The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) will implement recommendations of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to improve internal controls over grant awards, LSC President Victor M. Fortuno said in a statement on July 13, 2010.

“The stewardship of taxpayer dollars is one of our most important responsibilities,” President Fortuno said. “We accept all GAO recommendations and will closely work with the GAO and the Congress to enhance oversight of grant awards and the performance of the independent nonprofit programs that receive LSC funding.”

In its report, Legal Services Corporation: Improvements Needed in Controls Over Grant Awards and Grantee Program Effectiveness, the GAO makes 17 recommendations to improve internal controls and how LSC documents its grant evaluation process.

The GAO report also notes that LSC has taken steps to improve its governance and accountability practices since previous GAO reports were issued in 2007. LSC has provided additional documentation to GAO on partially implemented recommendations and is awaiting GAO’s final approval.

“We look forward to continuing to make improvements to our oversight procedures in conformance with the recommendations of the GAO,” President Fortuno said.

Established in 1974, LSC, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, receives an annual appropriation from Congress to promote equal access to justice and to provide for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families. More than 95 percent of the appropriation goes directly to 136 independent nonprofit legal aid programs across the country.

Government Accountability Office Report