For Immediate Release:

Department of Health and Human Services Affirms Government Accountability Project Clients’ Disclosures of Unsafe Conditions Inside Emergency Intake Sites

WASHINGTON—On Wednesday, June 22nd, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General released a report affirming the disclosures of several clients of the Government Accountability Project, federal employees who volunteered on detail at various Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Emergency Intake Sites (EIS), finding that ORR did not adequately safeguard unaccompanied children from COVID-19 at these temporary facilities.

Specifically, the OIG “found that these facilities lacked: (1) procedures for COVID-19 testing of children, employees, and volunteers; (2) measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19; and (3) procedures to report required testing and results to ORR and State and local health entities.” Additionally, the report notes that “ORR did not have a process in place for widely disseminating the guidance and frequent updates to appropriate staff at the EISs.”

The OIG report also corroborates a critical aspect of the mismanagement and chaos our clients experienced during their detail, stating “ORR contracted with several organizations that had little or no experience providing shelter and services to children, and the contracts did not contain adequate details about COVID-19 protocols.”

The report notes that complaints about the EISs which prompted the...

Read Full Story: https://whistleblower.org/in-the-news/press-statement-department-of-health-an...