Report Contents
(U) What OIG Inspected
(U) OIG evaluated executive direction, policy and program implementation, foreign assistance program management, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, and resource management operations of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
(U) What OIG Recommends
(U) OIG made 5recommendationsto the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
(U) In its comments on the draft report, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons concurred with all 5recommendations. OIG considers all 5recommendations resolved. The office’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The office’s formal response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
(U) What OIG Found
- (U) Stakeholders from Department of State offices, bureaus, and overseas missions and other Federal agencies described the office as a collaborative partner and a leader in the U.S. Government’s initiatives to counter human trafficking abroad.
- (U) The Acting Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons exhibited a positive tone in terms of integrity, planning, communicating, collaborating, and resilience.
- (U) The office developed a standard and consistent process for resolving disagreements when bureaus and overseas missions objected to their host country’s tier ranking or accompanying narrative during the drafting of the annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
- (U) The Acting Director created a COVID-19 working group to identify and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the office and its key stakeholders.
- (U) The office’s foreign assistance programs were aligned with policy priorities but needed some improvements in maintaining files and preventing contractors from potentially performing inherently governmental functions.
- (U) The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons lacked standard operating procedures for many office processes and functions, which hampered operations.
- (U) Spotlight on Success: The office used an incremental approach to improve its strategic planning and performance management by creating a program design and monitoring working group that resulted in modifications to the office’s Functional Bureau Strategy and the development of common performance indicators.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons should implement an oversight process for managing its Federal assistance awards in accordance with Department standards.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons should implement written guidance clarifying roles and responsibilities for third-party contractors, in accordance with Department and Federal guidance.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons should implement standard operating procedures for its Resource Management and Planning processes.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons should require all contracting officer’s representatives to administer contracts in accordance with Department standards.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons should review its unliquidated obligations in accordance with Department standards and put up to $496,000 to better use.