Status of Recommendations

Recommendations Not Fully Implemented After One Year The Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 C O M M I T M E N T Y TIRGETNI January 2015 Report 2014-041 L E A D E R S H I P The first five copies of each California State Auditor report are free. Additional copies are $3 each, payable by check or money order. You can obtain reports by contacting the California State Auditor’s Office at the following address: California State Auditor 621 Capitol Mall, Suite 1200 Sacramento, California 95814 916.445.0255 or TTY 916.445.0033 OR This report is also available on our Web site at www.auditor.ca.gov. The California State Auditor is pleased to announce the availability of an online subscription service. For information on how to subscribe, visit our Web site at www.auditor.ca.gov. Alternate format reports available upon request. Permission is granted to reproduce reports. For questions regarding the contents of this report, please contact Margarita Fernández, Chief of Public Affairs, at 916.445.0255. For complaints of state employee misconduct, contact the California State Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline: 1.800.952.5665. Elaine M. Howle State Auditor Doug Cordiner Chief Deputy January 15, 2015 2014-041 Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders: Consistent with the Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 (California Government Code, sections 8548.7 and 8548.9), the California State Auditor (state auditor) presents this special report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and Department of Finance. This report notes that from November 2007 through October 2013, the state auditor issued 118 reports on audits and investigations of state agencies. In those reports, we made 1,486 recommendations and state agencies had fully implemented 1,185, or 80 percent, as of September 2014. After following up with those agencies that had outstanding recommendations, we determined that an additional 43 have been fully implemented and 258 remain outstanding. Similarly, the state auditor issued 13 reports to nonstate entities, such as counties or school districts. In those reports, we made 167 recommendations and as of September 2014 the nonstate entities had implemented 103, or 62 percent of them. Of the remaining 64 recommendations, we determined that 32 have now been fully implemented while 32 remain outstanding. In addition to identifying which recommendations have and have not been fully implemented, the state auditor’s Web site contains written responses from each state agency explaining the status of each recommendation. For recommendations that have not been fully implemented, the Web site also provides agency responses regarding when or if these recommendations will be fully implemented. Our audit and investigative efforts bring the greatest returns when agencies act upon our findings and recommendations. For example, in October 2011 the state auditor reported that the Department of Social Services (department) and child welfare services agencies (agencies) can and must provide better protection and support for abused and neglected children. As of July 2011, the addresses of over 1,000 sex offenders matched individuals who worked or lived in the departments’ licensed facilities and foster homes. The department also struggled to visit community care facilities at least once every five years as required. Furthermore, the agencies visited by the state auditor did not always notify the department timely of allegations involving licensees and did not forward required information regarding instances of abuse or neglect to the Department of Justice (Justice). The state auditor made 20 recommendations to the department, including the use of Justices’ sex offender registry to identify those who may be inappropriately working or living in the departments’ licensed facilities and foster homes. As of October 2014, the department has implemented 10 recommendations; including following up on the address matches described above and the ongoing use of Justice’s registry to identify sex offenders living in licensed facilities or foster homes. In Los Angeles County, we evaluated the impact of the department’s follow-up efforts. Although sex offenders were not present in most of the registered addresses that matched the address of children in licensed facilities or foster homes, we found that the department’s implementation of our recommendation resulted in two sex offenders being removed from the homes of foster children and also one instance in which foster children were removed from the care of a guardian that had allowed a sex offender to live in her home. Only by comparing the registered address of the sex offender against the address of these foster children was this potentially dangerous situation resolved. Despite the potential benefits—including improvements to the protection and support of abused and neglected children—the department has yet to implement the remaining 10 recommendations, such as completing on-site facility reviews at least once every five years as required by state law and specifying in regulations what types of situations or allegations the agencies should forward to the department’s licensing division. If you would like more information or assistance regarding any of the recommendations or background provided in this report, please contact Margarita Fernández, Chief of Public Affairs, at (916) 445-0255. Respectfully submitted, ELAINE M. HOWLE, CPA State Auditor 621 Capitol Mall, Suite 1200 Sacramento, CA 95814 916.445.0255 916.327.0019 fax www.auditor.ca.gov Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 v January 2015 Contents Introduction 1 Table 1 Recommendations More Than Five Years Old That Are Still Not Fully Implemented 5 Table 2 Recommendations More Than One Year Old That Are Still Not Fully Implemented 9 Table 3 Recommendations More Than One Year Old That Were Fully Implemented Since Last Year’s Report or the Entity’s One-Year Response 45 Table 4 Recommendations More Than One Year Old Made to Nonstate Entities 51 vi California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 1 January 2015 Introduction As required by the Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 (Accountability Act), the California State Auditor (state auditor) presents its report on the status of recommendations that are more than one year old and have not been fully implemented by the entities we audited. RESULTS IN BRIEF State Entities From November 2007 through October 2013, the state auditor issued 118 reports that related to audits or investigations of state agencies. These reports were requested through the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, legislation, or as a result of an investigation.1 The state auditor made 1,486 recommendations to the audited state agencies in those reports.2 While the state agencies implemented many of the recommendations, the state auditor identified 301 recommendations made to 44 state agencies that had been outstanding at least one year and not fully implemented. Of the 301 recommendations, 167 appeared in last year’s report. Based on recent responses obtained from state agencies, the state auditor determined that 258 of the 301 recommendations remain not fully implemented. Nonstate Entities From January 2011 through October 2013, the state auditor issued 13 reports that included nonstate entities, and made 167 recommendations to these entities. While these nonstate entities implemented many of the recommendations, the state auditor identified 64 recommendations made to 15 of these entities that had been outstanding at least one year and not fully implemented. Of the 64 recommendations, 52 appeared in last year’s report. Based on recent responses obtained from these nonstate entities, the state auditor determined that 32 of the 64 recommendations remain not fully implemented. Importance of Implementing Recommendations Our audit and investigative efforts bring the greatest returns when agencies act upon our findings and recommendations. For example, in October 2011 the state auditor reported that the Department of Social Services (department) and child welfare services agencies (agencies) can and must provide better protection and support for abused and neglected children. As of July 2011, the addresses of over 1,000 sex offenders matched individuals who worked or lived in the departments’ licensed facilities 1 Excludes the statewide single audit (financial and federal compliance audits), which is mandated as a condition of California receiving federal funding. The recommendations made in those audits are followed up and reported each year in the state auditor’s annual report on California’s Internal Control and State and Federal Compliance. As of January 1, 2010, the state auditor began reporting as required on the status of recommendations made in investigative reports. The state auditor initiated the investigations in response to whistleblower complaints or other information suggesting improper governmental activities. 2 Excludes recommendations for legislative changes. We report such recommendations in a separate report to the Legislature. 2 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 and foster homes. The department also struggled to visit community care facilities at least once every five years as required. Furthermore, the agencies visited by the state auditor did not always notify the department timely of allegations involving licensees and did not forward required information regarding instances of abuse or neglect to the Department of Justice (Justice). The state auditor made 20 recommendations to the department, including the use of Justices’ sex offender registry to identify those who may be inappropriately working or living in the departments’ licensed facilities and foster homes. As of October 2014, the department has implemented 10 recommendations; including following up on the address matches described above and the ongoing use of Justice’s registry to identify sex offenders living in licensed facilities or foster homes. In Los Angeles County, we evaluated the impact of the department’s follow-up efforts. Although sex offenders were not present in most of the registered addresses that matched the address of children in licensed facilities or foster homes, we found that the department’s implementation of our recommendation resulted in two sex offenders being removed from the homes of foster children and also one instance in which foster children were removed from the care of a guardian that had allowed a sex offender, who had been convicted of three counts of lewd acts with a minor under 14, to live in her home and had lied to social workers about the presence of this individual in the home. Only by comparing the registered address of the sex offender against the address of these foster children was this potentially dangerous situation resolved. Despite the potential benefits—including improvements to the protection and support of abused and neglected children— the department has yet to implement the remaining 10 recommendations, such as completing on-site facility reviews at least once every five years as required by state law and specifying in regulations what types of situations or allegations the agencies should forward to the departments’ licensing division. The tables beginning on page 5 summarize and provide information on recommendations issued between November 2007 and October 2013. Table 1 shows recommendations that were not fully implemented as of the agencies’ latest response. Because the recommendations shown in Table 1 are from audits issued between November 2007 and October 2008 and are more than five years old, they will not be reassessed by the state auditor in subsequent reports. Table 2, beginning on page 9, summarizes recommendations that have not been fully implemented for audits and investigations issued between November 2008 and October 2013. As indicated on table 2, the state auditor did not always agree with agency assertions that certain recommendations were fully implemented. Two columns in table 2 provide the state auditor’s reason for disagreement. Table 3, beginning on page 45, summarizes recommendations that have been fully implemented since last year’s report or the agencies’ one-year responses. Finally, Table 4, beginning on page 51, summarizes all recommendations more than one year old made to nonstate entities and their current implementation status. The symbol appears in the tables next to the audit number whenever an audit has recommendations to more than one agency appearing in this report. Please refer to the index on page 3. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 3 January 2015 Index Reference for Reports Featuring Recommendations to Multiple Entities REPORT NAME OF ENTITY State Entities With Recommendations—Included in Tables 2 and 3 A 2009-107.1 California Correctional Health Care Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation B 2009-107.2 California Correctional Health Care Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation C 2010-116 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of State Hospitals D 2010-117 Department of Finance, Department of Water Resources E 2011-111 California Workforce Investment Board, Employment Development Department F 2011-120 California Department of Transportation, Department of General Services G 2011-129 Board of State and Community Corrections, Department of Justice H 2012-105 Department of Public Health, Department of Social Services I 2012-107 Department of Developmental Services, Department of Public Health J 2012-110 Emergency Management Agency, Department of Motor Vehicles, California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Parks and Recreation K 2012-117 Department of Consumer Affairs, State Athletic Commission L 2012-301 Administrative Office of the Courts, Superior Court of California—Stanislaus County M I2010-1045 California Correctional Health Care Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 4 N 2010-036 Counties of Amador, Humboldt, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta O 2012-032 Laney College, University of the Pacific State and Nonstate Entities with Recommendations— Included in Tables 2 and 4 P 2012-108 California Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, Sacramento City Unified School District Q 2012-122 Department of Health Care Services, California Mental Health Planning Council, Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, Santa Clara County Mental Health Department 4 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 5 January 2015 Table 1 Recommendations More Than Five Years Old That Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Audit Issued Between November 2007 and October 2008) NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN THIS ESTIMATED DATE REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF COMPLETION HIGHER EDUCATION California State University California State University: It Needs to 1. To provide effective oversight of its systemwide compensation policies, 6 Unknown Strengthen Its Oversight and Establish the university should create a centralized information system structure Stricter Policies for Compensating Current and to catalog university compensation by individual, payment type, Former Employees and funding source. The university should then use this information 2007-102.1 (November 2007) to monitor campuses’ implementation of systemwide policies and measure the impact of these policies on university finances. California State University: It Is Inconsistent in 3. To ensure that campuses employ consistent search processes and 6 Will Not Implement Considering Diversity When Hiring Professors, develop appropriate policies, the university should issue systemwide Management Personnel, Presidents, and guidance on the hiring process for management personnel. In System Executives developing this guidance, the university should instruct campuses 2007-102.2 (December 2007) to compare the proportions of women and minorities in the total applicant pool with the proportions in the labor pool to help assess the success of their outreach efforts in recruiting female and minority applicants. To help ensure that they have sufficient data from applicants to effectively compare these proportions, campuses could send reminders to applicants requesting them to submit information regarding their gender and ethnicity. 4. To ensure that campuses employ consistent search processes and 6 Will Not Implement develop appropriate policies, the university should issue systemwide guidance on the hiring process for management personnel. In developing this guidance, the university should advise campuses to compare and report the gender and ethnicity of their current workforce to the labor pool by separating management personnel positions into groups based on the function of their positions to ensure that placement goals are meaningful and useful to those involved in the hiring process. Direct campuses to have search committees review affirmative action plans so they are aware of the availability and placement goals for women and minorities when planning the search process. The guidance should address the purpose of placement goals and the affirmative action plan in general so that the search committees have the appropriate context and do not misuse the information. 5. To ensure that campuses employ hiring practices that are consistent 6 Will Not Implement with laws and regulations, the university should issue systemwide guidance on the hiring process for professors. In developing this guidance, the university should devise and implement a uniform method for campuses to use when calculating availability of data to better enable the university to identify and compare availability and placement goals systemwide and among campuses. Additionally, direct campuses to compare and report the gender and ethnicity of their current workforce to the labor pool by individual department to ensure that placement goals are meaningful and useful to those involved in the hiring process. 6. To broaden the perspective of the committees and increase the reach 6 Will Not Implement of the search for presidential positions, the university should develop policies regarding the diversity of the trustees committee and the advisory committee and consider alternatives on the manner in which to increase committee diversity. continued on next page . . . 6 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN THIS ESTIMATED DATE REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF COMPLETION HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Department of Public Health Low-Level Radioactive Waste: The State Has 1. To ensure that the branch uses sufficiently reliable data from its future 6 September 2015 Limited Information That Hampers Its Ability data system to manage its inspection workload, the department to Assess the Need for a Disposal Facility and should develop and maintain adequate documentation related to data Must Improve Its Oversight to Better Protect storage, retrieval, and maintenance. the Public 2007-114 (June 2008) 2. To ensure that the branch can sufficiently demonstrate that the fees it 6 September 2015 assesses are reasonable, the department should evaluate the branch’s current fee structure using analyses that consider fiscal and workload factors. These analyses should establish a reasonable link between fees charged and the branch’s actual costs for regulating those that pay specific fees. Further, the analyses should demonstrate how the branch calculated specific fees. 3. To make certain that it can identify and address existing work 6 September 2015 backlogs and comply with all of its federal and state obligations, the department should develop a staffing plan for the branch based on current, reliable data. The plan should involve a reevaluation of the branch’s assumptions about workload factors, such as how many inspections an inspector can perform annually. The plan should also include the following components: • An assessment of all backlogged work and the human resources necessary to eliminate that backlog within a reasonable amount of time. • An assessment of all currently required work and the human resources necessary to accomplish it. 4. To inform the Legislature when it is likely to receive the information to 6 September 2015 evaluate the State’s need for its own disposal facility, the department should establish and communicate a timeline describing when the report required by Section 115000.1 of the Health and Safety Code will be available. The department should also see that its executive management and the branch discuss with appropriate members of the Legislature as soon as possible the specific information required by state law that it cannot provide. Further, to the extent that the department cannot provide the information required by law, it should seek legislation to amend the law. 5. To provide greater public transparency and accountability of its 6 Will Not Implement decommissioning practices, the department should begin complying with the Executive Order D-62-02 and develop dose-based decommissioning standards formally. If the department believes that doing so is not feasible, it should ask the governor to rescind this 2002 executive order. 6. When the Radiological Health Branch has an understanding of the 6 Will Not Implement disposal needs for generators in California, it should develop an updated low-level waste disposal plan. Department of Public Health: Laboratory Field 1. Laboratory Services should perform all its mandated oversight 6 September 2015 Services’ Lack of Clinical Laboratory Oversight responsibilities for laboratories subject to its jurisdiction operating Places the Public at Risk within and outside California, including, but not limited to 2007-040 (September 2008) the following: • Inspecting licensed laboratories every two years. • Sanctioning laboratories as appropriate. • Reviewing and investigating complaints and ensuring necessary resolution. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 7 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN THIS ESTIMATED DATE REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF COMPLETION 2. Laboratory Services should adopt and implement proficiency-testing 6 September 2015 policies and procedures for staff to do the following: • Promptly review laboratories’ proficiency-testing results and notify laboratories that fail. • Follow specified timelines for responding to laboratories’ attempts to correct proficiency-testing failures and for sanctioning laboratories that do not comply. • Monitor the proficiency-testing results of out-of-state laboratories. • Verify laboratories’ enrollment in proficiency testing, and ensure that Laboratory Services receives proficiency-testing scores from all enrolled laboratories. 3. To update its regulations, Laboratory Services should review its clinical 6 September 2015 laboratory regulations and repeal or revise them as necessary. As part of its efforts to revise regulations, Laboratory Services should ensure that the regulations include requirements such as time frames it wants to impose on the laboratory community. 4. Laboratory Services should continue its efforts to license California 6 September 2015 laboratories that require licensure. Further, it should take steps to license out-of-state laboratories that perform testing on specimens originating in California but are not licensed, as the law requires. 5. To strengthen its complaints process, Laboratory Services should 6 September 2015 identify necessary controls and incorporate them into its complaints policies. The necessary controls include, but are not limited to, receiving, logging, tracking, and prioritizing complaints, as well as ensuring that substantiated allegations are corrected. In addition, Laboratory Services should develop and implement corresponding procedures for each control. Further, Laboratory Services should establish procedures to ensure that it promptly forwards complaints for which it lacks jurisdiction to the entity having jurisdiction. 6. To strengthen its sanctioning efforts, Laboratory Services should do 6 September 2015 the following: • Maximize its opportunities to impose sanctions. • Appropriately justify and document the amounts of the civil money penalties it imposes. • Ensure that it always collects the penalties it imposes. • Follow up to ensure that laboratories take corrective action. • Ensure that when it sanctions a laboratory it notifies other appropriate agencies as necessary. 7. Public Health, in conjunction with Laboratory Services, should ensure 6 September 2015 that Laboratory Services has sufficient resources to meet all its oversight responsibilities. 8. Laboratory Services should work with its Information Technology 6 September 2015 Services Division and other appropriate parties to ensure that its data systems support its needs. If Laboratory Services continues to use its internally developed databases, it should ensure that it develops and implements appropriate system controls. 9. To demonstrate that it has used existing resources strategically and 6 September 2015 has maximized their utility to the extent possible, Laboratory Services should identify and explore opportunities to leverage existing processes and procedures. These opportunities should include, but not be limited to, exercising clinical laboratory oversight when it renews licenses and registrations, developing a process to share state concerns identified during federal inspections, and using accreditation organizations and contracts to divide its responsibilities for inspections every two years. continued on next page . . . 8 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN THIS ESTIMATED DATE REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF COMPLETION GENERAL GOVERNMENT Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Home of California at Yountville: It 1. To meet the requirements of federal ADA regulations, the Veterans 6 * Needs Stronger Planning and Oversight in Key Home should develop and update as needed a plan that identifies Operational Areas, and Some Processes for areas of noncompliance and includes the appropriate steps and Resolving Complaints Need Improvement milestones for achieving full compliance. 2007-121 (April 2008) * Contrary to the California State Auditor’s determination, the auditee believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 9 January 2015 Table 2 Recommendations More Than One Year Old That Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued Between November 2008 and October 2013) AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION K THRU 12 EDUCATION California Department of Education High School Graduation and 3. To improve the utility of CALPADS and fulfill the 2 Will Not Dropout Data: California’s legislative intent of the system, the department Implement New Database May Enable the should work with the Legislature, the State State to Better Serve Its High Board of Education, and the governor to School Students Who Are at identify priorities for building upon the system Risk of Dropping Out when funding is available. These priorities 2011-117 (March 2012) could include tracking student participation in dropout prevention programs or strategies to measure the effectiveness of those programs or strategies over time. California Department of 1. To minimize the potential for disagreement 1 December Education: Despite Some over allowable migrant program costs, 2014 Improvements, Oversight Education should better define the criteria of the Migrant Education by which it will consider program costs Program Remains Inadequate allowable and include those criteria in the 2012-044 (February 2013) migrant program fiscal handbook it provides to the regions. 2. To demonstrate its willingness to fairly evaluate 1 Will Not regional expenditures, Education should Implement allow San Joaquin to reimburse its general fund for the vehicle purchase Education incorrectly disallowed. 3. To improve its understanding of regional 1 *  expenditures, Education should increase the level of detail required in its quarterly expenditure reports. The level of detail should allow Education to select expenditures for review. 4. For regions that have not recently received a 1 December federal monitoring review, Education should 2014 use the detailed expenditure reports to select a sample of expenditures, request supporting documentation from the regions, and then review the expenditures to determine if they meet applicable federal and state criteria. 5. As part of the reviews based on quarterly 1 *  reports, Education should verify that regions are using the appropriate accounting codes to classify their expenditures. 8. To address problems with its methodology 1 December for calculating administrative costs, Education 2014 should review the regions’ current use of accounting codes to identify the areas in which regions differ in accounting for similar migrant program costs. 9. To address problems with its methodology 1 December for calculating administrative costs, Education 2014 should provide regions with more specific direction about how to charge these expenses. continued on next page . . . 10 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. To address problems with its methodology 1 December for calculating administrative costs, Education 2014 should revise its list of accounting codes that it considers administrative in light of its review of regional coding. 11. Once it has addressed the underlying issues 1 December with regional accounting, provided direction 2014 to regions about which expenditures it will consider administrative, and obtained accurate expenditure data, Education should review its administrative cost goal to ensure that this goal is reasonable given the requirements of the migrant program. 12. To address past federal findings that are not 1 *   yet resolved, Education should respond as recommended in Appendix B of this report. 13. To determine if the statewide migrant 1 June 2015 education program is effective, Education should finalize its current evaluation of the program and begin developing the capacity to produce a more robust annual evaluation of the program. 14. To address a lack of detailed migrant program 1 June 2015 service and outcome data, Education should either expand the capabilities of its existing statewide databases or implement additional systems that would allow regions to capture more detailed data about migrant students. 15. To ensure that it receives satisfactory services 1 *  and outcomes for the funds spent on statewide contracts for the migrant program, Education should develop and execute a plan to monitor each of its contracts and cancel any it determines do not provide adequate or cost-effective services. School Safety and 17. To provide stronger leadership with respect 1 December Nondiscrimination Laws: Most to school safety and nondiscrimination 2014 P Local Educational Agencies Do laws, Education, with direction from the Not Evaluate the Effectiveness superintendent of public instruction, should of Their Programs, and prioritize the review of parent, student, the State Should Exercise guardian, or interested party appeals to ensure Stronger Leadership 2012-108 (August 2013) that the EO office follows state regulations by processing appeals more promptly, notifying LEAs of when appeals are filed, and obtaining the investigation files and other documents when reviewing complaint appeals. 19. To provide stronger leadership with respect to 1 December school safety and nondiscrimination 2014 laws, Education, with direction from the superintendent of public instruction, should use data from the kids survey and reported suspensions and expulsions to evaluate the levels of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying students encounter and to determine the effectiveness of its own and the LEAs’ efforts, and report the results to the Legislature by August 1, 2014. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 11 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 21. To provide stronger leadership with respect 1 December to school safety and nondiscrimination 2014 laws, Education, with direction from the superintendent of public instruction, should within the next six months and annually thereafter, update and replace the resources on its Web site to provide more relevant information on best practices, such as preventing and responding to incidents related to a protected characteristic or that occur through cyberbullying, the U.S. DOE report on state bullying legislation, and best practices in other states, such as the Massachusetts law on LEA staff training requirements. HIGHER EDUCATION University of California University of California: 1. To address the variations in per student funding 3 June 2018 Although the University of its campuses, the university should complete Maintains Extensive Financial its reexamination of the base budgets to Records, It Should Provide the campuses and implement appropriate Additional Information to changes to its budget process. As part of its Improve Public Understanding reexamination of the base budget, it should: of Its Operations 2010-105 (July 2011)† • Identify the amount of general funds and tuition budget revenues that each campus receives for specific types of students (such as undergraduate, graduate, and health sciences) and explain any differences in the amount provided per student among the campuses. • Consider factors such as specific research and public service programs at each campus, the higher level of funding provided to health sciences students, historical funding methods that favored graduate students, historical and anticipated future variations in enrollment growth funding, and any other factors applied consistently across campuses. • After accounting for the factors mentioned above, address any remaining variations in campus funding over a specified period of time. • Make the results of its reexamination and any related implementation plan available to stakeholders, including the general public. 3. To help improve accountability in the 3 August 2015 university’s budget process, and to help minimize the risk of unfair damage to its reputation, the university should take additional steps to increase the transparency of its budget process. Specifically, the Office of the President should update its budget manual to reflect current practices and make its revised budget manual, including relevant formulas and other methodologies for determining budget amounts, available on its Web site. 8. To ensure that campuses do not inappropriately 3 Will Not use revenues generated from student fees Implement imposed by referenda, the university should ensure that it, the regents, and the campuses do not expand the uses for such revenues beyond those stated in the referenda. continued on next page . . . 12 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION University of California, Office 23. To address the improper acts we identified, 2 Unknown of the President: Waste of the university should collect $1,802 from the State Funds official for the wasteful expenses he claimed I2012-1, Case I2010-1022 for lodging and meals during his trip to (December 2012)†‡ England, the expenses he incurred within the vicinity of his headquarters, and the business meal expenses. 24. The university should revise the policies 2 Spring 2015 to allow employees to claim only actual lodging expenses up to established rates for international travel. 27. The university should revise policies to establish 2 Unknown defined maximum limits for the reimbursement of domestic lodging costs and establish controls that allow for exceptions to the limits under specific circumstances only. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES California Mental Health Planning Council Mental Health Services Act: 15. The Planning Council should document and 1 January 2015 The State’s Oversight Has make public the reviews that it performs of Q Provided Little Assurance of MHSA programs to demonstrate that it is the Act’s Effectiveness, and performing all required reviews. Some Counties Can Improve Measurement of Their Program Performance 2012-122 (August 2013) Covered California New High Risk Entity: Covered 2. To comply with federal requirements, 1 June 2015 California Appears Ready Covered California should develop a plan and to Operate California’s First procedures for monitoring, recertification, and Statewide Health Insurance decertification of qualified health plans. Exchange, but Critical Work and Some Concerns Remain 3. To ensure the success of its outreach effort, 1 June 2015 2013-602 (July 2013) Covered California should track the effect on enrollment figures of its planned outreach and marketing activities and of its assister program. 4. To ensure financial sustainability, Covered 1 March 2015 California should conduct regular reviews of enrollment, costs, and revenue and make prompt adjustments to its financial sustainability plan as necessary. Department of Developmental Services Department of Developmental 1. To ensure that consumers receive high-quality, 4 Will Not Services: A More Uniform and cost-effective services that meet the goals Implement Transparent Procurement and of their individual development plans (IPPs) Rate-Setting Process Would consistent with state law, Developmental Improve the Cost-Effectiveness Services should require the regional centers to of Regional Centers document the basis of any IPP-related vendor 2009-118 (August 2010) selection and specify which comparable vendors (when available) were evaluated. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 13 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To ensure that consumers receive high-quality, 4 Will Not cost-effective services that meet the goals Implement of their IPPs consistent with state law, Developmental Services should review a representative sample of this documentation as part of its biennial waiver reviews or fiscal audits to ensure that regional centers are complying with state law—and particularly with the July 2009 amendment requiring selection of the least costly available provider of comparable service. Developmental Centers: 3. To ensure adequate guidance to OPS 1 June 2015 Poor-Quality Investigations, personnel, once the department has amended I Outdated Policies, Leadership OPS’s policies and procedures to reflect the and Staffing Problems, and recommendations we have included here, Untimely Licensing Reviews the department and OPS should place a high Put Residents at Risk 2012-107 (July 2013)† priority on completing and implementing its planned updates to the OPS policy and procedure manual. 9. After the department has implemented 1 December a formal OPS recruiting program, if it can 2014 demonstrate that it is still having trouble filling vacant OPS positions, the department should evaluate how it can reduce some of the compensation disparity between OPS and the local law enforcement agencies with which it competes for qualified personnel. 11. To minimize the need for overtime, the 1 June 2015 department should reassess its minimum staffing requirements, hire a sufficient number of employees to cover these requirements, and examine its employee scheduling processes. 13. The department should create specific 1 June 2015 measurable goals for OPS that include existing and new measures associated with each one, such as staffing, overtime, and the timely completion of investigations. In addition, the department should perform a regular review of the quality of OPS’s activities and investigations to achieve those goals. The department should track progress in quality measures over time and adjust its training plans to increase OPS law enforcement personnel’s skill and compliance with established policies and procedures. Department of Health Care Services Departments of Health Care 1. To comply with requirements in the State 5 Will Not Services and Public Health: Administrative Manual, Health Care Services Implement Their Actions Reveal Flaws should refrain from funding permanent in the State’s Oversight of full-time employees with the State’s funding the California Constitution’s mechanism for temporary-help positions. Implied Civil Service Mandate and in the Departments’ 2. To readily identify active IT and other contracts, 5 Will Not Contracting for Information Health Care Services should either revise its Implement Technology Services existing contract database or develop and 2009-103 (September 2009) implement a new contract database. continued on next page . . . 14 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Health 2. To ensure that Medi-Cal recipients receive 4 Will Not Care Services: It Needs timely access to prescribed drugs, Health Implement to Streamline Medi-Cal Care Services should abolish its policy of Treatment Authorizations and responding to drug TARs by the end of the next Respond to Authorization business day and should instead ensure that Requests Within Legal prior-authorization requests to dispense drugs Time Limits 2009-112 (May 2010) are processed within the legally mandated 24-hour period. Alternatively, it should seek formal authorization from CMS to deviate from the 24-hour requirement, and should seek a similar modification to state law. In addition, Health Care Services should begin recording the actual time it receives paper TARs so that it can begin to measure accurately its processing times. 3. To ensure that Medi-Cal recipients are receiving 4 Will Not timely medical services from providers, Implement Health Care Services should start tracking prior-authorization medical TARs separately and should ensure that such TARs are processed within an average of five working days. Although state law and regulations specifically require prior authorization for certain medical services, Health Care Services generally does not require prior authorizations in practice. Consequently, Health Care Services should seek legislation to update existing laws and amend its regulations to render them consistent with its TAR practices. Department of Public 1. To the extent that Public Health continues to 4 Will Not Health: It Faces Significant fund its various contracts, it should establish Implement Fiscal Challenges and clearer expectations with its contractors Lacks Transparency in Its concerning how much money is to be spent Administration of the Every directly on the different aspects of the EWC Woman Counts Program 2010-103R (July 2010)§ program and should monitor spending to confirm that these expectations are being met. 2. To ensure better public transparency and 4 December accountability for how the EWC program is 2014 administered, Public Health should comply with state law to develop regulations, based on input from the public and interested parties, that will direct how Public Health administers the EWC program. At a minimum, such regulations should define the eligibility criteria for women seeking access to EWC screening services. Intellectual Property: An 4. Caltrans, the Energy Commission, Food and 2 January 2015 Effective Policy Would Educate Agriculture, and Health Care Services should State Agencies and Take Into put in writing those policies and procedures Account How Their Functions related to intellectual property that they believe and Property Differ are necessary and appropriate to enable their 2011-106 (November 2011) staff to identify, manage, and protect their intellectual property. Medi-Cal Managed Care 6. Health Care Services should ensure that it 2 Fall 2015 Program: The Departments performs annual medical audits of local of Managed Health Care initiatives as required by law. and Health Care Services Could Improve Their Oversight of Local Initiatives Participating in the Medi-Cal Two-Plan Model 2011-104 (December 2011) California State Auditor Report 2014-041 15 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Mental Health Services Act: 1. To ensure that it monitors counties to the 1 September The State’s Oversight Has fullest extent as the MHSA specifies and 2014 Q Provided Little Assurance of that it implements best practices, Health the Act’s Effectiveness, and Care Services should draft and enter into a Some Counties Can Improve performance contract with each county that Measurement of Their contains assurances for effective oversight Program Performance 2012-122 (August 2013) and furthers the intent of the MHSA, including demonstration that each of the county’s MHSA programs are meeting the MHSA’s intent. 2. To ensure that it monitors counties to the 1 *  fullest extent as the MHSA specifies and that it implements best practices, Health Care Services should conduct comprehensive on-site reviews of county MHSA programs, including verifying county compliance with MHSA requirements. 3. To ensure that counties have the needed 1 March 2018 guidance to implement and evaluate their MHSA programs, Health Care Services should coordinate with the Accountability Commission and issue guidance or regulations, as appropriate, for Facilities programs and for other MHSA requirements, such as a prudent reserve. 5. To ensure that counties have the needed 1 Fall 2016 guidance to implement and evaluate their MHSA programs, Health Care Services should collaborate with the Accountability Commission to develop and issue guidance or regulations, as appropriate, to counties on how to effectively evaluate and report on the performance of their MHSA programs. 6. To ensure that Health Care Services and other 1 Unknown state entities can evaluate MHSA programs and assist the Accountability Commission in its efforts, Health Care Services should collect complete and relevant MHSA data from the counties. 7. To ensure that Health Care Services and other 1 March 2015 state entities can evaluate MHSA programs and assist the Accountability Commission in its efforts, Health Care Services should resolve all known technical issues with the partnership and client services systems and provide adequate and expert resources to manage the systems going forward. 8. Health Care Services should, as soon as is 1 *  feasible, revise or create a reasonable and justifiable allocation methodology to ensure that counties are appropriately funded based on their identified needs for mental health services. Health Care Services should ensure that it reviews the methodology regularly and updates it as necessary so that the factors and their weighting are appropriate. continued on next page . . . 16 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 18. Health Care Services should develop 1 Fall 2016 standardized data collection guidelines or regulations, as appropriate, that will address inconsistencies in the data that counties report to the State. In developing these guidelines or regulations, Health Care Services should consult with the Accountability Commission to ensure that data collected reasonably fulfill statewide evaluation purposes. 19. To help ensure county compliance with 1 Fiscal Year stakeholder regulations, Health Care Services 2014–15 should provide technical assistance to counties on the MHSA local planning review process and ensure that its guidance to counties is clear and consistent with state regulations. Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission Mental Health Services Act: 9. To ensure that counties have needed 1 Spring 2015 The State’s Oversight Has guidance to implement and evaluate MHSA Q Provided Little Assurance of programs, the Accountability Commission the Act’s Effectiveness, and should issue regulations, as appropriate, for Some Counties Can Improve Prevention and Innovation programs. Measurement of Their Program Performance 11. To fulfill its charge to evaluate MHSA programs, 1 Fiscal Year 2012-122 (August 2013) the Accountability Commission should 2017–18 undertake the evaluations specified in its implementation plan. Department of Public Health Department of Public Health: 1. To ensure that citation review conferences 4 October 2015 It Reported Inaccurate are completed expeditiously, Public Health Financial Information and should continue to take steps to eliminate Can Likely Increase Revenues its backlog of appeals awaiting a citation for the State and Federal review conference. Health Facilities Citation Penalties Accounts 2. To increase revenue for the penalty accounts, 4 October 2015 2010-108 (June 2010) Public Health should seek legislation authorizing it to revise periodically the penalty amounts to reflect an inflation indicator, such as the CPI. 3. To increase revenue for the penalty accounts, 4 October 2015 Public Health should ensure that it conducts all state surveys of facilities every two years, as required by state law. 4. To ensure that it complies with current state 4 July 2016 law and increases transparency, Public Health should adopt regulations for the administration of temporary management companies. 5. To increase revenue for the state account, Public 4 Will Not Health should seek legislation authorizing it Implement to require facilities that want to contest the monetary penalty to pay the penalty upon its appeal which could then be deposited into an account within the special deposit fund. The original monetary penalty deposited, plus interest accrued in the account, should then be liquidated in accordance with the terms of the decision. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 17 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To ensure consistency with federal guidance 4 Will Not related to federal requirements, and that it is Implement not creating incentives for facilities to appeal citations issued for noncompliance with state requirements, Public Health should provide guidance to its staff that discourages settling appealed monetary penalties for a better term than had the facility not contested the citation and paid the penalty within the time frame specified in law to receive a 35 percent reduction. If Public Health believes instances occur when it is appropriate to reduce a monetary penalty by more than 35 percent, it should document which statutory or regulatory factors that formed the basis for concluding that the original class of citation and corresponding monetary penalty amount were no longer considered valid or relevant. 7. To increase revenue for the penalty accounts, 4 September Public Health should seek legislation specifying 2015 a time frame within which facilities with nonappealed citations that do not qualify for a 35 percent reduction must pay their monetary penalties and allowing Public Health to collect interest on late payments of monetary penalties. Departments of Public 7. To ensure that it is able to measure its progress 1 September Health and Social Services: toward fulfilling the requirements of the health 2015 H Weaknesses in the and safety fund, Public Health should establish Administration of the Child performance measurements for the Kids’ Health and Safety Fund and Plates Program. the State Children’s Trust Fund Limit Their Effectiveness 8. To ensure that it is able to measure its progress 1 September 2012-105 (November 2012)† toward fulfilling the requirements of the 2015 health and safety fund, Public Health should periodically assess its progress toward meeting its measurable outcomes. California Department of 3. When Public Health enters into new contracts 1 September Public Health: It Needs with local entities to conduct compliance 2015 to Improve Accuracy in inspections, it should evaluate its historical Accounting and Charging costs of conducting these inspections to ensure for Compliance Inspections that the existing rates are adequate to recoup Designed to Reduce its costs. If it determines that the existing rates Youth Access to Tobacco and It Could Enhance Its are not adequate, it should develop a new rate Compliance Inspections that accurately reflects its true costs. 2012-111 (June 2013) 4. When Public Health enters into new contracts 1 September with local entities to conduct compliance 2015 inspections, it should ensure that it maintains adequate documented support for the rate it charges for a compliance inspection. 5. Public Health should amend its recent contract 1 February 2015 with the city of Los Angeles to correct the rate it charges for a local compliance inspection to reflect its true cost. 6. To ensure that Public Health can more 1 September effectively monitor and enforce compliance with 2015 the STAKE Act, it should take appropriate steps to ensure that there are no restrictions placed on the use of the data acquired during the annual retailer assessment that would preclude its use for compliance inspection purposes. continued on next page . . . 18 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that Public Health can more 1 September effectively monitor and enforce compliance 2015 with the STAKE Act, it should annually obtain the identifying information regarding the retailers that sold tobacco to minors during the annual retailer assessment and provide that information to the Food and Drug Branch. 8. To ensure that Public Health can more 1 September effectively monitor and enforce compliance 2015 with the STAKE Act, it should include the retailers that sold tobacco to minors during the annual retailer assessment when selecting the retailers it plans to inspect as part of the statewide compliance inspections. Developmental Centers: 15. To conduct licensing surveys at required 1 September I Poor-Quality Investigations, intervals while minimizing additional 2015 Outdated Policies, Leadership workload, Public Health should explore and Staffing Problems, and further opportunities to coordinate the Untimely Licensing Reviews licensing and certification surveys. If Public Put Residents at Risk 2012-107 (July 2013)† Health questions the value of these surveys, it should seek legislation to modify the surveying requirements. 17. To ensure that investigations are conducted 1 Will Not on a timely basis across priority levels, Public Implement Health should develop and implement target time frames for the priority levels that lack them. Public Health should ensure that the timelines are being met and, if not, explore new ways to increase efficiency and manage its workload, thereby facilitating timely investigations. 18. To improve its enforcement, each year Public 1 September Health should evaluate the effectiveness of its 2015 enforcement system across all types of health facilities, including those in developmental centers, prepare the required annual report, and, if called for, recommend legislation to improve the enforcement system and enhance the quality of care. Department of Social Services Department of Social 2. To make certain that counties receive the 4 *  Services: For the CalWORKs greatest benefit from the resources they spend and Food Stamp Programs, on antifraud efforts related to CalWORKs and It Lacks Assessments of food stamp cases, Social Services should, Cost-Effectiveness and Misses using the results from the recommended Opportunities to Improve cost-effectiveness analysis, determine why Counties’ Antifraud Efforts 2009-101 (November 2009)† some counties’ efforts to combat welfare fraud are more cost-effective than others. 3. To make certain that counties receive the 4 December greatest benefit from the resources they spend 2014 on antifraud efforts related to CalWORKs and food stamp cases, Social Services should seek to replicate the most cost-effective practices among all counties. 4. To make certain that counties receive the 4 July 2015 greatest benefit from the resources they spend on antifraud efforts related to CalWORKs and food stamp cases, Social Services should continue to address the recommendations of the steering committee and promptly act on the remaining recommendations. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 19 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure the accuracy and consistency of 4 *  the information on welfare fraud activities that counties report and that Social Services subsequently reports to the federal government, the Legislature, and internal users, Social Services should take the following steps: Remind counties that they are responsible for reviewing the accuracy and consistency of investigation activity reports before submission. 7. To ensure the accuracy and consistency of 4 July 2015 the information on welfare fraud activities that counties report and that Social Services subsequently reports to the federal government, the Legislature, and internal users, Social Services should continue with regular meetings of its workgroup to further its efforts to clarify its instructions for completing the counties’ investigation activity reports. 8. To ensure that counties are consistently 4 *  following up on all match lists, Social Services should remind counties of their responsibility under state regulations to follow up diligently on all match lists. Further, it should work with counties to determine why poor follow-up exists and address those reasons. 9. To ensure that counties are consistently 4 *  following up on all match lists, Social Services should revive its efforts to work with counties and federal agencies to address the counties’ concerns about match list formats and criteria. 10. Social Services should track how counties 4 *  determine prosecution thresholds for welfare fraud cases and determine the effects of these thresholds on counties’ decisions to investigate potential fraud, with a focus on determining best practices and cost-effective methods. It should then work with counties to implement the consistent use of these cost-effective methods. 11. Social Services should either ensure that 4 *  counties follow state regulations regarding the use of administrative disqualification hearings or pursue changing the regulations. 14. Recognizing that the deterrence effect is 4 Will Not difficult to measure, Social Services should Implement develop a method that allows it to gauge the cost effectiveness of SFIS. Social Services should include in its efforts to measure cost effectiveness the administrative cost that counties incur for using SFIS. Based on its results, Social Services should determine whether the continued use of SFIS is justified. Child Welfare Services: 1. To ensure that its licensees, including 3 March 2015 California Can and Must state-licensed foster homes, foster family Provide Better Protection agencies, and group homes, are in compliance and Support for Abused and with applicable requirements and that children Neglected Children are protected, Social Services should complete 2011-101.1 (October 2011) on-site reviews at least once every five years as required by state law. continued on next page . . . 20 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To encourage more effective communication 3 Will Not from county CWS agencies regarding its Implement licensees, Social Services should specify in regulations what types of situations or allegations the agencies should forward to its licensing division. 3. To ensure that rates paid to foster family 3 October 2014 agencies are appropriate, Social Services should analyze the rates and provide reasonable support for each component, especially the 40 percent administrative fee it currently pays these agencies. 4. Social Services should create and monitor 3 October 2014 compliance with clear requirements specifying that children placed with foster family agencies must have elevated treatment needs that would require a group home placement if not for the existence of these agencies’ programs. Specifically, Social Services should revise its regulations so licensed foster homes have higher priority than foster family agencies for children that do not have identified treatment needs. 5. Social Services should require county CWS 3 October 2017 agencies to file in CWS/CMS a detailed justification for any child placed with a foster family agency. 6. Social Services should create a mechanism by 3 October 2017 which it can efficiently check for compliance with the needs-justification requirement. 7. To encourage continued progress and 3 August 2015 innovation in keeping children safe, Social Services should add to its current CWS performance metrics a measure of the percentage of investigatory visits (both immediate and 10-day) completed on time that excludes attempted investigatory visits from its calculation of successful outcomes. 8. To determine whether the hold harmless 3 Will Not provision has been effective in reducing Implement caseloads and whether it should be revised or rescinded, Social Services should refine and use CWS/CMS to calculate and report county CWS caseloads. 9. To encourage county CWS agencies to conduct 3 Will Not formal internal death reviews, Social Services Implement should revise its annual report on child deaths resulting from abuse or neglect to provide information on whether county CWS agencies conducted such a review of child deaths with prior CWS history. To obtain this information, Social Services should revise its regulations to require all county CWS agencies to not only report child deaths resulting from abuse or neglect but to also require a subsequent report indicating whether an internal child death review was completed. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 21 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 11. To provide more useful information in its 3 Will Not annual report, Social Services should provide Implement child death information broken out by county, not just statewide totals. Further, Social Services should provide more analysis, such as comparing child death information over multiple years and presenting each county’s child deaths as a percentage of its total child population. Departments of Public 18. To ensure that its efforts funded by the trust 1 July 2015 Health and Social Services: fund are preventing or reducing incidences of H Weaknesses in the child abuse and neglect, Social Services should Administration of the Child evaluate the performance measurements Health and Safety Fund and annually to assess whether the trust fund’s the State Children’s Trust Fund programs and services are effective in reducing Limit Their Effectiveness 2012-105 (November 2012)† incidences of child abuse and neglect. Department of State Hospitals II High Risk Update—State 3. To ensure that all overtime hours worked 5 Fiscal Year Overtime Costs: A Variety of are necessary, and to protect the health and 2015-16 Factors Resulted in Significant safety of its employees and patients, Mental Overtime Costs at the Health should implement the Legislative Departments of Mental Health Analyst’s suggestion of hiring an independent and Developmental Services consultant to evaluate the current staffing 2009-608 (October 2009) model for Mental Health’s hospitals. The staffing levels at Mental Health should then be adjusted, depending on the outcome of the consultant’s evaluation. Sex Offender Commitment 2. To eliminate duplicative effort and increase 3 Will Not Program: Streamlining efficiency, Corrections should not make Implement C the Process for Identifying unnecessary referrals to Mental Health. Potential Sexually Corrections and Mental Health should jointly Violent Predators Would revise the structured screening instrument so Reduce Unnecessary or that the referral process adheres more closely Duplicative Work 2010-116 (July 2011)† to the law’s intent. 6. To reduce costs for unnecessary evaluations, 3 Will Not Mental Health should either issue a regulation Implement or seek a statutory amendment to clarify that when resolving a difference of opinion between the two initial evaluators of an offender, Mental Health must seek the opinion of a fourth evaluator only when a third evaluator concludes that the offender meets SVP criteria. CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION Board of State and Community Corrections Juvenile Justice Realignment: 1. To improve the usefulness of its reports so 2 Unknown Limited Information Prevents that they can be used to assess the outcomes G a Meaningful Assessment of of realignment, the board should work with Realignment’s Effectiveness counties and relevant stakeholders, such as 2011-129 (September 2012)† the committee that established performance outcome measures for the block grant, to determine the data that counties should report. To minimize the potential for creating a state mandate, the board should take into consideration the information that counties already collect to satisfy requirements for other grants. continued on next page . . . 22 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To improve the usefulness of its reports so that 2 Will Not they can be used to assess the outcomes of Implement realignment, if the Legislature chooses not to change the law as suggested, or if the counties are unable to report countywide statistics, the board should discontinue comparing outcomes for juveniles who receive block grant services to those who do not in its reports. 3. To maximize the usefulness of the information 2 Unknown it makes available to stakeholders and to increase accountability, the board should create policies and procedures that include clear, comprehensive guidance to counties about all aspects of performance outcome and expenditure reporting. At a minimum, such guidance should include specifying how counties should define when a juvenile has received a service and whether certain services, such as training, should qualify as serving juveniles. 4. To maximize the usefulness of the information 2 Unknown it makes available to stakeholders and to increase accountability, the board should publish performance outcome and expenditure data for each county on its Web site and in its annual reports. 5. To maximize the usefulness of the information 2 Unknown it makes available to stakeholders and to increase accountability, the board should consider verifying the counties’ data by conducting regular site visits on a rotating basis or by employing other procedures to verify data that counties submit. 6. To increase the amount of juvenile justice data 2 Unknown the counties make available to the public, the board should work with counties on how best to report these data. 11. To assist the Legislature in its effort to revise 2 Unknown state law to specify the intended goals of juvenile justice realignment, the board should work with stakeholders to propose performance outcome goals to use to measure the success of realignment. 12. To ensure that counties do not maintain 2 Unknown excessive balances of unexpended block grant funds, the board should develop procedures to monitor counties’ unspent funds and follow up with them if the balances become unreasonable. California Correctional Health Care Services # California Department 5. To determine whether the additional expansion 4 Will Not B of Corrections and of telemedicine is cost-effective within the Implement Rehabilitation: Inmates California correctional system, Prison Health Sentenced Under the Three Care Services should identify and collect Strikes Law and a Small the data it needs to estimate the savings of Number of Inmates Receiving additional telemedicine through an analysis Specialty Health Care Represent Significant Costs of the cost of specialty care visits currently 2009-107.2 (May 2010) provided outside of the institution that could be replaced with telemedicine. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 23 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To determine whether the additional expansion 4 Will Not of telemedicine is cost-effective within the Implement California correctional system, Prison Health Care Services should further analyze the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine through a more robust estimate of savings, including considering factors such as the percent of telemedicine consultations that required subsequent in-person visits because the issue could not be addressed through telemedicine. California Department of 11. Establish a system of oversight at headquarters 1 Unknown Corrections and Rehabilitation and at each adult correctional facility to M and California Correctional ensure that personnel specialists are charging Health Care Services: Both the correct number of leave hours for those Agencies Wasted State nonmanagerial, exempt employees working an Resources by Improperly alternate work schedule. Accounting for Leave Taken by Their Employees 13. Establish a system of supervisory oversight that 1 Unknown I2010-1045 (June 2013)†‡ involves reviewing employees’ time sheets and leave balances to ensure that personnel specialists are entering information into the leave accounting system correctly. 15. Establish a system for correcting mischarged 1 Unknown leave in the leave accounting system and for reviewing errors with the responsible employee whenever mischarged leave hours are discovered. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Department 1. To help it assess the effect of policy changes 5 December of Corrections and and manage operations in a cost-effective 2014 A Rehabilitation: It Fails to Track manner, Corrections should do the following: and Use Data That Would • Ensure that its new data system will Allow It to More Effectively Monitor and Manage address its current lack of data available for Its Operations statewide analysis, specifically data related 2009-107.1 to identifying the custody staffing cost by (September 2009)† inmate characteristics such as security level, age, and custody designation. • If implementation of its new system continues to be delayed, or if Corrections determines that the new system will not effectively replace the current assignment and scheduling systems used by the institutions, it should improve its existing data related to custody staffing levels and use the data to identify the related costs of various inmate populations. 5. To more closely align its operations with state 5 *   law and its own policy, make certain that inmates are provided with an adequate level of supervision, and protect the health and safety of employees and inmates, Corrections should encourage the Department of Personnel Administration** to negotiate a reduction in the amount of voluntary overtime a correctional officer is allowed to work in future collective bargaining unit agreements, in order to reduce the likelihood that involuntary overtime will cause them to work more than 80 hours of overtime in total during a month. continued on next page . . . 24 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To more closely align its operations with state 5 *  law and its own policy, make certain that inmates are provided with an adequate level of supervision, and protect the health and safety of employees and inmates, Corrections should better ensure that it prevents the instances in which correctional officers work beyond the voluntary overtime limit in a pay period. 8. To ensure that it can determine whether it is in 5 December compliance with state law and can measure the 2014 efficacy of its programs in reducing recidivism, Corrections should track, maintain, and use historical program assignment and waiting list data by inmate. California Department 1. To address the erroneous sentencing 4 *  of Corrections and information and inappropriately assigned B Rehabilitation: Inmates convictions in its data system, Corrections Sentenced Under the Three should complete its cleanup of data that will be Strikes Law and a Small transferred into the new system, ensuring that Number of Inmates Receiving this review includes a detailed evaluation of Specialty Health Care Represent Significant Costs convictions that have been assigned outdated 2009-107.2 (May 2010) sentencing information as well as deleting erroneous sentencing information, before it begins using its new data system. 2. To address the erroneous sentencing 4 *  information and inappropriately assigned convictions in its data system, Corrections should create a schedule for regular checks of the accuracy of existing sentencing information, as well as the accuracy with which sentencing information has been assigned to convictions. 10. To better communicate to policy makers the 4 *  annual cost of incarceration, and to provide a more accurate estimate of expenditures associated with changes in the large leave balances of custody staff—many of whom require relief coverage when they are absent— Corrections should provide a calculation of the annual increase or decrease in its liability for the leave balances of custody staff to better explain the cause of changes in expenditures to the relevant legislative policy and fiscal committees. 11. To better communicate to policy makers the 4 *  annual cost of incarceration, and to provide a more accurate estimate of expenditures associated with changes in the large leave balances of custody staff—many of whom require relief coverage when they are absent— Corrections should provide an estimate of the annual cost of leave balances likely to be paid for retiring custody staff to the relevant legislative policy and fiscal committees. Department of Corrections 1. Corrections should take appropriate disciplinary 3 Will Not and Rehabilitation: Improper actions against the employee and pursue Implement Overtime Reporting collection efforts for the compensation she did I2010-2, Case I2007-0887 not earn. (January 2011)‡ California State Auditor Report 2014-041 25 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Prison Industry 6. As Corrections prepares to move CalParole 3 January 2015 Authority: It Can More data into the Strategic Offender Management Effectively Meet Its Goals System (SOMS), it should modify existing of Maximizing Inmate employment-related fields and add to SOMS Employment, Reducing new fields that are currently not available in Recidivism, and Remaining CalParole so that Corrections can minimize the Self-Sufficient 2010-118 (May 2011) opportunity for erroneous data entries and make employment data more reliable. Sex Offender Commitment 3. To eliminate duplicative effort and increase 3 Will Not Program: Streamlining efficiency, Corrections should not make Implement C the Process for Identifying unnecessary referrals to Mental Health. For Potential Sexually example, Corrections should better leverage Violent Predators Would the time and work it already conducts by Reduce Unnecessary or including in its referral process (1) determining Duplicative Work 2010-116 (July 2011) whether the offender committed a predatory offense, (2) reviewing results from any previous screenings and evaluations that Mental Health completed and considering whether the most recent parole violation or offense might alter the previous decision, and (3) using STATIC-99R to assess the risk that an offender will reoffend. 4. To eliminate duplicative effort and increase 3 Will Not efficiency, Corrections should not make Implement unnecessary referrals to Mental Health. Corrections and Mental Health should jointly revise the structured screening instrument so that the referral process adheres more closely to the law’s intent. Department of Corrections 1. To ensure that the State does not spend 3 December and Rehabilitation: The additional resources on COMPAS while its 2015 Benefits of Its Correctional usefulness is uncertain, Corrections should Offender Management suspend its use of the COMPAS core and reentry Profiling for Alternative assessments until it has issued regulations and Sanctions Program updated its operations manual to define how Are Uncertain 2010-124 (September 2011) Corrections’ use of COMPAS will affect decision making regarding inmates, such as clarifying how COMPAS results will be considered when sending inmates to different prison facilities, enrolling them in rehabilitative programs to address their criminal risk factors, and developing expectations for those on parole. 2. To ensure that the State does not spend 3 *   additional resources on COMPAS while its usefulness is uncertain, Corrections should suspend its use of the COMPAS core and reentry assessments until it has demonstrated to the Legislature that it has a plan to measure and report COMPAS’s effect on reducing recidivism. Such a plan could consider whether inmates enrolled in a rehabilitative program based on a COMPAS assessment had lower recidivism rates than those provided rehabilitative programming as a result of non-COMPAS factors. 3. Once Corrections resumes its use of COMPAS 3 *  core and reentry assessments, it should provide ongoing training to classification staff representatives, parole agents, and others that may administer or interpret COMPAS assessment results to ensure that COMPAS is a valuable inmate assessment and planning tool. continued on next page . . . 26 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. Once Corrections resumes its use of COMPAS 3 October 2015 core and reentry assessments, it should develop practices or procedures to periodically determine whether its staff are using COMPAS core or reentry assessments as intended. Such a process might include performing periodic site visits to corroborate that COMPAS is being used as required. 5. Once Corrections resumes its use of COMPAS 3 *  core and reentry assessments, it should develop practices or procedures to periodically compare the demand for certain rehabilitative programs, as suggested by a COMPAS core assessment, to the existing capacity to treat such needs. California Department of 2. Conduct an audit of the leave accounting 1 May 2015 Corrections and Rehabilitation system during the past three years to identify M and California Correctional instances of nonmanagerial, exempt employees Health Care Services: Both working an alternate schedule at an adult Agencies Wasted State correctional facility being charged incorrect Resources by Improperly amounts of leave for missed days of work. Accounting for Leave Taken by Their Employees 4. Adjust current employees’ leave balances 1 June 2015 I2010-1045 (June 2013)†‡ in the leave accounting system to correct any improper charging of leave identified by the audit. 6. In instances where the audit has determined 1 June 2015 that an employee’s leave balance was mischarged but the employee subsequently departed state service, take appropriate measures to remedy any resulting incorrect compensation of the employee for unused leave upon his or her departure, including by seeking repayment of any amount overpaid to the employee. TRANSPORTATION Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Board of Pilot Commissioners 2. To ensure that its expenditures are appropriate, 4 Will Not for the Bays of San Francisco, the board should competitively bid contracts Implement San Pablo and Suisun: It with physicians who perform physical Needs to Develop Procedures examinations of pilots. and Controls Over Its Operations and Finances to Ensure That It Complies With Legal Requirements 2009-043 (November 2009)† California Department of Transportation California Department of 1. To ensure that it collects fair market rents for 2 Unknown Transportation: Its Poor the SR 710 properties on the State’s behalf, F Management of State Caltrans should, using the fair market rent Route 710 Extension Project determinations for all SR 710 properties it Properties Costs the State recently prepared and excluding those in its Millions of Dollars Annually, affordable rent program, adjust the tenants’ Yet State Law Limits the Potential Income From Selling rents to fair market after providing them with the Properties proper notice. 2011-120 (August 2012)† 2. To ensure that it collects fair market rents for 2 Unknown the SR 710 properties on the State’s behalf, Caltrans should make only limited exceptions to charging fair market rent and document the specific public purpose that is served in any case that it does not charge fair market rent. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 27 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 39. To comply with the 2007 court ruling and 2 March 2015 the APA until such time as the Legislature may choose to act, Caltrans should establish regulations to govern the sales process for the SR 710 properties affected by the Roberti Bill. 40. To pursue alternatives to its management of 2 Unknown the SR 710 properties, Caltrans should prepare a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the State would save money by hiring a private vendor to manage the properties. If such savings would occur, Caltrans should seek an exemption under Government Code, Section 19130 (a), to hire a private vendor. High-Speed Rail Authority High-Speed Rail Authority: It 1. To ensure that it can respond adequately to 4 *  Risks Delays or an Incomplete funding levels that may vary from its business System Because of Inadequate plan, the Authority should develop and publish Planning, Weak Oversight, and alternative funding scenarios that reflect the Lax Contract Management possibility of reduced or delayed funding from 2009-106 (April 2010) the planned sources. These scenarios should detail the implications of variations in the level or timing of funding on the program and its schedule. 3. To avert possible legal challenges, the Authority 4 Will Not should ensure that the review group adheres Implement to the Meeting Act or seek a formal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General regarding whether the review group is subject to this act. High-Speed Rail Authority 1. To ensure that it can respond adequately to 2 *  Follow-Up: Although the funding levels that may vary from its business Authority Addressed Some plan, the Authority should develop and publish of Our Prior Concerns, Its alternative funding scenarios that reflect the Funding Situation Has possibility of reduced or delayed funding from Become Increasingly Risky the planned sources. These scenarios should and the Authority’s Weak Oversight Persists detail the implications of variations in the 2011-504 (January 2012)† level or timing of funding on the program and its schedule. 3. To avert possible legal challenges, the Authority 2 Will Not should ensure that the independent peer Implement review panel adheres to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act or seek a formal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General (attorney general) regarding whether the panel is subject to this act. continued on next page . . . 28 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To add clarification to the first recommendation 2 *  we made in our prior report that stated, “To ensure that it can respond adequately to funding levels that may vary from its business plan, the Authority should develop and publish alternative funding scenarios that reflect the possibility of reduced or delayed funding from the planned sources. These scenarios should detail the implications of variations in the level or timing of funding on the program and its schedule,” the Authority should also present viable alternative funding scenarios for phase one in its entirety that do not assume an increase in the federal funding levels already identified in the 2012 draft business plan. If the Authority does not believe that such alternatives exist, it should publicly disclose this in its 2012 final business plan. 9. To ensure that the public and the Legislature 2 *  are aware of the full cost of the program, the Authority should clearly disclose that the 2012 draft business plan assumes that the State will only be receiving profits for the first two years of operation in 2022 and 2023, and potentially not again until 2060 in exchange for the almost $11 billion the Authority assumes it will receive from the private sector over a four-year period. Department of Motor Vehicles Special Interest License Plate 1. To ensure that programs supported by special 1 Will Not Funds: The State Has Foregone plates receive appropriate amounts of revenues Implement J Certain Revenues Related to due to them, Motor Vehicles should annually Special Interest License Plates collect all fees for special plates that are no and Some Expenditures Were longer on a vehicle but are retained by the Unallowable or Unsupported plate owner. 2012-110 (April 2013) 2. Motor Vehicles should ensure that the fees it 1 December lists in its application for special plates, as well 2014 as any other publications, are supported by the appropriate statutes. 3. Motor Vehicles should assess the extent to 1 December which it has charged fees for special plates that 2014 are not consistent with those prescribed in statutes and take appropriate action. 5. Motor Vehicles should periodically assess the cost 1 December and benefits of updating its automated systems 2014 to reflect current per-plate administrative costs. If Motor Vehicles determines that doing so is cost-effective, it should update its automated systems to reflect the up-to-date administrative costs for all these plates. NATURAL RESOURCES California Natural Resources Agency Special Interest License Plate 15. To make certain that money from the special 1 Will Not Funds: The State Has Foregone plate funds pay only for allowable and Implement J Certain Revenues Related to supportable activities, Resources should use Special Interest License Plates all appropriate funding sources to pay for any and Some Expenditures Were expenses that benefit multiple programs in Unallowable or Unsupported proportion to the benefits these programs 2012-110 (April 2013) actually receive. Further, it should ensure that its allocation of such expenses to different funds is equitable and supported. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 29 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To ensure that the governor and Legislature 1 *  have sufficient and appropriate information with which to make decisions on the most effective use of environmental fund money, Resources should submit to the governor and Legislature the annual and triennial reports containing the information that state law requires. Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Accounts Outside the State’s 10. To safeguard cost recovery program revenue, 1 December Centralized Treasury System: Cal Fire should, within the next six months, 2014 Processes Exist to Safeguard develop a process to track civil cost recovery Money, but Controls for These cases statewide to monitor compliance with Accounts Need Strengthening policies as well as monitor collection status. 2013-107 (October 2013) 11. Cal Fire should continue its efforts to determine 1 December what happened to the $13,470 check that was 2014 not deposited in the Wildland Fire Fund. Department of Parks and Recreation Department of Parks and 2. The department’s executive management 1 October 2014 Recreation: Weak Procedures should monitor the budget process closely to Have Led to Inconsistent prevent any future variances from established Budgetary Reporting and policies and procedures designed to ensure Difficulties in Measuring the accurate reporting. Impact of Efforts to Keep Parks Open 4. To ensure that any significant changes 1 *   2012-121.1 (February 2013) affecting fund balances proposed by Finance for presentation in the governor’s budget are presented accurately and transparently, the department should develop procedures to require higher-level review and approval of such changes by its chief deputy director, director, and potentially the secretary for the Natural Resources Agency. The department should identify levels of significance for the proposed changes in fund balances that would trigger seeking these higher-level approvals. Special Interest License Plate 14. To make certain that money from the special 1 July 2015 J Funds: The State Has Foregone plate funds pay only for allowable and Certain Revenues Related to supportable activities, Parks and Recreation Special Interest License Plates should ensure that environmental fund money and Some Expenditures Were budgeted to its offices is supported by the Unallowable or Unsupported proportion of the offices’ activities that state 2012-110 (April 2013) law allows. Department of Parks and 1. To ensure that districts receive timely budget 1 *   Recreation: Flaws in Its allocations, the department should establish Budget Allocation Processes and implement a formal allocation process by Hinder Its Ability to Effectively January 2014 that includes the following: Manage the Park System 2012-121.2 (September 2013) • A timeline that mirrors the State’s budget process and describes when the department will provide park districts with draft allocations, revisions to draft allocations, and final allocations. • A description of the roles and responsibilities of key staff involved in the process, including budget office staff, the deputy directors and division chiefs for park operations and the OHMVR division, and district superintendents. continued on next page . . . 30 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To reduce duplicate expenditure tracking and 1 *   increase the effectiveness of its budget process, the department should develop procedures requiring the districts to prepare and submit spending plans and to periodically submit their total expenditures after reconciling them with the FTS. The procedures should specify how often districts should provide this information to the department to ensure that the budget office and park management can appropriately oversee the districts’ budgets and spending. 3. To ensure that it can comply with state law in 1 *   the event that it must close parks or reduce park services in the future, the department should improve its methodology for developing individual park unit budgets and determining and tracking park-level costs. Specifically, the department should update its description of phase one to adequately explain how it will reconcile individual park costs for fiscal year 2010–11 to the department’s total actual expenditures to operate the parks. 4. To ensure that it can comply with state 1 *   law in the event that it must close parks or reduce park services in the future, the department should improve its methodology for developing individual park unit budgets and determining and tracking park-level costs. Specifically, the department should develop specific time frames and deliverables for the completion of phases two and three of its plan. These time frames should include specific completion dates for each key component of the phases. 5. To ensure that it can comply with state law in 1 *  the event that it must close parks or reduce park services in the future, the department should improve its methodology for developing individual park unit budgets and determining and tracking park-level costs. Specifically, the department should provide training as soon as possible to park operations staff to ensure that they consistently collect the data necessary for phase two. 6. To ensure that it can comply with state law in 1 *   the event that it must close parks or reduce park services in the future, the department should improve its methodology for developing individual park unit budgets and determining and tracking park-level costs. Specifically, the department should determine how it will define service levels and measure whether those levels are being met so it can provide budgets for each park unit, as phase three of its process requires. 7. To ensure that the Legislature has the 1 *   information necessary to make any future decisions related to service reductions or park closures, beginning in fiscal year 2014–15 the department should provide it with an annual report that details the costs to operate each park unit. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 31 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To prevent unauthorized leave buyback 1 *   transactions, the department should provide training by December 2013 to all department managers and personnel staff who might be involved in leave buyback transactions to ensure that they understand the State’s requirements regarding leave buybacks. 9. To prevent unauthorized leave buyback 1 *  transactions, the department should establish written policies and procedures requiring the personnel office’s transactions unit to obtain documentation from managers who request leave buyback transactions. The documentation should specify the authority for the leave buyback and include appropriate authorizing signatures. 10. To prevent unauthorized leave buyback 1 *  transactions, the department should increase the level of supervisory review to ensure that transactions unit staff process only authorized and properly coded leave buyback transactions. 11. To prevent unauthorized leave buyback 1 *  transactions, the department should limit access for keying transactions to the payroll system only to authorized personnel staff. 12. To improve the effectiveness of the EPRC, the 1 *  department should update its administrative manual by March 2014 to specify the members of the EPRC, the members’ roles and responsibilities, and the personnel actions that the EPRC is responsible for reviewing. 13. To improve the effectiveness of the EPRC, 1 *   the department should establish policies and procedures by March 2014 to govern the EPRC’s decisions on personnel actions. These policies and procedures should include the specific factors and their relative importance that the members must consider when making decisions and should require the EPRC to document its decisions and the reasons for those decisions. 14. To improve the effectiveness of the EPRC, by 1 *   March 2014, the department should require the EPRC to periodically provide a summary report of its decisions to the director’s office so that the director can monitor whether those decisions are consistent with his priorities. 15. To improve the effectiveness of the EPRC, the 1 *   department should establish a process by March 2014 through which the director’s office provides formal direction to the EPRC regarding staffing priorities. 16. To ensure that its position control unit staff 1 *   do not circumvent state law to preserve vacant positions, the department should establish procedures that include a process to periodically review any personnel transactions that are not subject to EPRC review. It should provide a summary report of this review to the director’s office and the EPRC. continued on next page . . . 32 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION State Lands Commission State Lands Commission: 1. When the commission determines that it will 3 Will Not Because It Has Not Managed pursue delinquent lessees itself, it should use Implement Public Lands Effectively, the a collection agency or a program such as the State Has Lost Millions in Franchise Tax Board’s Interagency Intercept Revenue for the General Fund 2010-125 (August 2011)† Collections Program. 2. To ensure that it receives rent from the 3 Will Not lessee that reflects the approximate value for Implement the State’s property at those times when a lessee disputes a modification to the rental amount after the commission exercises its right to perform a rent review or because the lease expired, the commission should include in its lease agreements a provision that requires lessees to pay the commission’s proposed increased rental amount, which would be deposited into an account within the Special Deposit Fund. The increased rental amounts deposited, plus the corresponding interest accrued in the account, should then be liquidated in accordance with the amount agreed to in the final lease agreement. 10. To complete its rent reviews promptly and 1†† December obtain a fair rental amount for its leases, the 2014 commission should conduct rent reviews on each fifth anniversary as specified in the lease agreements or consider including provisions in its leases that allow for the use of other strategies, such as adjusting rents annually using an inflation indicator. 11. To ensure that it is charging rent based on 1†† *  the most current value of its properties, the commission should appraise its properties as frequently as the lease provisions allow— generally every five years. 21. To ensure that it manages delinquent leases in 1†† December an effective and timely manner and collects all 2014 the amounts owed to it, the commission should develop and adhere to policies and procedures that incorporate the administrative manual’s guidance, including the steps staff should take when a lessee is delinquent, time standards for performing those steps, and a process for consistently tracking the status of delinquent leases between divisions. 23. To ensure that as few leases as possible go into 1†† December holdover, the commission should continue 2014 to implement its newly established holdover reduction procedures and periodically evaluate whether its new procedures are having their intended effect of reducing the number of leases in holdover. 24. To ensure that as few leases as possible go into 1†† June 2015 holdover, the commission should consistently assess the 25 percent penalty on expired leases. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 33 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Water Resources General Obligation 4. To provide the public with accurate and complete 3 Will Not Bonds: The Departments information on the bond-funded projects it Implement D of Water Resources and administers, Water Resources should develop Finance Should Do More to and consistently use a formalized, documented Improve Their Oversight of review process that will provide greater assurance Bond Expenditures that project information posted to the Bond 2010-117 (May 2011) Accountability Web site is regularly updated and contains accurate information. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery Department of Resources 4. The department should weave benchmarks, 4 2015 Recycling and Recovery: coupled with metrics to measure the quality Deficiencies in Forecasting of its activities, into the strategic plan for the and Ineffective Management beverage program to allow it to better measure Have Hindered the Beverage progress in meeting goals. Container Recycling Program 2010-101 (June 2010) 5. The department should ensure that the 4 2015 strategic plan incorporates all relevant activities of the beverage program. 19. To improve oversight of grants and ensure 1†† December that the intended value is received from the 2017 grant funds it awards, the department should implement policies to ensure that cities and counties spend grant funds for recycling purposes by requiring periodic reporting of expenses or reporting of how funds were used after the grant ends. State Water Resources Control Board State Water Resources Control 6. When regional water boards include staff 1 March 2015 Board: It Should Ensure a More enforcement costs in the penalty actions Consistent Administration they issue, the state water board should of the Water Quality require that they use a systematic method for Certification Program tracking the hours staff spend on enforcement 2012-120 (June 2013) activities related to penalty actions and maintain documentary support for these staff enforcement cost calculations. 7. If regional water boards continue to include 1 March 2015 staff enforcement costs in the penalty actions they issue, the state water board should revise its staff cost rate to reflect actual staff salaries and overhead cost for the certification program. BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, AND HOUSING Department of Consumer Affairs State Athletic Commission: 16. To ensure that all designated parties complete 1 April 2015 Its Ongoing Administrative statements of economic interests as the law K Struggles Call Its Future requires, Consumer Affairs should improve Into Question its policies and procedures to ensure that it 2012-117 (March 2013)† identifies any incomplete statements and promptly notifies the Fair Political Practices Commission when necessary. continued on next page . . . 34 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Physical Therapy Board Physical Therapy Board 1. The physical therapy board should explore the 2 Will Not of California: Although It feasibility of establishing a state position to Implement Can Make Improvements, perform the duties of its current in-house It Generally Processes consultant at a reduced cost. Complaints and Monitors Conflict-of-Interest 3. Consumer Affairs should establish procedures 2 *  Requirements Appropriately for ensuring that board members attend board 2011-119 (June 2012) member orientation and that those individuals and other designated employees receive all required ethics training. In addition, Consumer Affairs should adhere to the record retention period of five years specified by law for the certificates documenting that designated employees received ethics training. State Athletic Commission State Athletic Commission: 2. To ensure its future financial stability, the 1 April 2015 Its Ongoing Administrative commission should work with Consumer Affairs K Struggles Call Its Future to establish a long-term financial plan that Into Question contains the following: 2012-117 (March 2013)† • A reasonable annual budget with an accurate forecast of planned expenditures. The commission should determine this budget based in part on its ability or inability to meet the expenditure limitations stipulated in the solvency plan. • The number of inspectors necessary to regulate each type of event. In establishing this number, the commission should take into account the varying size and complexity of the events. It should also determine the cost for each inspector to regulate an event. • An estimate of its costs to regulate different types of events. To arrive at a reasonable estimate, the commission will need to track at least six months of actual expenditures. • The number of staff necessary to perform all of the commission’s necessary functions. The commission will need to conduct a workload analysis as soon as possible to determine how many staff it requires and adjust its planned expenditures accordingly. • Funds for athletic inspectors’ training that are sufficient to meet the requirement that inspectors receive training within six months of an event that they are scheduled to work. • Strategies to increase revenue. The commission may need to conduct analyses to determine whether the opportunities it is currently considering are legally permissible and fiscally prudent. If so, the commission should take steps to implement those strategies, including seeking any necessary legislative changes. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 35 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that it adequately tracks critical 1 *  information related to its basic functions and mission, the commission should work with Consumer Affairs to ensure that the new online program will meet its needs and requirements. Once the program is in place, the commission should use it as its central means for tracking its operations. 8. To ensure that it accurately collects revenue, 1 January 2015 the commission should formalize policies and procedures directing inspectors to take the necessary steps to make sure they correctly and consistently calculate taxes, assessments, and fees in accordance with state law and regulations. 9. To ensure that it accurately collects revenue, 1 Will Not the commission should calculate the Implement pension assessment by counting all the complimentary tickets issued, except for working complimentary tickets, not merely the complimentary tickets that are redeemed. If the commission does not agree that it should calculate the pension assessment by counting all the complimentary tickets issued, it should seek a change in its regulations to calculate the fee based only on the number of complimentary tickets redeemed. 22. The commission needs to establish regulations 1 April 2015 that describe its process for determining its ticket assessment for the neurological account so that it avoids the use of underground regulations. 25. To operate the pension plan effectively and 1 *  maximize boxers’ benefits, the commission should create policies and procedures for its administration to ensure that it transfers funds on a regular basis from the pension fund’s state account into its investment account. 28. To comply with state law governing the 1 July 2015 pension plan, the commission needs to, after it has an accurate and complete listing of all licensed athletes and box office information by event type, conduct the analysis to determine the feasibility of expanding the pension plan to cover all athletes and report the results to the Legislature. continued on next page . . . 36 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT California Workforce Investment Board Federal Workforce Investment 2. To assist the governor in the development, 2 July 2016 E Act: More Effective State oversight, and continuous improvement of Planning and Oversight Is California’s workforce investment system, Necessary to Better Help the state board should collaborate with state California’s Job Seekers and local workforce investment partners to Find Employment 2011-111 (March 2012)† promptly develop and implement a strategic workforce plan as state law requires. The strategic plan should include, at a minimum, the following elements: clear roles and responsibilities pertaining to the state board, EDD, and other state and local workforce partners; clear definitions for terminology used in the strategic plan, such as quality services; performance measures that are specific to California for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of WIA-funded programs and activities; and procedures for approving the addition of data elements to EDD’s Web-based system and for the exchange of data between EDD and the state board to facilitate the development and implementation of performance measures that are specific to California. Employment Development Department Employment Development 3. To further enhance its corrective action 3 *   Department: Its planning process as a means of improving Unemployment Program Has the unemployment program, the department Struggled to Effectively Serve should establish several key performance California’s Unemployed in the targets or benchmarks that are tied to each Face of Significant Workload specific corrective action, to effectively and Fiscal Challenges 2010-112 (March 2011)† gauge the impact of the actions on its goal of achieving the acceptable levels related to the timeliness measures. 4. As part of an overall strategy to limit the 3 December number of calls it receives while still providing 2015 timely and effective customer service, the department should use existing data and additional data from the new phone system to gain a better understanding of why people request to speak to an agent. Using this information, the department should further develop strategies and measurable goals related to achieving a reduction in call volumes. For example, to ensure that virtually all calls are able to gain access to the voice response portion of its new phone system, the department should monitor the volume of blocked call attempts and work with its phone system vendor if necessary to increase the system’s capacity. 5. To evaluate the effectiveness of its other efforts 3 December to provide services to claimants in ways that 2015 do not require them to speak to agents, such as Web-Cert and Tele-Cert, the department should periodically summarize and assess the more robust management information available under its new phone system. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 37 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Federal Workforce Investment 4. To assist the state board and other workforce 2 July 2016 Act: More Effective State investment partners in the development and E Planning and Oversight Is implementation of state-specific performance Necessary to Better Help measures, EDD should ensure that it works California’s Job Seekers with the state board to develop procedures for Find Employment approving the addition of data elements to its 2011-111 (March 2012) Web-based system and for the exchange of data between EDD and the state board. Employment Development 1. To improve the quality of the performance 1 *  Department: It Needs to reporting it submits to Labor, the department Address Data Issues to should work with Labor to develop reasonable Better Evaluate and Improve controls to avoid reporting overstated and the Performance of Its inaccurate performance measures. Employment Programs for Veterans 5. To identify ways to better serve veterans 1 July 2015 2013-102 (October 2013) in California, the department should assess the success or struggles of veterans within demographic categories in finding employment, such as age, race, or educational attainment, by comparing veterans’ performance to that of nonveterans in the same demographic categories and across demographic categories and use this analysis to determine whether specific populations of veterans could be better served through more targeted efforts and to identify best practices for improving employment outcomes for these specific populations. Further, the department should provide the results of this analysis annually, beginning in 2014, to stakeholders, including local workforce agencies, the state workforce board, the interagency council, the Legislature, and the public. 7. To better optimize its leadership role in 1 Will Not the interagency council’s employment Implement workgroup, the department should ensure that the employment workgroup develops a timeline for completing its action items and develops a process for measuring its success in improving employment outcomes for veterans. Specifically, the department should take the lead for establishing a time frame for evaluating tools to help assess and translate military skills into finding civilian jobs and establishing a transition assistance program for veterans. 9. To assess whether it is doing enough to take 1 December advantage of federal requirements that federal 2014 contractors give preference to veterans when hiring, the department should determine why the reported number of veterans receiving employment with federal contractors is so low relative to the number of job referrals made and it should provide appropriate direction to the veterans employment representatives to better leverage the federal contractor job listing. continued on next page . . . 38 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Department of General Services Department of General 1. To ensure public safety and provide public 2 Will Not Services: The Division of assurance that school districts construct Implement the State Architect Lacks projects in accordance with approved plans, the Enforcement Authority department, in conjunction with the division, and Has Weak Oversight should pursue legislative changes to the Field Procedures, Increasing the Act that would prohibit occupancy in cases Risk That School Construction Projects May Be Unsafe in which the division has identified significant 2011-116.1 (December 2011)† safety concerns. California Department of 37. To ensure that the construction unit complies 2 Unknown F Transportation: Its Poor with the State’s procurement laws and policies, Management of State General Services should continue its efforts Route 710 Extension Project to implement regulations that govern the Properties Costs the State small business certification process related Millions of Dollars Annually, to defining and enforcing violations of Yet State Law Limits the Potential Income From Selling commercially useful function requirements. the Properties 2011-120 (August 2012)† Public Utilities Commission California Public Utilities 5. To comply fully with state law, the commission 1 *  Commission: Despite should conduct a comprehensive market rate Administrative Weaknesses, study and update it periodically. It Has Generally Awarded Compensation to Intervenors in Accordance With State Law 2012-118 (July 2013)† Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, California Victim Compensation and 1. To ensure that it maximizes its use of CaRES, 5 Unknown Government Claims Board: the board should address the structural and It Has Begun Improving operational flaws that prevent identification the Victim Compensation of erroneous information and implement edit Program, but More Remains checks and other system controls sufficient to to Be Done 2008-113 (December 2008)† identify errors. GENERAL GOVERNMENT Department of Finance General Obligation 1. To enhance the value of the Bond 3 Will Not Bonds: The Departments Accountability Web site, Finance should require Implement D of Water Resources and administering agencies to provide information Finance Should Do More to about the actual amounts of bond funds spent Improve Their Oversight of on posted projects at least semiannually. Bond Expenditures 2010-117 (May 2011) 2. To enhance the value of the Bond 3 Will Not Accountability Web site, Finance should Implement develop a tracking and review process to periodically assess the completeness of the project information posted to the Web site. Such a process should include a review of whether state agencies are describing, in terms the public can easily understand, the expected or realized benefits of bond-funded projects. Department of Veterans Affairs California Department of 2. To ensure that it maximizes its ability to 1 January 2016 Veterans Affairs: It Has generate revenue at all the veterans homes Initiated Plans to Serve and better cover the costs of providing care Veterans Better and More to its members, CalVet should analyze its Cost-Efficiently, but Further cost-recovery model, including an evaluation of Improvements Are Needed the state laws that limit the amount of revenue 2012-119 (May 2013) that CalVet can collect for the care it provides to its members at the veterans homes. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 39 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To better utilize unused space at the veterans 1 December homes, and to serve more veterans within legal 2014 restrictions, CalVet should use the information in the Yountville veterans home master plan to develop a plan for using unused space at that home to generate revenue and/or serve more veterans. 11. To ensure it is maximizing its ability to serve 1 July 2015 veterans in the State’s veterans homes, CalVet should follow through with its plan to assess the bed capacity of the homes for veterans’ needs after the homes in Fresno and Redding are licensed, to determine the most appropriate number of beds for the different levels of care offered at each home. 14. To ensure that it is providing the highest quality 1 October 2014 of services to veterans, CalVet should improve its tracking system policy by developing oversight controls so that the system is used consistently by all of the veterans homes. 15. To allow for public input and to prevent 1 January 2016 any legal challenges that its policy of capping members’ fees, its $165 monthly income-retention policy for members, and its age and admission policy are unenforceable underground regulations, CalVet should adopt these policies as regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. 16. To more effectively and efficiently meet state 1 December purchasing and procurement requirements, 2016 CalVet should analyze its current purchasing model to ensure that it is the most efficient and cost-effective to use when purchasing non-IT goods and services for the veterans homes. 17. To more effectively and efficiently meet state 1 December purchasing and procurement requirements, 2016 CalVet should continue implementing quality assurance policies to strengthen its oversight of its purchasing practices, including conducting on-site reviews of the purchasing practices of the veterans homes. California Department of 1. For all contracts that involve recreation fund 1 January 2015 Veterans Affairs: Wastefulness, moneys or involve recreation fund enterprises, Failure to Comply With State as a best practice, institute policies that require Contracting Requirements, the contracts be awarded and administered and Inexcusable in a manner consistent with the policies and Neglect of Duty I2011-0837 (October 2013)†‡ procedures set forth in the State Administrative Manual and the State Contracting Manual. 3. For all contracts that involve recreation fund 1 January 2015 moneys or involve recreation fund enterprises, institute policies that require the contracts to be reviewed and approved by the secretary of Veterans Affairs, or upon delegation of the authority to do so, by a deputy secretary, prior to the contracts being executed. continued on next page . . . 40 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. Institute a policy that requires all payments of 1 January 2015 recreation fund moneys to a person or business in the amount of $5,000 or more during a fiscal year and any contract involving recreation fund enterprises be presented to the recreation fund advisory board (now known as the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Committee) at a public meeting for an advisory vote prior to the payment being made. 5. Institute a policy that requires any expenditure 1 January 2015 of recreation fund moneys to a person or business in the amount of $5,000 or more during a fiscal year be listed as a separate line item in the budget of the recreation fund as presented to the secretary for approval. 7. Consider legislation to establish increased 1 Unknown statutory controls over the management of the recreation fund maintained by each of the veterans homes to require that the funds be managed by the secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the administrator of each home, and be managed in a manner that is transparent to the public, takes into account the feelings of veterans, is consistent with the mission of the veterans homes, and is fiscally prudent. LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE Emergency Management Agency California’s Mutual Aid 1. To make certain that emergency response 2 Unknown System: The California agencies receive reimbursements on time, Cal Emergency Management EMA should establish procedures to ensure that Agency Should Administer paying entities do not delay reimbursements. the Reimbursement Process More Effectively 4. To make certain that local agencies calculate 2 *  2011-103 (January 2012) correctly their average actual hourly rates, Cal EMA should audit a sample of invoices each year and include in the review an analysis of the accuracy of the local agencies’ average actual hourly rates reported in the agencies’ salary surveys. 5. To make certain that local agencies calculate 2 *  correctly their average actual hourly rates, if Cal EMA determines that the local agencies’ rates are incorrect, it should advise the agencies to recalculate the rates reported in their salary survey. Local agencies that fail to submit accurate average actual hourly rates should be subject to the base rates. 7. If FEMA determines that the calculations and 2 Unknown claims identified in the Office of Inspector General’s audit report were erroneous, Cal EMA should modify the time sheets to track the actual hours that the responding agency works as well as the dates and times that the agency committed to the incident and returned from the incident. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 41 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. If FEMA determines that the calculations and 2 Unknown claims identified in the Office of Inspector General’s audit report were erroneous, Cal EMA should ensure that the replacement for its current invoicing system can calculate the maximum number of reimbursable personnel hours under both FEMA’s policy and the CFAA. Special Interest License Plate 11. To make certain that money from the special 1 *  Funds: The State Has Foregone plate funds pay only for allowable and J Certain Revenues Related to supportable activities, Cal EMA should maintain Special Interest License Plates documentation to support its charges to the and Some Expenditures Were antiterrorism fund. For example, it should Unallowable or Unsupported ensure that employees submit signed time 2012-110 (April 2013) reports to support the time they spend on antiterrorism-related activities. Department of Justice Armed Persons With Mental 23. To reduce the risk that it may not identify 1 *  Illness: Insufficient Outreach an armed prohibited person, Justice should From the Department of revise its electronic matching process to use Justice and Poor Reporting all personal identifying numbers available in From Superior Courts Limit its databases. the Identification of Armed Persons With Mental Illness 24. To ensure that timely information is available 1 March 2015 2013-103 (October 2013) for its efforts to identify armed prohibited persons and confiscate their firearms, Justice should manage staff priorities to meet both its statutory deadline for firearms background checks and its internal deadline for initially reviewing potential prohibited persons. Justice should report annually to the Legislature about the backlog of unreviewed potential prohibited persons and what factors have prohibited it from efficiently reviewing these persons. 28. To ensure that it meets its goal of eliminating 1 December the historical backlog of reviewing firearms 2016 owners by the end of 2016, Justice should manage its staff resources to continually address the backlog, and should notify the Legislature if it believes that it will not be able to fully process this backlog by its goal date. To help guide this effort, Justice should establish benchmarks that will indicate whether it is on track to meet its goal. 33. Justice should update and maintain its system 1 *   documentation for the mental health and APPS databases to ensure that it can efficiently and effectively address modifications and questions about these databases. 34. To ensure that it fully supports its decision to 1 *  apply federal prohibition terms to individuals, Justice should review all applicable federal and state laws and continue to seek clarification from the ATF and any other appropriate federal agencies to determine whether California’s firearms restoration process meets federal criteria and, if not, why it does not. Justice should issue a report to the Legislature, within one year, detailing the results of its review and, if applicable, communicate why California’s restoration process does not meet federal criteria and the impact that it has on prohibited persons who live in California. continued on next page . . . 42 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Office of the Secretary of State Office of the Secretary of 4. To enhance the value of the HAVA spending 1 Will Not State: It Must Do More to plan as a transparency and accountability tool Implement Ensure Funds Provided Under for the Legislature, the Office should make the the Federal Help America Vote following modifications to its annual HAVA Act Are Spent Effective spending plan: 2012-112 (August 2013) • Clearly state the methodology used to report prior HAVA expenditures in the HAVA spending plan. Such a methodology should use the financial information contained in its accounting system. • Reconcile the prior HAVA expenditures with the year-end financial reports the Office provides to the California State Controller’s Office. • Present prior HAVA expenditures by activity and by specific appropriation. 5. To ensure the State complies with the NVRA, 1 Will Not the Office should take all necessary steps, Implement including seeking any necessary legislative changes, and work with the DMV to modify the driver’s license application so that it may simultaneously serve as a form for voter registration. Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento Sacramento and Marin 6. To make certain that the FCS evaluators are 3 Will Not Superior Courts: Both Courts qualified, the Sacramento family court should Implement Need to Ensure That Family develop processes to ensure that it signs all FCS Court Appointees Have evaluator declarations of qualifications annually. Necessary Qualifications, Improve Administrative 7. To make certain that the FCS evaluators are 3 Will Not Policies and Procedures, and qualified, the Sacramento family court should Implement Comply With Laws and Rules ensure that its unlicensed FCS evaluators 2009-109 (January 2011) complete the licensing portion of the annual declarations of qualifications. 8. To make certain that the FCS evaluators are 3 Will Not qualified, the Sacramento family court should Implement identify the training each of the FCS evaluators need to satisfy the court rules' requirements and ensure that they attend the trainings. 10. To make certain that the FCS evaluators are 3 Will Not qualified, the Sacramento family court should Implement develop processes to ensure that evaluator declarations of qualifications include all relevant information, such as the evaluator’s experience. 12. To make certain that the FCS evaluators are 3 Will Not qualified, the Sacramento family court should Implement take all reasonable steps to ensure its FCS evaluators meet the minimum qualifications and training requirements before assigning them to any future Family Code Section 3111 evaluations. If necessary, and as soon as reasonably possible, the court should require the FCS evaluators to take additional education or training courses to compensate for the minimum qualifications and training requirements that were not met. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 43 January 2015 AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL APPEARED IN DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE TITLE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To verify that its private mediator and 3 Will Not evaluator panel members meet the minimum Implement qualifications and training requirements before appointment, the Sacramento family court should obtain any missing applications and training records for private mediators and evaluators on its current panel list before appointing them to future cases. 20. To verify that its private mediator and 3 Will Not evaluator panel members meet the minimum Implement qualifications and training requirements before appointment, the Sacramento family court should reinstate its local rules for private mediators and evaluators to provide a minimum of three references, and for private evaluators to provide a statement that they have read the court’s evaluator guidelines. 23. To make sure that the minor’s counsel it 3 Will Not appoints meet the additional standards Implement required by the superior court’s local rules, the Sacramento family court should obtain any missing applications for minor’s counsel before appointing them to any future cases. 42. To strengthen its accounting process for 3 Will Not California Family Code Section 3111 evaluations, Implement the Sacramento Superior Court should update its accounting procedures related to billing FCS evaluation costs to include steps for verifying the mathematical accuracy of the FCS summary and the proper allocation of costs between the parties. * Contrary to the California State Auditor’s determination, the auditee believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. † Other recommendations pertaining to this audit, which have been fully implemented, can be found in Table 3. ‡ Before publishing a report of an investigation, the state auditor provides the head of each department or agency involved with a copy of the investigative report, including any recommendations. Therefore, in calculating how long a recommendation has been outstanding, the state auditor uses the date the investigative report was provided to the department or agency, not the date the report was published. The investigative reports for the cases published in I2012-1 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in October 2012. In October 2010, we provided case I2007-0887 to the involved department; and, in May and August of 2013 we provided cases I2010-1045 and I2011-0837 to the involved departments. § This audit concerns Every Woman Counts, a program that was transferred from Public Health to Health Care Services effective July 1, 2012. II As of July 1, 2012, the California Department of Mental Health became the Department of State Hospitals. # Prison Health Care Services became Correctional Health Care Services effective July 5, 2011. ** As of July 1, 2012, the State Personnel Board was combined with the Department of Personnel Administration to create the California Department of Human Resources. †† The status of these recommendations changed from fully implemented to not fully implemented as a result of our follow-up reviews during 2014. 44 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 45 January 2015 Table 3 Recommendations More Than One Year Old That Were Fully Implemented Since Last Year’s Report or the Entity’s One-Year Response NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT K THRU 12 EDUCATION California Department of Education California’s Charter Schools: Some 2. To ensure the reliability of the ConApp database fields Fully 4 Are Providing Meals to Students, but related to the number of students enrolled at the school level, Implemented a Lack of Reliable Data Prevents the the number of those enrolled students who are eligible to California Department of Education receive free meals, and the number of those students who From Determining the Number of are eligible to receive reduced-price meals, Education should Students Eligible for or Participating in establish an internal control process such as a systematic Certain Federal Meal Programs 2010-104 (October 2010) review of a sample of the local educational agencies’ and direct-funded charter schools’ supporting documentation. HIGHER EDUCATION California Community Colleges Affordability of College Textbooks: 1. To increase awareness and transparency about the reasons Resolved 6 Textbook Prices Have Risen campus bookstores add markups to publishers’ invoice Significantly in the Last Four Years, but prices for textbooks, UC, CSU, and the community colleges Some Strategies May Help to Control should reevaluate bookstores’ pricing policies to ensure that These Costs for Students markups are not higher than necessary to support bookstore 2007-116 (August 2008) operations. If the campuses determine that bookstore profits are needed to fund other campus activities, the campuses should seek input from students as necessary to determine whether such purposes are warranted and supported by the student body, particularly when higher textbook prices result. 2. To increase awareness and transparency about the reasons Resolved 6 campus bookstores add markups to publishers’ invoice prices for textbooks, UC, CSU, and the community colleges should direct bookstores to publicly disclose on an annual basis any amounts they use for purposes that do not relate to bookstore operations, such as contributions they make to campus organizations and activities. University of California University of California: Although 5. To increase the transparency of university funds, the Office Fully 3 the University Maintains Extensive of the President should make available annually financial Implemented Financial Records, It Should Provide information regarding its funds, including beginning and Additional Information to Improve ending balances; revenues, expenses, and transfers; and the Public Understanding of Its Operations impact of these transactions on the balances from year to year. 2010-105 (July 2011)* University of California, Office of the 26. The university should clarify policies to include a distance Fully 2 President: Waste of State Funds test for expenses that employees incur within the vicinity of Implemented I2012-1, Case I2010-1022 their headquarters. (December 2012)*† HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Department of Developmental Services Developmental Centers: Poor-Quality 6. As soon as possible, the department should hire a permanent Fully 1 Investigations, Outdated Policies, OPS director and permanent OPS commanders that are highly Implemented I Leadership and Staffing Problems, qualified staff capable of performing the administrative and Untimely Licensing Reviews Put functions these positions require. Residents at Risk 2012-107 (July 2013)* Department of Social Services Department of Social Services: For 1. To ensure that all counties consistently gauge the Fully 4 the CalWORKs and Food Stamp cost-effectiveness of their early fraud activities and ongoing Implemented Programs, It Lacks Assessments investigation efforts for the CalWORKs and food stamp of Cost-Effectiveness and Misses programs, Social Services should work with the counties to Opportunities to Improve Counties’ develop a formula to regularly perform a cost-effectiveness Antifraud Efforts analysis using information that the counties currently submit. 2009-101 (November 2009)* continued on next page . . . 46 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT Departments of Public Health and 17. To ensure that its efforts funded by the trust fund are Fully 1 Social Services: Weaknesses in the preventing or reducing incidences of child abuse and Implemented H Administration of the Child Health and neglect, Social Services should ensure that the performance Safety Fund and the State Children’s measurements are reflected in the grants it awards. Trust Fund Limit Their Effectiveness 2012-105 (November 2012)* Department of State Hospitals‡ Sex Offender Commitment Program: 8. To ensure that the Legislature can provide effective oversight Fully 3 Streamlining the Process for of the program, Mental Health should complete and submit Implemented C Identifying Potential Sexually Violent as soon as possible its reports to the Legislature about Mental Predators Would Reduce Unnecessary Health’s efforts to hire state employees to conduct evaluations or Duplicative Work and about the impact of Jessica’s Law on the program. 2010-116 (July 2011)* CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION California Correctional Health Care Services§ California Department of Corrections 13. To increase the use of the telemedicine system, Health Care Fully 5 and Rehabilitation: It Fails to Track Services should continue to implement the recommendations Implemented A and Use Data That Would Allow It to that it has adopted from the consultant’s review of More Effectively Monitor and Manage telemedicine capabilities. Its Operations 2009-107.1 (September 2009)* California Correctional Health 1. Correctional Health Services should provide training to the Fully 2 Care Services and Department of manager and supervisors involved in the claim authorization Implemented Corrections and Rehabilitation: process regarding the state rules applicable to claiming Improper Travel Expenses travel expenses. I2012-1, Case I2009-0689 (December 2012)† 2. Correctional Health Services should discontinue Fully 2 reimbursing employees for expenses claimed in violation of Implemented state regulations. California Department of Corrections 1. Conduct an audit of the leave accounting system during Fully 1 and Rehabilitation and California the past three years to identify instances of nonmanagerial, Implemented M Correctional Health Care Services: Both exempt employees working an alternate schedule at an adult Agencies Wasted State Resources by correctional facility being charged incorrect amounts of leave Improperly Accounting for Leave Taken for missed days of work. by Their Employees I2010-1045 (June 2013)*† 3. Adjust current employees’ leave balances in the leave Fully 1 accounting system to correct any improper charging of leave Implemented identified by the audit. 5. In instances where the audit has determined that an Fully 1 employee’s leave balance was mischarged but the employee Implemented subsequently departed state service, take appropriate measures to remedy any resulting incorrect compensation of the employee for unused leave upon his or her departure, including by seeking repayment of any amount overpaid to the employee. 9. Train all nonmanagerial, exempt employees eligible to work an Fully 1 alternate schedule regarding the proper completion of a time Implemented sheet to ensure the employees’ leave balances are charged correctly for an absence from work. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Department of Corrections 8. Train all personnel staff regarding the proper amount of leave Fully 1 and Rehabilitation and California to charge those exempt employees working an alternate Implemented M Correctional Health Care Services: schedule who miss a day of work. Both Agencies Wasted State Resources by Improperly Accounting for Leave 10. Train all nonmanagerial, exempt employees eligible to work an Fully 1 Taken by Their Employees I2010-1045 alternate schedule regarding the proper completion of a time Implemented (June 2013)*† sheet to ensure the employees’ leave balances are charged correctly for an absence from work. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 47 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT TRANSPORTATION Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Board of Pilot Commissioners for the 1. To ensure that it consistently adheres to requirements in Fully 4 Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and state law when licensing pilots, the board should establish Implemented Suisun: It Needs to Develop Procedures and implement a procedure for approving and monitoring and Controls Over Its Operations and board-appointed physicians. Finances to Ensure That It Complies With Legal Requirements 2009-043 (November 2009)* California Department of Transportation California Department of 9. To ensure that the affordable rent policy is enforceable and Fully 2 F Transportation: Its Poor Management that only eligible tenants receive the benefit of the policy, Implemented of State Route 710 Extension Project Caltrans should adopt regulations in accordance with the Properties Costs the State Millions Administrative Procedure Act (APA) if the director determines of Dollars Annually, Yet State Law that it is appropriate to continue to offer affordable rent to Limits the Potential Income From certain tenants. Selling the Properties 2011-120 (August 2012)* High-Speed Rail Authority High-Speed Rail Authority Follow-Up: 13. To increase transparency and to ensure that it is aware of Fully 2 Although the Authority Addressed any financial interest that a subcontractor may have in the Implemented Some of Our Prior Concerns, Its program, the Authority should require subcontractors to file Funding Situation Has Become statements of economic interest. Increasingly Risky and the Authority’s Weak Oversight Persists 2011-504 (January 2012)* NATURAL RESOURCES Department of Fish and WildlifeII Oil Spill Prevention and Administration 4. To ensure that three-year projections of the spill fund’s Fully 2 Fund: The Department of Fish revenues, expenditures, and fund balances, all of which are Implemented and Game and the Office of Spill used to determine fee rates, are based on accurate financial Prevention and Response Need to information, the spill office should consider the reduction Improve Their Administration of the in the spill fund’s costs, as a result of the recovery of indirect Spill Fund 2011-123 (August 2012) administrative costs, when projecting its fund balance moving forward. 5. To prevent under- or over-recovery of federal funds, Fish and Fully 2 Game should regularly reassess whether using budgeted Implemented expenditures or actual expenditures will produce the most accurate results. Department of Fish and Game: 19. Fish and Game should provide training to those involved with Fully 2 Improper Use of Lease Proceeds the lease to ensure that it properly accounts for and reconciles Implemented I2012-1, Case I2009-1218 future work and payments related to the leased property, (December 2012)† that it does not pay operational and equipment expenses with proceeds derived from the lease, and that all parties understand what work Fish and Game expects as the result of the agreement. State Lands Commission State Lands Commission: Because 3. To ensure that it does not undervalue certain types of leases, Fully 3 It Has Not Managed Public Lands the commission should amend its regulations for establishing Implemented Effectively, the State Has Lost Millions pipeline rents on state land as staff recommended in the in Revenue for the General Fund 2010 survey of methods used by agencies in other states to 2010-125 (August 2011)* establish pipeline rents. 5. The commission should establish a monitoring program Fully 3 to ensure that the funds generated from granted lands are Implemented expended in accordance with the public trust. continued on next page . . . 48 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, AND HOUSING Department of Housing and Community Development Department of Housing and 1. To ensure that data maintained in CAPES are accurate and Fully 4 Community Development: Housing complete, HCD should complete its review of the accuracy of Implemented Bond Funds Generally Have Been the data transferred to CAPES. Awarded Promptly and in Compliance With Law, but Monitoring Continues to 2. HCD should ensure that its cleanup efforts are thoroughly Fully 4 Need Improvement documented and retained for future reference. Implemented 2009-037 (November 2009) State Athletic Commission State Athletic Commission: Its Ongoing 6. To ensure that it adequately tracks critical information Fully 1 Administrative Struggles Call Its Future related to its basic functions and mission, the commission Implemented K Into Question should ensure that its system for tracking the number of 2012-117 (March 2013)* events, the inspectors it assigns to events, and its revenues and expenditures is compatible with the online program Consumer Affairs is developing so that it may easily import this information into the new program when it is complete. LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT California Workforce Investment Board Federal Workforce Investment 3. To assist the governor in the development, oversight, and Fully 2 Act: More Effective State Planning continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment Implemented E and Oversight Is Necessary to system, the state board should continue to exercise its legal Better Help California’s Job Seekers authority to review the local boards’ plans to, among other Find Employment things, assure the coordination and nonduplication of services 2011-111 (March 2012)* to program participants. Employment Development Department Employment Development 9. To better track and improve the timeliness of determinations Resolved 3 Department: Its Unemployment for the training benefits program and to assist claimants Program Has Struggled to Effectively in understanding self-arranged training requirements, the Serve California’s Unemployed in department should track and report the number of claimants it the Face of Significant Workload and determines are both eligible and ineligible for the self-arranged Fiscal Challenges training and the reasons for these determinations, to better 2010-112 (March 2011)* focus some of its recommendations toward how it can assist claimants in understanding the program’s criteria. 10. To better track and improve the timeliness of determinations Resolved 3 for the training benefits program and to assist claimants in understanding self-arranged training requirements, the department should track the number of claimants that it finds to be both ineligible for self-arranged training and ultimately ineligible for unemployment benefits and develop strategies to expedite the determination process for these claimants. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Department of General Services Department of General Services: The 12. To address areas in which its staff do not currently have Fully 2 Division of the State Architect Lacks expertise, the division should finalize its field pilot and Implemented Enforcement Authority and Has Weak take subsequent steps to ensure it has qualified staff to Oversight Procedures, Increasing the provide oversight of accessibility; fire and life safety; and the Risk That School Construction Projects mechanical, electrical, and plumbing aspects of construction. May Be Unsafe 2011-116.1 (December 2011)* California Department of 36. To ensure that the construction unit complies with the State’s Resolved 2 Transportation: Its Poor Management procurement laws and policies, General Services should clarify F of State Route 710 Extension Project the waiver process in the administrative order governing the Properties Costs the State Millions small business participation goal. of Dollars Annually, Yet State Law Limits the Potential Income From Selling the Properties 2011-120 (August 2012)* California State Auditor Report 2014-041 49 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT Public Utilities Commission California Public Utilities Commission: 2. The commission should determine the cause of its lack of Fully 1 Despite Administrative Weaknesses, It compliance with state law requiring it to issue award decisions Implemented Has Generally Awarded Compensation within 75 days of the date an intervenor submits a compensation to Intervenors in Accordance With claim, and it should determine what actions to take to rectify the State Law problem. The commission should ensure that it has sufficient 2012-118 (July 2013)* information, such as detailed tracking information regarding claims, to identify where in the process delays are occurring. If the commission determines that the current 75-day statutory period is unreasonable, it should seek a change in state law. Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, California Victim Compensation and Government 2. To ensure that the board appropriately carries out its outreach Fully 5 Claims Board: It Has Begun Improving efforts, it should define the specific procedures to accomplish Implemented the Victim Compensation Program, but its action strategies for outreach and establish quantitative More Remains to Be Done measures to evaluate the effectiveness of its outreach efforts. 2008-113 (December 2008)* GENERAL GOVERNMENT Department of Veterans Affairs California Department of Veterans 2. For all contracts that involve recreation fund moneys or Resolved 1 Affairs: Wastefulness, Failure to Comply involve recreation fund enterprises, institute policies that With State Contracting Requirements, require the contracts to be approved by a Veterans Affairs and Inexcusable Neglect of Duty attorney prior to being executed. I2011-0837 (October 2013)*† LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE Administrative Office of the Courts Administrative Office of the Courts: 8. Although the Judicial Council has the legal authority to Fully 3 The Statewide Case Management compel the courts to adopt CCMS, to better foster superior Implemented Project Faces Significant Challenges court receptiveness to deploying CCMS, the AOC should Due to Poor Project Management continue to work with the superior courts that have deployed 2010-102 (February 2011) the civil system to ensure it is addressing their concerns in a timely and appropriate manner. 9. Although the Judicial Council has the legal authority to Fully 3 compel the courts to adopt CCMS, to better foster superior Implemented court receptiveness to deploying CCMS, the AOC should work with superior courts to address concerns about hosting data at the California Court Technology Center (Technology Center). Further, the AOC should take steps to ensure that superior courts do not lose productivity or efficiencies by hosting data at the Technology Center. Judicial Branch Procurement: Six 2. To ensure complete reports to the Legislature, the AOC should Fully 1 Superior Courts Generally Complied review and modify its methodology for excluding certain Implemented L With the Judicial Branch Contracting transactions from the semiannual report to ensure that the Law, but They Could Improve Some AOC is not inadvertently excluding legitimate procurements. Policies and Practices Further, the AOC’s methodology should ensure that all 2012-301 (March 2013) procurements or contracts—such as those related to court security, court reporters, and interpreters when such services result in payment by a judicial branch entity to a vendor or contractor—are included in the semiannual report unless specifically excluded by state law. Department of Justice Juvenile Justice Realignment: 7. To ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data the Resolved 2 Limited Information Prevents counties submit into the Juvenile Court and Probation G a Meaningful Assessment of Statistical System (JCPSS), Justice should follow its procedure Realignment’s Effectiveness to send annual summaries of the JCPSS data to the counties 2011-129 (September 2012)* for review and to conduct occasional field audits of the counties’ records. continued on next page . . . 50 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION APPEARED IN TITLE RECOMMENDATION STATUS THIS REPORT 9. To ensure that its criminal history system contains complete Fully 2 and accurate data related to juvenile offenders, Justice Implemented should implement a procedure similar to the one it employs for the JCPSS to verify the accuracy of information the counties submit. Superior Court of California, County of Stanislaus Judicial Branch Procurement: Six 7. To ensure that transactions reflect the State’s priorities Fully 1 Superior Courts Generally Complied regarding businesses owned by disabled veterans, and to Implemented L With the Judicial Branch Contracting comply with requirements in the judicial contracting manual, Law, but They Could Improve Some the courts we reviewed should develop formal policies to Policies and Practices implement the DVBE program. 2012-301 (March 2013) * Other recommendations pertaining to this audit, which have not been fully implemented, can be found in Table 2. † Before publishing a report of an investigation, the state auditor provides the head of each department or agency involved with a copy of the investigative report, including any recommendations. Therefore, in calculating how long a recommendation has been outstanding, the state auditor uses the date the investigative report was provided to the department or agency, not the date the report was published. The investigative reports for the cases published in I2012-1 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in October 2012. In May and August of 2013 we provided cases I2010-1045 and I2011-0837 to the involved departments. ‡ As of July 1, 2012, the California Department of Mental Health became the Department of State Hospitals. § Prison Health Care Services became Correctional Health Care Services effective July 5, 2011. II As of January 1, 2013, the Department of Fish and Game became the Department of Fish and Wildlife. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 51 January 2015 Table 4 Recommendations More Than One Year Old Made to Nonstate Entities STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION HIGHER EDUCATION Laney College California’s Postsecondary 3. To ensure that they comply with the 2 March 2015 Not Fully O Educational Institutions: Clery Act by correctly reporting all Implemented Some Institutions Have applicable crimes and disclosing Not Fully Complied all required campus security policies, With Federal Crime institutions should review and adhere Reporting Requirements to applicable guidance related to the 2012-032 (October 2012) Clery Act, including Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education’s (OPE) Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting (OPE handbook) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook. 9. To ensure that they comply 2 March 2015 Not Fully with the Clery Act by correctly Implemented reporting all applicable crimes and disclosing all required campus security policies, institutions should thoroughly review the Clery Act crime statistics and security policy disclosures in their annual security reports for accuracy before publication. 13. To ensure that they comply 2 December Fully with the Clery Act by correctly 2013 Implemented reporting all applicable crimes and disclosing all required campus security policies, institutions should ensure that they have a complete, accessible daily crime log, as required by the Clery Act. 17. Institutions should ensure that 2 January 2014 Fully they properly notify both current Implemented and prospective students and employees of the availability of their annual security reports in the manner prescribed by the Clery Act. University of the Pacific California’s Postsecondary 6. To ensure that they comply 2 January 2014 Fully O Educational Institutions: with the Clery Act by correctly Implemented Some Institutions Have reporting all applicable crimes Not Fully Complied and disclosing all required campus With Federal Crime security policies, institutions should Reporting Requirements review and adhere to applicable 2012-032 (October 2012) guidance related to the Clery Act, including Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education’s (OPE) Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting (OPE handbook) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook. continued on next page . . . 52 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To ensure that they comply 2 January 2014 Fully with the Clery Act by correctly Implemented reporting all applicable crimes and disclosing all required campus security policies, institutions should thoroughly review the Clery Act crime statistics and security policy disclosures in their annual security reports for accuracy before publication. 20. Institutions should ensure that 2 January 2014 Fully they properly notify both current Implemented and prospective students and employees of the availability of their annual security reports in the manner prescribed by the Clery Act. LOCAL GOVERNMENT Amador County Indian Gaming Special 1. To help ensure that they meet the 2 March 2012 Fully N Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implemented Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. 23. To help ensure that they meet the 2 April 2014 Fully grant requirements established in Implemented the Government Code, counties should require benefit committee filing officers to avail themselves of the free training provided by the FPPC so that the filing officers are aware of and meet their responsibilities under the political reform act. Counties should also adhere to FPPC guidelines for notifying filers of the need to submit statements of economic interests. California Statewide Communities Development Authority Conduit Bond Issuers: Issuers 2. To be better informed about the 2 Will Not Will Not Complied With Key Bond compensation of their consultants, Implement Implement Requirements, but Two including any potential conflicts of Joint Powers Authorities’ interest, California Communities and Compensation Models Raise Municipal Finance should require Conflict-of-Interest Concerns the consulting firms that staff their 2011-118/2011-613 (August 2012) organizations to disclose the amount and structure of compensation provided to individual consultants, including disclosing whether any of this compensation is tied to the volume of bond sales. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 53 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. In implementing its January 2012 2 September Not Fully contracting policy, California 2014 Implemented Communities should either periodically subject existing contracts to competitive bidding or perform some other price comparison analysis to ensure that the public funds it oversees are used effectively. 8. Once the Securities and Exchange 2 July 2014 Fully Commission (SEC) finalizes its Implemented definition of municipal advisor, California Communities should have its legal counsel review whether HB Capital should register with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. City of Vernon City of Vernon: Although 4. To increase accountability and 2 * Not Fully  Reform Is Ongoing, Past Poor transparency in its governance, Implemented Decision Making Threatens the city should develop a Its Financial Stability formal policy that describes 2011-131 (June 2012) the circumstances under which revenues can be transferred from its power department, and the limits and permissible uses of transferred revenue. 6. To ensure that it develops complete 2 November Fully and appropriate personnel 2012 Implemented policies and procedures, the new human resources director should ensure that the city’s policies and procedures include, at a minimum, requirements for performing and documenting the analyses and justifications for appointments, including promotions, to management positions. 7. To ensure that it develops complete 2 September Fully and appropriate personnel 2013 Implemented policies and procedures, the new human resources director should ensure that the city’s policies and procedures include, at a minimum, requirements for minimum qualifications, desirable qualifications, and job duties for all city executive positions. 8. To ensure that it develops complete 2 September Fully and appropriate personnel 2013 Implemented policies and procedures, the new human resources director should ensure that the city’s policies and procedures include, at a minimum, a periodic appraisal process for executives. continued on next page . . . 54 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. To ensure that it develops complete 2 * Not Fully  and appropriate personnel Implemented policies and procedures, the new human resources director should ensure that the city’s policies and procedures include, at a minimum, an improved methodology for and analysis of future salary surveys, ensuring that they are performed by staff or a consultant with experience and expertise in the area of salary surveys. 10. The city should determine whether 2 January 2014 Fully employees have a vested right to Implemented longevity payments and whether it can legally reduce or discontinue the original longevity program as a means to reduce its costs. 11. To ensure accurate reporting and 2 December Not Fully payment of retirement benefits, 2014 Implemented the city should work with California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) to resolve the reported findings and observation noted in CalPERS April 2012 audit report within a reasonable period of time. 16. To better control contract 2 October 2014 Not Fully expenditures and ensure that it Implemented receives the best value for the services it purchases, the city should require that all contracts contain a well-defined scope of work and deliverables that a sufficiently detailed invoice can be measured against. 18. To better control contract 2 February 2014 Fully expenditures and ensure that it Implemented receives the best value for the services it purchases, the city should also require the finance department to review invoices to identify those that lack sufficient detail and return such invoices to the appropriate contract manager to obtain a revised invoice that is sufficiently detailed. 20. To the extent that the city 2 July 2016 Not Fully implements policies that affect Implemented contracts, the city should also ensure that it reviews all current contracts and amends them, if necessary, to comply with newly established policies. 21. To improve its internal controls, 2 February 2014 Fully better control costs, and prevent Implemented abuse from occurring, the city should require the finance department to review credit card expenditures for appropriateness. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 55 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 22. To improve its internal controls, 2 December Fully better control costs, and prevent 2013 Implemented abuse from occurring, the city should revise its travel and expense reimbursement policy to be clear about the expenditure limits for meals, and add a limit for lodging accommodations. 27. To address the structural deficit in 2 July 2015 Not Fully its general fund, the city should Implemented seek long-term solutions to balance the general fund’s expenditures and revenues and lessen its reliance on transfers from other city funds. These solutions could include revenue increases, such as the proposed increased and new parcel tax, as well as looking for ways to reduce expenditures. 28. The city should clearly present the 2 July 2015 Not Fully general fund structural deficit to Implemented the city council and the public in a budget that includes narrative and summary information to help users understand the city’s budget process and its priorities and challenges, and that incorporates the elements for improved budgeting practices recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). 29. To better guide its budget 2 February 2014 Fully preparation and improve Implemented transparency, the city should develop budget policies, particularly for long-term planning, that incorporate the elements that the GFOA recommends and make these policies available to the public on its Web site. 31. The city should improve the 2 February 2014 Fully monitoring of expenditures Implemented against the approved budget by establishing a centralized process to regularly monitor and report to the city administrator and the city council on the status of the budget. 32. To ensure that it issues debt when 2 February 2014 Fully doing so is in the best interests of Implemented the city and is consistent with its long-term financial goals, the city should establish a comprehensive debt policy that includes the elements that the GFOA recommends and make the debt policy it establishes available on its Web site. continued on next page . . . 56 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 33. To ensure that the city council 2 February 2014 Fully and public are well informed Implemented regarding proposed debt decisions, the city should provide summary information that clearly explains the costs, risks, and benefits related to the proposed decisions in its agenda packets, and should provide these in advance on its Web site. 34. To ensure that it can demonstrate 2 July 2015 Not Fully sufficient analysis and provide Implemented justification for its decisions on significant energy-related transactions, the city should develop an integrated energy strategy that examines all elements of its energy needs, sources, and objectives. 35. To ensure that it can demonstrate 2 * Not Fully  sufficient analysis and provide Implemented justification for its decisions on significant energy-related transactions, the city should create a formal process and guidelines that include the following: identifying the benefits and risks of proposed transactions, quantifying the benefits and risks of proposed transactions, evaluating and comparing proposed transactions against alternative proposals, quantifying the impact of proposed transactions on short-term and long-term rates paid by the city’s energy customers, seeking an independent validation of the fair market value of proposed transactions, and documenting and communicating the findings of the evaluation process to the city council. 36. If the city plans to continue to rely 2 August 2013 Fully on the advice of its consultants Implemented when entering significant energy-related transactions, it should develop a process for the consultants to provide written documentation that would enable the city to satisfy the process and guidelines outlined in the previous two recommendations. 37. To minimize the continuing 2 February 2014 Fully financial losses on the two currently Implemented outstanding interest rate swaps, the city should develop a clear process for deciding how it will terminate these swaps based on the cost and future risk to the city. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 57 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 38. To ensure that any future decisions 2 * Not Fully  to enter into interest rate swaps are Implemented carefully considered, the city should develop and follow a process that thoroughly analyzes the risks and benefits of the potential swap transaction. 39. To ensure that any future decisions 2 * Not Fully  to enter into interest rate swaps are Implemented carefully considered, the city should specifically disallow the use of derivatives for speculative purposes and should require the retention of the documents and analyses that support the decision to enter into the swap. Humboldt County Indian Gaming Special 2. To help ensure that they meet the 2 Will Not Will Not N Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implement Implement Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. 10. To help ensure that they meet the 2 July 2012 Fully grant requirements established in Implemented the Government Code, counties should more rigorously review applications that are to be administered and spent by an entity other than the local government that applies for the funds. Specifically, benefit committees should require that each grant application clearly show how the grant will mitigate the impact of the casino on the applicant agency. Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services Los Angeles County 2. To ensure that child abuse and 2 Fall 2015 Not Fully Department of Children neglect allegations receive timely Implemented and Family Services: resolution, the department Management Instability should assess whether it needs Hampered Efforts to Better to permanently allocate more Protect Children resources to investigate allegations 2011-101.2 (March 2012) of child abuse and neglect. continued on next page . . . 58 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. To ensure that it is placing children 2 Will Not Will Not only in safe homes, the department Implement Implement should measure its performance and adjust its practices to adhere to state law, which requires that all homes be assessed prior to the placement of the child. 5. To improve its process for 2 Will Not Will Not placing children with a relative, Implement Implement the department should analyze the best practices used by other county child welfare services agencies for such placements. The department should then implement changes in its practices so that relatives and their homes are approved prior to placement, as required by state law. 7. To fully benefit from its death 2 March 2014 Fully review process, the department Implemented should implement the resulting recommendations. Los Angeles Unified School District School Safety and 3. To ensure that it is effectively 1 November Fully Nondiscrimination Laws: preventing and addressing 2014 Implemented P Most Local Educational incidents of discrimination, Agencies Do Not Evaluate harassment, intimidation, and the Effectiveness of bullying in its schools, Los Angeles Their Programs, and the Unified should monitor school sites State Should Exercise Stronger Leadership to ensure that they implement 2012-108 (August 2013) school safety programs. 4. To ensure that it is effectively 1 November Fully preventing and addressing 2014 Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Los Angeles Unified should measure the effectiveness of its school safety programs at both the district and school site levels. 5. To ensure that it is effectively 1 * Not Fully  preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Los Angeles Unified should ensure that school sites evaluate the effectiveness of the programs they choose to implement. 6. To ensure that it is effectively 1 * Not Fully  preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Los Angeles Unified should resolve complaints within 60 calendar days regardless of the complaint process selected. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 59 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Riverside County Indian Gaming Special 3. To help ensure that they meet the 2 Unknown Not Fully N Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implemented Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. Sacramento City Unified School District School Safety and 8. To ensure that it is effectively 1 June 2015 Not Fully Nondiscrimination Laws: preventing and addressing Implemented P Most Local Educational incidents of discrimination, Agencies Do Not Evaluate harassment, intimidation, and the Effectiveness of bullying in its schools, Sacramento Their Programs, and the City Unified should ensure State Should Exercise Stronger Leadership that school site staff complete 2012-108 (August 2013) the training required under its anti-bullying policy. 10. To ensure that it is effectively 1 December Not Fully preventing and addressing 2014 Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Sacramento City Unified should measure the effectiveness of its school safety programs at both the district and school site levels. 11. To ensure that it is effectively 1 August 2014 Fully preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Sacramento City Unified should ensure the impartial resolution of complaints by not assigning the investigation to site administrators or other staff specifically named in the complaint. 13. To ensure that it is effectively 1 October 2014 Not Fully preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Sacramento City Unified should update its policies and procedures to calculate the state-mandated time limit for resolving complaints in accordance with state regulations. continued on next page . . . 60 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To ensure that it is effectively 1 August 2014 Fully preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Sacramento City Unified should resolve complaints within 60 calendar days regardless of the complaint process selected. 15. To ensure that it is effectively 1 * Not Fully  preventing and addressing Implemented incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying in its schools, Sacramento City Unified should ensure that school sites follow the complaint procedures established in its policies. Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Salinas Valley Memorial 5. To help reduce its operating costs 2 October 2015 Not Fully Healthcare System: Increased and improve its overall financial Implemented Transparency and Stronger situation, the Health Care System Controls Are Necessary as should continue to try to modify It Focuses on Improving Its its employee benefits, such as paid Financial Situation time off, so they are aligned with 2011-113 (March 2012) industry practice. San Diego County Indian Gaming Special 4. To help ensure that they meet the 2 Will Not Will Not N Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implement Implement Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. Probationers’ Domestic 16. Los Angeles County, San Diego 2 August 2014 Fully Violence Payments: County, San Diego Court, and Implemented Improved Processes for Santa Clara County should Managing and Distributing improve protocols for reviewing These Payments Could statutes that affect collection and Increase Support for distribution practices so that future Local Shelters 2011-121 (September 2012) changes can be acted upon. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 61 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Santa Barbara County Indian Gaming Special 5. To help ensure that they meet the 2 Will Not Will Not Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implement Implement N Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. 26. To help ensure that they meet the 2 January 2012 Fully grant requirements established in Implemented the Government Code, counties should require benefit committee filing officers to avail themselves of the free training provided by the FPPC so that the filing officers are aware of and meet their responsibilities under the political reform act. Counties should also adhere to FPPC guidelines for notifying filers of the need to submit statements of economic interests. 29. To help ensure that they meet the 2 December Fully grant requirements established in 2013 Implemented the Government Code, counties should ensure that benefit committees’ conflict-of-interest codes comply with the political reform act by reviewing the act and their codes, and changing the codes as necessary to meet the act’s requirements. Santa Clara County Mental Health Department Mental Health Services Act: 20. Santa Clara County should review 1 July 2014 Fully Q The State’s Oversight Has its existing MHSA contracts and by Implemented Provided Little Assurance of December 31, 2013, or as soon as is the Act’s Effectiveness, and feasible, amend them as necessary Some Counties Can Improve to include plan goals. Measurement of Their Program Performance 21. Santa Clara County should 1 November Not Fully 2012-122 (August 2013) ensure that all MHSA invoices 2014 Implemented are adequately supported with information that demonstrates that MHSA services were provided. continued on next page . . . 62 California State Auditor Report 2014-041 January 2015 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT AUDITEE DID NOT NUMBER OF YEARS ACTUAL/ SUBSTANTIATE AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED ITS CLAIM ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, APPEARED IN THIS DATE OF OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION ANNUAL REPORT COMPLETION STATUS IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Shasta County Indian Gaming Special 6. To help ensure that they meet the 2 June 2015 Not Fully Distribution Fund: Local grant requirements established in Implemented N Governments Continue to the Government Code, counties Have Difficulty Justifying should require that the county Distribution Fund Grants auditor review each grant 2010-036 (February 2011) application to ensure a rigorous analysis of a casino’s impact and of the proportion of funding for the project provided by the grant. Benefit committees should consider a grant application only when the county auditor certifies that the applicant has quantified the impact of the casino and verifies that the grant funds requested will be proportional to the casino’s impact. 14. To help ensure that they meet the 2 January 2012 Fully grant requirements established in Implemented the Government Code, counties should more rigorously review applications that are to be administered and spent by an entity other than the local government that applies for the funds. Specifically, benefit committees should require that each grant application clearly show how the grant will mitigate the impact of the casino on the applicant agency. 30. To help ensure that they meet the 2 June 2015 Not Fully grant requirements established in Implemented the Government Code, counties should ensure that benefit committees’ conflict-of-interest codes comply with the political reform act by reviewing the act and their codes, and changing the codes as necessary to meet the act’s requirements. * Contrary to the California State Auditor’s determination, the auditee believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. California State Auditor Report 2014-041 63 January 2015 IMPLEMENTATION OF CHAPTER 452, STATUTES OF 2006 (SB 1452) The Accountability Act requires state agencies audited or investigated by the state auditor to provide updates on their implementation of audit recommendations. The state auditor’s long standing practice, which is consistent with generally accepted government auditing standards, is to request audited entities to provide written updates on their implementing audit recommendations 60 days, six months, and one year after the audit report’s public release date. For investigative reports, state law requires state agencies that are the subject of an investigation to provide updates on their implementation of recommendations within 60 days of receiving the report and monthly thereafter until the agency has taken final action. As the state auditor implemented the Accountability Act, it retained these prescribed time frames as the intervals at which agencies must report back on their implementation of audit recommendations. As a courtesy, in May 2007, the state auditor notified all state agencies of their responsibilities under the Accountability Act and the state auditor’s plans for implementing these requirements. In September 2007 the state auditor provided written notice to relevant state agencies regarding recommendations issued since January 1, 2005, that were more than a year old and not fully implemented. The state auditor made this determination using the agencies’ one year responses. The state auditor requested that each of the affected agencies notify the state auditor as to whether the agency had fully implemented the recommendation, planned to begin or continue implementation within 90 days and the estimated date of completion, or did not intend to implement the recommendation and the reasons for making that decision. Following this process, on January 16, 2008, the state auditor published its first report on the status of recommendations that are more than a year old and not yet fully implemented. EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT In fall 2014 the state auditor provided written notice to audited and investigated entities regarding recommendations that were more than a year old and not fully implemented related to reports issued from November 2007 through October 2013. Table 1, which appears on pages 5 through 8, shows recommendations that were not fully implemented as of the agencies’ latest responses. The recommendations shown in Table 1 will not be reassessed by the state auditor in subsequent reports because of the length of time these recommendations have been outstanding. Table 2, which appears on pages 9 through 43, summarizes and provides information on recommendations that the state auditor determined have not been fully implemented. Table 3, beginning on page 45, summarizes information on recommendations that have been fully implemented since last year’s report or since the agencies’ one year responses. Finally, Table 4, beginning on page 51, summarizes all recommendations more than one year old made to nonstate entities from January 2011 to October 2013 and their current implementation status. Additional information on each recommendation is available at the state auditor’s Web site. The Web site includes each agency’s response to the current status of outstanding recommendations. The Web site also includes the audit or investigative report and summary, the text of the recommendation, and the state auditor’s assessment of whether the agency has fully implemented the recommendation, based on the agency’s response, supporting documentation, and inquiries.