission is composed of 15 members appointed by the President. The Commission has designated National Industries for the Blind (NIB), SourceAmerica, and American Foundation for the Blind as central nonprofit agencies (CNAs) to represent and assist the over 500 community-based qualified nonprofit agencies (NPAs) located in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, that provide employment to blind and significantly disabled Americans.

The 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.

AbilityOne News

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

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.

Audit of the Procurement List Addition Process, Procedures, and Practices

OIG is pleased to provide our Audit of the Procurement List Addition Process, Procedures, and Practices. The objective of the performance audit was to determine whether the Procurement List (PL) addition process was transparent and performed efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

OIG Presents at July 2021 Commission Briefing on the Theme "Mastering the Craft" and “Oversight for the Future”

On July 8th, 2021, OIG updated stakeholders on the results of the OIG collective products and achievements over the past four years and recent months. Since the creation of OIG, we have built the future of oversight for the Program and mastered our craft. OIG has conducted a sweep of the main core areas of the Commission programs and operations: AbilityOne Program Fee, Cooperative Agreements, Allocation of Assignment of Product and Service and Operation of the Procurement List. OIG recently issued comprehensive two-year audit plan, tailored for the future.

Biennial Audit Plan for Fiscal Years 2022–2023

OIG is pleased to announce our risk-based Biennial Audit Plan for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022–2023. The OIG Biennial Audit Plan includes eight statutorily mandated audits and eight discretionary audits of the AbilityOne Program. Throughout the 2022–2023 audit cycle, OIG will continue to focus on high-risk areas in the program and operations, as well as aspects of the Program related to the pandemic.

Pivotal Stage – the future: Semiannual Report to Congress for October 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021.

We are pleased to provide the Semiannual Report to Congress. The theme of this report is, “Pivotal Stage” and builds on our last semiannual report “the Future: tell your own story.”

OIG Presents at SourceAmerica Annual Conference

At SourceAmerica’s May 2021 Annual Conference, the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General discussed current initiatives and hosted a session devoted to answering discussion questions asked during pandemic speeches made to SourceAmerica. A copy of the PowerPoint is available here.

OIG Presents at April 2021 Commission Briefing & Town Hall on the Theme "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

During the April 2021 Commission Briefing and Town Hall, the OIG introduced a theme inspired by Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century transcendentalist author, stating that "it's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." OIG has reached a point of specialization in what we are observing. It is no longer about what to look at but what we see. The IG also addressed the need to change the status quo and provided an overview of major OIG work products and impact.

Commission Report to President and Congress Features IG Section Telling the Story of How Oversight is Building a Stronger Commission and Program

As required by the JWOD Act, the Commission released its annual report to the President and to Congress. The Report features an IG Section that tells the story of how oversight is building a stronger Commission and Program. The report covers four major areas:

OIG Issues Report on the Audit of the Central Nonprofit Agency Selection of Nonprofit Agencies for Project Assignment and Allocation of Orders

On March 12, 2021, OIG issued a report on the Audit of the CNAs’ Selection of NPAs for Project Assignment and Allocation of Orders. The performance audit assessed the extent to which the implementation of the project assignment and allocation process by the CNAs is effective and follows applicable laws and regulations as well as established policies and procedures.

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