Recommendation: To improve execution of sexual assault prevention and response programs, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should establish and administer a curriculum for all key program personnel to ensure that they can provide proper advice to Coast Guard personnel.

Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard

Status: Open

Comments: The Coast Guard concurred with this recommendation, and in comments on our report, the Coast Guard noted that it has completed an assessment of workload requirements and resource allocations for its Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, and upon release of the final report, the Coast Guard plans to review and analyze the recommendations and, as appropriate, incorporate additional resource requirements into its annual budget process.

Recommendation: To improve the oversight and accountability of the Coast Guard's sexual assault prevention and response program, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should establish quality control processes to ensure that program information collected is valid and reliable.

Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard

Status: Open

Comments: Coast Guard concurred with this recommendation, and in comments on our report, the Coast Guard noted that it has several initiatives underway to continue developing its sexual assault prevention and response program. For example, the Coast Guard stated that an electronic database to track sexual assault reports, which would help curb quality control issues, is in the prototype development phase, and based on current progress, it expects to complete the database in 2010.

Recommendation: To improve the oversight and accountability of the Coast Guard's sexual assault prevention and response program, the Commandant of the Coast Guard should establish a systematic process for collecting, documenting, and maintaining sexual assault incidence data.

Agency Affected: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard

Status: Open

Comments: Coast Guard concurred with our recommendation to establish a systematic process for collecting, documenting, and maintaining sexual assault incidence data, and in its comments on our report, the Coast Guard noted that it had several initiatives underway to continue developing its sexual assault prevention and response program. For example, the Coast Guard stated that an electronic database to track sexual assault reports is in the prototype development phase, and based on current progress, it expects to complete the database in 2010.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to effectively managing program risks.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with our recommendation to effectively manage program risks, and in comments on our report, DOD noted that our statement that risk management has yet to begin is incorrect because key risks have been identified. We agreed that risk identification, which is the first step in risk management, had begun, and also agree that the statement in our draft report that risk management has yet to begin is not consistent with its recognition of these risk identification efforts. As a result, we modified the report to note that many aspects of risk management have yet to begin, which DOD also states in its comments on our draft report.In February 2011, OSD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) provided Congress with a status report on its database development and implementation efforts. In that report, SAPRO noted that it received Milestone A approval through identification of database risks in its Risk Communications Strategy. SAPRO further noted that it is applying the approach recommended in the Risk Management Guide for DOD Acquisition, to develop and execute its Risk Management Plan and ensure sustained quality product delivery. According to SAPRO, the Risk Management Plan will be included in Milestones B and C submissions and will include processes for risk identification, analysis and mitigation, responsibility for managing risks to key stakeholders, overall encouragement of program wide risk management, and an examination of the status of identified risks during milestone reviews.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to adequately testing system capabilities.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with our recommendation to adequately test system capabilities, and in comments on our report, DOD noted that our report does not sufficiently describe its efforts to develop a detailed test plan defining the program's testing approach and strategy, including the entrance and exit criteria for each testing phase. We agreed that our report does not cite the development of this plan because no such plan was provided to us as part of the documentation set submitted for the database?s milestone acquisition approval, nor were we made aware of the existence of such a plan. Moreover, program officials told us that a test plan would be developed after the contractor was hired, and DOD?s comments on our draft report acknowledged that a final test plan has yet to be created. In February 2011, OSD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) provided Congress with a status report on its database development and implementation efforts. In that report, SAPRO noted that DOD received Milestone A approval on the database test plan, which identified how the incremental functional requirements are to be tested, prior to and post release, defined the testing approach and strategy, and outlined additional testing cycles. SAPRO further noted that for Milestones B and C submissions, it will refine and execute its test management plan, and that its efforts were in line with the recommendations in our report.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to effectively developing and managing system requirements.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with our recommendation to effectively develop and manage system requirements, and in comments on our report, DOD noted that it has continued to work with the military services in developing system requirements and that its progress in doing so is much greater than our report states. It also noted that since the database was legislated, Congress expanded its annual sexual assault reporting requirements, which in turn necessitated additional requirements development work with stakeholders. Further, it stated that it will institute a Change Control Board, which is a key requirements management control mechanism, and is using a range of system life cycle management tools that support requirements development and management.In February 2011, OSD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) provided Congress with a status report on its database development and implementation efforts. In that report, SAPRO noted that it had completed development of the requirements baseline for its database, which covers victim case management, incident information, subject demographics, subject disposition, and sexual assault prevention and response program administration data. SAPRO also noted that it had initiated the CHange Congrol Board for the database. Finally, SAPRO noted that it continues to conduct interface mapping activities in collaboration with the military services, and that its efforts were in line with the recommendations in our report.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to adequately justifying investment in the proposed approach on the basis of reliable estimates of life cycle costs and benefits.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation, and in its comments on our report, DOD agreed that the cost estimate in the existing business case does not account for all life cycle costs and risks. However, it added that DOD guidance does not require comprehensive cost estimates in the business case and that the cost estimate in the business case was derived using cost estimating best practices. In February 2011, OSD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) provided Congress with a status report on its database development and implementation efforts. In that report, SAPRO noted that DOD had submitted and received approval on an economic justification as required by Milestone A, and a Certification of Funds package. SAPRO further noted that cost estimation best practices were used to produce the cost estimate included in the approved Business Case, and that an updated economic justification will be used when documentation for Milestones B and C are submitted for approval. Finally, SAPRO noted that its economic justification package included a DOD Information Technology Portfolio Registry Dashboard, economic viability review, and Federal Information Security Management Act Privacy Impact Assessment checklist, and that its efforts were in line with the recommendations in our report.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to adequately assessing the program's overlap with and duplication of related programs through architecture compliance.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation and in comments on our report, DOD acknowledged the benefits derived from assessing the program's overlap with and duplication of related programs. It added, however, that our report inaccurately asserts that DOD has not complied with DOD guidance governing architecture compliance by stating that a complete set of system-level architecture products are not yet available to perform a thorough architecture compliance assessment. In this regard, it stated that DOD guidance does not call for the development of system-level architecture products until the Technology Development Phase in the Defense Acquisition System.

Recommendation: To enhance the oversight of the sexual assault prevention and response program in DOD, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to ensure that the development and implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database includes adherence to developing a reliable integrated master schedule that addresses the nine key practices discussed in this report.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation and in comments on our report it noted DOD stated that it will give priority to developing a reliable integrated master schedule, and will follow GAO schedule estimating guidance. However, it added that while the department has thus far developed schedules that it characterized as capturing broader scope key activities, it would not be able to capture key schedule activities or estimate a timeframe for identifying key activities that are fundamental to developing a reliable schedule until it acquired the assistance of the system development contractor. DOD noted that this is because only the contractor will know the steps and time required to adopt proprietary materials to DOD?s requirements for the database. Since the release of the report, DOD awarded a contract for the database's development however, the contract is currently under bid protest and therefore work to develop and implement the system has not progressed.In February 2011, OSD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) provided Congress with a status report on its database development and implementation efforts. In that report, SAPRO noted that it had developed an integrated master schedule for the development, implementation, and maintenance of its database, and that its efforts were in line with the recommendations in our report.

Recommendation: To enhance visibility over the incidence of sexual assaults involving DOD servicemembers, the department's sexual assault prevention and response programs, and the pending implementation of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to standardize the type, amount, and format of the data in the military services' annual report submissions.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation, and in comments on our report,DOD acknowledged that achieving uniformity among the military services for all required data elements will greatly enhance its oversight capabilities. DOD added that it recently established definitions for case disposition data and developed a standardized program report template, and that both are being used by the military services to compile their respective data for the department?s fiscal year 2009 report on sexual assault in the military services. DOD added that the comprehensive process of linking all of its data elements will ultimately be accomplished through its development of the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database. Our report credits DOD with taking initial steps toward developing standardized data elements and definitions, and acknowledges the data template it developed and is using to collect a more standardized set of data from the military services for the department?s fiscal year 2009 annual report to Congress. However, as we noted in our report, OSD officials stated that full standardization of data elements and definitions will not be achieved until it implements the Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database?for which DOD does not currently have a reliable implementation schedule.

Recommendation: To improve the management, strategic planning, and comprehensiveness of OSD's oversight of the department's sexual assault prevention and response programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to strengthen OSD oversight framework by correlating its oversight framework to the program's two strategic plans so that program objectives, timelines, and strategies for achieving objectives are synchronized.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation, and in its comments on our report, it noted that that the process it plans to use to track its progress toward performance objectives will also allow the department to synchronize the objectives, timelines, and strategies of its two strategic plans.

Recommendation: To improve the management, strategic planning, and comprehensiveness of OSD's oversight of the department's sexual assault prevention and response programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to strengthen OSD oversight framework by identifying how OSD's program resources correlate to its achievement of strategic program objectives.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation, and in its comments on our report, it noted that starting with the 2012 budget cycle, OSD plans to align its budget categories with specific performance objectives laid out in its strategic plan.

Recommendation: To improve the management, strategic planning, and comprehensiveness of OSD's oversight of the department's sexual assault prevention and response programs, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to strengthen OSD oversight framework by identifying how the results of performance assessments will be used to guide the development of future program initiatives.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense

Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with this recommendation, and in its comments on our report, noted that it had several efforts underway or planned to address these issues. For example, DOD stated that in the early part of 2010, it will have a plan in place that details how it will track its progress toward the performance objectives laid out in the DOD-wide strategic plan, and it will develop a procedure to report back on progress toward objectives and any needed corrective steps. Further, DOD noted that the process it plans to use to track its progress toward performance objectives will also allow the department to synchronize the objectives, timelines, and strategies of its two strategic plans.