U.S. AbilityOne Commission
Extends Deadline to April 24, 2023,
for Public Feedback on Updated Versions of
Draft Compliance Policies

April 7, 2023 – The U.S. AbilityOne Commission has extended the deadline to April 24, 2023, for public feedback on the three draft compliance policies that the agency issued in updated versions on April 5, 2023.

The Commission requests that feedback be sent to policy@abilityone.gov.

To facilitate stakeholder review, the following are “compare documents” that show differences between the January drafts and the April 5 versions:

Policy 51.400 Document Comparison - Jan draft vs Apr 5 2023 draft

Policy 51.403 Document Comparison - Jan draft vs Apr 5 2023 draft

Policy 51.405 Document Comparison - Jan draft vs Apr 5 2023 draft

U.S. AbilityOne Commission
Releases Updated Versions of Draft Compliance
Policies Issued on January 27, 2023

April 5, 2023 – The U.S. AbilityOne Commission today released updated versions of the three draft compliance policies previously issued on January 27, 2023.

51.400 - AbilityOne Commission Compliance Program (updated April 5, 2023)

51.403 - Documentation of Initial Evaluation Eligibility on the Basis of Blindness or Significant Disability (updated April 5, 2023)

51.405 - Job Customizations, Person-Centered Employment Plans, and Career Advancement Programs (updated April 5, 2023)

The deadline for public feedback on these draft policies remains April 14, 2023. For details on the draft compliance policies, and the Commission’s modernization of nonprofit agency (NPA) compliance to align with Program requirements, please see the Commission’s statement of January 27, 2023, below.

U.S. AbilityOne Commission
Releases Draft Compliance Policies
for Public Feedback

January 27, 2023 – The U.S. AbilityOne Commission’s strategic plan emphasizes expanding good and optimal jobs within the Program, achieving quality contract performance, and maintaining effective governance and results.

One of the pillars of that plan is modernizing the oversight of nonprofit agency (NPA) compliance to align with Program requirements.

As a step in that modernization, the Commission released three new draft compliance policies on January 27, 2023, for public feedback.

51.400 - AbilityOne Commission Compliance Program (updated January 30, 2023)

51.403 - Documentation of Initial Evaluation Eligibility on the Basis of Blindness or Significant Disability

51.405 - Job Customizations, Person-Centered Employment Plans, and Career Advancement Programs

The Commission requests that feedback be submitted to policy@abilityone.gov no later than Friday, April 14, 2023.

Once finalized, these new compliance policies will require a fundamental shift for Commission staff, NPAs, Central Nonprofit Agencies (CNAs), and stakeholders.

Therefore, on February 1, 2023, the Commission will pause routine traditional compliance reviews to consider public feedback, retrain staff, develop updated compliance materials for the NPA community, and ensure that the Commission, the NPAs, and the CNAs are in full alignment in the area of compliance.

While ongoing reporting and corrective actions will continue, the Commission will limit inspections to critical issues during this pause.

“Over the last two years, the Commission has rebuilt its compliance team, brought in new leadership, and conducted a review of nearly all NPAs in the Program,” said Jeffrey A. Koses, Commission Chairperson. “We’ve learned a lot from those reviews, from the insights of our employees, and from our dialogue with NPAs and stakeholders.

“Through this process, we recognized areas where we can better leverage work done by other Federal agencies, and highlighted opportunities to align inspections to our strategic plan.

"What we learned informed the drafting of the updated compliance policies released today. Now is the right time to refocus compliance as part of our strategic initiatives to modernize and enhance AbilityOne.”

The pause for purposes of refocusing compliance is expected to conclude before the end of FY 2023.

The Commission’s direction and approach to oversight and compliance were discussed at the Commission’s quarterly public meeting on January 31, 2023.