Peace Corps: New Programs in Former Eastern Bloc Countries Should Be
Strengthened (Letter Report, 12/19/94, GAO/NSIAD-95-6).
Although the Peace Corps has sound policies for planning new programs
and preparing volunteers for service abroad, its haste to help former
Eastern bloc countries has led the agency to override normal procedures
and launch programs prematurely. The programs GAO examined were poorly
designed, and volunteers did not receive the guidance, support, or
well-conceived assignment that they were led to expect. The Peace Corps
suffered a high rate of staff turnover and early returns of volunteers.
As a result, the program's developmental impact in these countries was
impaired. Peace Corps officials acknowledge the problems and have taken
steps to overcome them; however, it is too soon to know how effective
they will be. The Peace Corps programs in the former Eastern Bloc were
not undertaken at the expense of programs in other regions. Funding and
staffing in other countries did not appear to be affected by the new
programs.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: NSIAD-95-6
TITLE: Peace Corps: New Programs in Former Eastern Bloc Countries
Should Be Strengthened
DATE: 12/19/94
SUBJECT: Federal aid to foreign countries
Foreign technical aid
Americans abroad
Educational programs
Human resources training
Volunteer services
International relations
Planning
IDENTIFIER: Poland
Bulgaria
Russia
Uzbekistan
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
Report to Congressional Requesters
December 1994
PEACE CORPS - NEW PROGRAMS IN
FORMER EASTERN BLOC COUNTRIES
SHOULD BE STRENGTHENED
GAO/NSIAD-95-6
Peace Corps
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
APCD - Associate Peace Corps Director
ECAM - Europe, Central Asia, and Mediterranean
PATS - Programming and Training System
TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Letter
=============================================================== LETTER
B-258632
December 19, 1994
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Chairman, Legislation and National
Security Subcommittee
Committee on Government Operations
House of Representatives
The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton
Chairman, Subcommittee on Europe
and the Middle East
Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives
As you requested, we reviewed the Peace Corps' processes and
procedures for starting programs in Central and Eastern Europe and
the states of the former Soviet Union. Specifically, our objectives
were to determine whether (1) the Peace Corps' new country entry
planning and staffing procedures were adequate; (2) the Peace Corps
provided volunteers adequate assignments, training, and other
support; and (3) the expansion into the former Eastern bloc came at
the expense of programs in other regions. To make this assessment,
we visited Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1
The Peace Corps has comprehensive, sound written procedures for
planning, introducing, and implementing new programs and preparing
volunteers for entry into countries around the world. However, in
its eagerness to meet the mission set out by the President and the
Congress to help the former Eastern bloc countries, the Peace Corps
truncated or overrode its normal procedures and launched programs
prematurely. As a result, the Peace Corps faced serious difficulties
that limited the programs' effectiveness in those countries. The
four programs we examined had very difficult beginnings. The
programs were poorly designed, and volunteers did not receive the
guidance, support, or well-conceived assignments they were led to
expect. The Peace Corps suffered a high rate of staff turnover and
early returns of volunteers. As a result, the programs'
developmental impact in these countries was impaired.
Peace Corps officials acknowledged the problems and have taken
actions designed to overcome them; however, it is too soon to
determine how effective these actions will be.
The Peace Corps programs in the former Eastern bloc were not
undertaken at the expense of programs in other regions. Funding and
staffing in other countries did not appear to be affected by the new
programs.
BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2
The Peace Corps was created in 1961 to help countries meet their
needs for trained manpower.\1 In addition, it was meant to provide a
new expression of U.S. character and foreign policy--an idealistic
sense of purpose and a means of countering the expansion of communism
throughout the world. It was anticipated that through contact at the
grassroots level, Peace Corps volunteers would help promote a better
understanding of the American people, who in turn would better
understand cultures of other peoples.
The end of the Cold War presented the Peace Corps with an historic
opportunity: For the first time, the countries of the former Eastern
bloc became open to Western economic and technical assistance. In
July 1989, the President announced that Peace Corps volunteers would
teach English in Hungary. Shortly thereafter, new programs were
started in Poland and Czechoslovakia, then successively throughout
Central and Eastern Europe. In December 1991, the Secretary of State
announced that he would like to see at least 250 volunteers placed in
the states of the former Soviet Union by the end of 1992. From 1989
through 1993 the Peace Corps established 18 new country programs
throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
During this period of expansion into Europe and Central Asia, the
Peace Corps also opened or reopened 20 new programs in Africa, Asia,
and Latin America.\2 Together, these new programs raised the total
number of countries served by Peace Corps to 93--an increase of 43
percent since 1989. These new country programs represent the largest
increase of new programs since the first years of the agency's
existence.
Peace Corps programs in the former Eastern bloc countries were
selected in consultation with the host governments and in concert
with the Department of State, which is responsible for coordinating
U.S. assistance to the region. The Peace Corps concentrated its
development assistance in the region in three program areas: the
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program; a small
business development program, which provided technical assistance in
such areas as privatization, marketing, management, and business
education; and a program in the environmental sector to promote
environmental awareness and education.
During fiscal year 1993, an average of 665 volunteers served in
former Eastern bloc countries. The volunteers serving in this region
are, on average, older and more experienced than the average Peace
Corps volunteer. The average age of all Peace Corps volunteers is
32. The average age of volunteers serving in the region is 37, with
small business development volunteers averaging 40 years of age. In
addition, many of the business volunteers hold advanced degrees and
have significant work experience.
--------------------
\1 The Peace Corps was initially established under Executive Order
10924, March 1, 1961. The Peace Corps enabling legislation (22
U.S.C. 2501, et. seq.) was signed into law on September 22, 1961.
\2 In the Peace Corps' history, it has closed numerous programs
because of civil strife or political developments, as recently
occurred in Rwanda, Burundi, Yemen, and Sierra Leone. Once a
country's political situation stabilizes, the Peace Corps often
reenters the country.
THE PEACE CORPS HAS ADEQUATE
GUIDELINES FOR STARTING NEW
COUNTRY PROGRAMS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3
The Peace Corps policy and procedures manuals describe numerous,
often interdependent steps for opening new overseas posts. These
manuals are generally comprehensive and sound and, if followed,
should result in effective programs. The Peace Corps' Policy Manual,
for example, identifies the following as necessary steps:
consulting with host country officials, assessing a country's needs,
and determining which Peace Corps programs can best address those
needs;
negotiating agreements with host country officials regarding the
Peace Corps and host country services and support to be provided;
recruiting and selecting country staff;
establishing administrative support services, including obtaining
office space and medical and banking services;
identifying and developing volunteer work sites;
identifying and recruiting volunteers in the necessary numbers and
with the requisite skills to implement country program plans; and
designing and conducting in-country technical, language, health and
safety, and cross-cultural training programs to prepare volunteers
for their assignments.
The Peace Corps' newly developed Programming and Training System
(PATS) manual provides additional guidance for starting new volunteer
projects. This manual defines project criteria, field staffs'
efforts with host country and other foreign assistance agencies to
identify and define the scope of work for individual projects, and
volunteers' training, placement, and support.
Peace Corps guidance also provides information on the sequencing of
various steps in the program development process. For example,
consultations with host country officials on a country's needs should
precede an assessment of those needs; country agreements should be
completed and signed before the country office is established and
opened and staff arrive; and project identification and development
and volunteer training programs should be in place before the
volunteers' arrival.
PEACE CORPS EXPERIENCED
PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT DID NOT
FOLLOW PROCEDURES
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4
In its attempt to quickly begin programs in Central and Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Peace Corps often did not
follow its established guidance when starting its programs. Many of
the steps necessary to introduce effective programs were rushed, done
superficially, or not done at all. Consequently, many of the new
programs we examined were poorly designed and faced a host of other
problems, including the lack of qualified staff, the assignment of
volunteers to inappropriate or underdeveloped projects, insufficient
volunteer training, and volunteer support systems that did not work.
These problems frustrated many volunteers who had joined the Peace
Corps to contribute to the region's development and contributed to a
relatively high resignation rate among the volunteers.
PROGRAM DESIGNS WERE POORLY
DONE
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.1
The Peace Corps relied on consultants or staff who lacked adequate
cultural or language knowledge to develop sector plans. These
personnel were often under pressure to work quickly and did not have
time to learn about local conditions or cultivate a common
understanding with host country officials. For example, the Peace
Corps assigned a staff person on temporary duty from the Philippines
to design its environment program in Poland, even though the person
did not know the language and had no previous experience in the
region. As a result, the program's design did not address Poland's
environmental goals or have much impact. In another case, a
consultant for the Peace Corps designed Russia's Far East small
business program without traveling to the region to assess its
business situation.
Once drafted, sector plans were not systematically reviewed by senior
Peace Corps management officials on a timely basis. Peace Corps
personnel who normally provide technical support to country programs
told us that they were usually left out of the review process. When
reviews did take place they were often cursory or were done after
volunteers were already in the country. For example, Russia's small
business project plans were not reviewed by the Peace Corps'
technical support officials until several months after volunteers
were at their sites. These critiques identified a number of gaps in
the planning process, such as the failure to identify assignments
before volunteers were placed at sites. This later turned out to be
a critical problem. Finally, the Peace Corps' senior management did
not formally approve country program plans prior to their
implementation.
We were told that the Peace Corps' regional directors are ultimately
responsible for ensuring the adequacy of country program plans in
their regions and are given significant authority and autonomy to
ensure that their programs are effectively managed. However, they
often did not carry out this responsibility, and management oversight
of the country programs we visited appeared to be minimal. For
example, the Peace Corps sent small business development volunteers
to Uzbekistan despite the fact it had not developed a business
program. In Poland, the small business program designed and
implemented in 1991 was not approved until 1994.
Peace Corps management officials told us that some newer programs
required greater management support from Washington than others, and
in February 1993, Washington staff began playing a direct role in
managing certain problem programs in the former Soviet Union. They
said actions taken included delaying the entry of volunteers into
some programs to give staff more time to prepare; making staff
changes; and instituting initiatives to strengthen training,
programming, and staff support.
INSUFFICIENT AND UNPREPARED
STAFF
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.2
Peace Corps policy manuals require that programs be sufficiently
staffed in order to properly plan volunteer assignments and support
volunteers at their sites. However, the Peace Corps did not always
provide adequate numbers of staff to open new posts and did not
assign sufficient staff to countries once the programs were underway.
Compounding the problems caused by inadequate staffing was the short
lead time the Peace Corps had to prepare for the arrival of the large
number of volunteers assigned to the region.
The Peace Corps' recruitment of staff for these new country entries
was reactive. The Peace Corps' recruiting efforts largely consisted
of sending announcements of vacancies to a few publications and
foreign affairs associations. The Peace Corps also relied on former
volunteers and staff from other countries to fill its staff
positions.
The quality of the staff was uneven in Central and Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union countries. The Peace Corps often assigned
staff that had prior Peace Corps experience but did not have
necessary language skills. Also, some staff and consultants lacked
the necessary cultural knowledge and technical skills.
The Peace Corps' staff training was also inadequate. Many of the
staff we interviewed said they did not receive any training until
after they started their assignments. In addition, staff we spoke
with said that what training they received after they started their
assignments was too general in nature and failed to prepare them for
the particular challenges of their posts. Many of the staff we met
told us they had little knowledge of the local language and culture
before they arrived, which they said significantly hindered their
effectiveness.
Peace Corps staffing data indicates a pattern of shortages and
turnover throughout the region, as illustrated in the following
examples:
Country directors resigned or were terminated within the first year
in 3 of 4 countries we visited and in 9 of 18 country programs in the
region. The Bulgaria program had four country directors and one
acting director in a 20-month span.
Three of the four countries we visited did not have an Associate
Peace Corps Director (APCD) for their small business programs until
after the volunteers arrived in country. In Poland, the small
business APCD arrived 18 months after the first business volunteers
arrived. In Bulgaria and Uzbekistan, there was no small business
APCD for 6 months or more while volunteers were in the field.
In Poland, the first APCD for the TEFL program was responsible for
developing assignments for 60 volunteers, when the normal staff ratio
is one APCD for approximately 30 volunteers.
At the time of our fieldwork, many country programs in the region had
other staff vacancies, including positions in Russia and Uzbekistan
that had been vacant for over a year.
The Peace Corps gave several reasons for having insufficient staff.
First, the Peace Corps had already reached its overall staff ceiling
established by the Office of Management and Budget. Second, in some
instances the State Department restricted the number of U.S.
personnel allowed into a country. For example, the Peace Corps was
restricted to managing its three Baltic programs--Estonia, Latvia,
and Lithuania--from a central office in Latvia. Third, the Peace
Corps had difficulty attracting qualified candidates to fill a number
of its staff positions.
Peace Corps officials attributed the high staff turnover to two
factors. First, the Peace Corps did not have enough lead time to
recruit, prepare, and place staff in the field before the volunteers
arrived. Once staff arrived, they had to accomplish too many tasks
in a short amount of time, which led to frustration and burnout.
Second, some staff were not a good match for their assignments and
lacked the necessary skills and temperaments for the job.
PROBLEMS IN PROVIDING
VOLUNTEERS WITH SUPPORT AND
WELL-DEVELOPED ASSIGNMENTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.3
The Peace Corps did not provide adequate assignment programming and
other support for volunteers in the countries we visited. In many
cases, volunteer sites were not visited, assignments were
ill-defined, and host-country sponsors were not identified. Host
country officials were often uncertain what the Peace Corps' goals
and philosophy were, what volunteers had to offer, and what the Peace
Corps expected of host country officials. In addition, sponsors did
not provide what they committed to provide, such as housing, office
space, and counterparts, because they lacked a clear understanding of
their roles and had no written agreements. These problems eventually
led many volunteers to change their assignments or leave the Peace
Corps early.
Designing adequate assignments for its volunteers has been a
long-standing Peace Corps problem. In 1990, we reported that,
worldwide, many volunteers had no positions or were underemployed,
were forced to develop their own assignments, or did not receive host
government support-- problems we first reported in 1979.\3 We
recommended in 1990 that the Peace Corps establish procedures to
improve the planning and development of volunteer assignments and
projects. In response to our recommendation, the Peace Corps
developed the PATS manual to improve its programming efforts. The
manual states that all sites are to be visited and surveyed and that
the roles and expectations of the local people should be clarified 3
to 6 months before volunteers arrive for training. The scope of this
review did not include a worldwide evaluation to determine whether
the Peace Corps' actions corrected the assignment problems in other
areas; however, site identification and development problems
persisted in each of the four countries we visited.
In Poland, over one-half of the first small business volunteers were
moved to new assignments because of insufficient staff work on site
placements and project design. These assignment problems have
persisted, as some small business volunteers of subsequent groups
have had difficulties finding meaningful positions. Volunteers
assigned to work in the environmental sector were largely unemployed
because the Peace Corps had not developed project plans that were
accepted by Polish officials. Volunteers assigned to teach English
in secondary schools told us that their schools had large numbers of
skilled English teachers and that it was hard to justify their
continued presence in the schools.
In Bulgaria, half of the first class of small business volunteers
left early due to frustrations over their assignments. The
centerpiece of the Peace Corps' small business program was to be the
creation of regional resource centers where volunteers would provide
information and advice to local businesses. However, the centers
lacked local sponsorship and an independent funding source. This
left the volunteers unsupported and forced them into fund-raising
activities. According to the volunteers, office equipment and
supplies needed to set up the centers did not arrive until some
volunteers were already halfway into their 2-year assignment. Over
25 percent of the first TEFL volunteers had to be reassigned because
sponsors had failed to provide them adequate housing or teaching
positions. Although generally positive about their experience, many
of the TEFL volunteers we spoke with questioned their placements,
since their schools had large numbers of capable English language
teachers.
The Peace Corps also experienced some of the same difficulties in
Russia that we saw in other countries. The main problem in Russia
was a lack of local government officials' understanding of and
commitment to the program and the Peace Corps' inability to provide
volunteers with business equipment and other support. These factors,
coupled with frustrations over undefined assignments and lack of
housing, contributed to the departure of 30 percent of the volunteers
within the first year. Local officials expected the Peace Corps to
staff and equip sophisticated business centers, speak Russian
proficiently, and attract joint ventures. When these expectations
did not materialize, their support for the volunteers declined.
Nonetheless, according to the Peace Corps, local officials continue
to request more volunteers.
Of the four countries' programs we reviewed, Uzbekistan's program
experienced the most difficulties. Half of the volunteers left the
program within their first year of service, and of the volunteers
that remained, over half had their sites changed due to harassment by
the local population, the lack of viable assignments, or the failure
of sponsors to follow through with commitments to provide housing.
Many volunteers were sent to sites that were not visited by Peace
Corps staff. The Peace Corps failed to design a business program,
and the business volunteers were thus forced to develop their own
assignments. The TEFL volunteers were sent to their sites in
March--near the end of the school year--and had to wait until
September to start their teaching assignments. The TEFL volunteers'
situation was made worse when the preservice training instructor quit
and was not replaced. Some of the volunteers told us they were
struggling because they lacked the necessary technical training and
experience to be in a classroom. Many of the volunteers told us they
had made little impact because much of their time was spent finding a
meaningful assignment or adequate housing.
The size of a program also affected assignment programming. The
Peace Corps' rule of thumb for programs is that each APCD should
manage about 30 volunteers. The Poland and Hungary programs started
with a ratio of one APCD to 60 volunteers. Overall, the programs in
Central Europe and the former Soviet Union averaged over 35
volunteers in their first year.
--------------------
\3 Peace Corps: Challenges of the 1990s (GAO/NSIAD-90-122, May 18,
1990) and Changes Needed for a Better Peace Corps (GAO/ID-78-26, Feb.
1979).
PROBLEMS IN VOLUNTEER
TRAINING
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.4
The Peace Corps' procedures call for the training of volunteers so
that they can effectively carry out their assignments. The Peace
Corps is expected to provide information to volunteers before their
departure and intensive preservice training after they arrive in the
country. This training is supposed to help volunteers serve and work
effectively and has four components: language, technical,
cross-cultural, and personal health and safety. Language training is
to provide volunteers with reasonable proficiency to function
effectively in their assignments. The technical training strategy is
to teach job skills within a cultural context in conjunction with
language and social customs.
Many volunteers said that their language training did not prepare
them for their assignments. The languages of the region are
difficult to learn, so the Peace Corps officials said they focused on
improving language training in the region. Nonetheless, most
business and environment volunteers we interviewed said that their
language skills were not sufficient to perform their jobs and the
language training lacked job-related terminology. As a result, to
perform their work, many of them were relying on interpreters. Some
of the volunteers we spoke with in Uzbekistan were trained to speak
Russian and Uzbek but were assigned to cities where the Tajik
language is predominant. TEFL volunteers fared better because they
were expected to speak English and did not have to rely on their
language skills to function in their assignments.
A common theme struck by the small business volunteers we spoke with
throughout the region was that their technical training had little
relevance to their assignments. The Peace Corps trainers taught
basic U.S. business practices, which were of little use to many
volunteers who already had degrees in business, accounting, and law
and years of practical business experience. These volunteers said
they needed to know how to adapt their expertise to local situations,
but their trainers had no knowledge or appreciation of local
conditions. Some of the TEFL volunteers we spoke with told us that
their technical training did not prepare them for their teaching
assignments.
The volunteers we spoke with told us the cross-cultural training they
received generally prepared them for living and working in a new
culture. However, the volunteers in rural and small urban areas in
Uzbekistan told us that they were totally unprepared for the physical
and verbal harassment westerners, especially women, received. Many
women volunteers in rural and small urban areas in Uzbekistan were
targets of physical and verbal assaults, including beatings,
fondling, and rock throwing. As a result several volunteers left
early. The remaining women volunteers were relocated to larger,
safer cities.
The Peace Corps had trouble providing support to volunteers once they
were at their sites. The main causes for the lack of support to
volunteers were the shortage and turnover of staff and the lack of
adequate resources. The unsettled staffing situation pressed Peace
Corps missions to operate in a crisis-response mode. This crisis
mode did not permit adequate time for dealing with volunteer issues
in the field. Volunteers we spoke with told us it was generally up
to them to solve any problems related to their assignments or living
situations.
DESPITE PROBLEMS, VOLUNTEERS
GENERALLY BELIEVE THEY ARE
HAVING SOME POSITIVE IMPACT
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5
Despite the programming problems and the lack of preparation and
support, many volunteers told us that they were often able to find
meaningful work on their own initiative and generally believed they
were making some positive impact. Also, according to several U.S.
assistance and private voluntary organization officials, volunteers
are a low-cost means to provide assistance to the region, and host
country officials appreciate Peace Corps support. Various officials
said the region needs the long-term technical assistance the Peace
Corps provides.
Officials of other assistance agencies told us that Peace Corps
volunteers generally worked well with them. Since the Peace Corps
has volunteers at the grassroots level, the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the U.S. Information Agency, the U.S.
and Foreign Commercial Service, and U.S.-funded private voluntary
organizations, among others, often relied on volunteers to provide
advice and identify suitable development projects, exchange students,
and business ventures.
PEACE CORPS' EFFORTS TO ADDRESS
PROBLEMS IN THE REGION
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6
Top Peace Corps officials acknowledged that the agency had
difficulties introducing programs in Central and Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union and told us they are taking steps to address
them. They said they are taking precautionary measures to ensure
better planning and preparation for future programs and actions to
address problems in existing programs.
According to Peace Corps officials, the schedule for introducing
programs into the region was overly ambitious, both in terms of time
to adequately develop the programs and the funding and staff
resources to support them. They said that future programs would be
more thoroughly planned before their introduction and better
supported when introduced. They also said additional emphasis would
be placed on developing individual volunteer assignments and
volunteer support programs.
In conjunction with this increased emphasis, the Peace Corps' office
of Europe, Central Asia, and Mediterranean (ECAM) operations, which
is responsible for managing country programs in the former Eastern
bloc, recently clarified its planning, review, and approval processes
and made them policy. ECAM also plans to request input from
technical advisors when designing new volunteer projects and will
develop program plans prior to sending volunteers to a country.
The Department of State provided the Peace Corps fiscal year 1994
supplemental funding, which was being used to stabilize new country
programs in the region. The funds were used to contract for
additional consultants to help strengthen ongoing programs, among
other things. The funds will also be used to place more staff in
programs in the region. In addition, a recently completed Peace
Corps evaluation recommended improvements in staff hiring and support
practices, and a special recruitment effort was underway at the time
of our review to increase the pool of small business staff
candidates.
The Peace Corps was also revising and testing its overseas staff
development training curriculum and expanding staff training in the
field. Officials said the revised curriculum would be fully
developed and operational by April 1995. In addition, ECAM has hired
additional staff to increase the time volunteers devote to language
training, is developing additional language materials, and is making
technical training more specific to the country.
PEACE CORPS' EXPANSION INTO THE
FORMER EASTERN BLOC WAS NOT AT
THE EXPENSE OF OTHER REGIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :7
The Peace Corps' entry into the former Eastern bloc did not appear to
adversely affect staffing and financial resources for programs in the
African, Asian and Pacific, and Inter-American regions. During
fiscal years 1990-94, the Peace Corps received incremental budget
increases to facilitate the start-up of new programs. In addition,
in fiscal year 1994, the Department of State transferred $12.5
million to the Peace Corps to develop and stabilize its new programs
in the former Soviet Union. For fiscal year 1995, the Peace Corps
has requested $11.6 million from the State Department for these
programs. Table 1 shows the Peace Corps funding for fiscal years
1989-95.
Table 1
Peace Corps Funding
(Dollars in millions)
Annual Transferred
Fiscal year appropriation from State Total
--------------- ------------- ------------- =============
1989 $153.5 0 $153.5
1990 165.6 0 165.6
1991 186.0 0 186.0
1992 197.0 0 197.0
1993 218.1 0 218.1
1994 219.7 $12.5 232.2
1995 219.7 11.6\a 231.3
------------------------------------------------------------
\a This is the amount requested by the Peace Corps.
According to the Conference Report on the fiscal year 1995
appropriations act, the Congress expects that the State Department
will transfer funds to the Peace Corps to cover the full cost of its
fiscal year 1995 operations in the newly independent states of the
former Soviet Union.
During expansion into the 18 countries in Central and Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union, the Peace Corps also started 20
additional programs in the rest of the world and closed or suspended
10 programs, for a net increase of 28 country programs.
From fiscal year 1989 through 1993, Peace Corps direct-hire staff
increased by 10 percent, from 1,071 to 1,183. Our review of staffing
allocations indicates that the African and Inter-American regions
received staffing increases of 4 and 9 percent, respectively, during
this period, and staffing in the Asian and Pacific region decreased
by 10 percent. According to the Peace Corps, if the new Europe,
Central Asia, and Mediterranean region and its new posts were
excluded, the number of fully active posts would have increased from
52 to 66, a 27-percent increase, and the direct hire staff equivalent
would have increased by 18, a 3.4-percent increase. The Peace Corps'
Washington staff levels remained relatively constant during this
period.
As the number of Peace Corps programs increased during the period,
the average number of volunteers serving in countries worldwide
decreased. From 1989 through 1993 the total number of volunteers
increased from 5,185 to 5,351 (approximately 3 percent). Thus, with
the net addition of 28 new programs, the Peace Corps added 166
volunteers. During this period, the average ratio of volunteers to
country programs decreased from 80 to 57. (Twelve of the new
programs did not begin until fiscal year 1993. Because the Peace
Corps' policy is generally to phase in the agreed-upon contingent of
volunteers over a 2-year period, 11 of the 12 programs had only half
their volunteer contingents in place in 1993.\4 (See table 2.)
Table 2
Average Number of Volunteers in a
Country Program in Each Region
Asia
Fiscal and\ Inter- Worldwid
Year Africa Pacific American ECAM e
---------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------
1989 76 67 100 0 80
1993 61 44 78 39 57
Change -15 -23 -22 +39 -23
------------------------------------------------------------
Peace Corps officials attributed the reduction in the average number
of volunteers per country to factors other than the initiation of
programs in the former Eastern bloc. For example, programmatic
assessments made prior to 1990 had already suggested reductions of
over 250 volunteers in Central America and the Caribbean (Belize,
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Haiti). Also, 600
positions became available with the closure of three large programs
(Liberia, the Philippines, and Zaire) and the temporary suspension of
11 other programs for safety and security reasons.
--------------------
\4 The 11 countries were Madagascar, Zambia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and El
Salvador. In the 12th country, China, the full complement of 18 TEFL
volunteers entered in 1993.)
RECOMMENDATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :8
Notwithstanding the Peace Corps' earlier development of the PATS
manual and its current initiatives, we recommend that the Director of
the Peace Corps ensure that the written procedures are followed so
that (1) program plans are well- developed, (2) volunteers have
received adequate preservice training, and (3) viable assignments are
in place before volunteers arrive.
AGENCY COMMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :9
In commenting on a draft of this project, the Peace Corps stated that
its programs in Central and Eastern Europe and the states of the
former Soviet Union have been a difficult challenge. The agency
indicated that some problems were attributable to unique
circumstances in this region, but acknowledged that it had brought
some problems on itself. The agency's comments, which are reprinted
in their entirety in appendix I, discuss the steps the Peace Corps
has taken recently in an effort to improve programming, training, and
staffing in the region.
SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
----------------------------------------------------------- Letter :10
We conducted our review at the Peace Corps' headquarters in
Washington, D.C., and in Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
To assess the Peace Corps' new country entry processes, coordination,
and volunteer assignment and support issues, we reviewed current and
historical records and interviewed numerous Peace Corps officials,
including former officials who were primarily responsible for opening
new programs in the region. We reviewed Peace Corps manuals and
policy documents and analyzed budget, staffing, and volunteer data.
We also met with officials from various U.S. agencies responsible
for coordinating assistance to the region, including the Department
of State, the Agency for International Development, the U.S.
Information Agency, and the Office of Management and Budget.
We selected the Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, and Uzbekistan programs on
the bases of their differing sizes, dates of introduction, and
geographical and cultural diversity, and because of the countries'
differing stages of development. Poland was one of the first
programs in the region, and the largest. Bulgaria was a smaller
program, introduced after Poland. Russia was the largest program in
the former Soviet Union. Uzbekistan was a later entry, and
representative of entries into central Asia. The four countries were
selected in consultation with the Peace Corps.
In each of the four countries we visited, we obtained pertinent
documents and interviewed Peace Corps staff, U.S. embassy officials,
and representatives of private voluntary organizations that worked
with volunteers. In each country, we interviewed a large number of
Peace Corps volunteers at their sites. We also visited several
volunteers' project sites and interviewed the host-country people
with whom the volunteers lived and worked.
To determine whether the Peace Corps' expansion into the former
Eastern bloc came at the expense of other regions' programs, we
examined budget and staffing data and spoke with senior Peace Corps
officials responsible for managing those programs. However, we did
not conduct work in the other regions.
We conducted our review between September 1993 and July 1994 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
--------------------------------------------------------- Letter :10.1
We plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days after
its issue date, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier.
At that time, we will send copies to the Director of the Peace Corps,
the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the Agency for
International Development, and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget. Copies will also be made
If you or your staffs have any questions about this report, please
call me on (202) 512-4128. Major contributors to this report were
David R. Martin, Patrick A. Dickriede, Edward D. Kennedy, and
Peter J. Bylsma.
Harold J. Johnson, Director
International Affairs Issues
(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix I
COMMENTS FROM THE PEACE CORPS
============================================================== Letter
(See figure in printed edition.)
(See figure in printed edition.)