The Departmental Ethics Office sets long and short range goals and objectives, establishes priorities, and develops guidance for the bureaus and offices to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. It is responsible for the evaluation of the current status of the program, and recommends techniques and methods for streamlining the delivery of the ethics program. The Departmental Ethics Office identifies program areas in need of special emphasis and various problem areas requiring special attention.
Counseling is a major emphasis within the program.
The Departmental Ethics Office provides guidance to the bureaus and offices on the application of the government-wide standards of conduct. It prepares written responses to current and former employees, attorneys, Department contractors and other members of the general public who inquire about the Department's ethics and conduct rules or who are in need of a Department ethics opinion regarding a particular situation. The Departmental Ethics Office advocates the interests and concerns of the DOI's ethics program in a liaison role with all the Bureaus and Offices. The Departmental Ethics Office establishes goals for the Departmentwide ethics education program and develops long range plans and policies for meeting those goals and for implementing recent statutory and regulatory requirements. It is responsible for preparation and distribution of bulletins, notices, and memoranda informing bureaus and offices of recent changes to the standards of conduct.