	Background

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 established USCIS within DHS. As to the performance measures and their related standards or goals, three  of USCIS’s performance measures are call quality monitoring, accuracy  of information provided, and accuracy of capturing information. Accuracy of information provided. The contract stated that the contractor would be eligible to earn financial  incentive awards if the average monthly performance met or exceeded the  standards on a quarterly basis at each call center, and allowed USCIS to  make deductions from payments to the contractor if the average monthly  performance fell below the standards. USCIS Evaluated Contractor’s Performance but Suspended Use of Financial Incentives for More Than 2 Years Due to Performance Measurement Dispute

USCIS did not reach agreement with the contractor on how to apply the  performance measurement requirements described in the PRS before  awarding the performance-based service contract. USCIS suspended all  financial incentives, positive or negative, while the parties negotiated this  issue over a period of about 16 months without reaching agreement. After  negotiations were abandoned, USCIS determined that, for the fourth  quarter of 2004, the contractor had failed to meet four of seven  performance measures and merited a payment deduction. In a separate matter, USCIS failed to  ensure that all contractual, regulatory, and GAO standards pertaining to  the documentation of the contractor’s performance were fulfilled. By letter dated  November 29, 2004, the contractor stated that, under the terms of the  contract, USCIS could not unilaterally determine the performance  measurement requirements because all aspects of the requirements were  negotiable, including the performance standards. USCIS Plans to Solicit New Tier 1 Call Center Contracts with Changes to Improve Performance

Although the disagreement between the two parties had not been resolved,  USCIS exercised its option to extend the current call center contract for  another year through May 31, 2006, to allow time to solicit and award new  call center contracts. With respect to any  performance deficiencies, the government’s records should include,  among other things, the number and type of defects observed and any  actions to correct deficiencies. USCIS Has Used Results of Monitoring Efforts to Identify Opportunities to Improve Customer Service and Call Flow at All Call Centers

USCIS used contractor performance data, including the results of surveys,  call monitoring, and the mystery shopper program, to identify  opportunities to improve customer service, including improving call- response times, help CSRs and IIOs better respond to customer inquiries,  and manage the flow of calls into call centers. It is too early to assess the impact of these  initiatives. Citizenship and  Immigration Services (USCIS) established to monitor and evaluate the  performance of contractor-operated call centers, we interviewed USCIS  headquarters officials in Washington, D.C.; Tier 1 contractor officials in  Arlington, Virginia, and at a contractor-operated call center; and an  official representing an independent consulting firm under contract to  USCIS and located in Fairfax, Virginia. 3. 4.
Why GAO Did This Study

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) bureau within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides toll-free telephone assistance through call centers to immigrants, their attorneys, and others seeking information about U.S. immigration services and benefits. As the volume of calls increased--from about 13 million calls in fiscal year 2002 to about 21 million calls in fiscal year 2004--questions were raised about USCIS's ability to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the information provided at call centers run by an independent contractor. This report analyzes: (1) the performance measures established by USCIS to monitor and evaluate the performance of contractor-operated call centers; (2) how performance measures were used to evaluate the contractor's performance; and (3) any actions USCIS has taken, or plans to take, to strengthen call center operations.

What GAO Found

USCIS developed seven performance measures intended to assess the performance and overall quality of responses provided by customer service representatives at contractor-operated call centers. These measures include how quickly calls were answered and the accuracy of information provided. The contract between USCIS and its contractor stipulated that the contractor could earn financial incentive awards if the average monthly performance met or exceeded the standards on a quarterly basis at each of four call centers. Conversely, financial deductions could be made if the standards were not met. USCIS did not finalize the terms regarding how the contractor's actual performance would be calculated, or scored, before awarding the contract. This limited USCIS's ability to exercise performance incentives (positive or negative) because the parties could not reach agreement on performance terms. USCIS suspended the use of financial incentives while the parties negotiated the issue. Agreement was not reached after 16 months, however, USCIS determined that the contractor had failed to meet standards for 4 of the 7 performance measures in the fourth quarter of 2004 and took action to reduce its payments for services. The contractor objected, citing the lack of agreement on the performance measurements and the impact of workload increases, but USCIS disagreed and stated it would reduce payment. In a separate but related matter, USCIS failed to meet contractual, regulatory, and GAO standards pertaining to how the contractor's performance would be documented--especially with respect to any deficiencies. Finally, USCIS exercised its option to extend the call center contract through May 2006, to allow time to solicit and award new call center contracts. USCIS said it intends to finalize performance measurement terms in the new contracts. USCIS used contractor performance data it collected over the course of the contract to identify opportunities to improve customer service and call flow, among other things. Several initiatives were launched as a result.