The US government is failing in its mission to look after the well-being of the Native American peoples of the United States, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2019) The US government is failing in its mission to look after the well-being of the Native American peoples of the United States, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report on Tuesday."According to the US Commission on Civil Rights, the federal government inadequately supports Native Americans' physical, social, and economic well-being," the report said. "Inefficient delivery of federal services is one factor."
A high number of staff vacancies, inadequate funding, management weaknesses and other factors prevent the key agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian education (BIE), and the Indian Health Service (IHS) from providing effective services, the report warned.
"Federal management of programs that serve tribes is on our High Risk List and 60 of more than 90 recommendations we've made for high risk and other areas remain open," the report said.
In February 2017, GAO reported that IHS had over 1,550 vacancies for health care positions in 2016, and IHS officials said that the agency's insufficient workforce was the biggest impediment to providing timely Primary care, the report noted.
Also, GAO's March 2019 high-risk update reported that about 50 percent of all BIE positions had not been filled, according to recent BIE documentation, the report said.
