The Office of Agency Programs (OAP ) is responsible for monitoring and providing services to Federal executive branch agency ethics programs. This Office has three divisions: Program Services Division, Education Division, and the Program Review Division. The three divisions coordinate their services to assist agencies in carrying out their programs. They work closely with agencies to identify and resolve problem areas, provide educational materials and training, stay abreast of budgetary concerns and identify emerging issues to be addressed by OGE. The Office also hosts a national government ethics conference and maintains the OGE email list.
Joseph E. Gangloff, Deputy Director for Agency Programs
Trish Zemple, Associate Director, Operations and Special Projects
Rashmi Bartlett, Associate Director, Program Review Division
Matthew S. Cross, Associate Director, Education and Program Services Division
Program Services Division (PSD)
The Program Services Division provides dedicated liaison and program management support services to each executive branch department and agency ethics office through the Desk Officer Program. Each department and agency is assigned an OGE Desk Officer who is responsible for providing assistance in maintaining effective ethics programs and providing advice and guidance on the Standards of Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.
In addition, PSD manages the annual and termination public financial disclosure reporting system for approximately 1,000 Presidential Appointees confirmed by the Senate (PAS positions) and 125 Designated Agency Ethics Officials (DAEOs) (PDF). PSD collects, tracks and reviews theses reports to ensure that they are complete and do not raise any unaddressed questions of potential conflicts of interest. These reports are made available upon request to the general public and the news media. The staff also reviews public financial disclosure reports filed by Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate at the time of their nomination and tracks and ensures compliance with ethics agreements made by these Presidential appointees during their confirmation process.
PSD also handles all administrative aspects of the financial disclosure program such as responding to agency requests for extensions and exemptions for filing public reports and requests for waivers of the $200 late filing fee.
Program Review Division (PRD)
The Program Review Division conducts on-site ethics program reviews of headquarters and regional offices to determine whether an agency has an effective ethics program tailored to its mission. The reviews are accomplished in accordance with detailed review guidelines (PDF)(HTML) and are scheduled in advance as part of an annual program plan. The guidelines provide a step-by-step approach to examining each of the ethics program elements at an agency. Tips on preparing for an annual ethics program review and for administering a well-run ethics program have been developed by PRD (PDF). The annual program plan sets forth which agency reviews will be conducted during the year. The plan lists headquarters offices in Washington, DC and various offices and military facilities in the regions. After establishing the commencement date of an ethics program review with the agency's ethics official, a confirmation letter will be prepared and sent to the designated agency ethics official along with a checklist of ethics materials (PDF).
Education Division (ED)
The Education Division develops and provides ethics training courses and materials for executive branch departments and agencies. ED delivers training to both new and experienced agency ethics officials through workshops and seminars designed to improve their skills in performing ethics related duties and maintaining effective ethics programs. In addition, ED develops and makes available ethics training courses and materials for agency ethics officials to use in conducting ethics training for their employees. These courses and materials are available in a variety of formats such as instructor led, web-based and video, and cover a variety of ethics topics to enable agency ethics officials to best meet their training needs.