Reports: Investigations

A joint investigation with PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of Citizen Service, Harrisburg, PA, found that Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania (CISPA), Harrisburg, PA, failed to conduct critical criminal history checks (CHCs) and falsely certified to CNCS that it was in compliance with all CHC requirements during a Corporation-wide assessment and amnesty.

Alerted to allegations that Senior Corps grantee Great Lake Inter-Tribal Council, Lac du Flambeau, WI, misused program funds, CNCS-OIG investigators conducted a review in conjunction with an agency grant officer and a program officer. This joint review found that the grantee had abused the funds awarded by CNCS in multiple ways.

An AmeriCorps member reported allegations that a New Mexico AmeriCorps grantee required members to engage in prohibited activities by participating in a syringe exchange program.

A grantee reported an AmeriCorps member serving as a tutor for suspected prohibited activity.

CNCS management reported a Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) volunteer was arrested by Tooele Police Department, Tooele, UT, on allegations of sexual assault of a minor, while serving at a FGP school site.

A hotline complaint alleged that the director of an AmeriCorps program in Iowa misappropriated program funds to purchase groceries for her personal use.

A former AmeriCorps member submitted fraudulent claims for childcare benefits after ending her service. The United States Attorney’s Office declined criminal prosecution, and CNCS recouped $1,047 from the former member.

A disappointed job competitor alleged that an individual selected for a senior (SES-equivalent) position overstated her qualifications and embellished her prior work experience and responsibilities, and that the hiring official (also SES-equivalent) failed to verify her prior employment. The complainant also alleged that the same official promoted another CNCS employee without competition.

Between 2013 and 2015, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), Bethesda, MD, allowed a few AmeriCorps members to provide emotional support (doula care) to women during abortion procedures at three New York City clinics operated by the Institute for Family Health (IFH), a subgrantee. Investigators discovered that NACHC had disregarded the direction of CNCS’s General Counsel in 2010 to include in its training materials and member agreements the abortion prohibition precisely as stated in the Serve America Act.

An anonymous hotline complainant alleged AmeriCorps members were not paid their stipends due to timesheets their supervisor lost. The complainant also alleged the program was mismanaged and members were treated poorly by their supervisors.