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Open Recommendations (32 total)

Grants Management: Actions Needed to Improve Agency Reporting of Expired Grants

GAO-23-105700
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice The Attorney General should resume reporting on undisbursed balances from expired grants in its annual Agency Financial Report or Performance and Accountability Report and annual performance plan, if such reporting is required in the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Information Management: Agencies Need to Streamline Electronic Services

GAO-23-105562
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice The Attorney General should establish a reasonable time frame for when the Department of Justice will be able to accept remote identity proofing with authentication, digitally accept access and consent forms from individuals who were properly identity proofed and authenticated, and post access and consent forms on the department's privacy program website. (Recommendation 5)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Online Exploitation of Children: Department of Justice Leadership and Updated National Strategy Needed to Address Challenges

GAO-23-105260
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice The Attorney General should ensure that the department updates the National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction to fully address all statutory requirements, including appointment of a senior official, inclusion of all 19 statutory elements for the strategy, and issuance of the strategy every two years.
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Department of Justice: Actions Needed to Better Track and Monitor Responses to Congressional Correspondence

GAO-23-105231
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice The Attorney General should ensure that OLA develops department-wide goals and related performance measures for timeliness in responding to congressional correspondence. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In response to our recommendation, DOJ officials commented that although the unique nature of the congressional correspondence they receive makes it difficult to develop a single timeliness metric for responding to each piece of congressional correspondence, DOJ officials have said they are taking steps to ensure that congressional correspondence receives a timely response. For example, DOJ reported that it is developing a standard timeline that may be appropriate for certain categories of congressional correspondence. As of February 2023, DOJ reported that its Executive Secretariat and Office of Legislative Affairs were working closely to develop new procedures and metrics to strengthen the Department's ability to manage congressional correspondence. We will continue to examine DOJ's correspondence management efforts to determine the extent to which it has implemented our recommendation.
Department of Justice The Attorney General should ensure that ExecSec and OLA maintain readily available, accurate, and complete congressional correspondence data to track responses in DOJ's department-wide correspondence management system. (Recommendation 1)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In response to our draft report, DOJ noted that it had begun taking steps to address our recommendation. Specifically, DOJ commented that a new Executive Secretary has been appointed to lead a comprehensive review of the Department's approach to correspondence management. As of February 2023, DOJ reported that it is adding new functionality to its correspondence management system to improve tracking of congressional correspondence. We will continue to monitor DOJ's progress toward implementing our recommendation.
Department of Justice The Attorney General should ensure that ExecSec and OLA develop guidance on correspondence management system data quality. (Recommendation 2)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
DOJ concurred with the recommendation and said it has begun efforts to develop guidance on correspondence management system data quality. For example, DOJ officials said they are planning to customize their correspondence management software to help establish data quality standards and potentially improve Congressional oversight. We will continue to monitor DOJ's efforts to improve its correspondence management system data quality to determine whether DOJ's actions result in implementing our recommendation.

Working Dogs: Federal Agencies Need to Better Address Health and Welfare

GAO-23-104489
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice The Attorney General should direct all of the Department of Justice's agencies with contractor-managed working dog programs to ensure that all 18 issues GAO identified as important to the health and welfare of working dogs are addressed, as appropriate, in future contracts. (Recommendation 10)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Justice The Attorney General should direct all of the Department of Justice's agencies with federally managed working dog programs to revise their policies, as necessary, to ensure that they address all of the 18 issues GAO identified as important to the health and welfare of working dogs. (Recommendation 1)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Privacy: Dedicated Leadership Can Improve Programs and Address Challenges

GAO-22-105065
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2 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Justice
Priority Rec.
This is a priority recommendation.
The Attorney General should incorporate privacy into an organizationwide risk management strategy that includes a determination of risk tolerance. (Recommendation 25)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
The Department of Justice did not concur with this recommendation, stating that its existing strategy documents address how it manages privacy risk, including a determination of risk tolerance. However, documentation provided by DOJ did not explicitly discuss the department's approach to determining privacy risk tolerance, including, for example, factors to be considered and acceptable amounts of risk. Accordingly, we continue to believe our recommendation is warranted. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred.
Department of Justice The Attorney General should establish a time frame and fully develop and document a privacy continuous monitoring strategy. (Recommendation 26)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
The Department of Justice did not concur with this recommendation, stating that DOJ components must assess all security and privacy controls employed by an information system during initial authorization and assess a subset of controls during continuous monitoring on an ongoing basis. However, documentation provided by DOJ did not specify the frequency with which the department plans to assess each privacy control at the various risk management tiers. Accordingly, we continue to believe our recommendation is warranted. As of February 2023, the department had not provided further updates on actions taken to address this recommendation. Once the department states that it has taken action, we plan to verify whether implementation has occurred.
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