Recommendation No.

1. Resolved. In the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) September 23, 2003 Action Plan submitted with its response to the draft report, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that its new draft FY 2003-2008 Strategic Plan includes a general long-term goal and four specific strategic goals with two and five-year quantitative, time-specific objectives. The DEA believes that the revised goal and objectives will meet the requirements of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11. The DEA stated that it would provide the revised Strategic Plan to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) upon final approval. The DEA plans to complete this action by October 2003.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive a copy of the DEA's revised Strategic Plan that shows the DEA has established goals and objectives that are quantitative, directly measurable, or assessment based as required by OMB Circular A-11.


2. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that its FY 2004 Budget Request to Congress provides performance information for the following four strategic focus areas, which are defined in the DEA's draft FY 2003-2008 Strategic Plan: International Enforcement, Domestic Enforcement, State and Local Assistance, and Diversion Control. The DEA stated that it has specific performance indicators for each of the four strategic focus areas, but performance results are not available for the DEA's general long-term goal of contributing to the DOJ's goal to reduce the availability of drugs in America. The DEA stated that it plans to complete development of an impact assessment methodology in order to demonstrate results on its efforts to reduce drug availability. The DEA plans to complete this action by December 2003.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation that shows the DEA completed the above stated action and that its latest budget request includes performance results for all performance indicators included in the budget request.


3. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that it has prepared definitions and specific criteria for what constitutes a priority target organization. The DEA stated that the definitions and criteria are under review and will be included in a new Priority Target Handbook, which will be provided to the OIG upon final approval. The DEA plans to complete these actions by November 2003.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation that shows the DEA has established criteria for determining what constitutes a priority target organization.


4. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that it has prepared definitions and specific criteria for what constitutes a disruption/dismantlement. The DEA stated that the definitions and criteria are being compiled into a new Priority Target Handbook, which will be provided to the OIG upon final approval. The DEA plans to complete these actions by November 2003.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation that shows the DEA has established criteria for determining what constitutes a disrupted and dismantled priority target organization.


5. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that: 1) its Office of Diversion Control has defined disruption and dismantlement and established a methodology to collect, analyze, and report performance data, 2) it is considering proposals concerning the assessment of the DEA's impact on drug availability, and 3) it has modified a contract to incorporate all international priority target organizations into the Priority Target and Resource Reporting System (PTARRS). Further, the DEA stated that: 1) its Office of Diversion Control is evaluating the consolidation of several data systems into one relational interface that will capture all disruption and dismantlement information, and it will complete the action by December 2004; 2) it plans to complete the development of an impact assessment methodology by December 2004 in order to demonstrate results on reduction of drug availability, and 3) it plans to modify the PTARRS by December 2003 to include all international priority target organizations.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation that shows the DEA completed the actions stated above and that the newly established or enhanced systems are adequate to collect, analyze, and report performance data related to the performance indicators for: 1) suppliers disrupted and dismantled, 2) contribution to reduction in drug use and availability, and 3) international priority target organizations disrupted and dismantled.


6. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that its Office of Diversion Control uses established procedures and controls to verify the performance data reported for disruptions and dismantlements. According to the DEA's response, the established procedures include: 1) reviewing discrepancies, 2) resolving questions in the field, 3) evaluating inconsistencies prior to data entry, 4) verifying and recording disposition data, and 5) assigning the appropriate administrative codes to each registration. The DEA also stated that it is considering proposals concerning the assessment of the DEA's impact on drug availability; has modified a contract to incorporate all international priority target organizations into the PTARRS; and plans to:
   
   
   • Include existing data verification procedures in any effort to consolidate existing DEA data systems by December 2003.
   • Include data verification procedures in the resulting impact assessment system by December 2004.
   • Modify the PTARRS to include all international priority target organizations by December 2003.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation of the written procedures and controls to verify the performance data for the performance indicators for: 1) suppliers disrupted and dismantled, 2) contribution to reduction in drug use and availability, and 3) international priority target organizations disrupted and dismantled.



7. Resolved. In its September 23, 2003 Action Plan, the DEA stated that it concurred with this recommendation and that it has established a quarterly review process for performance data that entails comparing actual performance data to established annual targets. The DEA stated that it would establish a methodology to estimate projected performance based on actual data for each performance indicator identified in the DEA's four strategic focus areas. The DEA plans to complete this action by December 2004.
   
   We can close this recommendation when we receive documentation that shows the DEA completed the action stated above and that the DEA has established goals consistent with historical performance results.