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As of March 26, 2023, there are 4771 open recommendations that still need to be addressed. 430 of these are priority recommendations, those that we believe warrant priority attention. Learn more about our priority designation on our Recommendations page.

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1 - 20 of 4772 Recommendations, including 431 Priority Recommendations

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

GAO-23-105139
Gretta L. Goodwin
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8 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should collect and maintain complete and accurate data in a readily-available format on First Step Act risk and needs assessments, including the actual dates when First Step Act risk and needs assessments and reassessments are conducted. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should ensure that the monitoring efforts it implements can determine if BOP is conducting risk and needs assessments in accordance with First Step Act required and BOP internal timeframes. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should use and document the results of its ongoing monitoring of the frequency at which it conducts risk and needs assessments, and take appropriate corrective actions, as needed. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons 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

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should evaluate its evidence-based recidivism reduction programs, according to the plan established. (Recommendation 5)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should develop a mechanism to monitor, on an ongoing basis, if it is offering a sufficient amount of evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities to meet the needs of its incarcerated population. (Recommendation 6)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should document a complete list of all the unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. (Recommendation 7)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Bureau of Prisons The Director of BOP should collect and monitor participation data for unstructured productive activities that incarcerated people are able to participate in and earn First Step Act time credits. (Recommendation 8)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

VA Health Care: Improved Data, Planning, and Communication Needed for Infrastructure Modernization and Realignment

GAO-23-106001
Sharon M. Silas
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should develop specific actions that address the data gaps identified by GAO and others and identify time frames for completing such actions to help ensure that future market assessments fully account for the department's key considerations. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct VA's leadership team to develop a formal, documented plan that identifies its structure and an implementation strategy for its efforts to modernize and realign the department's infrastructure to help ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of these efforts. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Veterans Affairs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs should direct its leadership team to finalize its communication approach, such as by developing, documenting, and disseminating how it will increase communication and transparency with internal and external stakeholders, including specifying how and when communication should occur. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Haiti: USAID and State Should Improve Management and Assessment of Reconstruction Activities

GAO-23-105211
Latesha Love-Grayer
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
U.S. Agency for International Development The Administrator of USAID should ensure USAID/Haiti updates or develops strategic infrastructure plans using quality information, such as technical information and expertise. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
U.S. Agency for International Development The Administrator of USAID should ensure that USAID/Haiti develops a process to track and assess consistent and complete results information for infrastructure activities, such as the final outputs, outcomes, costs, time frames, and lessons learned. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of State The Secretary of State should ensure that the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs conducts an evaluation of the effectiveness of its activities to develop the Haitian National Police. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
U.S. Agency for International Development The Administrator of USAID should ensure that USAID/Haiti establishes a process to completely and consistently track and analyze data on awards made to local organizations, such as the amount and percent of total funding awarded and the percent of total awards provided to these organizations. (Recommendation 4)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
U.S. Agency for International Development The Administrator of USAID should ensure that USAID/Haiti systematically tracks information on the activities that the mission funds to strengthen organizational capacity of Haitian organizations, including which activities USAID funds, and basic information about these activities, such as key interventions, entities involved, results achieved, and lessons learned. (Recommendation 5)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Wildfire Smoke: Opportunities to Strengthen Federal Efforts to Manage Growing Risks

GAO-23-104723
J. Alfredo Gómez
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4 Open Recommendations
Agency Recommendation Status
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of EPA should develop and document a coordinated approach for EPA's actions to help communities prepare for and respond to the air quality and public health risks of wildfire smoke. The approach should align with leading practices for collaboration, including establishing goals, identifying and leveraging resources, and clarifying key stakeholder roles and responsibilities. (Recommendation 1)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Environmental Protection Agency The Administrator of EPA should work with the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to better align air quality and land management goals for wildfire risk mitigation and establish joint strategies for achieving those goals. (Recommendation 2)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture should work with the Administrator of EPA and Secretary of the Interior to better align air quality and land management goals for wildfire risk mitigation and establish joint strategies for achieving those goals. (Recommendation 3)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Interior The Secretary of the Interior should work with the Administrator of EPA and Secretary of Agriculture to better align air quality and land management goals for wildfire risk mitigation and establish joint strategies for achieving those goals. (Recommendation 4)
Open

When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Note: the list of open recommendations for the last report may continue on the next page.

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