All Reports

This report provides an overview of the work of the Office of Inspector General during the period of April 1, 2024 through September 30, 2024.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) investigated allegations that surfaced during an AmeriCorps OIG audit regarding the submittal of false documents and unallowable living allowances to non-AmeriCorps members (members) by AmeriCorps State and National subgrantee, Kuumba Academy, located in Wilmington, DE.

Pursuant to the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), an independent external auditor, on behalf of OIG conducted an annual independent audit of AmeriCorps’ information security program and practices. The fiscal year (FY) 2024 FISMA audit concluded that AmeriCorps’ information security program remains ineffective, assessed as of July 31, 2024.

Independent auditors have declined to issue an opinion on AmeriCorps’ financial statements for the eighth year. They issued a disclaimer of opinion reporting 11 material weaknesses and two significant deficiencies and added three new recommendations. The auditors, however, verified that AmeriCorps took appropriate actions to close 20 of the 95 prior year recommendations. As a result of this audit, there are now 78 open recommendations.

The National Service Trust holds the funds set aside to pay the education awards of national service members who successfully complete their service terms. Responsibility for the education awards that have been earned or will be earned in the near future is the largest liability on AmeriCorps’ financial statements at $287 million.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) conducted an investigation that found evidence that the Axiom Education and Training Center (AETC) in Machias, ME, included false information in its AmeriCorps grant application to Serve Maine, and that AETC mismanaged its AmeriCorps Digital Inclusion Initiative program.

Following the receipt of a complaint that an AmeriCorps member was simultaneously enrolled in two AmeriCorps programs at different grantees without the grantees’ knowledge, AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) initiated a proactive review of members with multiple service terms during the same timeframe.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) investigated allegations that The New Teacher Project (TNTP), New York, NY, improperly exited five AmeriCorps members (members) with 1700 hours and thus certified full time education awards for the members, despite previous denials from AmeriCorps State and National to TNTP’s request to retroactively backdate the members’ enrollment in the MyAmeriCorps Portal.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (AmeriCorps OIG) received allegations that a grantee falsely reported elevated numbers of active volunteers in its Senior Companion Program (SCP) and failed to produce required match funds. The investigation found insufficient evidence to support the allegations. However, during a self-inspection of its fiscal records during this investigation, the grantee discovered $8,434.69 was inappropriately charged to its grant between July 2020 through March 2021 and reported its findings to AmeriCorps OIG.

The AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified concerns regarding the award, management, and oversight of a contract for AmeriCorps’ new grants management system. Specifically, this alert identifies several factors contributing to cost overruns that will likely exceed $9 million—more than double the amount of the original contract—including the choice of a firm-fixed price contract for a project with uncertain requirements, a lack of technical expert involvement in contract oversight, and the descoping of contract tasks to accommodate cost overruns.