Audit of the Indian Health Service's Internal Controls Over Monitoring of Recipients' Compliance With Requirements of the American Indians Into Psychology Program

Our review found that IHS did not have adequate internal controls to monitor recipients' compliance with certain requirements of American Indians Into Psychology Program (Psychology Program) scholarships. IHS did not have policies and procedures to monitor whether recipients had completed their approved education programs or were fulfilling required service obligations. As a result, IHS could not ensure that all recipients were in compliance with Psychology Program scholarship requirements. Under the Psychology Program, IHS provides grants to colleges and universities to develop and maintain psychology career recruitment programs to encourage American Indians to enter the mental health field. Each recipient must maintain full-time or part-time enrollment until completion of the approved education program and fulfill a minimum service obligation.

We recommended that IHS develop and implement policies and procedures for monitoring recipients' fulfillment of education requirements and service obligations for Psychology Program scholarships. IHS concurred with our recommendation and described actions that it had taken or planned to take to address the recommendation.