55810 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Federal

Maritime Commission.

TIME AND DATE: 5:00 a.m., October 23,

1997.

PLACE: 800 North Capitol Street, NW.,

Room 1000, Washington, D.C.

STATUS: Closed.

MATTER(S) TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Docket No. 96–20—Port Restrictions

and Requirements in the United

States/Japan Trade.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Joseph C. Polking, Secretary, (202) 523–

5725.

Joseph C. Polking,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–28617 Filed 10–24–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6730–01–M

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Board of

Governors of the Federal Reserve

System.

TIME AND DATE: 11:00 a.m., Monday,

November 3, 1997.

PLACE: Marriner S. Eccles Federal

Reserve Board Building, 20th and C

Streets, NW., Washington, DC 20551.

STATUS: Closed.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Status Report of the Committee on

the Federal Reserve in the Payments

Mechanism (Alternative Roles for the

Federal Reserve in the Retail Payments

System). (This item was originally

announced for a closed meeting on

October 20, 1997.)

2. Personnel actions (appointments,

promotions, assignments,

reassignments, and salary actions)

involving individual Federal Reserve

System employees.

3. Any items carried forward from a

previously announced meeting.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mr. Joseph R. Coyne, Assistant to the

Board; (202) 452–3204. You may call

(202) 452–3207, beginning at

approximately 5 p.m. two business days

before this meeting, for a recorded

announcement of bank and bank

holding company applications

scheduled for the meeting.

Dated: October 24, 1997.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–28682 Filed 10–24–97; 2:45 pm]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

Office of Inspector General; Statement

of Organization, Functions and

Delegations of Authority

This notice amends Part A (Office of

the Secretary) of the Statement of

Organization, Functions and

Delegations of Authority for the

Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS) to reflect recent changes

in Chapter AF, Office of Inspector

General (OIG). Chapter AF was

published in its entirety on June 5, 1997

(62 FR 30859).

The statement of organization,

functions and delegations of authority

reflects the original transfer of the

statutory basis for the Office of Inspector

General from Pub. L. 94–505 to Pub. L.

95–452 (and made under the Inspector

General Act Amendments of 1988, Pub.

L. 100–504), and conforms to and

carries out the statutory requirements

for operating the Office of Inspector

General. A number of revisions have

been made to reflect the reassignment of

functions exercised by the Office of

Enforcement and Compliance to two

other components. As a result, the

Office of Investigations will now be

responsible for the development and

processing of all program exclusion

actions. The Office of Counsel to the

Inspector General will now be

responsible for final decisions regarding

administrative sanctions, including

program exclusions and civil money

penalties (CMPs), and for developing

corporate integrity and model

compliance programs, as well as the

monitoring of corporate integrity

agreements. These organizational

changes have been made in an effort to

assist the Office of Inspector General in

accomplishing its mission with greater

efficiency and effectiveness.

As amended, Chapter AF now reads

as follows:

Section AF.00, Office of Inspector

General (OIG)—Mission.

This organization was established by

law as an independent and objective

oversight unit of the Department to

carry out the mission of promoting

economy, efficiency and effectiveness

through the elimination of waste, abuse

and fraud. In furtherance of this

mission, the organization engages in a

number of activities:

A. Conducting and supervising audits,

investigations, inspections and

evaluations relating to HHS programs

and operations.

B. Identifying systemic weaknesses

giving rise to opportunities for fraud

and abuse in HHS programs and

operations and making

recommendations to prevent their

recurrence.

C. Leading and coordinating activities

to prevent and detect fraud and abuse in

HHS programs and operations.

D. Detecting wrongdoers and abusers

of HHS programs and beneficiaries so

appropriate remedies may be brought to

bear.

E. Keeping the Secretary and the

Congress fully and currently informed

about problems and deficiencies in the

administration of such programs and

operations and about the need for and

progress of corrective action, including

imposing sanctions against providers of

health care under Medicare and

Medicaid who commit certain

prohibited acts.

In support of its mission, the Office of

Inspector General carries out and

maintains an internal quality assurance

system and a peer review system with

other Offices of Inspectors General, that

include periodic quality assessment

studies and quality control reviews, to

provide reasonable assurance that

applicable laws, regulations, policies,

procedures, standards and other

requirements are followed; are effective;

and are functioning as intended in OIG

operations.

Section AF.10, Office of Inspector

General—Organization

There is at the head of the OIG a

statutory Inspector General, appointed

by the President and confirmed by the

Senate. The Office of Inspector General

consists of six organizational units:

A. Immediate Office of the Inspector

General (AFA).

B. Office of Management and Policy

(AFC).

C. Office of Evaluation and

Inspections (AFE).

D. Office of Counsel to the Inspector

General (AFG).

E. Office of Audit Services (AFH).

F. Office of Investigations (AFJ).

Section AF.20, Office of Inspector

General—Functions

The component sections which follow

describe the specific functions of the

organization.

Section AFA.00, Immediate Office of the

Inspector General (IOIG)—Mission

The Inspector General is directly

responsible for meeting the statutory

mission of the OIG as a whole and for

promoting effective OIG internal quality

assurance systems, including quality

assessment studies and quality control
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices 55811

reviews of OIG processes and products.

The Office of Inspector General also

plans, conducts and participates in a

variety of inter-agency cooperative

projects and undertakings relating to

fraud and abuse activities with the

Department of Justice (DOJ), the Health

Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

and other governmental agencies.

Section AFA.10, Immediate Office of the

Inspector General—Organization

The Immediate Office is comprised of

the Inspector General, the Principal

Deputy Inspector General, and an

immediate staff.

Section AFA.20, Immediate Office of the

Inspector General—Functions

As the senior official of the

organization, the Inspector General

supervises the Chief Counsel to the

Inspector General and the Deputy

Inspectors General who head the major

OIG components. The Inspector General

is appointed by the President, with the

advice and consent of the Senate, and

reports to and is under the general

supervision of the Secretary or, to the

extent such authority is delegated, the

Deputy Secretary, but does not report to

and is not subject to supervision by any

other officer in the Department. In

keeping with the independence

intended in the statutory basis for the

OIG and its mission, the Inspector

General assumes and exercises, through

line management, all functional

authorities related to the administration

and management of the OIG and all

mission related authorities stated or

implied in the law or delegated directly

from the Secretary.

The Inspector General provides

executive leadership to the organization

and exercises general supervision over

the personnel and functions of its major

components. The Inspector General

determines the budget needs of the OIG,

sets OIG policies and priorities, oversees

OIG operations and provides reports to

the Secretary and the Congress. In this

capacity the Inspector General is

empowered under the law with general

personnel authority, e.g., selection,

promotion, assignment of employees,

including members of the senior

executive service. The Inspector General

delegates related authorities as

appropriate.

The Principal Deputy Inspector

General assists the Inspector General in

the management of the OIG, and during

the absence of the Inspector General,

acts as the Inspector General.

Section AFC.00, Office of Management

and Policy (OMP)—Mission

This office is responsible for the

reporting and legislative and regulatory

review functions required in the law; for

formulating and executing the OIG

budget; for managing external affairs;

and for establishing functional policies

for the general management of the OIG.

In support of its mission, the office

carries out and maintains an internal

quality assurance system. The system

includes quality assessment studies and

quality control reviews of OMP

processes and products to ensure that

policies and procedures are followed

effectively and function as intended.

Section AFC.10, Office of Management

and Policy—Organization

This office is directed by the Deputy

Inspector General for Management and

Policy, and comprises the Deputy

Inspector General for OMP and an

immediate staff.

Section AFC.20, Office of Management

and Policy—Functions

Through the Deputy Inspector General

for Management and Policy:

A. The office conducts and

coordinates OIG reviews of existing and

proposed legislation and regulations

related to HHS programs and operations

to identify their impact on economy and

efficiency and their potential for fraud

and abuse. It serves as contact for the

press and electronic media and serves as

OIG congressional liaison. The office

prepares or coordinates congressional

testimony and confers with officials in

the Office of the Secretary staff divisions

on congressional relations, legislation

and public affairs. It develops and

publishes OIG newsletters, recruitment

brochures and other issuances to

announce and promote OIG activities

and accomplishments.

B. The office coordinates the

development of the OIG long-range

strategic plan. It compiles the

Semiannual and other legislativelymandated reports to the Congress and

operates the Executive Secretariat. It

formulates and oversees the execution

of the OIG budget and confers with the

Office of the Secretary, the Office of

Management and Budget and the

Congress on budget issues. It issues

quarterly grants to States for Medicaid

fraud control units. It conducts

management studies and analyses and

establishes and coordinates general

management policies for the OIG and

publishes those policies in the OIG

Administrative Manual. It serves as OIG

liaison to the Office of the Secretary for

personnel issues and other

administrative policies and practices,

and on equal employment opportunity

and other civil rights matters. It

coordinates internal control reviews for

the OIG.

C. The office is responsible for OIG

information resources management

(IRM), as defined by the Paperwork

Reduction Act, OMB Circular A–130,

the Federal Information Resources

Management regulations, the Computer

Security Act of 1987, HHS IRM

Circulars, and by related guidance. The

office also provides information

technology support to the OIG through

management of its local area networks

nationwide, provision of headquarters

computer end-user support, and support

of OIG information systems as required.

Through this office, the Deputy

Inspector General for Management and

Policy serves as the OIG Chief

Information Officer.

Section AFE.00, Office of Evaluation

and Inspections (OEI)—Mission

The Office of Evaluation and

Inspections is responsible for

conducting inspections of HHS

programs, operations and processes to

identify vulnerabilities, to prevent and

detect fraud, waste and abuse, and to

promote economy, efficiency and

effectiveness in HHS programs and

operations.

Section AFE.10, Office of Evaluation

and Inspections—Organization

This office is directed by the Deputy

Inspector General for Evaluation and

Inspections, and comprises the

Immediate Office, including the Deputy

Inspector General for OEI and an

immediate staff, and eight regional

offices.

Section AFE.20, Office of Evaluation

and Inspections—Functions

The office is responsible for carrying

out inspections supporting the OIG

mission. The Deputy Inspector General

provides general supervision to the OEI

immediate office staff and supervises

the Regional Inspectors General for

Evaluation and Inspections who carry

out OEI’s mission and activities in

assigned geographic areas. The

Immediate Office carries out OEI’s

mission in headquarters.

A. The immediate office develops

OEI’s evaluation and inspections

policies, procedures and standards. It

manages OEI’s human and financial

resources. It develops and monitors

OEI’s management information systems.

It conducts management reviews within

the HHS/OIG and for other OIG’s upon

request. The office carries out and

maintains an internal quality assurance
55812 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices

system. The system includes quality

assessment studies and quality control

reviews of OEI processes and products

to ensure that policies and procedures

are effective; are followed; and are

functioning as intended.

B. The immediate office manages

OEI’s work planning process, and

develops and reviews legislative,

regulatory and program proposals to

reduce vulnerabilities to fraud, waste

and mismanagement. It develops

evaluation techniques and coordinates

projects with other OIG and

departmental components. It provides

programmatic expertise and information

on new programs, procedures,

regulations and statutes to OEI regional

offices. It maintains liaison with other

components in the Department, follows

up on implementation of corrective

action recommendations, evaluates the

actions taken to resolve problems and

vulnerabilities identified, and provides

additional data or corrective action

options, where appropriate.

C. The immediate office provides

statistical and data base advice and

services for inspections conducted by

the regional offices. It carries out

analyses of large data bases to identify

potential areas of fraud and abuse, and

provides technical assistance to the

regional offices for these purposes. It

operates a toll-free hotline for the OIG

to permit individuals to call in

suspected fraud or waste, refers the calls

for appropriate action by HHS agencies

or other OIG components, and analyzes

the body of calls to identify trends and

patterns of fraud and abuse needing

attention.

D. The regional offices carry out OEI’s

mission in the field. The regional offices

evaluate HHS programs and produce the

results in inspection reports. They

conduct data and trend analyses of

major HHS initiatives to determine the

effects of current policies and practices

on program efficiency and effectiveness.

They recommend changes in program

policies, regulations and laws to

improve efficiency and effectiveness,

and to prevent fraud, abuse, waste and

mismanagement. They analyze existing

policies to evaluate options for future

policy, regulatory and legislative

improvements.

Section AFG.00, Office of Counsel to the

Inspector General (OCIG)—Mission

The Office of Counsel to the Inspector

General (OCIG) is responsible for

providing all legal services and advice

to the Inspector General, Principal

Deputy Inspector General and all the

subordinate components of the Office of

Inspector General, in connection with

OIG operations and administration, OIG

fraud and abuse enforcement activities,

and OIG activities designed to promote

efficiency and economy in the

Department’s programs and operations.

The OCIG is also responsible for

imposing and litigating CMP and

program exclusion cases within the

jurisdiction of the OIG, for the

coordination and disposition of False

Claims Act qui tam and criminal, civil

and administrative matters, and for the

resolution of voluntary disclosure and

program compliance activities. The

OCIG develops models for corporate

integrity, compliance and enforcement

programs; monitors ongoing

compliance; and promotes industry

awareness of corporate integrity models.

Section AFG.10, Office of Counsel to the

Inspector General—Organization

The office is directed by the Chief

Counsel to the Inspector General, and

the Assistant Inspector General for Legal

Affairs. The office is comprised of the

following components:

A. Advice.

B. Civil Recoveries.

C. Administrative Litigation.

D. Industry Guidance.

Section AFG.20, Office of Counsel to the

Inspector General—Functions

A. Advice

This office provides legal advice to

the various components of the OIG on

legal issues that arise in the exercise of

the OIG’s responsibilities under the

Inspector General Act of 1978. Such

issues include the scope and exercise of

the Inspector General’s authorities and

responsibilities; investigative

techniques and procedures (including

criminal procedure); the sufficiency and

impact of legislative proposals affecting

the OIG; and the conduct and resolution

of investigations, audits and

inspections. The office evaluates the

legal sufficiency of OIG

recommendations and develops formal

legal opinions to support those

recommendations. When appropriate,

the office coordinates formal legal

opinions with the HHS Office of the

General Counsel. The office provides

legal advice on OIG internal

administration and operations,

including appropriations, delegations of

authority, ethics, OIG regulations,

personnel matters, the disclosure of

information under the Freedom of

Information Act and the safeguarding of

information under the Privacy Act. The

office is responsible for conducting and

coordinating litigation activities on

personnel and Equal Employment

Opportunity matters and Federal tort

actions involving OIG employees. The

office is responsible for the clearance

and enforcement of subpoenas issued by

the OIG, and defends the OIG in

litigation matters as necessary.

B. Civil Recoveries

This office oversees all False Claims

Act cases, including qui tam cases, and

handles final sign-off on False Claims

Act settlements for the Department,

including the amount of restitution and

resolution of the CMP and program

exclusion authorities that have been

delegated to the OIG. It coordinates DOJ

and U.S. Attorney’s offices resource

requests, participates in settlement

negotiations and provides litigation

support. Where necessary, the office

litigates appeals of program exclusions

imposed in such global cases before the

Department Appeals Board (DAB) and

assists DOJ in handling any subsequent

appeals of such cases to the Federal

courts. The office coordinates and

resolves all voluntary disclosure cases

through: (1) Liaison activities with DOJ

and the U.S. Attorney’s office; (2) the

disclosure verification efforts of OAS

and OI; and (3) final disposition and

sign-off of the matter. The office, in

coordination with other OIG

components, develops both the

standards governing the use of program

exclusion authorities, and the criteria

for evaluating whether to impose

program exclusions against health care

providers. The office is responsible for

developing and maintaining a

comprehensive and coordinated data

base on all settled and pending False

Claims Act and CMP cases under its

authority.

The Civil Recoveries Branch also

develops and monitors corporate and

provider integrity plans adopted as part

of settlement agreements, and develops

audit and investigative review standards

for monitoring such plans in

cooperation and coordination with other

OIG components. The office resolves

breaches of integrity plans through the

development of corrective action plans,

on-site reviews, and through the

imposition of sanctions. It serves to

increase industry awareness of

corporate compliance integrity issues by

promoting voluntary adoption of

corporate compliance plans through

speeches, articles, visits and other

liaison activities with governmental and

private sector groups, as well as

developing model or best practice

recommendations.

C. Administrative Litigation

This office is responsible for

determining whether to impose

administrative sanctions, including

CMPs within the jurisdiction of the OIG,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices 55813

assessments and program exclusions

(with the exception of those handled by

the Civil Recoveries Branch). It

effectuates all such health care

mandatory and permissive exclusions

under the Social Security Act, and

decides on waiver requests and requests

for reinstatement. The office participates

in developing standards governing the

imposition of these exclusion

authorities. The office coordinates with

the Public Health Service and DOJ to

effectuate repayment agreements with

those excluded individuals who have

defaulted on HEAL loans. The office

litigates appeals of program exclusions

before the DAB and assists DOJ in

handling any subsequent appeals of

such cases to the Federal courts.

The office reviews all cases referred

by HCFA under the patient antidumping authority of the Social

Security Act, and resolves the liability

for CMPs and program exclusions for

hospitals and physicians. Where

appropriate, the office imposes and

litigates CMPs and program exclusions

with respect to hospitals and physicians

for violations of the patient antidumping statute.

The office imposes and litigates CMPs

and assessments under the CMP law,

and ensures that all monetary recoveries

are promptly and accurately reported to

the appropriate OIG data base. It

represents the OIG in coordinating all

CMP actions initiated by other Federal

health care programs that are authorized

to prosecute health care providers. The

office provides guidance and monitors

all actions in this area until completion

of these actions.

The Administrative Litigation Branch

also has primary responsibility for

developing and promulgating all OIG

regulations for codification into the

Code of Federal Regulations, all OIGrelated Federal Register notices, and the

review and drafting of legislative

proposals relating to fraud and abuse

enforcement activities.

D. Industry Guidance

This office is responsible for drafting

and issuing advisory opinions to the

health care industry and members of the

public on whether an activity (or

proposed activity) would constitute

grounds for the imposition of a sanction

under the anti-kickback statute, the

CMP law or the program exclusion

authorities, and on other issues

pertaining to the anti-kickback statute.

The office develops and updates

procedures for the submission of

requests for advisory opinions and for

determining the fees that will be

imposed. The office solicits and

responds to proposals for new

regulatory safe harbors to the antikickback statute, modifications to

existing safe harbors, and new fraud

alerts. The office consults with, and

obtains the concurrence of, DOJ on all

proposed advisory opinions and safe

harbors before issuance or publication.

The office provides legal advice to the

various components of the OIG, other

offices of the Department, and DOJ

concerning matters involving the

interpretation of the anti-kickback

statute and other legal authorities, and

assists those components or offices in

analyzing the applicability of the antikickback statute to various practices or

activities under review.

Section AFH.00, Office of Audit Services

(OAS)—Mission

The Office of Audit Services provides

policy direction for and conducts and

oversees comprehensive audits of HHS

programs, operations, grantees and

contractors, following generally

accepted Government auditing

standards (GAGAS), the Single Audit

Act of 1984, applicable Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

circulars and other legal, regulatory and

administrative requirements. This

includes investigative audit work

performed in conjunction with other

OIG components, directed toward the

prosecution of both civil and criminal

cases of program abuse. It maintains an

internal quality assurance system,

including periodic quality assessment

studies and quality control reviews, to

provide reasonable assurance that

applicable laws, regulations, policies,

procedures, standards and other

requirements are followed in all audit

activities performed by, or on behalf of,

the Department. In furtherance of this

mission, the organization engages in a

number of activities:

A. The office coordinates and confers

with officials of the central Federal

management agencies (OMB, the

General Accounting Office (GAO), the

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

and the Department of the Treasury) on

audit matters involving HHS programs

and operations. It provides technical

assistance to Federal, State and local

investigative offices on matters

concerning the operation of the

Department’s programs. It participates

in interagency efforts implementing

OMB Circulars A–128 and A–110,

which call for use of the single audit

concept for most external audits. It

performs audits of activities

administered by other Federal

departments, following the system of

audit cognizance administered by OMB.

It participates in the President’s Council

on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE)

initiatives and other Government-wide

projects. It works with other OIG

components on special assignments and

projects. It responds to congressional

oversight interests related to audit

matters in the Department.

B. The Office of Audit Services helps

HHS operating divisions and the Office

of the Secretary staff divisions to

develop policies to manage grants and

procurements and policies to establish

indirect cost rates. It performs preaward audits of grant or contract

proposals to determine the financial

capability of the grantees or contractors

and conducts post-award audits.

C. The office reviews legislative,

regulatory and policy proposals for

audit implications. It recommends

improvements in the accountability and

integrity features of legislation,

regulations and policy. It prepares

reports of audits and special studies for

the Secretary, heads of HHS operating

divisions, Regional Directors and others.

It gathers data on unresolved audit

findings for the statutorily required

Semiannual Reports to the Congress and

for the Deputy Secretary as Chairman of

the Audit Resolution Council. It

conducts follow-up examinations and

special analyses of actions taken on

previously reported audit findings and

recommendations to ensure

completeness and propriety.

D. The office decides when audits can

or may be performed by audit

organizations outside the Department,

including those by other Federal or

nonfederal governmental agencies,

contractors, or public accounting firms.

It assures that any audit performed by

non-OIG auditors complies with the

Government auditing standards

established by the Comptroller General

of the United States. It evaluates audits

performed for the Department by

outside organizations. It coordinates the

development of the OIG Annual Work

Plan and produces the Red Book—a

summary of significant monetary

recommendations not yet implemented.

E. The office serves as the focal point

for all financial audit activity within the

Department and provides the primary

liaison conduit between the OIG and

departmental management. The office

provides overall leadership and

direction in carrying out the

responsibilities mandated under the

Chief Financial Officers Act relating to

financial statement audits.

Section AFH.10, Office of Audit

Services—Organization

The Office of Audit Services

comprises the following components:

A. Immediate Office.
55814 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices

B. Audit Operations and Financial

Statement Activities.

C. Health Care Financing Audits.

D. Administrations of Children,

Family and Aging Audits.

E. Public Health Audits.

Section AFH.20, Office of Audit

Services—Functions

A. Immediate Office of the Deputy

Inspector General for Audit Services

This office is directed by the Deputy

Inspector General for Audit Services

who carries out the functions designated

in the law for the position, Assistant

Inspector General for Auditing. The

Deputy Inspector General for Audit

Services is responsible to the Inspector

General for carrying out OIG’s audit

mission and supervises the Assistant

Inspectors General heading OAS offices

described below.

The Immediate Office manages the

human and financial resources of the

Office of Audit Services including

developing staffing allocation plans and

issuing policy for, coordinating and

monitoring all budget, staffing,

recruiting and training activities of the

office. Included in this is the

responsibility to track court ordered or

agreed-to costs of audits recouped from

health care providers found to have

violated Medicare fraud and abuse

program provisions. It maintains a

professional development program for

Office of Audit Services staff which

meets the requirements of Government

auditing standards. The office provides

liaison with the General Accounting

Office. It reviews all replies to GAO

reports to ensure they are responsive,

properly coordinated and representative

of HHS policy and advises the Secretary

and other officials about significant

findings.

B. Audit Operations and Financial

Statement Activities

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Audit Operations

and Financial Statement Activities. In

addition to directing this office, the

Assistant Inspector General supervises

the eight Regional Inspectors General for

Audit Services. The office’s principal

functions include providing direction

and oversight to OAS through its work

planning and quality assurance

activities; the direct-line responsibility

for audits of financial statements and

financial related audits, including

internal audits of functional areas

within the Department; and directing

field audit operations.

1. The office serves as the focal point

for all financial statement and financial

related audit activity within the

Department and serves as the primary

liaison conduit between the OIG and

departmental management.

2. The office operates an internal

quality assurance system that provides

reasonable assurance that applicable

laws, regulations, policies, procedures,

standards and other requirements are

followed in all audit activities

performed by, or on behalf of, the

Department.

3. The office evaluates audit work,

including performing quality control

reviews of audit reports, and develops

and monitors audit work plans. It

develops audit policy, procedures,

standards, criteria and instructions for

all audit activities performed by, on

behalf of, or conforming with

departmental programs, grants,

contracts or operations in accordance

with GAGAS and other legal, regulatory

and administrative requirements.

4. The office tracks, monitors and

reports on audit resolution and followup in accordance with OMB Circular A–

50.

5. The office provides oversight for

audits of governments, universities and

nonprofit organizations conducted by

nonfederal auditors and those under

contract with the OIG (external audit

resources).

6. The office coordinates with the

other OIG components in developing

the semiannual report to Congress.

C. Health Care Financing Audits

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Health Care

Financing Audits. The office conducts

programmatic and fraud and abuse

oriented audits of HCFA program

operations and oversees nationwide the

audits of the Medicare and Medicaid

programs, their contractors, and

providers of services and products. It

maintains an internal quality assurance

system, including periodic quality

control reviews, to provide reasonable

assurance that applicable laws,

regulations, policies, procedures,

standards and other requirements are

followed in all HCFA audit activities

performed by, or on behalf of, the

Department.

D. Administrations of Children, Family

and Aging Audits

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Administrations of

Children, Family and Aging Audits. The

office conducts and oversees audits of

the operations and programs of the

Administration for Children and

Families and the Administration on

Aging, as well as statewide cost

allocation plans. It maintains an internal

quality assurance system, including

periodic quality control reviews, to

provide reasonable assurance that

applicable laws, regulations, policies,

procedures, standards and other

requirements are followed in its audit

activities.

E. Public Health Audits

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Public Health

Audits. The office conducts and

oversees audits of the programs and

activities of the public health related

agencies, including the Food and Drug

Administration; the National Institutes

of Health; the Health Resources and

Services Administration; the Substance

Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration; the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention; the Agency for

Toxic Substances and Disease Registry;

the Indian Health Service and the

Surgeon General, as well as those

colleges, universities and nonprofit

organizations that receive research

grants from the Federal Government. It

maintains an internal quality assurance

system, including periodic quality

control reviews, to provide reasonable

assurance that applicable laws,

regulations, policies, procedures,

standards and other requirements are

followed in all public health related

audit activities performed by, or on

behalf of, the Department.

Section AFJ.00, Office of Investigations

(OI)—Mission

The Office of Investigations is

responsible for conducting and

coordinating investigative activities

related to fraud, waste, abuse and

mismanagement in HHS programs and

operations, including wrongdoing by

applicants, grantees, or contractors, or

by HHS employees in the performance

of their official duties. It serves as OIG

liaison to DOJ on all matters relating to

investigations of HHS programs and

personnel, and reports to the Attorney

General when the OIG has reasonable

grounds to believe Federal criminal law

has been violated. The office serves as

a liaison with HCFA, State licensing

boards and other outside organizations

and entities with regard to exclusion,

compliance and enforcement activities.

It works with other investigative

agencies and organizations on special

projects and assignments. In support of

its mission, the office carries out and

maintains an internal quality assurance

system. The system includes quality

assessment studies and quality control

reviews of OI processes and products to

ensure that policies and procedures are

followed effectively, and are functioning

as intended.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 208 / Tuesday, October 28, 1997 / Notices 55815

Section AFJ.10, Office of

Investigations—Organization

The Office of Investigations comprises

the following components:

A. Immediate Office.

B. Criminal Investigations.

C. Investigations Policy and

Oversight.

Section AFJ.20, Office of Investigations

—Functions

A. Immediate Office of the Deputy

Inspector General for Investigations

This office is directed by the Deputy

Inspector General for Investigations who

is responsible for the functions

designated in the law for the position,

Assistant Inspector General for

Investigations. The Deputy Inspector

General for Investigations supervises the

Assistant Inspector General and

Division Director who head the OI

offices described below.

The Deputy Inspector General for

Investigations is responsible to the

Inspector General for carrying out the

investigative mission of the OIG and for

leading and providing general

supervision to the OIG investigative

component. The Immediate Office

coordinates quality assurance studies to

ensure that applicable laws, regulations,

policies, procedures, standards and

other requirements are followed in all

investigative activities performed by, or

on behalf of, the Department.

B. Criminal Investigations

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Criminal

Investigations who supervises a

headquarters policy and review staff

and the Regional Inspectors General for

Investigations who carry out

investigative activities in their assigned

geographic areas.

1. The headquarters staff assists the

Deputy Inspector General for

Investigations to establish investigative

priorities, to evaluate the progress of

investigations, and to report to the

Inspector General on the effectiveness of

investigative efforts. It develops and

implements investigative techniques,

programs, guidelines and policies. It

provides programmatic expertise and

issues information on new programs,

procedures, regulations and statutes. It

directs and coordinates the investigative

field offices.

2. The headquarters staff reviews

completed reports of investigations to

ensure accuracy and compliance with

guidelines. It issues the reports to

pertinent agencies, management

officials and the Secretary and

recommends appropriate debarment

actions, administrative sanctions, CMPs

and other civil actions, or prosecution

under criminal law. It identifies

systemic and programmatic

vulnerabilities in the Department’s

operations and makes recommendations

for change to the appropriate managers.

3. The staff provides for the personal

protection of the Secretary.

4. The field offices conduct

investigations of allegations of fraud,

waste, abuse, mismanagement and

violations of standards of conduct and

other investigative matters within the

jurisdiction of the OIG. They coordinate

investigations and confer with HHS

operating divisions, staff divisions, OIG

counterparts and other investigative and

law enforcement agencies. They prepare

investigative and management

improvement reports.

5. The office develops all health care

mandatory and permissive program

exclusions, and ensures enforcement of

exclusions imposed through liaison

with HCFA, DOJ and other

governmental and private sector

entities. It is responsible for developing,

improving and maintaining a

comprehensive and coordinated OIG

data base on all OIG exclusion actions,

and promptly and accurately reports all

exclusion actions within its authority to

the data base. It informs appropriate

regulatory agencies, health care

providers and the general public of all

OIG exclusion actions, and is

responsible for improving public access

to information on these exclusion

actions to ensure that excluded

individuals and entities are effectively

barred from program participation.

C. Investigations Policy and Oversight

This office is directed by the Division

Director for Investigations Policy and

Oversight who leads outreach activities

to State and local investigative agencies,

and the general management functions

of the Office of Investigations.

1. The office oversees State Medicaid

fraud control units and is responsible

for certifying and recertifying these

units and for auditing their Federal

funding. The office provides pertinent

information from HHS records to assist

Federal, State and local investigative

agencies to detect, investigate and

prosecute fraud.

2. The office maintains an automated

data and management information

system used by all OI managers and

investigators. It provides technical

expertise on computer applications for

investigations and coordinates and

approves investigative computer

matches with other agencies.

3. The office develops general

management policy for the OI. It

develops and issues instructional media

on detecting wrongdoing and on

investigating and processing cases. The

office reviews proposed legislation,

regulations, policies and procedures to

identify vulnerabilities and

recommends modification where

appropriate. It reviews investigative

files in response to Privacy and

Freedom of Information Act requests,

and serves as OIG liaison to the Office

of the Secretary for Freedom of

Information and Privacy Act requests. It

plans, develops, implements and

evaluates all levels of employee training

for investigations, management, support

skills and other functions. It coordinates

general management processes, e.g.,

compiles reports on the budget, on

awards and on other personnel matters

for OI as a whole; implements policies

and procedures published in the OIG

Administrative Manual; and processes

procurement requests and other service

related actions. It oversees a law

enforcement techniques and equipment

program.

Dated: October 6, 1997.

June Gibbs Brown,

Inspector General.

[FR Doc. 97–28541 Filed 10–27–97; 8:45 am]

ILLING CODE 4150–04–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry

Notice of Meeting

The Agency for Toxic Substances and

Disease Registry announces the

following meeting.

Name: Expert Workshop ι3 Regarding

Medical Monitoring in Bunker Hill, Idaho.

Times and Dates: 8 a.m.–5 p.m., November

5, 1997; 8 a.m.–5 p.m., November 6, 1997.

Place: Elk’s Temple #1841, 2021⁄2

McKinley Avenue, Kellogg, Idaho 83837,

telephone 208/786–3901.

Status: Open to the public, limited only by

the space available. The meeting room

accommodates approximately 100 people.

Purpose: The Agency for Toxic Substances

and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is considering

the appropriateness of medical monitoring

for populations who lived around the Bunker

Hill former lead smelting facility (the Bunker

Hill Superfund Site) in the Silver Valley of

Idaho at a time of excess exposures of public

health significance. As part of this

consideration process, ATSDR is convening a

series of workshops to examine the

appropriateness and feasibility of a medical

monitoring program.

The purpose of the medical monitoring

program is to provide a public health service

to communities affected by exposures to

hazardous substances by screening target

populations at significant risk of a specific