Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices 22059

adverse effects, such as undue

concentration of resources, decreased or

unfair competition, conflicts of

interests, or unsound banking practices’’

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Any request for a

hearing must be accompanied by a

statement of the reasons a written

presentation would not suffice in lieu of

a hearing, identifying specifically any

questions of fact that are in dispute,

summarizing the evidence that would

be presented at a hearing, and indicating

how the party commenting would be

aggrieved by approval of the proposal.

Unless otherwise noted, nonbanking

activities will be conducted throughout

the United States.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received at the Reserve Bank

indicated or the offices of the Board of

Governors not later than June 7, 1996.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Zane R. Kelley, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303:

1. ABC Bancorp, Inc., Moultrie,

Georgia; to merge with Central

Bankshares, Inc., Cordele, Georgia, and

thereby indirectly acquire Central Bank

& Trust, Cordele, Georgia.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

(James A. Bluemle, Vice President) 230

South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois

60690:

1. Prairieland Employee Stock

Ownership Plan, Bushnell, Illinois; to

acquire an additional 5 percent for a

total of 35 percent of the voting shares

of Prairieland Bancorp, Inc., Bushnell,

Illinois, and thereby indirectly acquire

Farmers & Merchants State Bank,

Bushnell, Illinois.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, May 7, 1996.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 96–11849 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

Notice of Proposals to Engage in

Permissible Nonbanking Activities or

To Acquire Companies That are

Engaged in Permissible Nonbanking

Activities

The companies listed in this notice

have given notice under section 4 of the

Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

1843) (BHC Act) and Regulation

Y, (12 CFR part 225) to engage de novo,

or to acquire or control voting securities

or assets of a company that engages

either directly or through a subsidiary or

other company, in a nonbanking activity

that is listed in § 225.25 of Regulation

Y (12 CFR 225.25) or that the Board has

determined by Order to be closely

related to banking and permissible for

bank holding companies. Unless

otherwise noted, these activities will be

conducted throughout the United States.

Each notice is available for inspection

at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated.

Once the notice has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing on the

question whether the proposal complies

with the standards of section 4 of the

BHC Act, including whether

consummation of the proposal can

‘‘reasonably be expected to produce

benefits to the public, such as greater

convenience, increased competition, or

gains in efficiency, that outweigh

possible adverse effects, such as undue

concentration of resources, decreased or

unfair competition, conflicts of

interests, or unsound banking practices’’

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Any request for a

hearing on this question must be

accompanied by a statement of the

reasons a written presentation would

not suffice in lieu of a hearing,

identifying specifically any questions of

fact that are in dispute, summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing, and indicating how the party

commenting would be aggrieved by

approval of the proposal.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding the applications must be

received at the Reserve Bank indicated

or the offices of the Board of Governors

not later than May 23, 1996.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Zane R. Kelley, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303:

1. Community Trust Financial

Services Corporation, Hiram, Georgia; to

acquire Personal Finance Service, Inc.,

Rossville, Georgia, and Rock City

Enterprises, Inc., Rockmart, Georgia,

through its subsidiary, Community Loan

Company, Hiram, Georgia, and thereby

engage in consumer finance business,

credit insurance, and tax planning and

preparation services, pursuant to §§

225.25(b)(1)(i), 225.25(b)(8)(ii) and

225.25(b)(21) of the Board’s Regulation

Y. The proposed activities will be

conducted throughout the State of

Georgia.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, May 7, 1996.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 96–11850 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

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 last

published in its entirety on November 7,

1989 (54 FR 46775).

The statement of organization,

functions and delegations of authority

reflects the original transfer of the

statutory basis for the Office of Inspector

General from Public Law 94–505 to

Public Law 95–452 (and made under the

Inspector General Act Amendments of

1988, Public Law 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 the basic

organizational structure of the Office of

Inspector General to reflect the break

out of functions from the Office of Civil

Fraud and Administrative Adjudication

(OCFAA) into two separate

organizational units, and the effect of

recent shifts and changes, such as the

separation out of the Social Security

Administration in accordance with the

Social Security Independence and

Program Improvements Act of 1994

(Public Law 103–296). As a result,

within the organizational structure of

the OIG: (1) A new Office of

Enforcement and Compliance (OEC) and

a new Office of Litigation Coordination

(OLC) have been formed, (2) certain

units and positions have recently been

renamed, (3) minor shifts in reporting

relationships have occurred, (4) an

additional program unit has been

delineated, and (5) some small

functional units have been transferred.

While relatively minor, these changes

have been made in an effort to assist the

organization 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
22060 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices

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 seven 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 Enforcement and

Compliance (AFF).

E. Office of Litigation Compliance

(AFG).

F. Office of Audit Services (AFH).

G. 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

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 Adminstration (HCFA)

and other governmental agencies.

Section AFA.10, Immediate Office of

the Inspector General—Organization

The Immediate Office comprises 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 Deputy Inspectors

General and the Assistant Inspector

General for Litigation Coordination 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 develops all OIG sanction

and interpretive regulations for

publication in the Federal Register and

legislative proposals for inclusion in the

Department’s legislative program. It

serves as contact for the press and

electronic media and serves as OIG

congressional liaison. The office

prepares 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 Report 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
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices 22061

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.

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 misconduct, and to promote

economy, efficiency and effectiveness in

HHS programs and operations. 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 OEI processes and

products to ensure that policies and

procedures are effective; are followed;

and are functioning as intended.

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

assesses the quality of inspections to

ensure compliance with policies and

procedures. 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.

B. The immediate office manages

OEI’s work planning process and

reviews legislative, regulatory and

program proposals for 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 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 AFF.00, Office of Enforcement

and Compliance (OEC)—Mission

The Office of Enforcement and

Compliance is responsible for the

imposition of those mandatory and

permissive program exclusions and civil

money penalty (CMP) and assessment

actions not handled by the Office of

Litigation Coordination. The office

serves as a liaison with HCFA, State

licensing boards and other outside

organizations and entities with regard to

integrity, compliance and enforcement

activities. It develops models for

corporate integrity, compliance and

enforcement programs; monitors

ongoing compliance, exclusion and

HCFA suspension agreements; and

promotes industry awareness of

corporate integrity and enforcement

agreements developed by the OIG.

Section AFF.10, Office of Enforcement

and Compliance—Organization

This office is directed by the Deputy

Inspector General for Enforcement and

Compliance, and comprises the Deputy

Inspector General for OEC and an

immediate staff.

Section AFF.20, Office of Enforcement

and Compliance—Functions

Through the Deputy Inspector General

for Enforcement and Compliance:

A. The office develops, coordinates

and effectuates all health care

mandatory and permissive exclusions,

with the exception of those handled by

the Office of Litigation Coordination.

The office develops standards governing

the imposition of the mandatory and

permissive exclusion authorities within

the scope of its responsibility, and

develops criteria for evaluating when it

will impose such permissive exclusions

against health care providers. It reviews

all applications for readmission to

program participation for purposes of

determining whether an excluded

provider has demonstrated the ability to

comply with program requirements; and

ensures enforcement of exclusions

imposed through liaison with HCFA,

DoJ and other governmental and private

sector entities.

B. The office 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. The office imposes CMPs and

assessments in accordance with the

CMP law on those cases not handled by

the Office of Litigation Coordination,

and ensures that all monetary recoveries

are promptly and accurately reported to

the appropriate OIG data base.

D. The office monitors corporate and

provider compliance 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. It resolves breaches of

compliance plans through the

development of corrective action plans,

on-site reviews, and when appropriate,
22062 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices

refers material breaches of compliance

plans to the Office of Litigation

Coordination for potential sanctioning.

E. The office serves to increase

industry awareness of corporate

integrity issues by proactively

promoting voluntary adoption of

corporate compliance plans through

speeches, articles, visits and other

liaison activities with governmental and

private sector groups.

Section AFG.00, Office of Litigation

Coordination (OLC)—Mission

The Office of Litigation Coordination

is responsible for the coordination and

disposition of all qui tam and other

False Claims Act matters, and other

criminal, civil and administrative

matters when DoJ has an interest in the

matter; the coordination and disposition

of all voluntary disclosure activities;

liaison activities with HCFA and

outside entities in global settlement

negotiations; the development of

standards governing use of permissive

exclusion authority in cases involving

DoJ, including and United States

Attorney’s Office; and the establishment

and maintenance of a data system on

settled and pending False Claim Act and

CMP cases.

Section AFG.10, Office of Litigation

Coordination—Organization

The office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General for Litigation

Coordination, and comprises the

Assistant Inspector General of OLC and

an immediate staff.

Section AFG.20, Office of Litigation

Coordination—Mission

Through the Assistant Inspector

General for Litigation Coordination:

A. The office oversees all False Claims

Act and qui tam cases, including the

handling of (1) requests for extensions

of intervention dates, (2) resource

requests from other agencies, (3)

resource coordination among the OIG

components, (4) settlement negotiations

and (5) final sign-off. By coordinating

DoJ resource requests, participating in

settlement negotiations and providing

litigation support, the office serves as

the primary focal point for most

criminal and civil cases involving other

government agencies or more than one

OIG component. It coordinates the

Department’s response to all settlement

proposals in cases involving DoJ,

including the amount of restitution and

resolution of the selected CMP and

exclusion liability, and serves as the

liaison to other components of the

Department in these cases.

B. The office coordinates and resolves

all voluntary disclosures through (1)

liaison activities with DoJ and the U.S.

Attorney’s office, (2) the disclosure

verification efforts of the Office of Audit

Services and the Office of Investigations

and (3) final disposition and sign-off of

the matter.

C. The office, in coordination with

other OIG components, develops both

the standards governing the use of

permissive exclusion authorities in

cases involving other Federal agencies,

including DoJ, and the criteria for

evaluating whether to impose

permissive exclusions against health

care providers in such cases. It is

responsible for ensuring that all

exclusion actions not handled by the

Office of Enforcement and Compliance

are promptly and accurately reported to

the appropriate OIG data base.

D. The office is responsible for

developing, improving and maintaining

a comprehensive and coordinated data

base on all settled and pending False

Claims Act and CMP cases under its

authority. The office, through this data

base, records all monetary recoveries

and tracks outstanding qui tam, OIG

intercomponent and multiple agency

health care fraud investigations.

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. 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 summaries of both

(1) the Orange Book—a summary of

unimplemented program and

management improvements

recommended—and (2) 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
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices 22063

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

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. 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

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 Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental

Health 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. 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.

Section AFJ.10, Office of

Investigations—Organization

The Office of Investigations comprises

the following components:

A. Immediate Office.

B. Criminal Investigations.
22064 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices

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 Inspectors General 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.

C. Investigations Policy and Oversight.

This office is directed by the Assistant

Inspector General 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. It manages the HHS

Hotline to receive complaints and

allegations of fraud, waste and abuse,

and to refer the information for

investigation, audit, program review, or

other appropriate action. It coordinates

with the GAO hotline and hotlines from

other agencies.

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. It

plans, develops, implements and

evaluates all levels of employee training

for investigations, management, support

skills and other functions, and serves as

OIG liaison to the Office of the Secretary

for Freedom of Information and Privacy

Act requests. 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.

Dated: April 25, 1996.

June Gibbs Brown,

Inspector General.

[FR Doc. 96–11844 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4150–04–P

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

Clinical Laboratory Improvement

Advisory Committee (CLIAC): Meeting

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Pub. L. 92–463), the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC)

announces the following committee

meeting.

Name: Clinical Laboratory Improvement

Advisory Committee.

Times and Dates: 1–5 p.m., May 29, 1996;

8 a.m.–4 p.m., May 30, 1996.

Place: CDC, Auditorium B, Building 2,

1600 Clifton Road, NE., Atlanta, Georgia

30333.

Status: Open to the public, limited only by

the space available.

Purpose: This committee is charged with

providing scientific and technical advice and

guidance to the Secretary of Health and

Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for

Health, and the Director, CDC, regarding the

need for, and the nature of, revisions to the

standards under which clinical laboratories

are regulated; the impact of proposed

revisions to the standards; and the

modification of the standards to

accommodate technological advances.

Matters To Be Discussed: Agenda items

include: An update on the Clinical

Laboratory Improvement Amendments

(CLIA), review of CLIA quality control issues

discussed at the August 30–31, 1995, CLIAC

meeting; and proposals for addressing these

issues.

Agenda items are subject to change as

priorities dictate.

Contact Person for Additional Information:

John C. Ridderhof, Dr. P.H., Division of

Laboratory Systems, Public Health Practice

Program Office, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway,

NE., M/S G–25, Atlanta, Georgia 30341–3724,

telephone 404/488–7660.

Dated: May 2, 1996.

Carolyn J. Russell,

Director, Management Analysis and Services

Office, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC).

[FR Doc. 96–11858 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–M

Injury Research Grant Review

Committee: Meeting

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act

(Pub. L. 92–463), the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC)

announces the following committee

meeting.