The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) appreciates the opportunity to respond to the recommendations from the OIG's draft report entitled Department of Justice Drug Demand Reduction Activities. The Bureau concurs with the report and offers the following comments.

Recommendation #4: Ensure that verifiable and measurable outcome based performance indicators are established for its drug demand reduction programs.

Status: The Bureau concurs with this recommendation and will modify its performance indicators ensuring they are verifiable and measure outcome based performance. New indicators will be completed by April 15, 2003.

Recommendation #5: Ensure that the performance indicator table in its budget submission for the OMB is revised to adequately disclose the data source for performance indicators related to the number of drug counseling hours provided.

Status: The Bureau previously agreed with OIG in regard to this recommendation and has eliminated this performance indicator. This recommendation should be considered resolved and closed.

Recommendation #9: OIG recommends that the Director, BOP; the Administrator, DEA; and the Assistant Attorney General, OJP, work with the OLP to develop a formalized mechanism for coordinating and sharing information related to drug demand reduction activities among the components.

Status: The Bureau concurs with this recommendation and will work with the affected components to develop a formalized mechanism for coordinating and sharing information related to drug demand reduction activities. We will have this completed this fiscal year.

If you have any questions regarding this response, please contact Michael W. Garrett, Senior Deputy Assistant Director, Program Review Division, at (202) 616-2099.