Bureau of Prisons: Written Policies on Lateral Transfers and Assessment of Temporary Assignments Needed
Published: 2009-02-25T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the custody and care of more than 202,000 federal offenders with approximately 35,000 employees, almost half of whom are correctional officers, dispersed across BOP's 114 correctional facilities in 6 regions. In response to a request, GAO identified whether BOP had policies and procedures and how it assessed the management of those policies and procedures for (1) employee-requested lateral transfers of BOP employees between correctional facilities and (2) day-to-day changes in correctional services or temporary assignments of BOP employees within a correctional facility. GAO reviewed available documentation on BOP's policies and procedures on lateral transfers and temporary assignments. GAO also interviewed officials from BOP's central and regional offices and seven facilities selected on the basis of the number of staff; at least one facility was selected from within each of BOP's six regions.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: BOP does not have written policies and procedures on lateral transfers of staff. Each correctional facility evaluates requests for lateral transfers on a case-by-case basis. Typically, when an employee requests a lateral transfer to another facility, the warden at the employee's current facility determines whether to forward the request to the desired facility's warden. The processes for requesting a lateral transfer and the criteria for forwarding, granting, or denying such requests varied across the facilities GAO reviewed, and generally no documentation on decisions reached or actions taken was maintained. Further, BOP does not systematically review decisions concerning these requests at any level. As a result, BOP cannot determine the number of requests for lateral transfers, the outcome of these requests, or whether requests were handled consistently within or among facilities. GAO has previously reported that agencywide policies and procedures help ensure consistent treatment of staff when agencies have geographically dispersed locations. Other Department of Justice law-enforcement components have written policies, procedures, and a review process concerning requests for lateral transfers. Unlike lateral transfers, BOP has written policies and procedures on how facilities are to temporarily assign staff to fill in for absences or to meet other needs that arise in a facility. However, BOP has not systematically assessed how facilities are managing temporary assignments. As part of a costreduction strategy affecting temporary assignments, in 2005, BOP designated mission critical posts, that is, assignments that were deemed essential for the safe and secure operations of its facilities and that would be vacated only in rare circumstances. The mission critical post initiative was intended to reduce facilities' reliance on overtime and non-correctional services staff, who had typically been used for temporary assignments. A memorandum from the Assistant Director of Correctional Programs described how each facility was to gather information for 6 months on overtime and staffing under the mission critical post initiative and how BOP would evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative. However, BOP conducted no such evaluation. BOP officials also generally do not review temporary assignments at any level, including the effect of leaving mission critical posts unassigned. According to the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, federal agencies are to employ internal control activities, such as top-level review, to help ensure that management's directives are carried out and to determine if agencies are effectively and efficiently using resources. Without assessing its mission critical post initiative and data on temporary assignments, BOP does not know whether it is efficiently and effectively using staff for temporary assignments or achieving the desired cost savings. Also, without reviewing the effect of leaving mission critical posts unassigned, BOP cannot assess the effect, if any, of unassigned posts on the safety and security of its facilities.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is  The Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is  responsible for the custody and care of more than 202,000 federal  responsible for the custody and care of more than 202,000 federal  offenders, up from fewer than 25,000 in 1980. According to BOP, more  offenders, up from fewer than 25,000 in 1980. According to BOP, more  than 166,000, or approximately 82 percent, of these inmates are confined  than 166,000, or approximately 82 percent, of these inmates are confined  in BOP’s 114 correctional facilities and detention centers of various  in BOP’s 114 correctional facilities and detention centers of various  security levels. Responsible for the custody and care of these inmates are  security levels.
Temporary  facilities that do not involve a promotion or demotion.
The remaining approximately 36,000 inmates are confined through agreements with state  and local governments or through contracts with privately-operated residential re-entry  centers, detention centers, prisons, and juvenile facilities.
BOP stated in a written response that employees may also be permanently reassigned  through (1) agency-initiated reassignments, generally of management staff; (2) application  for an announced vacancy; (3) the Management Selection System for wardens and  associate wardens; and (4) the Open Continuous Announcement System for supervisory  correctional officers. We did not review BOP’s policies and procedures and BOP’s  assessment of the management of its policies and procedures on these other types of  permanent reassignments. assignments are day-to-day changes in correctional services assignments  within BOP facilities, which are made for a variety of reasons, including  (1) illness or other absences of staff or (2) special assignments (i.e., to  meet needs that arise in a facility, not including regularly assigned posts).
As part of our review, we selected seven BOP facilities, which included  five separately located facilities and two federal correctional complexes  (FCC). We selected facilities with the largest number of staff, with at least  one facility from within each of BOP’s six regions, and included low- and  medium-security federal correctional institutions (FCI) and high-security  United States Penitentiaries (USP). We excluded administrative facilities  from our review. The facilities selected were USP Lee in Virginia, USP  Hazelton in West Virginia, USP Pollock in Louisiana, FCI Sheridan  (medium) in Oregon, FCI Fort Dix (low) in New Jersey, FCC Coleman  (consisting of four facilities—two high-security, one medium-security, and  one low-security) in Florida, and FCC Terre Haute (consisting of two  facilities, a high-security and a medium-security) in Indiana. We conducted  a site visit to USP Hazelton and interviewed officials at the other facilities  by video conference.
To assess BOP’s management of lateral transfers and temporary  assignments, we reviewed available documentation on BOP’s written  policies and procedures for such transfers and assignments, the  implementation of those policies and procedures, and how BOP has  assessed the implementation of those policies and procedures. We also  reviewed the lateral transfer policies of four other law enforcement Justice  components—the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals  Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and  the Drug Enforcement Administration. For lateral transfers, we  interviewed officials from BOP’s Human Resources and Program Review  divisions; each of its six regional offices; its Consolidated Employee  Service Center in Grand Prairie, Tex.; and the selected facilities. We also  interviewed representatives of the American Federation of Government  Employees Council of Prison Locals (AFGE). For temporary assignments,  we reviewed BOP’s policies and procedures related to correctional  services’ roster assignments. For each facility in our review, we analyzed a  stratified random sample of 60 hard-copy correctional services daily  rosters, 5 per month, for calendar year 2007 and estimated the extent to  which the facilities in our review used temporary assignments. For FCC  Coleman, which uses separate daily rosters to assign staff at each of its  four facilities, we reviewed the separate rosters from each facility for the  same 60 days. For FCC Terre Haute, which uses a consolidated roster to  assign staff throughout the complex, we reviewed the consolidated daily  roster for the 60 days. We determined that the data from the hard-copy  daily rosters were sufficiently reliable for purposes of this report. We also  interviewed individuals from BOP’s Correctional Programs and Program  Review divisions, its Office of Research and Evaluation, each of its six  regional offices, the selected facilities, and representatives of AFGE. See  appendix I for a more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology.
We conducted this performance audit from August 2007 to January 2009,  in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: BOP consists of a headquarters and six regional offices—Mid-Atlantic,  North Central, Northeast, South Central, Southeast, and Western—that  directly oversee the operations of its 114 facilities within their respective  geographic regions of the country. BOP operates facilities of different  security levels—minimum, low, medium, and high, which respectively  have increasing security features, inmate to staff ratios, and control of  inmate movement, and administrative, which have special missions, such  as the treatment of inmates with serious or chronic medical problems.  Some BOP facilities are part of BOP’s 13 FCCs, which consist of two or  more facilities colocated on property that is contiguous. BOP facilities are  given a security designation based on the level of security and staff  supervision the facility is able to provide. Figure 1 shows the locations of  BOP facilities and regions and the facilities in our review.
Facilities are managed by a warden and other officials, including an  executive assistant and associate warden who generally provide overall  direction and implement policies. Each facility consists of various  departments, including the correctional services department, which  represents the largest segment of each facility. Correctional workers are  responsible for the correctional treatment, custody, and supervision of  criminal offenders. The captain is the head of the correctional services  department and generally reports to the warden or associate warden.  Lieutenants are generally responsible for the day-to-day staffing of  correctional services and report to the captain or deputy captain. Non- correctional services staff include, among others, those assigned to health  services, unit management, food services, and facility operations.
According to BOP written responses, all facility staff receive the same  initial core 5 weeks of training and 1 week of annual refresher training.  BOP’s Master Agreement with AFGE permits management to determine  the internal security practices of the agency and take whatever actions  may be necessary to carry out the agency mission during emergencies.  According to BOP officials, the warden is permitted to use all facility staff  (including non-correctional services staff, such as secretary, nurse, or  dentist) for correctional services assignments during emergencies and at  other designated times. One of BOP’s published core values is that all  employees are “correctional workers first,” regardless of the specific  position to which an individual is hired, and both correctional services  staff and non-correctional services staff are responsible for the safety and  security of the facility.
section_title: BOP Lacked Written Policies and Procedures for Processing Requests for Lateral Transfers
paragraphs: BOP has no written policies for lateral transfers and provides no guidance  to facilities on how to process requests for lateral transfers or criteria for  granting such requests. Requests for lateral transfers are generally handled  on a case-by-case basis, and the processes and criteria used for granting  those requests varied across facilities in our review. Neither BOP nor most  of the facilities reviewed maintained documentation or tracked data on  lateral transfers and their outcomes and did not systematically review  lateral transfers. We have previously reported that agencywide policies  and procedures help ensure consistent treatment when agencies are  geographically dispersed. Our review of the lateral transfer policies of  four other Justice components showed that each had established written  policies and procedures for lateral transfers.
subsections: section_title: BOP Had No Written Policy for Lateral Transfers, and Processes and Criteria Used Varied Across Facilities and Regions
paragraphs: According to officials from BOP’s Human Resources Division, BOP has no  written policies and procedures for processing staff requests for lateral  transfers. The officials said that BOP staff request lateral transfers because  of a variety of personal reasons, including personal hardship, such as a  sick family member, or a relocated spouse. At most of the facilities  included in our review, officials told us staff generally requested a lateral  transfer from their current facility to another location by submitting a  memorandum through their warden to the warden at the desired location.  According to a written response from BOP, this approach is informal and  is at the discretion of both wardens. BOP provides no guidance to facilities  on how to process such requests or criteria for granting them. In addition,  because no written policies and procedures exist, BOP has no way of  ensuring that staff are aware of how to request a lateral transfer. An  official at one facility in our review said because no written policies exist,  if an employee wanted to find out about how to obtain a lateral transfer,  the employee would have to ask someone. BOP officials told us that they  did not think written policies on lateral transfers were necessary because  of the infrequency of such requests.
Officials from the facilities in our review reported using different  processes and criteria for lateral transfers. Officials from two facilities  said their Employee Services Department, which is responsible for human  resources functions, forwarded a memorandum from the employee to the  warden at the desired facility, while officials from other facilities said their  Employee Services Department had no role in receiving or forwarding  requests for lateral transfers. Officials we interviewed from two facilities  said that their wardens routinely approved reassignment requests going  out of the facility, while others said requests would be considered  individually on a case-by-case basis. Further, in accepting requests for  incoming lateral transfers, officials from some facilities said the decision  was based on a combination of budgetary, staffing, and work performance  factors, while one facility official said he preferred not to approve lateral  transfers of senior correctional officers, specifically those at the General  Schedule grade 8, because of its affect on morale.
section_title: BOP Did Not Monitor Requests for Lateral Transfers or Their Outcomes
paragraphs: BOP was unable to identify the number of staff who were laterally  transferred because it did not maintain data on the manner in which  employees are permanently reassigned. According to a BOP Human  Resources Division official we interviewed, BOP’s personnel database did  not contain information by type of permanent reassignment, such as  agency-initiated, application for announced vacancy, or lateral transfers.  In fiscal year 2005, a total of 2,749 staff were permanently reassigned; in  fiscal year 2006, 1,952; and in fiscal year 2007, 1,901. According to BOP  officials, these numbers reflect the total number of staff successfully  reassigned through all types of permanent reassignments; BOP could not  isolate lateral transfers. In addition, these numbers did not include the  number of staff who applied for or requested a reassignment and were  denied.
BOP did not require facilities to maintain any documentation of requests  for lateral transfers, such as the original memorandum making a request or  documents indicating whether requests were forwarded, approved,  denied, or reasons for denial. Officials from most of the facilities in our  review said their facilities retained the original employee request  memorandum in some circumstances, but one official said the request  memorandum was never retained. Without such documentation, BOP was  not able to determine BOP-wide the number of staff who requested lateral  transfers, the number of times an employee requested a transfer, the  number of requests approved or denied, or the reasons for denial.
According to BOP, its central office exercises no role in reviewing  decisions concerning lateral transfers where the warden is the deciding  official. BOP officials stated that lateral transfers have not been  considered a high-risk area necessitating review. At the regional level,  officials from five of the six regions told us that their offices had no role  concerning requests for lateral transfers where the warden was the  deciding official. At the sixth region, an official said that starting in the  first quarter of 2008 all wardens in that region were required to obtain  authorization from the regional director before approving lateral transfers.  According to this official, the approval policy was implemented because of  a concern that transfers from hard-to-fill positions would contribute to  turnover. At the facility level, if the warden at the employee’s current  facility decided not to forward the request or the warden at the desired  facility denied the request, BOP had no formal process for  reconsideration.
section_title: Agencywide Policies, Procedures, and Monitoring Are Important for Ensuring Consistent Treatment of Staff
paragraphs: We have previously reported that it is important to have agencywide  policies and procedures to help ensure consistent treatment, especially if  employees are geographically dispersed across regions. Further,  according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC)  Management Directive 715, to ensure management and program  accountability, agencies should maintain clearly defined, well- communicated personnel policies, and ensure that they are consistently  applied. A Human Resources Specialist from the Office of Personnel  Management’s (OPM) Strategic Human Resource Policy Division told us  that policies, procedures, and monitoring of employee-initiated  reassignments are not required by regulation. However, according to the  official, as with any other personnel action, documentation could be  helpful if a personnel action is later questioned. The official also said that  documentation of consistent treatment would also provide support for an  agency’s decision-making process when there are claims of favoritism and  help an agency to avoid perceptions of inconsistent treatment. The  absence of BOP-wide policies and procedures for lateral transfers  diminishes BOP’s ability to ensure consistent treatment of staff across  BOP’s 114 facilities in 6 regions.
Our review of the policies and procedures of four other Justice law- enforcement components—the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S.  Marshals Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and  Explosives; and the Drug Enforcement Administration—showed that each  of these had established written policies and procedures applicable to  some or all employees for requesting a transfer to another location. For  example, the Marshals Service, whose policy is intended “to provide a  standard, fair, and efficient means of considering employee requests for  transfer,” uses a centralized automated system where deputy U.S.  Marshals can register their interest in transfers to district positions at  General Schedule grades 12 and below in one or more geographic  locations. For medical hardship requests, the policy also provides for a  review panel whose decisions can be appealed to a designated agency  official to approve or reject a request for a transfer.
section_title: BOP Has Policies and Procedures for Staffing Temporary Assignments but Has Not Systematically Assessed Their Use
paragraphs: BOP has policies and procedures on how facilities are to assign staff on a  temporary basis, but it has not systematically assessed how such  temporary assignments are being made. As part of a cost-reduction  strategy involving temporary assignments that began in 2004, in 2005 BOP  designated certain posts as “mission critical,” that is, assignments that  were deemed essential for the safe and secure operations of its facilities  and would be vacated only in rare circumstances. The mission critical post  initiative was intended to reduce facilities’ reliance on overtime and non- correctional services staff, both of which had typically been used for  temporary assignments. BOP provided facilities with general guidance on  implementing the initiative but did not subsequently conduct an evaluation  on the effectiveness of the initiative or determine whether it resulted in  reduced reliance on overtime and use of non-correctional services staff for  mission critical posts. Under the Standards for Internal Control in the  Federal Government, federal agencies are to employ internal control  activities, such as top-level review, to help ensure that management’s  directives are carried out and to determine if the agencies are effectively  and efficiently using resources. BOP generally does not review data on  temporary assignments at any level. In addition, BOP’s computerized  system cannot produce the summary data that would facilitate such a  review. As a result, we had to conduct a manual review of temporary  assignments. Our manual review showed that reliance on overtime and  non-correctional services staff varied by facility and that some mission  critical posts were left unassigned.
subsections: section_title: BOP Policies and Procedures Provide Options for Temporarily Assigning Staff
paragraphs: BOP’s written sources of policies and procedures on temporary  assignments are the negotiated Master Agreement with AFGE and BOP’s  Correctional Services Procedures Manual. BOP’s Master Agreement with  AFGE provides that management, in accordance with applicable laws, has  the right to assign work and to determine the personnel by which  operations shall be conducted and outlines the negotiated procedures for  assigning work and other matters subject to negotiation. For example,  according to the Agreement, employees shall be given at least 24-hours  notice when it is necessary to make shift changes, except employees  assigned to the sick and annual leave list or when the requirement for  prior notice would cause vacating a post. Work assignments on the same  shift may be changed without advance notice. In addition, when BOP  determines that it is necessary to pay overtime for assignments normally  filled by bargaining unit employees, the Agreement provides that qualified  employees in the bargaining unit will receive first consideration for these  overtime assignments and that these assignments will be distributed and  rotated equitably among bargaining unit employees. Each facility may  negotiate specific procedures regarding overtime assignment. The stated  purpose of the Correctional Services Procedures Manual is to promote  standard management practices for correctional services staff at all  facilities, while recognizing the differences among facilities that vary in  missions and security levels. The Manual requires facilities to use the  computerized roster management system for the correctional services  daily roster, reflecting all temporary assignments. According to  interviews with BOP officials, all temporary assignments must be recorded  in the computerized roster management system.
As stated earlier, BOP uses temporary assignments, or day-to-day changes  in correctional services assignments, for a variety of reasons including to  fill in for staff regularly assigned to correctional services posts at BOP  facilities who are absent because of illnesses or other reasons, such as  training, or for special assignments. Special assignments are used to meet  needs that arise in a facility and are not regularly assigned posts and may  include escorted trips, airlifts, bus transports, and phone monitoring.  Special assignments are used to address needs that could (1) arise  unexpectedly, such as a medical emergency, or (2) be anticipated and may  be planned for in advance, such as a scheduled educational activity or  medical appointment.
According to BOP officials, staffing decisions on temporary assignments  are made at the discretion of each individual facility and are generally  carried out by the lieutenants who are responsible for the day-to-day  staffing of the correctional services departments. The options for staffing  temporary assignments are not contained in BOP-wide written policy.  However, according to officials at the facilities we interviewed, when there  is a need for a temporary assignment, the assigning lieutenants have five  options, as shown in figure 2.
While most officials said that there were specific posts that should never  be left unassigned—including the control room, towers, special housing  unit, and mobile or perimeter patrol—officials from all of the facilities in  our review said that some mission critical posts could go unassigned,  depending on the type of post and the circumstances (e.g., in  emergencies). For example, an official from one facility said that if there is  snow on the ground and fewer inmates than normal are in the recreation  yard, one or more recreation yard posts may go unassigned.
section_title: BOP Implemented the Mission Critical Post Initiative to Achieve Cost Reductions for Temporary Assignments but Did Not Assess the Initiative’s Effectiveness
paragraphs: In 2004, faced with significant budgetary constraints associated with  increases in the inmate population, BOP began implementing a three- phase comprehensive strategy designed to streamline its operations and  reduce costs. As part of its overall cost-reduction strategy, in 2005, BOP  implemented the mission critical post initiative. The objectives of the  mission critical post initiative were to (1) establish posts that were  deemed essential for the safe and secure operations of its facilities and  would be vacated only under rare circumstances, (2) reduce the reliance  by the correctional services department on non-correctional services staff,  and (3) substantially reduce overtime costs. According to BOP’s Director,  these objectives were to be achieved by making other correctional  services posts available for relief and special assignments. Before the  mission critical post initiative, special assignments had most often been  covered by use of overtime or non-correctional services staff.
Under the mission critical post initiative, BOP identified standard  correctional services posts for each security level. These included posts  that were mandated by current policy as well as posts that were  determined to be essential for the daily operations of the facilities, such as  those in the control room, where staff can monitor all facility activity and  control entrances and exits, and housing units, which include sleeping  spaces and a common area. BOP gave facility wardens final authority in  designating mission critical posts to accommodate specific facility  missions and designs, such as the needs of an older building, and to  consider other factors. Correctional services posts deemed not mission  critical, such as front gate or chapel officers, were eliminated. BOP  guidance stated that certain essential duties, such as telephone  monitoring, still needed to be accomplished despite the absence of a  dedicated post. BOP guidance also required the facility captain to ensure  that all other reasonable options had been exhausted before authorizing  overtime to fill mission critical posts. However, BOP did not specify what  such options were. Further, BOP’s Correctional Services Procedures  Manual, which provides guidance on assigning correctional services staff,  was last updated in October 2003, before the implementation of the  mission critical post initiative and, therefore, does not provide further  guidance on when it is appropriate to (1) use non-correctional services  staff or (2) leave a mission critical post unassigned rather than pay  overtime. “In order to monitor this process over the next 6 months, each Captain will be required to  submit a weekly recapitulation to their (sic) respective Regional Correctional Services  Administrator identifying their (sic) daily activity regarding local roster management. At  minimum, the weekly recapitulation must consist of the amount of overtime used, number  of posts filled by shift, the number of staff on day off, annual leave, sick leave, holiday, and  training. The weekly recapitulation must be sent to the respective Regional Correctional  Services Administrator by the close of business on Monday of the following week. At the  end of the six-month period, the roster recapitulation results by institution will be analyzed  regarding the amount of overtime used in regards to each institution’s Custody staffing  pattern and mission.”
According to BOP officials, BOP never conducted the analysis described in  the memorandum and has not conducted any evaluation of the mission  critical post initiative. BOP officials could not explain why the evaluation  was not conducted. Such an evaluation would have been consistent with  both the Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government,  which provide that federal agencies are to employ internal control  activities, such as top-level review, to help ensure that management’s  directives are carried out and resources are effectively and efficiently  used, and BOP’s Management Control and Program Review Manual,  which lays out the basic components of its system of management  controls, which include assessing program performance regularly.
section_title: BOP Management Generally Does Not Review Temporary Assignments
paragraphs: BOP’s management generally does not review temporary assignments. For  example, BOP’s central office does not review temporary assignments,  including the extent to which facilities leave mission critical posts  unassigned or rely on overtime or non-correctional services staff to fill  temporary assignments. Central office reviews, which are conducted by  BOP’s Program Review Division, generally every 3 years, are limited to  reviewing a sample of daily rosters to ensure that the rosters are signed  and properly maintained and do not include a review of temporary  assignments. At the regional level, reviews of temporary assignments are  generally limited to overtime usage and do not include reviews on the  extent to which mission critical posts were left unassigned and the  reliance on non-correctional services staff. While facilities in all six  regions are to submit overtime reports to their regional offices for review,  according to BOP written responses, these reports are not provided in a  consistent manner throughout the agency and are used differently by each  region. At the facility level, reviews of temporary assignments are mostly  limited to the day-to-day reviews of the daily rosters generally to verify  accuracy. In addition, officials from one of the seven facilities reported  tracking mission critical posts left unassigned on daily rosters, and the  warden at that facility said that he randomly reviews daily rosters on a  weekly basis. Without reviewing unassigned mission critical posts,  facilities cannot determine whether leaving mission critical posts  unassigned has an effect on facilities’ safety and security.
Because of limitations with BOP’s computerized roster management  system, the only way currently for BOP to assess how it is temporarily  assigning staff would be for BOP officials to manually review daily rosters.  The system does not produce summary data on temporary assignments  and does not produce reliable historical data on non-correctional services  positions. While the system contains data on temporary assignments for  individual days, it currently does not produce summary data that would  make it easier for BOP officials to assess BOP’s use of temporary  assignments. For example, when a facility leaves a mission critical post  unassigned, it is designated on the correctional services daily roster, but  BOP’s computerized system does not produce summary data on the  number of mission critical posts left unassigned. To obtain summary data,  a facility would have to count the occurrences of unassigned posts from  each daily roster for a given period. In addition, although the system can  produce limited data on overtime and non-correctional services staff by  individual days, it does not produce summary data over time on the use  of overtime or non-correctional services staff or the purposes for which  overtime was paid or non-correctional services staff were used. In March  2008, one region began manually reviewing individual daily rosters  submitted by its facilities. Officials in that region said that two staff  members currently spend about an hour a day reviewing the rosters and  that one staff member is spending about an hour and a half reviewing the  rosters on a weekly basis. Also according to BOP officials responsible for  the design and implementation of the system, although it distinguishes  between correctional services and non-correctional services staff, if an  employee moves from a correctional services position to a non- correctional services position or vice versa, the employee’s department  status would change for all rosters that are stored on the system before  the move. As a result, any historical data on the use of non-correctional  services staff is not reliable, and only hard copy versions of daily rosters  maintained at a facility are an accurate record. Without summary data on  the use of overtime and non-correctional services staff and the purposes  for which overtime was paid or non-correctional services staff were used,  BOP cannot assess whether the policy changes it made involving  temporary assignments enabled BOP to achieve its goals of reducing its  reliance on overtime and non-correctional services staff. Also without  summary data on unassigned mission critical posts, BOP cannot assess the  effect, if any, of such posts on the safety and security of its facilities.  Further, without reliable data on the use of non-correctional services  positions, BOP cannot accurately assess the extent to which it has reduced  its reliance on non-correctional services staff.
section_title: Manual Review of Temporary Assignments Shows That BOP Facilities Left Mission Critical Posts Unassigned and Relied on Overtime and Non- Correctional Services Staff to Varying Degrees
paragraphs: Our review of BOP’s management of temporary assignments included  determining how BOP temporarily assigned staff, specifically the extent to  which the facilities in our review left mission critical posts unassigned and  relied on overtime and non-correctional services staff for temporary  assignments. Because of the limitations with BOP’s computerized roster  management system, we manually reviewed individual daily rosters. For  each of the facilities in our review, we analyzed a stratified random sample  of 60 correctional services daily rosters, 5 per month, for calendar year  2007. We counted for both mission critical posts and special assignments  the occurrences of (1) unassigned posts, (2) non-correctional services staff  paid regular time, (3) correctional services staff paid overtime, (4) non- correctional services staff paid overtime, and (5) compensatory time and  statistically estimated the average number and percentage of mission  critical posts and special assignments for each of these categories. We  also counted the total number of special assignments. We did not review  daily rosters completed before the implementation of the mission critical  post initiative and therefore do not know the impact of the initiative.  Appendix I provides detailed information on the methods we used for  conducting our analysis. Appendix III provides the results of our analysis  for each of the facilities in our review.
Our analysis showed that facilities in our review left mission critical posts  unassigned, with an estimated low of 3 percent of mission critical posts  per day on average at two facilities and an estimated high of 12 percent per  day on average at another facility. Facilities differed in the occurrences of  overtime to fill mission critical posts, with estimated low of 1 percent per  day on average and a estimated high of 6 percent per day on average and  for special assignments an estimated low of 21 percent of special  assignments per day on average and an estimated high of 63 percent per  day on average. Facilities differed in the of use of non-correctional  services staff to fill mission critical posts, with an estimated low of 1  percent of mission critical posts per day on average and an estimated high  of 10 percent per day on average and for special assignments an estimated  low of 2 percent of special assignments per day on average and an  estimated high of 25 percent per day on average. It is unclear the extent to  which leaving mission critical posts unassigned, paying overtime, and  using non-correctional services staff may affect the safety and security of  BOP’s operations.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: BOP does not have written policies and procedures for managing lateral  transfers. Without such policies and procedures, BOP cannot ensure that  staff at each of its 114 facilities in 6 regions across the United States have  similar processes available to them or are being consistently treated when  they request lateral transfers. While BOP does have processes in place for  managing temporary assignments, it has not evaluated the effectiveness of  its mission critical post initiative nor systematically assessed temporary  assignments. Without such assessments, BOP is not employing internal  control activities specified in federal standards and BOP policy and,  therefore, cannot determine whether it is achieving the desired cost  savings or determine the effect, if any, of unassigned mission critical posts  on the safety and security of its facilities.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: We recommend that the Attorney General direct the Director of BOP to    develop and implement specific policies and procedures for administering  employee requests for lateral transfers, including the collection of data on  such requests and their outcomes and the development of a system of  oversight to ensure the consistent treatment of BOP staff and    systematically assess temporary assignments to ensure that BOP is  meeting the objectives of the mission critical post initiative and effectively  and efficiently using resources.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: In a letter dated February 5, 2009 (see app. IV), the Director of BOP, on  behalf of the Attorney General, agreed with our findings. Regarding our  first recommendation, the Director disagreed with the recommended  action that BOP develop and implement specific policies and procedures  for administering employee requests for lateral transfers because BOP  would have to devote time and personnel to developing policies and  procedures and maintaining such a program. In addition, the Director  stated that implementation of our recommendation would elevate this  process to a central office function rather than retain it at the local level  where staffing decisions are made. While developing, implementing, and  overseeing policies and procedures that we recommend would require  some resources, these actions would not necessarily require centralizing  either decisions on requests for lateral transfers or the data collection on  such requests and their outcomes. For example, decisions on transfer  requests could primarily remain at the facility level; facilities would collect  and retain data on all requests and their disposition and facilities would  then report these data on lateral transfers to BOP. This would allow BOP  to conduct appropriate oversight to ensure that requests for lateral  transfers are handled consistently across facilities. The Director stated  that instead of implementing our recommendation, BOP plans to  “encourage a practice to have locations post a vacancy announcement on  USAJobs before filling local vacancies.” Such a plan would fall short of the  intent of our recommendation of having specific policies and procedures  for facilities across BOP to administer employee requests for lateral  transfers, including the collection of data on such requests and their  outcomes and the development of a system of oversight to ensure  consistent treatment of staff. We continue to believe that without such  written policies and procedures covering lateral transfers, BOP cannot  readily monitor how such transfers are being managed across BOP or  ensure that staff are being consistently treated when requesting such  transfers.
Regarding our second recommendation, the Director stated that BOP will  conduct a systematic assessment of the use of correctional services  mission critical posts at its field locations from January 1 through  December 31, 2009. Further, the assessment will include the issue of  vacating posts. After the initial assessment, BOP’s Correctional Services  Program Review Guidelines will be modified as appropriate based on  BOP’s findings, and BOP plans to conduct regularly scheduled reviews of  institutions to determine whether it is meeting its mission critical post  initiative and effectively and efficiently using resources.
We will send copies of this report to the Attorney General and other  interested parties. Copies will be made available to others upon request.  This report will also be available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at  http://www.gao.gov.
If you have questions about this report, please contact me on   (202) 512-9490 or at stalcupg@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of  Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last   page of this report. Staff who made major contributions are listed in  appendix V.
section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: Our objectives were to identify whether BOP had policies and procedures  and how it assessed the management of those policies and procedures for  (1) permanent reassignments of BOP employees between correctional  facilities and (2) temporary assignments of BOP employees within a  correctional facility. For purposes of this report, permanent  reassignments, referred to as lateral transfers by BOP, are employee- requested transfers to other BOP facilities that do not involve a promotion  or demotion. Temporary assignments are day-to-day changes in  correctional services assignments at BOP facilities made for a variety of  reasons including (1) to fill in for staff regularly assigned to correctional  services posts who are absent because of illnesses or other reasons, such  as training, or (2) for special assignments (i.e., to meet needs that arise in a  facility and are not regularly assigned posts).
As part of our review, we selected seven facilities, which included five  separately located facilities and two federal correctional complexes  (FCC). We selected facilities based on the number of staff, as reported in  BOP’s 2006 State of the Bureau, with at least one facility from within each  of BOP’s six regions, and included low- and medium-security federal  correctional institutions (FCI) and high-security United States  Penitentiaries (USP). Because of their specialized missions, we excluded  administrative facilities, such as Federal Detention Centers, Federal  Medical Centers, and the Administrative-Maximum USP. To select the  FCCs, we included an additional criterion, whether the FCC used separate  rosters to assign staff at each of the facilities in the complex or one  consolidated roster to assign staff throughout the complex. Based on  information provided by BOP, we selected the FCC with the highest  number of staff that uses a consolidated roster, FCC Terre Haute  (consisting of two facilities, a high-security and a medium-security) in the  North Central Region, and the FCC with the highest number of staff that  uses separate rosters, FCC Coleman (consisting of four facilities—two  high-security, one medium-security, and one low-security) in the Southeast  Region. For the remaining regions, we selected the facility in each region  with the highest number of staff. In the Mid-Atlantic region, we selected  the two facilities with the highest number of staff, one at which to conduct  a site visit. We selected low-security FCI Fort Dix in the Northeast Region,  medium-security FCI Sheridan in the Western Region, and the following  high-security USPs: Hazelton and Lee in the Mid-Atlantic Region and  Pollock in the South Central Region. We conducted a site visit to USP  Hazelton and interviewed officials at the other facilities by video  conference.
subsections: section_title: Objective 1: Lateral Transfers of BOP Employees among Correctional Facilities
paragraphs: To identify whether BOP had policies and procedures on lateral transfers  and how it assessed the management of such policies, we requested  documentation on such policies and procedures. We also interviewed  officials from BOP’s Human Resources and Program Review divisions,  each of its regional offices, its Consolidated Employee Service Center in  Grand Prairie, Tex., and the seven facilities in our review. We interviewed  representatives of the American Federation of Government Employees  Council of Prison Locals (AFGE) and reviewed AFGE’s Master Agreement  with BOP. To obtain information about the use of written policies,  procedures, and oversight of lateral transfers in the federal government,  we interviewed an official from the Office of Personnel Management’s  Strategic Human Resources Policy Division. We also requested and  reviewed documentation on the extent to which four other Department of  Justice law enforcement components—Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,  Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal  Bureau of Investigation; and United States Marshals Service—had written  policies and procedures in place for such reassignments.
To identify the number of BOP employees who were permanently  reassigned for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, we requested and obtained  National Finance Center (NFC) data from BOP on the number of  permanent reassignments. These data included those successfully  reassigned through all types of permanent reassignments, including lateral  transfers, agency-initiated reassignments, application for an announced  vacancy, BOP’s Management Selection System, and the Open Continuous  Announcement System, but BOP could not separate the data by type of  reassignment. We compared the NFC data with data on permanent  reassignments generated by the Office of Personnel Management’s Central  Personnel Data File. The discrepancies were small enough for us to  determine that the NFC data were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of  this report.
section_title: Objective 2: Temporary Assignments of BOP Employees within Correctional Facilities
paragraphs: To identify whether BOP had policies and procedures and how it assessed  the management of its policies and procedures for temporary assignments  of BOP employees within correctional facilities, we reviewed BOP  program statements and other guidance related to temporary assignments.  We interviewed the relevant officials at BOP’s central and regional offices,  and at each of the selected facilities. We also interviewed representatives  of AFGE and reviewed AFGE’s Master Agreement with BOP.
To determine how the facilities in our review used temporary assignments,  we analyzed correctional services daily rosters provided by BOP for each  of the facilities included in our review. BOP facilities maintain daily  rosters in two ways: (1) in its computerized roster management system,  which can be accessed at a later date and (2) as hard copies stored at each  facility. We analyzed hard-copy correctional services daily rosters from  facilities in our review because BOP’s computerized roster management  system does not produce historically accurate data on the department  status of correctional services and non-correctional services staff that are  sufficiently reliable for purposes of this report. According to BOP officials  responsible for the design and implementation of BOP’s computerized  system, although the system distinguishes between correctional services  and non-correctional services staff, if an employee moves from a  correctional services position to a non-correctional services position or  vice versa, the employee’s department status would change for all rosters  that are stored in the system before the move.
To determine the reliability of the hard-copy daily rosters, we reviewed  training and other technical documentation associated with the  computerized roster management system used at BOP facilities and BOP’s  policies and procedures for ensuring the accuracy of the data. We  interviewed BOP’s Correctional Services Administrator; BOP officials  responsible for designing, maintaining, and updating the computerized  roster management system and for organizing system training at the  facilities; and BOP officials from each of the seven facilities in our review  knowledgeable about entering data and generating daily rosters. We  determined that the data contained in the official hard-copy correctional  services daily rosters were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this  report. BOP considers the hard-copy daily rosters the official record of  staffing in correctional services, including the use of overtime and the use  of non-correctional services staff. According to facility officials we  interviewed, the evening watch lieutenant and captain review and sign  each day’s hard-copy roster for accuracy, typically within the 24 to 48  hours following the end of the last shift of the day. That roster then  becomes the final version. BOP requires the signed hard-copy daily rosters  to be stored at the facility for 10 years.
We did not evaluate the accuracy of information on the individual daily  rosters. We excluded those hard-copy daily rosters that were printed more  than 30 days after the date of the daily roster because we determined that  the designations on non-correctional services staff were not sufficiently  reliable for the purposes of this report. We also excluded from our  analysis incomplete daily rosters (i.e., those that were sent to us with  missing pages) and rosters that we did not receive.
subsections: section_title: Analysis of Daily Rosters
paragraphs: To analyze the correctional services daily rosters from each of the  facilities in our review, we selected a stratified random sample of 60 hard- copy daily rosters, 5 per month, from the universe of 365 daily rosters per  facility for calendar year 2007. We did not look at daily rosters completed  before the implementation of the mission critical initiative and therefore  do not know the impact of the initiative. For FCC Coleman, which uses  separate daily rosters to assign staff at each of its four facilities, we  reviewed the separate rosters from each facility for the 60 days. For FCC  Terre Haute, which uses a consolidated roster to assign staff throughout  the complex, we reviewed the consolidated daily roster for the 60 days. In  total, we reviewed 600 daily rosters. With this stratified random sample,  each roster in the universe had a chance of being selected. Each selected  roster was subsequently weighted in the analysis to account statistically  for all the members of the universe, including those who were not  selected.
For each day selected in the sample, on the daily roster we manually  counted for both mission critical posts and special assignments  occurrences of (1) unassigned posts, (2) non-correctional services staff  paid regular time, (3) correctional services staff paid overtime, (4) non- correctional services staff paid overtime, and (5) compensatory time. In  addition, we counted the total number of special assignments assigned per  day at each facility in our review. Based on these results, we estimated the  average daily number and percentage of mission critical posts and special  assignments that were unassigned, filled with non-correctional services  staff, or filled with overtime using either correctional services staff or non- correctional services staff. These results are limited to the facilities in our  review for calendar year 2007 and are not intended to be applied to  facilities across BOP.
For the overtime results, we based the average daily count on the number  of overtime occurrences rather than number of overtime hours. The total  number of overtime occurrences per day was determined by adding the  daily count of occurrences of correctional services staff paid overtime and  non-correctional services staff paid overtime.
Because of resource constraints, we did not count the total number of  mission critical posts listed on each of the 600 daily rosters. This would  have provided the actual total number of mission critical posts for each  day. Instead, we calculated daily percentages based on the maximum  number of posts possible per day in the facility, which ranged from 70  mission critical posts at low-security FCI Coleman to 232 mission critical  posts at FCC Terre Haute. BOP facilities determine the number of days  needed for each post, and posts are designated as consisting of between 1  to 7 day shifts per week. For example, a visiting-room post was identified  as a 2-day shift per week at one facility in our review. We assumed for  each day in our sample that each mission critical post would be listed on  the daily roster—that is, the visiting room would be staffed on each day of  our sample. Because it is likely that not every post would be included on  the daily roster on each of the days in our sample and that the actual  number of posts listed on the roster would be less than the maximum  number of posts possible in a day at that facility, our methodology  potentially underestimates the results.
Because we followed a procedure based on random selection, each of our  samples is only one of a large number of samples that we might have  drawn. Since each possible sample could have provided different  estimates, we express our confidence in the precision of our particular  sample’s results as a 95 percent confidence interval. This is the interval  that would contain the actual value for 95 percent of the samples we could  have drawn from the universe. For mission critical posts, each estimate  from these samples has a margin of error at the 95 percent confidence  level, of plus or minus 2 percent or less for average daily percentage  estimates or plus or minus 4 posts or less for average daily post estimates.  For special assignments, each estimate from these samples has a margin of  error, at the 95 percent confidence level, of plus or minus 6 percent or less  for average daily percentage estimates or plus or minus 3 special  assignments or less for average daily special assignments estimates.
We conducted this performance audit from August 2007 to January 2009 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those  standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient,  appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence  obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions  based on our audit objectives.
section_title: Appendix II: BOP’s Correctional Services Roster Assignment and Temporary Assignment Process
paragraphs: This appendix describes how BOP assigns staff to correctional services  mission critical posts and makes temporary assignments to these posts  and special assignments.
subsections: section_title: Assignments to Mission Critical Posts
paragraphs: BOP correctional services staff are assigned to or selected for two types of  mission critical posts, rotating and non-rotating. Most posts in a facility are  rotating posts and are assigned on a quarterly basis in accordance with the  bidding procedures contained in the Master Agreement between BOP and  AFGE. The outcome of the bid process represents the correctional  services assignments for that specific quarter. These include such posts as  the control room, where staff can monitor all facility activity and control  entrances and exits, and housing units, which include inmate sleeping  spaces and a common area. Staff may also bid on what are called “sick and  annual” posts. Staff who hold sick and annual posts serve as a designated  group of officers used for a variety of reasons, including filling in for staff  on leave, in training, or for special assignments. Non-rotating posts are not  open to quarterly bidding, and staff are assigned or selected on a  permanent basis. These include such posts as captain’s secretary, captain,  and special investigative agent. Assignments to mission critical post  (rotating and non-rotating) are reflected on each facility’s quarterly roster  that is prepared and stored in each facility’s computerized roster  management system. The quarterly roster reflects all staff assigned to  posts for the quarter and serves as the basis for all daily rosters for that  quarter and is generated from each facility’s computerized system.
section_title: Temporary Assignments to Mission Critical Posts and Special Assignments
paragraphs: Approximately 2 weeks before a particular date, the designated  administrative lieutenant at each facility generates the daily roster from  the computerized system. Subsequently, designated supervisory staff,  typically other lieutenants, enter temporary assignments directly into the  computerized system to reflect correctional services staff requests for  leave and special assignments. In staffing temporary assignments,  lieutenants are to consider the number of staff needed and the specialized  experience, training, or certification required for some posts and special  assignments and the qualifications of available staff. For example, in cases  of medical escort special assignments, BOP policy requires a 3-to-1 staff- to-inmate ratio for maximum custody inmates, but only a 2-to-1 ratio for  high- and medium-custody inmates. To escort an inmate to an outside  medical facility, the staff assigned must have completed basic prisoner  transport training and be recertified annually. Names of staff who are  current on this certification and certifications required for other posts or  special assignments are contained on lists available to the assigning  lieutenant and are available under the staff member’s name in the  computerized system. In addition, officials from some facilities and  regional offices told us that staff assigned to some posts, while not  requiring a formal certification, should have a certain level of knowledge  or experience. For example, in the control room, officials told us that it is  important to have someone with knowledge of the facility to fill in for  someone regularly assigned. Finally, officials from two facilities said that  certain non-rotating posts—those that are not assigned on a quarterly  basis—such as special investigative agent, emergency planning officers,  captain’s secretary, captain, and deputy captain could go temporarily  unassigned, and officials from one of these facilities said staff assigned to  some non-rotating posts are used for temporary assignments to mission  critical posts and special assignments. Temporary assignments are made  as necessary until the end of the last shift of the day (i.e., midnight).
section_title: Appendix III: Analysis of Correctional Services Daily Rosters at Selected BOP Facilities
paragraphs: This appendix describes the results of our analysis of correctional services  daily rosters of how each of the facilities in our review used temporary  assignments to mission critical posts and special assignments for calendar  year 2007. For a more detailed description of the methods we used to  conduct our analysis, see appendix I.
subsections: section_title: Mission Critical Posts
paragraphs: Our analysis showed that during calendar year 2007 facilities in our review  left mission critical posts unassigned ranging from an estimated low of 3  percent per day on average at FCI Sheridan and FCI Coleman Medium to  an estimated high of 12 percent per day on average at USP Coleman II.  Figure 3 shows the 2007 estimated average daily percentage of unassigned  mission critical posts for each of the facilities we reviewed. We did not  analyze which specific posts went unassigned (e.g., rotating or non- rotating posts or posts by name).
Facilities paid overtime to fill, on average, an estimated low of 1 percent  per day of mission critical posts at USP Lee and a high of 6 percent per day  of mission critical posts at FCI Coleman Low, FCI Coleman Medium, and  USP Coleman II, as figure 4 shows.
Facilities used non-correctional services staff to fill, on average, an  estimated low of 1 percent per day of mission critical posts at FCI  Sheridan, USP Hazelton, USP Lee, USP Pollock, and FCC Terre Haute and  a high of 10 percent per day of mission critical posts at FCI Coleman  Medium, as figure 5 shows.
An official from one facility said he tries not to use non-correctional  services staff for temporary assignments because they have their own  assignments to complete and being reassigned to a post would disrupt that  work. Officials from six of the facilities told us that they regularly use non- correctional services staff for temporary assignments during annual  refresher training, a 1-week course that occurs several times a year at each  facility and is required for all facility staff.
section_title: Special Assignments
paragraphs: The estimated average number of special assignments per day ranged from  10 at FCI Coleman low and medium to 47 at FCC Terre Haute (one high- security and one low-security), as table 1 shows.
On average, the facilities in our review filled nearly all special  assignments, with the exception of USP Lee, which left an estimated 8 of  22, or 37 percent, of special assignments unassigned per day.
The facilities in our review paid overtime to fill, on average, an estimated  low of 21 percent of special assignments per day at USP Lee and a high of  63 percent at FCC Terre Haute, as figure 6 below shows.
The facilities in our review used non-correctional services staff to fill, on  average, an estimated low of 2 percent of special assignments per day at  FCI Sheridan and FCC Terre Haute and a high of 25 percent per day at FCI  Ft. Dix, as figure 7 shows.
section_title: Appendix IV: Comments from the U.S. Department of Justice
section_title: Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the individual named above, Kiki Theodoropoulos, Assistant  Director; James Ashley; Dewi Djunaidy; Karin Fangman; Tamara F.  Stenzel; and Gregory H. Wilmoth made key contributions to this report.