This memorandum provides a response to the recommendations directed to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) included in the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG’s) draft audit report entitled, Department of Justice Key Indicators. The report contains 12 recommendations, of which five recommendations pertained to the OJP.

The Office of Justice Programs’ response to Recommendations 4, 5, 6, 7, and 11 are detailed below. For ease of review, the recommendations are restated in bold and followed by our response.

4. Coordinate with the CCDO to present the accurate scope of the performance data in the PAR by listing the correct calendar year that the data covers for the key indicator “Reduction of Homicides Per Site Funded Under the Weed and Seed Program.”

The Office of Justice Programs agrees with the recommendation. Prior to the release of Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) disclosed in the Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP’s) Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section that the actual number reported for this key indicator “Reduction of Homicides Per Site Funded Under the Weed and Seed Program” reflects the previous year’s homicides and data for this indicator is collected on a calendar year basis (see Attachment 1). The Office of Justice Programs requests closure of this recommendation.

5. Coordinate with the CCDO to either use data sets that are limited to sites with data for both years or, in the alternative, remove the reduction portion from this key indicator and only report on the number of homicides per Weed and Seed site for the key indicator “Reduction of Homicides Per Site Funded Under the Weed and Seed Program.”

The Office of Justice Programs agrees with the recommendation. We will coordinate with the CCDO to explore alternatives to best present this key indicator in the FY 2008 PAR.

6. Coordinate with the BJA to develop and implement procedures for collecting and reporting data for a single consecutive 12-month period or disclose this as a data limitation within the data limitations section of the PAR for the key indicator “Number of Participants in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program.”

The Office of Justice Programs agrees with the recommendation. Prior to the release of FY 2007 PAR, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) disclosed in the OJP’s MD&A section the data limitation pertaining to this key indicator. Specifically, for the “Number of Participants in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program (RSAT)” key indicator, BJA disclosed that the data collected and reported for 2007 for the RSAT program is according to the grantee’s fiscal year, which is not the same year for all grantees (see Attachment 2). The BJA will continue to report this data limitation in future PARs. The Office of Justice Programs requests closure of this recommendation.

7. Coordinate with the BJA to develop and implement procedures to ensure that RSAT data is accurately reported in the future for the key indicator “Number of Participants in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program.”

The Office of Justice Programs agrees with the recommendation. To ensure that RSAT data is accurately reported in the future for the key indicator “Number of Participants in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program,” BJA awarded a contract to CSR, Inc in September 2007. As part of the contract, CSR, Inc. assisted BJA in developing and implementing a performance measurement system for the Drug Courts and Targeting Violent Crime Initiatives. This system, which became operational on January 1, 2008, aids BJA in external reporting requirements, such as the PAR and Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), and will allow BJA staff to be able to use sound performance measurement data to improve program management. Due to the success of the pilot program, BJA is working on a second RFP to expand this system to incorporate all BJA programs and anticipates awarding a new contract in the spring 2008.

The benefits for expanding this system to other BJA programs are: (1) less reporting burden on grantees due to customization of measures; (2) stricter parameters on what grantees can report results in a higher degree of accuracy of performance measure data; (3) ability to aggregate the data; (4) greater performance measure information for grantees, such as definitions, frequently asked questions, a hotline for questions, etc.; (5) quicker response times to external queries for data; (6) better program management with the data at program and grantee levels and; (7) better analysis and data cleaning capabilities.

11. Examine the accuracy of their MD&A narrative covering the key indicators and verify supporting documentation necessary to ensure the accuracy of the key indicator data. Additionally, component management should notify staff of the significant need for accuracy of the key indicator information presented in the MD&A for the PAR.

The Office of Justice Programs agrees with the recommendation. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Budget Planning and Performance Division, developed and implemented policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy of the OJP’s MD&A narrative covering the key indicators data (see Attachment 3). The Office of Justice Programs requests closure of this recommendation.

Thank you for your continued cooperation. If you have any questions regarding this response, please contact LeToya Johnson, Deputy Director, Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management – Audit and Review Division, on (202) 514-0692.