Sneak Preview: Agencies Adopt Revisions to Human Subjects Rule

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) Several federal departments and agencies, in a joint final rule, adopted a revised federal policy for the protection of human subjects in research, which among other…
Read more ›Federal Improper Payment Levels Continue To Climb

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released the results of its financial audit for fiscal years (FY) 2015 and 2016 federal consolidated financial statements, and the news was not good. It could be summed up in one sentence, to wit:…
Read more ›‘Sanctuary City’ Order Creating Widespread Sense of Worry

One of my kids favorite books when they were toddlers was one called “Wemberly Worried,” about a little girl mouse who constantly worried about everything. Apparently, there seems to be just as much worrying about some of President Trump’s executive…
Read more ›Sneak Preview: HHS OIG Seeks Medicaid Refund from New Jersey

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) reaffirmed its recent audit recommendation that the New Jersey Department of Human Services…
Read more ›Change in Progress at the Office of Management and Budget

With the arrival of Donald Trump as president last week, grant applicants and recipients may have already noticed that the federal government is not running “business as usual.” For example, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website is typically…
Read more ›Sneak Preview: ED Rule Addresses Student Disproportionality

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) The Department of Education (ED) is amending its regulations under programs governed by Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to require states…
Read more ›Sneak Preview: OIG Audit Finds AmeriCorp NCCC Cost Concerns

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is assessing methods to improve operational efficiency in the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program after a…
Read more ›Chicago Transit Authority Receives $1B Grant Award

Talk about the federal government putting a lot of eggs in one basket. The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) this week provided about $1.07 billion in federal grant funds to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for the…
Read more ›Sneak Preview: Associations Applaud Micro-Purchase Legislation

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) A provision in a bill passed by Congress that would raise the current micro-purchase procurement threshold for research programs and entities could help relieve administrative burdens…
Read more ›FEMA Changes Terminology for Public Assistance, Fire Management Grants

As Shakespeare wrote, “What’s in a name?” Sometimes a name change can seem like a small thing, but it is important to take note of it. We mention this because, effective this week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has…
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