Report: There is a potential risk that NPS may not fully execute its hiring plans on time before funds expire. Image: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe National Park Service is struggling to fill the additional positions authorized with extra funding under the Inflation Reduction Act because of hiring-related challenges, an IG report has said.
The Park Service received $500 million under that 2022 law available to be spent through fiscal 2030 to address a decline in staffing in recent years by about 3,400 to about 20,000 even as park visitation has been increasing. Parks have been approved to add some 1,400 positions, with the understanding that the funding boost is not permanent and that they will have to find a way to fund the positions on an ongoing basis.
However, only some 440 had been added as of earlier this year, the report said, for reasons including a need to first staff up the HR operations and the inability to use special hiring flexibilities, leaving it to use standard practices. Agency officials said it will take several months to a year to onboard the bulk of the remaining vacancies approved and that the process takes longer if the employee is relocating, the report said.
Another challenge is that “a park’s ability to attract and retain talent is strongly tied to the availability of affordable private and government housing options,” which are not always available.
“Even when announcements are open for as long as a month, NPS may receive only a few applications. If none of those applicants are qualified, NPS must reannounce the position and start the hiring process again. In some cases, parks have needed to reconsider and update the type of position or the grade level to get a qualified applicant pool to fill the position, which adds to the amount of time it takes to hire an employee,” it said.
“Given the challenges NPS faces with hiring and filling a large number of positions, there is a potential risk that NPS may not fully execute its hiring plans on time before funds expire,” it said.
The report was a “flash report” on the status of hiring under that funding and did not make recommendations.
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