Status of Recommendations

Recommendations Not Fully Implemented After One Year The Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 January 2019 REPORT 2018-041 CALIFORNIA STATE AUDITOR 621 Capitol Mall, Suite 1200 | Sacramento | CA | 95814 916.445.0255 | TTY 916.445.0033 For complaints of state employee misconduct, contact us through the Whistleblower Hotline: 1.800.952.5665 Don’t want to miss any of our reports? Subscribe to our email list at auditor.ca.gov For questions regarding the contents of this report, please contact Margarita Fernández, Chief of Public Affairs, at 916.445.0255 This report is also available online at www.auditor.ca.gov | Alternate format reports available upon request | Permission is granted to reproduce reports Elaine M. Howle State Auditor January 10, 2019 2018‑041 Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders: Consistent with the Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 (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 2011 through October 2017, our office issued 227 reports on audits and investigations of state agencies. Those reports included 1,715 recommendations, and state agencies had fully implemented 1,434, or 84 percent, of them, as of October 2018. However, we identified 281 unaddressed recommendations that were more than one year old. Similarly, we issued 74 reports to nonstate entities, such as counties or school districts. Those reports included 700 recommendations and as of October 2018, the nonstate entities had implemented 596, or 85 percent, of them. In addition to identifying which recommendations have and have not been fully implemented, the State Auditor’s website contains written responses from each state agency explaining the status of each recommendation. For recommendations that have not been fully implemented, the website also provides agency responses regarding when or if these recommendations will be fully implemented. Our audit and investigative efforts bring the greatest return when agencies act upon the findings and recommendations. For example, in December 2016, we released an audit of the Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) enforcement program. That audit found that BRN did not meet the Department of Consumer Affairs’ 18-month goal for processing complaints, and that some complaints that involved high-priority allegations, such as patient death, harm, or criminal activity, had been waiting, on average, nearly 80 days to be assigned to one of BRN’s investigators. Consequently, BRN risked patient safety through delays that allow some nurses who may pose a safety risk to continue practicing. As of October 2018, BRN had fully implemented 14 of our 23 recommendations designed specifically to promote patient safety. BRN is working to implement nearly all of the remaining recommendations and, by doing so, BRN will prioritize patient safety by more effectively processing complaints, thus preventing nurses who may pose a risk to patients from practicing. If you would like more information about any of the background or recommendations in this report, please contact Margarita Fernández, Chief of Public Affairs, at (916) 445-0255. Respectfully submitted, ELAINE M. HOWLE, CPA California 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 2018-041 v January 2019 Contents Introduction 1 Table 1 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than Five Years Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented 5 Table 2 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented 7 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented 49 vi California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 1 January 2019 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 audited entities. 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 implementation of 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 reports, 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 on their implementation of audit recommendations. The State Auditor first notified all state agencies of their responsibilities under the Accountability Act and the State Auditor’s plans for implementing these requirements in May 2007. Since that time, the State Auditor has annually provided a reminder to relevant state agencies regarding recommendations issued that were more than a year old and not fully implemented. RESULTS IN BRIEF State Entities From November 2011 through October 2017, the State Auditor issued 227 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 1,715 recommendations to the audited state agencies in those reports, of which 1,434 have been fully implemented. However, the State Auditor identified 281 recommendations made to 40 agencies that had been outstanding at least one year and remain not fully implemented as of October 2018.2 Nonstate Entities From November 2011 through October 2017, the State Auditor issued 74 reports that included nonstate entities, and made 700 recommendations to these entities. As of October 2018, the State Auditor identified 104 recommendations issued to 32 nonstate entities that are more than one year old and not fully implemented. 1 Excludes the statewide single audit (financial and federal compliance audits), which is mandated as a condition of California receiving federal funding. The State Auditor follows up and reports on the recommendations made in those audits 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. Those recommendations are included in a separate report to the Legislature. 2 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 Importance of Implementing Recommendations The State Auditor’s audit and investigative efforts bring the greatest return when agencies act upon its findings and recommendations. For example, in December 2016, the State Auditor released an audit concerning the Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) enforcement program. The State Auditor found that BRN did not meet the Department of Consumer Affairs’ 18-month goal for processing complaints, and that some complaints that involved high-priority allegations, such as patient death, harm, or criminal activity, had been waiting, on average, nearly 80 days to be assigned to one of BRN’s investigators. Consequently, BRN risked patient safety through delays that allow some nurses who may pose a safety risk to continue practicing. As of October 2018, BRN fully implemented 14 of 23 recommendations made by the State Auditor, and specifically designed to promote patient safety. Additionally, BRN is working to fully implement nearly all of the remaining recommendations. By implementing all of the State Auditor’s recommendations, BRN will prioritize patient safety by more effectively processing complaints, thus preventing nurses, who may pose a risk to patients, from practicing. In October 2018, the State Auditor mailed notices to audited and investigated entities regarding recommendations more than a year old and not fully implemented, corresponding to reports issued from November 2011 through October 2017. The tables beginning on page 5 summarize and provide information on recommendations issued between November 2011 and October 2017. Table 1 shows recommendations more than five years old, issued between November 2011 and October 2012, which have not been fully implemented as of the agencies’ latest response. Because the recommendations shown in Table 1 are more than five years old, they will not be reassessed by the State Auditor in subsequent reports. Table 2, beginning on page 7, summarizes recommendations that have not been fully implemented for audits and investigations pertaining to state entities, issued between November 2012 and October 2017. 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 49, summarizes 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 2018-041 3 January 2019 Index Reference for Reports Featuring Recommendations to Multiple Entities REPORT ENTITIES WITH RECOMMENDATIONS State Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 2 A 2012-110 California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, California Natural Resources Agency, Department of Motor Vehicles B 2013-109 California Public Utilities Commission, Public Advocates Office C 2013-124 University of California; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles D 2014-116 California Department of Technology, Department of Consumer Affairs E 2015-131 California Department of Social Services, Department of Health Care Services, Medical Board of California F 2016-126 California Department of Justice, California Department of Social Services G 2016-130 University of California; University of California, Board of Regents Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 3 H 2013-036 Butte County, County of San Diego I 2014-132 Hesperia Water District, Victorville Water District J 2015-115 County of Alameda, County of Santa Clara K 2015-134 City of Novato, City of Pasadena L 2016-036 County of Fresno, County of San Diego M 2016-141 Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District, Antelope Valley Union High School District, New Jerusalem Elementary School District State and Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Tables 2 and 3 N 2015-112 California Department of Education, East Side Union High School District, Long Beach Unified School District O 2015-130 California Department of Justice, Los Angeles Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office P 2016-112 California Department of Education, Commission on Teacher Credentialing, San Juan Unified School District Q 2016-136 California Department of Education, California Department of Justice, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools R 2016-139 California Department of Education, San Francisco Unified School District, Stockton Unified School District S 2017-107 Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Secretary of State's Office Additional information on each recommendation is available at the State Auditor’s website. The website includes each agency’s response to the current status of outstanding recommendations. The website 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. 4 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 5 January 2019 Table 1 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than Five Years Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2011 Through October 2012) NUMBER OF YEARS RECOMMENDATION REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, HOUSING Physical Therapy Board of California Physical Therapy Board of California: 1. The physical therapy board should explore the feasibility of 6 Will Not Although It Can Make Improvements, establishing a state position to perform the duties of its current Implement It Generally Processes Complaints in‑house consultant at a reduced cost. and Monitors Conflict-of-Interest Requirements Appropriately 2011-119 (June 2012) CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION Board of State and Community Corrections Juvenile Justice Realignment: Limited 5. To maximize the usefulness of the information it makes available to 6 Will Not Information Prevents a Meaningful Assessment stakeholders and to increase accountability, the board should consider Implement of Realignment’s Effectiveness verifying the counties’ data by conducting regular site visits on a 2011-129 (September 2012) rotating basis or by employing other procedures to verify data that counties submit.. 12. To ensure that counties do not maintain excessive balances of 6 Will Not unexpended block grant funds, the board should develop procedures Implement to monitor counties’ unspent funds and follow up with them if the balances become unreasonable. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Department of General Services Department of General Services: The Division 1. To ensure public safety and provide public assurance that school 6 Will Not of the State Architect Lacks Enforcement districts construct projects in accordance with approved plans, the Implement Authority and Has Weak Oversight Procedures, department, in conjunction with the division, should pursue legislative Increasing the Risk That School Construction changes to the Field Act that would prohibit occupancy in cases in Projects May Be Unsafe which the division has identified significant safety concerns. 2011-116.1 (December 2011) HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Department of Health Care Services Intellectual Property: An Effective Policy Would 4. Caltrans, the Energy Commission, Food and Agriculture, and Health 6 January 2019 Educate State Agencies and Take Into Account Care Services should put in writing those policies and procedures How Their Functions and Property Differ related to intellectual property that they believe are necessary and 2011-106 (November 2011) appropriate to enable their staff to identify, manage, and protect their intellectual property. LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services California’s Mutual Aid System: The California 1. To make certain that emergency response agencies receive 6 December 2019 Emergency Management Agency Should reimbursements on time, Cal EMA should establish procedures to Administer the Reimbursement Process ensure that paying entities do not delay reimbursements. More Effectively 2011-103 (January 2012) TRANSPORTATION California High‑Speed Rail Authority High-Speed Rail Authority Follow-Up: Although 3. To avert possible legal challenges, the Authority should ensure that 6 Will Not the Authority Addressed Some of Our Prior the independent peer review panel adheres to the Bagley‑Keene Implement Concerns, Its Funding Situation Has Become Open Meeting Act or seek a formal opinion from the Office of the Increasingly Risky and the Authority’s Weak Attorney General regarding whether the panel is subject to this act. Oversight Persists 2011-504 (January 2012) 6 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 7 January 2019 Table 2 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2012 Through October 2017) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, HOUSING Board of Registered Nursing Board of Registered Nursing: 5. To ensure that BRN resolves complaints regarding 1 †  Significant Delays and nurses in a timely manner, by March 1, 2017, it Inadequate Oversight of the should develop and implement formal policies Complaint Resolution Process that specify required time frames for each key Have Allowed Some Nurses stage of the complaint resolution process, Who May Pose a Risk to Patient Safety to Continue Practicing including time frames for how quickly complaints should be assigned to the proper investigative 2016-046 (December 2016) unit or expert witness, and how long the investigation process should take. BRN should also work with DOI to establish a reasonable goal for the length of time DOI’s investigators take to conduct investigations of complaints referred to it by BRN. 8. To increase its pool of expert witnesses, by 1 †  June 2017, BRN should develop and implement a process to track the effectiveness of the methods it uses to recruit expert witnesses, and then focus its efforts on those methods that prove to be the most successful. 10. To increase its pool of expert witnesses, by 1 Will Not June 2017, BRN should take the steps necessary to Implement increase the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses. 11. To ensure it does not risk compromising 1 †  private and confidential information related to ongoing investigations of complaints, BRN should immediately ensure that any email correspondence it has with expert witnesses is transmitted securely. 12. To ensure that it is able to accurately monitor the 1 Spring 2019 performance of its complaint resolution process and that it has accurate data to address its staffing needs, BRN should immediately begin working with Consumer Affairs to implement cost‑effective input controls for BreEZe that will require BRN staff members to enter information into a complaint record in a way that is consistent with BRN’s business processes, as well as to implement changes that would cause BreEZe to accurately identify the order in which activities occur. 13. To ensure that it is able to accurately monitor the 1 Undetermined performance of its complaint resolution process and that it has accurate data to address its staffing needs, once it has implemented cost‑effective input controls for BreEZe and accumulated six months of data, BRN should analyze these data to determine whether its staffing is sufficient to meet its workload. continued on next page . . . 8 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To ensure that BRN and DOI consistently conduct 1 †  adequate investigations and obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence to discipline nurses accused of violating the Nursing Practice Act if warranted, BRN in collaboration with Consumer Affairs should implement a mechanism by March 2017 to track and monitor supplemental investigation requests that result from investigators’ failure to obtain required documentation or sufficient evidence and use this information to mitigate the causes of these failures. 20. To ensure that its enforcement unit employees 1 †  appropriately address and process complaints in a consistent and efficient manner, BRN should implement a formal training program no later than December 2017. In developing this program, BRN should consult with DOI and the Attorney General to identify training that could benefit its enforcement staff, and also solicit input of its enforcement staff on areas of their job duties where they believe they need additional training. 26. To ensure that it promptly and appropriately sends 1 †  notifications to complainants as state law requires, by March 2017, BRN should establish formal procedures, such as managers performing routine audits of complaint files, to monitor incoming complaints and final dispositions. California State Athletic Commission State Athletic Commission: 7. To ensure that it adequately tracks critical information 5 October 2023 Its Ongoing Administrative related to its basic functions and mission, the Struggles Call Its Future commission should work with Consumer Affairs to Into Question ensure that the new online program will meet its 2012-117 (March 2013) needs and requirements. Once the program is in place, the commission should use it as its central means for tracking its operations. 9. To ensure that it accurately collects revenue, 5 Will Not the commission should calculate the pension Implement 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 5 December 2019 that describe its process for determining its ticket assessment for the Neurological Examination Account so that it avoids the use of underground regulations. Department of Consumer Affairs California Department of 17. To the extent that Consumer Affairs chooses 3 TBD D Consumer Affairs’ BreEZe to implement BreEZe at the phase 3 regulatory System: Inadequate entities, it should first complete a formal Planning and Oversight Led cost‑benefit analysis to ensure that BreEZe to Implementation at Far is a cost‑effective solution to meet these Fewer Regulatory Entities at a Significantly Higher Cost regulatory entities’ business needs. To make certain this analysis is complete, it should 2014-116 (February 2015) include an assessment of the potential changes these regulatory entities may require to be made of the BreEZe system and the associated costs. Consumer Affairs should complete the cost‑benefit analysis before investing any more resources into the implementation of BreEZe at the phase 3 regulatory entities, and it should update this analysis periodically as significant assumptions change. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 9 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 35. To ensure that future training for BreEZe system 3 TBD rollouts is timely and effective, Consumer Affairs should provide training on the BreEZe system as close to the rollout date as possible to ensure that staff retain the information for using the system as it is implemented. 36. To ensure that future training for BreEZe system 3 TBD rollouts is timely and effective, Consumer Affairs should work with the regulatory entities to develop training that is specific to each entity’s business processes. Medical Board of California California’s Foster Care System: 35. Following the completion of the analysis 2 Undetermined E The State and Counties Have (described in Recommendation 34), the Medical Failed to Adequately Oversee Board should take the appropriate follow‑up the Prescription of Psychotropic actions that it deems necessary, including the Medications to Children in investigation of physicians identified in its analysis. Foster Care 2015-131 (August 2016) CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION California Correctional Health Care Services Sterilization of Female 5. To ensure that it can better monitor how its 3 Will Not Inmates: Some Inmates medical staff and contractors adhere to the Implement Were Sterilized Unlawfully, informed consent requirements of California Code and Safeguards Designed of Regulations, sections 70707.1 through 70707.7 to Limit Occurrences of the (Title 22), the Receiver’s Office should develop a Procedure Failed plan by August 2014 to implement a process by 2013-120 (June 2014) December 2014 that would include working with Corrections to establish a process whereby inmates can have witnesses of their choice when consenting to sterilization, as required by Title 22, or working to revise such requirements so that there is an appropriate balance between the need for secure custody and the inmate’s ability to have a witness of her choice. 11. To ensure that inmates receive only medical 3 December 2019 services that are authorized through its utilization management process, the Receiver’s Office should ensure that the computer system it procures includes functionality to electronically link medical scheduling with authorization through the utilization management process to prevent all unauthorized procedures, regardless of whether they may result in sterilization, from being scheduled. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Department of 4. Adjust current employees’ leave balances in the 5 October 2019 Corrections and Rehabilitation leave accounting system to correct any improper and California Correctional charging of leave identified by the audit. Health Care Services: Both Agencies Wasted State 6. In instances where the audit has determined that 5 March 2020 Resources by Improperly an employee’s leave balance was mischarged Accounting for Leave Taken by but the employee subsequently departed state Their Employees I2010-1045 (June 2013)‡ 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. California Department of 2. Corrections should immediately require mental 1 †  Corrections and Rehabilitation: health staff to score 100 percent on risk evaluation It Must Increase Its Efforts audits in order to pass. If a staff member does to Prevent and Respond to not pass, Corrections should require the prison to Inmate Suicides follow its current policies by reviewing additional 2016-131 (August 2017) risk evaluations to determine whether the staff member needs to undergo additional mentoring. continued on next page . . . 10 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To monitor prisons’ compliance with its 1 September 2018 requirement that inmates in crisis beds receive daily progress notes, Corrections should implement monitoring of these notes electronically into its audit process by the time the electronic health record system is in use systemwide in October 2017. Corrections should require prisons that are out of compliance to develop and implement quality improvement plans, and it should follow up on the prisons’ implementation of those plans. 11. To address the unique circumstances that may 1 December 2018 increase its female inmates’ rates of suicide and suicide attempts, Corrections should continue to explore additional programs that could address the suicide risk factors for female inmates. 12. To ensure that all prison staff receive required 1 September 2018 training related to suicide prevention and response, Corrections should immediately implement a process for identifying prisons where staff are not attending required trainings and for working with the prisons to solve the issues preventing attendance. 13. To ensure that trainers and risk evaluation mentors 1 August 2018 at all prisons are able to train staff effectively, Corrections should immediately begin requiring prisons to report the percentage of their trainers and mentors who have received training on how to conduct training and mentoring. It should work with prisons to ensure that all trainers and mentors receive adequate training. 14. To maximize the value of its trainings related to 1 January 2019 suicide prevention and response, Corrections should ensure that starting in January 2018, its trainings include all content that the special master and its own policies require. 15. To ensure that it has enough staff to provide 1 August 2018 mental health services to all inmates who require care, Corrections should review and revise its mental health staffing model by August 2018. 16. To ensure that prisons comply with its policies 1 November 2018 related to suicide prevention and response, Corrections should continue to develop its audit process and implement it at all prisons by February 2018. The process should include, but not be limited to, audits of the quality of prisons’ risk evaluations and treatment plans. 17. To ensure that prisons can easily access 1 December 2019 Corrections’ current policies related to mental health, Corrections should ensure that its program guide is current and complete as it works to incorporate the program guide into regulations. Corrections should immediately begin working with federal court monitors to draft regulations. 18. To ensure that suicide prevention teams meet 1 †  quorum requirements, Corrections should, starting January 2018, work with prisons that consistently fail to achieve a quorum to resolve issues that may be preventing the teams from having all required members present at meetings. 21. To provide the public and relevant stakeholders 1 August 2018 with accurate information on suicides and suicide attempts in its prisons, Corrections should immediately require prison staff to work with mental health staff to reconcile any discrepancies on suicides and suicide attempts before submitting numbers to the COMPSTAT unit. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 11 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Investigations of Improper 19. Corrections and Correctional Health Care should 3 March 2019 Activities by State Agencies run a query of exempt positions related to the and Employees chief psychologist classification, such as clinical I2015-1 (August 2015)‡ psychologists and senior psychologists, to determine whether any other exempt employees were improperly credited or paid for on‑call or call‑back assignments prior to December 2014, and seek recovery through reducing those employees’ accumulated leave balances. Investigations of Improper 15. CDCR should revise the Institutional Worker 1 November 2018 Activities by State Agencies Supervision Pay (IWSP) procedure to require and Employees: Misuse that personnel staff review and ensure that an of Resources, Inaccurate employee’s direct supervisor signs the qualifying Attendance Records, Disclosure employee’s timesheets and IWSP documents of Confidential Information, and Improper Payments each month. I2017-1 (March 2017)‡ 17. CDCR should enforce its current procedure to 1 January 2019 retain IWSP documentation. 18. CDCR should enforce its current procedure for 1 January 2019 personnel staff to conduct annual audits of the IWSP program. 19. CDCR should train all employees, supervisors, and 1 May 2019 personnel staff who receive, approve, or issue the extra pay to ensure that they are familiar with the requirements of the IWSP procedure and Pay Differential 67. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery California Department of 2. To ensure it can demonstrate that its fraud 3 June 2020 Resources Recycling and prevention efforts are maximizing financial Recovery: The Beverage recoveries for the beverage program, CalRecycle Container Recycling Program should both modify and annually update its fraud Continues to Face Deficits and management plan to include the following: Requires Changes to Become Financially Sustainable • By December 31, 2014, formally establish a 2014-110 (November 2014) systematic process for analyzing, monitoring, and responding to the risk of fraudulent recycling of out‑of‑state beverage containers. • Develop fraud estimates—by type of fraudulent activity—that quantify the potential financial losses to the beverage program and the methodology CalRecycle used to develop these estimates. • Identify the amount of actual fraud in the prior year by type of fraudulent activity, such as the financial losses resulting from the redemption of out‑of‑state beverage containers or the falsification of reports used to substantiate program payments. • Identify the amount actually recovered for the beverage program in the form of cash for restitution and penalties resulting from fraud. 3. To allow for public input and to prevent any 3 December 2019 legal challenges claiming that its policies and procedures regarding prepayment holds constitute unenforceable underground regulations, CalRecycle should adopt these policies and procedures as regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. continued on next page . . . 12 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION State Water Resources Control Board Investigations of Improper 1. Take appropriate corrective action against the 2 Undetermined Activities by State Agencies district engineer and the supervisors for their and Employees: Conflict participation in or failure to address the conflict of Interest, Violation of of interest. Post-Employment Ethics Restrictions, Waste of State Funds, Misuse of State Resources, and Incompatible Activities I2016-2 (August 2016)‡ GENERAL GOVERNMENT California Department of Veterans Affairs California Department of 5. To better utilize unused space at the veterans 5 December 2019 Veterans Affairs: It Has Initiated homes, and to serve more veterans within legal Plans to Serve Veterans Better restrictions, CalVet should use the information and More Cost-Efficiently, in the Yountville veterans home master plan but Further Improvements to develop a plan for using unused space at Are Needed that home to generate revenue and/or serve 2012-119 (May 2013) more veterans. 11. To ensure it is maximizing its ability to serve 5 December 2019 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. 15. To allow for public input and to prevent any legal 5 January 2020 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. 17. To more effectively and efficiently meet state 5 December 2019 purchasing and procurement requirements, 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 Public Utilities Commission California Public Utilities 2. The commission should determine the cause of 5 December 2018 Commission: Despite its lack of compliance with state law requiring it to Administrative Weaknesses, issue award decisions within 75 days of the date It Has Generally Awarded an intervenor submits a compensation claim, and Compensation to Intervenors it should determine what actions to take to rectify in Accordance With State Law the problem. The commission should ensure 2012-118 (July 2013) that it has sufficient 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. 5. To comply fully with state law, the commission 5 †   should conduct a comprehensive market rate study and update it periodically. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 13 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Public Utilities 14. The commission should follow the requirement 4 July 2020 B Commission: Improved in state law to inspect and audit the accounting Monitoring of Balancing records of utilities it regulates within required time Accounts Would Better Ensure frames. If the commission chooses to continue to That Utility Rates Are Fair meet this requirement through the general rate and Reasonable case process, it should ensure that all utilities file 2013-109 (March 2014) a general rate case on a regular schedule so as to comply with the state law’s audit requirement. However, the commission should follow alternate methods to comply with the audit requirement when a utility will not be filing for its general rate case in time to be audited within three or five years, depending on the timing of the required audit for that utility. California Public Utilities 2. To ensure that it resolves complaints against 4 †  Commission: It Fails to passenger carriers in a timely manner, the Adequately Ensure Consumers’ commission should establish a method for Transportation Safety and prioritizing complaints and it should implement Does Not Appropriately a policy specifying the maximum amount of Collect and Spend Fees From Passenger Carriers time between the receipt of a complaint and the completion of the subsequent investigation. 2013-130 (June 2014) Further, the commission should require branch management to monitor and report regularly on its performance in meeting that policy. 6. To ensure that the branch conducts thorough 4 †  investigations of passenger carriers, the commission should implement a formal training program to ensure that all investigators have adequate knowledge and skills related to regulating passenger carriers. 9. To ensure that passenger carriers submit 4 December 2018 accurate fee payments, the commission should require its fiscal staff to implement a process to verify passenger carrier fee payments and associated revenue. 10. To ensure that it complies with state law and 4 †  uses passenger carrier fees appropriately, the commission should implement a process to ensure that passenger carrier fee revenues more closely match related enforcement costs. 12. To detect and deter carriers from operating 4 †  illegally at airports, the branch should use as intended the five positions added for passenger carrier enforcement at airports. If the branch chooses not to designate five positions solely for this purpose, then it must be prepared to demonstrate regularly that an equivalent number of full‑time positions are working on this activity. 13. To strengthen its leadership and ensure 4 February 2019 passenger carrier and public safety, the branch should produce a draft strategic plan by December 31, 2014, with a final strategic plan completed as the commission specifies. The strategic plan should include goals for the program; strategies for achieving those goals, including strategies for staff development and training; and performance measures to assess goal achievement. continued on next page . . . 14 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Public Utilities 3. To ensure that policy makers, enforcement 3 July 2019 Commission: It Needs to officials, and the general public have access to Improve the Quality of Its accurate consumer complaint data in its Computer Consumer Complaint Data Information Management System (CIMS), the and the Controls Over Its branch should continue to implement its quality Information Systems management team program component focused 2014-120 (April 2015) on reviewing the categorization of complaints and correcting identified errors. 4. To ensure that policy makers, enforcement 3 July 2019 officials, and the general public have access to accurate consumer complaint data in CIMS, the branch should develop and implement tools by September 30, 2015, to measure the quality management team program’s effectiveness. 11. The commission should ensure that it complies with 3 October 2019 all policy requirements in the State Administrative Manual Chapter 5300 no later than April 2016. 13. As part of developing, implementing, and 3 †   maintaining an entitywide information security program, the commission should develop a risk management and privacy plan and conduct an assessment of risks facing its information assets. 16. The commission should revise its existing recovery 3 October 2019 plan to include a list of applications supporting critical business functions, their maximum acceptable outage time frames, and detailed recovery strategies for each application. 17. The commission should revise its existing recovery 3 October 2019 plan to include detailed procedures for rebuilding its technology infrastructure at an alternate processing site. 18. The commission should conduct regular tests and 3 †  exercises to assess the sufficiency of the revised recovery plan and refine the plan when necessary. California Public Utilities 2. To ensure that the choice of a vendor is sufficiently 2 Will Not Commission: It Should justified and that the vendor represents the best Implement Reform Its Rules to value, the CPUC should explain in its final decision Increase Transparency and how the vendor was the most qualified in all cases Accountability, and Its when the CPUC does not competitively select the Contracting Practices Do Not Align With Requirements or vendor it directs utilities to contract with. Best Practices 4. To avoid the appearance of inappropriate 2 †   2016-104 (September 2016) relationships, the CPUC should adopt a policy to prohibit commissioners from accepting gifts from regulated utilities and energy companies and free travel from organizations with significant ties to regulated utilities and other parties with financial interests in CPUC proceedings. 6. To ensure that its contracting practices align with 2 October 2019 state requirements and best practices, the CPUC should update, distribute, and follow its contracting procedures manual. The manual should identify specific responsibilities for both contracts office staff and project managers, and it should provide specific guidance about the processes the CPUC will employ to do the following: • Fully justify civil service exemptions. • Conduct market research for exempt contracts. • Fully support the need for additional funding • Ensure that it does not change the scope of work too significantly from the original • Monitor contractor performance against criteria included in its contracts. • Avoid sole‑source contracts when it is able to solicit competitive bids for services. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 15 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that its contracting practices align with 2 †   state requirements and best practices, the CPUC should provide immediate refresher training to its contract analysts and contracts office manager, and establish a regular schedule of annual training for them to attend. 8. To ensure that its contracting practices align with 2 October 2019 state requirements and best practices, the CPUC should designate a limited number of project managers for each division at the CPUC, and provide those individuals with training on the CPUC’s processes related to contracting, including how to monitor progress of a contractor’s work. 10. The CPUC should update its general policy on 2 October 2019 responding to California Public Records Act requests so that the policy aligns with state law. 13. The CPUC should update its regulations to require 2 Will Not parties joining a proceeding by filing a protest Implement or response to an application or petition, or by filing comments in response to a rulemaking proceeding to fully disclose their interests in the proceeding. 15. The CPUC should update and follow its retention 2 †  policy for economic interest disclosures so that it is aligned with state law. California’s Alternative Energy 3. To show how air pollution emissions reductions 3 †  and Efficiency Initiatives: related to the solar initiative benefit the State, the Two Programs Are Meeting commission should include in future reports the Some Goals, but Several measurable benefits of those reductions. Improvements Are Needed 2014-124 (February 2015) Public Advocates Office§ California Public Utilities 7. To further its mission to obtain the lowest 4 Will Not B Commission: Improved possible rates for reliable and safe utility service Implement Monitoring of Balancing for ratepayers through its reviews of balancing Accounts Would Better Ensure accounts, Ratepayer Advocates should use the That Utility Rates Are Fair commission’s list of balancing accounts to guide and Reasonable its selection of the number, size, and type of 2013-109 (March 2014) balancing accounts to review so that its review coverage is more proportional across all utilities. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS California Department of Technology California Department of 14. To ensure that Information Technology (IT) 3 †  D Consumer Affairs’ BreEZe projects have the oversight needed to better System: Inadequate position them for success, Technology should Planning and Oversight Led develop thresholds relating to IT project cost to Implementation at Far increases and schedule delays to inform and Fewer Regulatory Entities at a Significantly Higher Cost better justify its decision to allow an IT project to continue. If a department’s IT project reaches 2014-116 (February 2015) or exceeds these thresholds, Technology should require the department to conduct a cost‑benefit analysis for the project and include this analysis in a Consumer Affairs Special Project Report (SPR). Technology should consider the results of this analysis in its decision to approve or deny the SPR and, if warranted, take action to suspend or terminate the project so that it does not allow projects with significant problems to continue without correction. continued on next page . . . 16 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of 14. Although Technology indicated that its intent is 2 †  Veterans Affairs: The State Paid not to outsource its statutory responsibility for Nearly $28 Million for a Flawed Independent Project Oversight (IPO), in any instances System That Fails to Meet the where its staff conduct a portfolio review of a Needs of Its Veterans Homes project’s IPO, Technology should, by December 2016, 2015-121 (June 2016) establish a process for its review of documents created by the agency’s IPO contractor that includes verifying whether these reports include critical analysis of project progress and vendor performance so it can intervene when necessary. High Risk Update—California 6. To help ensure the independence and objectivity 3 †  Department of Technology: of IPO analysts working in the oversight Lack of Guidance, Potentially and consulting division, Technology should Conflicting Roles, and Staffing provide regular training regarding maintaining Issues Continue to Make independence while conducting project oversight. Oversight of State Information Technology Projects High Risk 2014-602 (March 2015) Department of General Services California Department of 2. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective 2 December 2018 General Services’ Real Estate delivery of projects, the division, in its planned Services Division: To Better implementation of its new project management Serve Its Client Agencies, It system in July 2017, should ensure that the project Needs to Track and Analyze management system can centrally track and extract Project Data and Improve Its Management Practices all data regarding project status, including time delays, cost overages, and the reasons for each. 2015-117 (March 2016) 3. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective 2 December 2018 delivery of projects, the division, in its planned implementation of its new project management system in July 2017, should track the reasons that projects are pending to identify its true backlog of projects. In doing so, it should develop a process to follow up on those projects that are pending to ensure that they are not on hold unnecessarily and are appropriately moving forward. 4. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective 2 December 2018 delivery of projects, the division, in its planned implementation of its new project management system in July 2017, should, at least annually, use the centrally tracked data to identify common themes in the causes for project delays and cost overages and develop solutions to address these issues. Further, it should report the results of its review to General Services’ executive management. 5. Until the division implements its planned 2 Will Not project management system, it should, by Implement September 2016, develop a process to, at a minimum, identify project status and reasons for project delays as well as cost overages. Using these data, the division should modify its project management processes to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects. 6. The division should develop and implement a 2 †  process for preparing reasonable time frames and cost estimates for its projects within the building management branch. To better inform the development of this process, the division should evaluate the branch’s structure, which should include a staffing analysis, to determine whether it is effectively organized and whether it should add cost estimator positions. 7. To ensure that client agencies are paying equitable 2 †  rates, by December 2016 General Services should develop and implement a strategy for allocating its administrative costs equally among all the projects it completes for client agencies, including those portions outsourced to private firms. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 17 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure that the project management branch 2 †  charges its client agencies a competitive hourly rate, by December 2016 and every two years thereafter, the division should conduct a rate analysis that fully accounts for differences between the project management branch’s rate and private firms’ rates. If it finds that the rates are not competitive, the division should identify and implement strategies to ensure that the project management branch’s rates are as competitive as they can be with those of its private firm counterparts. Further, the division should explore and implement any other reasonable methods to ensure that it is delivering projects as cost effectively as possible. 10. To improve its communication with client 2 December 2018 agencies, the division should develop a process for providing periodic detailed bills and invoices to client agencies clearly describing the work for which it is charging. 11. To effectively evaluate the performance of its 2 †  branches in delivering projects, the division should develop meaningful goals and objectives and a method of measuring its success in achieving them as part of its strategic plan that is focused on ensuring that projects are delivered on time and within budgeted cost estimates. 12. To ensure that its project management staff are 2 †  adequately trained and have the information necessary to deliver projects as efficiently and effectively as possible, the division should conduct a comprehensive survey every other year of all of its client agencies to inform necessary improvements to its processes and training program and, in the interest of transparency, make the survey results public. Department of General 3. To improve its oversight of the State’s 1 Will Not Services and California noncompetitive contracts, General Services Implement Department of Technology: should, within 90 days, create plans for regularly Neither Entity Has Provided performing statewide analyses to identify the Oversight Necessary to potential abuse or overuse of noncompetitive Ensure That State Agencies Consistently Use the contracts. These analyses should include, but Competitive Bidding Process not be limited to, calculating the proportional 2016-124 (June 2017) value and number of the State’s competitive and noncompetitive contracts and amendments, examining trends in agencies’ use of noncompetitive contracts and amendments, and identifying unusual patterns among vendors receiving state contracts through noncompetitive means. HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES California Department of Public Health California Department of Public 2. To increase its efforts to prevent and control 3 Will Not Health: Even With a Recent diabetes, Public Health should develop a process Implement Increase in Federal Funding, Its for identifying and applying for federal funding Efforts to Prevent Diabetes Are opportunities, including routinely and proactively Focused on a Limited Number searching for grants. In addition, Public Health of Counties should seek funding for a grants specialist position 2014-113 (January 2015) to identify and apply for federal and other grants. continued on next page . . . 18 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Public 3. To protect the health, safety, and well‑being 4 Will Not Health: It Has Not Effectively of residents in long‑term health care facilities, Implement Managed Investigations of Public Health should improve its oversight of Complaints Related to Long- complaint processing. Specifically, by May 1, 2015, Term Health Care Facilities Public Health should establish a specific time 2014-111 (October 2014) frame for completing facility‑related complaint investigations and entity‑reported incidents (ERI) investigations and inform staff of the expectation that they will meet the time frame. Public Health should also require district offices to provide adequate, documented justification whenever they fail to meet this time frame. 4. To protect the health, safety, and well‑being of 4 Will Not residents in long‑term health care facilities, Public Implement Health should improve its oversight of complaint processing. Specifically, by May 1, 2015, Public Health should develop formal written policies and procedures for the Professional Certification Branch (PCB) to process complaints about certified individuals in a timely manner. These policies and procedures should include specific time frames for prioritizing and assigning complaints to investigators, for initiating investigations, and for completing the investigations. Public Health should also inform staff of the expectation that they will meet these time frames. It should require PCB to provide adequate, documented justification whenever PCB fails to meet the time frames. 8. To protect the residents in long‑term health care 4 †  facilities from potential harm, Public Health should ensure that its district offices have adequate staffing levels for its licensing and certification responsibilities, including staffing levels that allow prompt investigations of complaints. Specifically, Public Health should continue working with CalHR to complete the reclassification of district offices’ investigator supervisor and manager positions and then quickly fill the vacant positions at district offices. 12. To ensure that its district offices properly 4 †   investigate complaints and ERIs, Public Health should make certain that all district offices follow procedures requiring supervisory review and approval of complaint and ERI investigations. If the district offices do not have a sufficient number of supervisors to review investigations they did not conduct, Public Health should arrange to assist the districts until such time that they do have a sufficient number of supervisors. 14. To ensure that it has closed complaints and ERIs 4 †   appropriately, Public Health should take steps by April 2015 to verify that complaints that its field operations branch closed administratively were closed appropriately. For example, it could request the district offices to verify that the closures were appropriate. Developmental Centers: 18. To improve its enforcement, each year Public 5 July 2020 Poor-Quality Investigations, Health should evaluate the effectiveness of its Outdated Policies, Leadership enforcement system across all types of health and Staffing Problems, and facilities, including those in developmental centers, Untimely Licensing Reviews prepare the required annual report, and, if called for, Put Residents at Risk recommend legislation to improve the enforcement 2012-107 (July 2013) system and enhance the quality of care. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 19 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Follow-Up—California 8. To ensure it can provide effective oversight of 3 December 2018 Department of Public Health: labs as state law requires, Laboratory Services Laboratory Field Services Is should address staffing issues by preparing and Unable to Oversee Clinical resubmitting to Public Health a recruitment Laboratories Effectively, but a and retention proposal, developing a succession Feasible Alternative Exists plan, and taking necessary steps to implement its 2015-507 (September 2015) planned reorganization. 9. To ensure it can provide effective oversight of labs 3 December 2018 as state law requires, Laboratory Services should ensure that its information technology data systems have necessary safeguards, contain accurate and complete data, and support its program needs. 10. To ensure it can provide effective oversight of labs 3 June 2020 as state law requires, Laboratory Services should update and develop its regulations as necessary to ensure consistency with existing state law. California Department of Social Services California Department of 5. To ensure that it more effectively shares, receives, 1 June 2019 F Social Services: Its Caregiver and uses administrative action information, Social Background Check Bureau Services should develop and maintain a centralized Lacks Criminal History database containing its own administrative actions Information It Needs to Protect and those received from other state departments, Vulnerable Populations in Licensed Care Facilities in order to share this information among these departments as required by state law. Social 2016-126 (March 2017) Services should seek funding if it believes additional resources are necessary. 10. To ensure that Social Services evaluates the risk 1 †  individuals may pose to vulnerable populations in its licensed care facilities as quickly as possible, by July 2017 Social Services should establish time frames for staff to evaluate individuals who are present in their facilities and who have received administrative actions from other departments. In addition, it should monitor and follow up with the appropriate staff regarding the status of their assessments of these individuals and their final decisions. 13. To comply with state law and better protect 1 Will Not vulnerable populations in California’s licensed Implement care facilities, Social Services should immediately change its policy to require that its exemption analysts evaluate all infraction convictions, other than minor traffic violations, before granting exemptions to individuals. If Social Services believes it is not feasible to evaluate all of these convictions, it should report to the Legislature by June 2017 how it ensures that vulnerable populations are not at risk and should request that the Legislature change the law to eliminate infraction convictions as a crime category that Social Services must evaluate in order to grant an exemption. 16. Until the Legislature requires that Social Services 1 December 2019 receive both California and federal criminal history information before issuing a clearance or processing an exemption, to better protect vulnerable populations, Social Services should immediately revise its policy to require its regional offices to obtain all self‑disclosure forms for individuals who submit fingerprints to Justice as part of an application to be present in a licensed facility. The regional offices should then forward to the Caregiver Background Check Bureau (CBCB) all self‑disclosure forms that identify a conviction. continued on next page . . . 20 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 17. Until the Legislature requires that Social Services 1 †  receive both California and federal criminal history information before issuing a clearance or processing an exemption, to better protect vulnerable populations, Social Services should immediately change its practice of allowing individuals who have not submitted a self‑ disclosure form to Social Services to have access to licensed facilities, thus reflecting the requirements of state law. In addition, the CBCB should develop a process to ensure that individuals cannot receive a clearance or an exemption without the CBCB first receiving both California and federal criminal history information if a regional office does not have a self‑disclosure form for the individual. 26. To ensure that regional offices pursue legal actions 1 †  in a timely manner, by July 2017 Social Services’ headquarters should identify a resource—such as a unit—to monitor and follow up with the regional offices regarding the status of their legal actions related to substantiated address matches of registered sex offenders at licensed facilities. California’s Foster Care System: 30. To improve the oversight of psychotropic 1 Spring 2018 E The State and Counties Have medications prescribed to foster children, Social Failed to Adequately Oversee Services should collaborate with the counties the Prescription of Psychotropic and other relevant stakeholders—including Medications to Children in Health Care Services, as necessary—to develop Foster Care and implement a reasonable oversight structure 2015-131 (August 2016) that ensures the coordination of the State’s and counties’ various oversight mechanisms as well as the accuracy and completeness of the information in Social Services’ data system. This structure should include at least the following items: • Identification of the specific oversight responsibilities to be performed by the various state and local government agencies. • An agreement on how county staff such as social workers, probation officers, and public health nurses will use printed Health and Education Passports to obtain foster children’s necessary mental health information— including psychotropic medications and psychosocial services—for inclusion in Social Services’ data system. • A plan to ensure that counties have sufficient staff available to enter foster children’s mental health information into Social Services’ data system and the resources to pay for those staff. • An agreement on the specific information related to psychotropic medication— including but not limited to the medication name, maximum daily dosage, and court authorization date—and psychosocial services and medication follow‑up appointment information that county staff must enter into Social Services’ data system for inclusion in foster children’s Health and Education Passports. • Specific directions from Social Services regarding the correct medication start dates and court authorization dates counties should include in its data system and foster children’s Health and Education Passports. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 21 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION • An agreement on the training or guidance Social Services should provide to county staff members working with Social Services’ data system to ensure that they know how to completely and accurately update foster children’s Health and Education Passports. • An agreement on how the counties will use information on the new authorization forms that the Judicial Council approved to better oversee the prescription of psychotropic medications to foster children. • An agreement regarding how counties will implement, use, or disseminate the educational and informational materials the Quality Improvement Project has produced, including the California Guidelines for the Use of Psychotropic Medication with Children and Youth in Foster Care, Questions to Ask About Medications, and the Foster Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights. • An agreement on the specific measures and the best available sources of data the State and counties will use to oversee foster children prescribed psychotropic medications, including psychosocial services and medication follow‑up appointments. • An agreement on how the State and counties will oversee psychotropic medications prescribed to foster children by fee‑for‑service providers who are not affiliated with county Medi‑Cal mental health plans. • An agreement on the extent of information related to psychotropic medications prescribed to foster children that counties will include in the self‑assessments, system improvement plans, and annual progress reports they develop as part of Social Services’ California Child and Family Services Reviews. • An agreement on the extent of the information related to psychotropic medications prescribed to foster children that counties will include in their responses to Health Care Services’ reviews, including its county Medi‑Cal mental health plan compliance reviews and external quality reviews. Child Welfare Services: The 40. To promote continued improvement in the Child 3 May 2019 County Child Welfare Services Welfare Services (CWS) system, Social Services Agencies We Reviewed Must should encourage each county CWS agency to Provide Better Protection for designate personnel to update regularly their Abused and Neglected Children policies and procedures, to include a detailed 2013-110 (April 2014) description of the need for ongoing supervisory reviews of key aspects of their respective service processes and incorporate that description into their policies and procedures, and to designate personnel to perform regular quality assurance reviews. 41. To promote continued improvement in the CWS 3 March 2019 system, Social Services should ask each county CWS agency to report to Social Services on the status of these efforts within 60 days, six months, and one year from the publication of this audit report. continued on next page . . . 22 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Follow-Up—California 4. To ensure that counties’ use of foster family 2 February 2019 Department of Social Services: agency placements is justified, Social Although Making Progress, It Services should take action to implement the Could Do More to Ensure the recommendation we previously made in our 2011 Protection and Appropriate audit. Specifically, Social Services should require Placement of Foster Children counties to give licensed foster homes a higher 2015-502 (July 2015) priority than foster family agencies for children that do not have identified treatment needs. 5. To ensure that counties’ use of foster family 2 Will Not agency placements is justified, Social Implement Services should take action to implement the recommendation we previously made in our 2011 audit. Specifically, Social Services should require counties to prepare a detailed justification for any child placed with a foster family agency. Follow-Up—California 4. To ensure that all counties consistently gauge the 3 June 2019 Department of Social cost‑effectiveness of their early fraud detection Services: It Has Not Corrected activities and ongoing investigation efforts for the Previously Recognized California Work Opportunities and Responsibilities Deficiencies in Its Oversight to Kids (CalWORKs) and CalFresh programs, Social of Counties’ Antifraud Efforts for the CalWORKs and Services should develop a formula to regularly CalFresh Programs perform a cost‑effectiveness analysis using 2015-503 (June 2015) information that the counties currently submit. Specifically, this formula should measure the savings that a county achieves for each dollar spent on antifraud efforts. 5. To ensure that all counties consistently gauge the 3 June 2019 cost‑effectiveness of their early fraud detection activities and ongoing investigation efforts for the California Work Opportunities and Responsibilities to Kids (CalWORKs) and CalFresh programs, Social Services should develop a formula to regularly perform a cost‑effectiveness analysis using information that the counties currently submit. Specifically, this formula should measure the savings that a county achieves for each dollar spent on antifraud efforts. 6. To make certain that counties receive the greatest 3 June 2019 benefit from the resources they spend on antifraud efforts related to CalWORKs and CalFresh cases, Social Services should seek to replicate the most cost‑effective practices among all counties. Social Services should work with its legal counsel to determine whether to withhold information about these practices from public disclosure. 7. Social Services should track counties’ prosecution 3 Will Not thresholds for welfare fraud cases and determine Implement whether they affect counties’ decisions to investigate potential fraud, with a focus on determining best practices and cost‑effective thresholds. If Social Services’ analysis determines that varying prosecution thresholds do affect counties’ decisions, it should then work with counties to implement the consistent use of these cost‑effective prosecution thresholds. 9. To make certain that counties receive the greatest 3 June 2019 benefit from the resources they spend on antifraud efforts related to CalWORKs and CalFresh cases, Social Services should address and promptly act on the four remaining recommendations that its steering committee provided in 2008. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 23 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To make counties’ review of match lists more 3 June 2019 efficient, Social Services should revive its efforts to work with the state and federal agencies that prepare the match lists to address the counties’ concerns about match list formats, content, and criteria. In-Home Supportive Services: 2. To reduce the likelihood of inadvertent errors on 1 Will Not The State Could Do More to replacement timesheets, Social Services should Implement Help Providers Avoid Future create functionality within Case Management Payment Delays Information and Payrolling System (CMIPS II) to 2016-128 (March 2017) allow replacement timesheets to be printed with data that had been submitted correctly on the original timesheet. Social Services should develop a plan by August 2017 that outlines actions, such as assessing the cost and seeking funding from the Legislature if necessary, that will be taken to create the functionality. 10. To enable it to track whether EDD is meeting its 1 †   contractual time frame for printing and mailing timesheets, Social Services should either modify its current agreement or require in the renewal of its agreement a method for tracking the time required to print and mail timesheets. Social Services should also perform monthly reviews of the activities performed by EDD and SCO to ensure compliance with the time frames for each agreement. Additionally, Social Services should implement a process to regularly test EDD and SCO processes to ensure that they are within the required time frames. 13. Until state law is changed to facilitate providers’ 1 Will Not efforts to report their time and to reduce the Implement potential for providers to be inadvertently suspended from the IHSS program, Social Services should inform providers of the weekly maximum number of service hours for each variation in the length of the month, rather than using a standard conversion that results in providers claiming more hours than their recipients are authorized. 14. If the Legislature amends state law as we 1 Will Not recommend, Social Services should modify Implement the timesheet format to incorporate the weekly authorization for services and the new two‑workweek pay period. Social Services should also reconfigure its timesheet to require that all information be entered on one side of the document, including the signatures of the provider and recipient. Department of Developmental Services California Department of 2. To ensure timelier fee assessments, 3 Will Not Developmental Services: Its Developmental Services should hold regional Implement Process for Assessing Fees centers accountable for providing the monthly Paid by Parents of Children placement reports and copies of information Living in Residential Facilities letters required by state regulations. To encourage Is Woefully Inefficient and Inconsistent compliance, Developmental Services should specify in its regional center contracts that 2014-118 (January 2015) noncompliant regional centers will pay financial penalties equal to the amount of revenue lost because of their inaction. 24 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Developmental 4. To ensure that regional centers are aware of the 2 January 2019 Services: It Cannot Verify benefits, including cost savings to the State that That Vendor Rates for can be realized by using financial management In-Home Respite Services Are service (FMS) vendors, DDS should formally Appropriate and That Regional communicate to regional centers regarding Centers and Vendors Meet Applicable Requirements the model. 2016-108 (October 2016) 5. To ensure that in‑home respite vendors are 2 Will Not providing quality services and that vendors are Implement adhering to state requirements, DDS should issue regulations requiring regional centers to conduct periodic and ongoing reviews of vendors’ programs, employees, and consumer records. 6. To ensure that in‑home respite vendors comply 2 January 2019 with vendor requirements on an ongoing basis, DDS should require the regional centers to develop a process to conduct biennial reviews of the vendor files the regional centers maintain and document the outcome of the review in the files. DDS should require the regional centers to take appropriate action to ensure that vendors comply, up to and including terminating the vendorization, if necessary. 7. To ensure that it is providing oversight 2 December 2019 in accordance with state law and federal requirements, DDS should ensure that it performs audits of each regional center every two years as required. In conducting these audits, DDS should consistently include a review of in‑home respite services. Department of Health Care Services California Department of 3. To ensure that Managed Health Care reaches 2 †  Health Care Services: Improved accurate conclusions during its quarterly Monitoring of Medi-Cal assessments of the adequacy of provider Managed Care Health Plans networks, Health Care Services should establish by Is Necessary to Better Ensure September 2015 a process to verify the accuracy of Access to Care the provider network data it receives from health 2014-134 (June 2015) plans and forwards to Managed Health Care. For example, Health Care Services could verify, for a sample of physicians claimed as part of the health plans’ provider networks, that health plans have current written agreements with the providers. 4. To improve the accuracy of provider directories, by 2 †   December 2015 Health Care Services should revise its processes for monitoring health plans’ provider directories. Specifically, Health Care Services should review how each health plan updates and verifies the accuracy of the directory. In addition, Health Care Services should identify best practices and require the plans to adopt those practices. 6. If Health Care Services finds significant errors 2 Undetermined in a health plan’s provider directory, it should work with that health plan to identify reasons for the inaccuracies and require the health plan to develop processes to eliminate the inaccuracies. 10. To ensure that Health Care Services complies 2 Will Not with state law, it should increase its oversight Implement of Managed Health Care to ensure that it completes the quarterly assessments required under the agreements. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 25 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of 1. To ensure that it provides claiming units with 3 Will Not Health Care Services: It Should reasonable opportunities to address concerns Implement Improve Its Administration with its decisions or actions, Health Care Services and Oversight of School-Based should, within three months, begin preparing Medi-Cal Programs regulations to establish and implement a formal 2014-130 (August 2015) appeals process that allows claiming units to directly appeal Health Care Services’ decisions. 2. To ensure that it provides claiming units with 3 Will Not reasonable opportunities to address concerns Implement with its decisions or actions, Health Care Services should, within three months, inform all stakeholders, including claiming units, of the existence of this appeals process. 3. Until the Legislature implements our 3 September 2019 recommendation in Chapter 2, Health Care Services should immediately resolve weaknesses in its oversight of local educational consortia and local governmental agencies to ensure that these entities sufficiently meet their responsibilities under the administrative activities program and meet the terms of their contracts with Health Care Services. Health Care Services should update its site review and desk review procedures to include the following steps: * A risk‑based approach to selecting entities for review. * Verification that local educational consortia and local governmental agencies are adequately meeting the oversight and administrative responsibilities described in their contracts with Health Care Services. * Verification that contracts between local educational consortia or local governmental agencies and their claiming units do not include provisions that could result in disallowed costs, such as allowing Health Care Services’ participation fee to be included in the claim calculations. * Examination of local educational consortia and local governmental agencies’ records to ensure that: – Costs they claim for federal reimbursement are necessary and reasonable. – The entities are not inappropriately earning a profit based on the fees they collect from claiming units. – The coding performed by local educational consortia that charge claiming units a percentage of their federal reimbursement is reasonably accurate. 4. Until the Legislature implements our 3 †  recommendation in Chapter 2, Health Care Services should immediately resolve weaknesses in its oversight of local educational consortia and local governmental agencies to ensure that these entities sufficiently meet their responsibilities under the administrative activities program and meet the terms of their contracts with Health Care Services. Health Care Services should complete the oversight reviews for at least three high‑risk local educational consortia or local governmental agencies by December 31, 2015, and post the results to its website. continued on next page . . . 26 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. Until the Legislature implements our 3 September 2019 recommendation in Chapter 2, Health Care Services should immediately resolve weaknesses in its oversight of local educational consortia and local governmental agencies to ensure that these entities sufficiently meet their responsibilities under the administrative activities program and meet the terms of their contracts with Health Care Services. Health Care Services should complete the oversight reviews for any remaining high‑risk local educational consortia or local governmental agencies by June 30, 2016, and post the results to its website. 8. To minimize the risk that claiming units could 3 †  include unallowable costs when calculating their reimbursement claims, Health Care Services should remind all local educational consortia and local governmental agencies that contracts with their claiming units should prohibit claiming units from seeking federal reimbursement of Health Care Services’ participation fee. 10. To streamline the organizational structure of its 3 Will Not administrative activities program and to improve Implement the program’s cost‑effectiveness, Health Care Services should implement a single statewide quarterly random moment time survey and develop and implement a plan to take over responsibility for conducting quarterly time surveys and performing related activities as soon as reasonably possible. 11. To streamline the organizational structure of its 3 July 2024 administrative activities program and to improve the program’s cost‑effectiveness, Health Care Services should implement a single statewide quarterly random moment time survey and develop and issue a request for proposals to identify a responsible vendor to assist in implementing a statewide quarterly random moment time survey. 12. To streamline the organizational structure of its 3 August 2020 administrative activities program and to improve the program’s cost‑effectiveness, Heath Care Services should implement a single statewide quarterly random moment time survey and draft revisions to regulations as appropriate and to applicable documents, including the manual, oversight strategies and plans, and policy and procedure letters. 13. To the extent that local educational consortia 3 Will Not and local governmental agencies are no longer Implement involved in the administrative activities program, Health Care Services should develop and issue a standard contract for claiming units to sign to participate in the program. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 27 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 17. To better maximize federal reimbursements for 3 †  the administrative activities program, Health Care Services should, within six months, develop and implement a method to oversee and track the outreach efforts that local educational consortia and local governmental agencies use for ensuring that nonparticipating claiming units understand the benefits and consider participating in the administrative activities program. 21. To provide the public with the ability to 3 August 2020 participate fully in developing the rules governing the administrative activities program, Health Care Services should, in accordance with California’s Administrative Procedure Act, immediately develop and adopt the regulations cited in the four subdivisions of Section 14132.47 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. California Department of 20. To prevent the certification of ineligible providers, 4 †  Health Care Services: Its Failure Health Care Services should immediately establish to Properly Administer the a mechanism to identify the number of program Drug Medi-Cal Treatment sites the provider applicants’ medical directors Program Created Opportunities work at, and ensure that the physician ratio does for Fraud not exceed 1‑to‑3 in accordance with state law 2013-119 (August 2014) and the certification standards. California Department 4. To ensure that child beneficiaries throughout 3 July 2019 of Health Care Services: California can reasonably access dental services Weaknesses in Its Medi-Cal under Medi‑Cal and to increase child beneficiary Dental Program Limit utilization and provider participation, Health Children’s Access to Dental Care Care Services should take the following steps for 2013-125 (December 2014) the fee‑for‑service delivery system by May 2015: immediately take action to resolve any declining trends identified during its monitoring efforts. 5. To help increase the number of providers 3 December 2018 participating in the program’s fee‑for‑service delivery system, Health Care Services should improve its identification and implementation of changes that minimize or simplify administrative processes for providers. These changes should include revising its processes pertaining to dental procedures that require radiographs or photographs. 7. To ensure that the influx of beneficiaries resulting 3 July 2019 from recent changes to federal and state law is able to access Medi‑Cal's dental services, Health Care Services should immediately take action to resolve any declining trends identified during its monitoring efforts. 19. To ensure that it reports in the U.S. Department of 3 †   Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) an accurate number of child beneficiaries who received specific types of dental services from the centers and clinics, Health Care Services should continue working on a solution to capture the details necessary to identify the specific dental services rendered. continued on next page . . . 28 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 20. To make certain that it meets the requirements 3 Will Not of the new state law and that its performance Implement measures are accurate, Health Care Services should establish the provider‑to‑beneficiary ratio statewide and by county as performance measures designed to evaluate access and availability of dental services and include this measure in its October 2015 report to the Legislature. 23. To ensure that Health Care Services and its fiscal 3 June 2019 intermediaries reimburse providers only for services rendered to eligible beneficiaries, Health Care Services should obtain Social Security's Death Master File and update monthly its beneficiary eligibility system with death information. 24. To ensure that Health Care Services and its 3 †  fiscal intermediaries reimburse providers only for services rendered to eligible beneficiaries, Health Care Services should coordinate with the appropriate fiscal intermediaries to recover inappropriate payments made for services purportedly rendered to deceased beneficiaries, if necessary. California's Foster Care System: 33. To increase the State's assurance that foster 2 †  E The State and Counties Have children do not receive medically inappropriate Failed to Adequately Oversee or unnecessary psychotropic medications, Health the Prescription of Psychotropic Care Services should devise and implement Medications to Children in within six months methods to better enforce its Foster Care prior authorization requirement for the off‑label 2015-131 (August 2016) use of psychotropic medications. For example, Health Care Services should revise its claims system to automatically prompt pharmacists to submit treatment authorization requests when filling prescriptions for Medi‑Cal beneficiaries under age 18 when the prescribed psychotropic medications have no FDA‑approved pediatric uses. Furthermore, as part of its collaboration with Social Services and the counties to develop and implement a reasonable oversight structure, Health Care Services should determine whether information from the Judicial Council's revised court authorization forms would help it better enforce its prior authorization requirements. Mental Health Services Act: 2. To ensure that it monitors counties to the 5 January 2019 The State’s Oversight Has fullest extent as the Mental Health Services Act Provided Little Assurance of (MHSA) specifies and that it implements best the Act’s Effectiveness, and practices, Health Care Services should conduct Some Counties Can Improve comprehensive on‑site reviews of county MHSA Measurement of Their Program Performance programs, including verifying county compliance with MHSA requirements. 2012-122 (August 2013) 3. To ensure that counties have the needed guidance 5 Summer 2019 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. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 29 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. "To ensure that counties have the needed 5 June 2019 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 June 2019 June 2020 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. 18. Health Care Services should develop standardized 5 December 2020 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 5 January 2019 stakeholder regulations, Health Care Services 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. Department of State Hospitals ll California Department of State 3. To promote consistency and ensure that it 3 March 2020 Hospitals: It Could Increase the provides sufficient guidance to evaluators, Consistency of Its Evaluations State Hospitals should update its assessment of Sex Offenders by Improving protocol by March 2016 to include more specific Its Assessment Protocol instructions on how to conduct evaluations, such and Training as what assessment instruments evaluators may 2014-125 (March 2015) use and what documents they should consider. State Hospitals should also develop a timeline for periodically reviewing and making any necessary updates to the assessment protocol. 4. To comply with state law, State Hospitals should 3 March 2020 ensure that it follows the Administrative Procedure Act for future changes to its standardized assessment protocol. HIGHER EDUCATION The California State University California State University: 3. To improve the oversight of CSU's management 1 January 2020 Stronger Oversight Is personnel, the Chancellor's Office should work Needed for Hiring and with campuses, bargaining unit representatives, Compensating Management the Public Employment Relations Board, and Personnel and for Monitoring others as necessary to come to an agreement on Campus Budgets the appropriate classification of coaches. The 2016-122 (April 2017) Chancellor's Office should take into account the concerns that San Diego State has raised about the labor market for these employees. continued on next page . . . 30 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. The Chancellor's Office should finish developing 1 December 2022 the Common Human Resources System and implement it as scheduled by December 2019. 11. Once it receives the results of its consultant's study 1 January 2020 on executive compensation, the Chancellor's Office should collaborate as soon as possible with interested parties, such as the LAO, to develop methodologies for future compensation comparisons that consider total compensation. University of California Sexual Harassment and Sexual 49. The Office of the President should clarify in the 4 July 2019 C Violence: California Universities UC policies that a complainant must have and Must Better Protect Students be informed about the right to end the early by Doing More to Prevent, resolution process at any time and request that his Respond to, and Resolve or her complaint be handled under the university's Incidents formal process. 2013-124 (June 2014) 51. The Office of the President should clarify in the 4 July 2019 UC policies that if university officials approve an extension to an investigative timeline, the extension should be restricted to a single extension of no more than 30 days, except in limited circumstances that are beyond the university's control. The University of California 4. To determine the amount of money that it can 1 †  G Office of the President: It Failed reallocate to campuses and to ensure that it to Disclose Tens of Millions in publicly presents comprehensive and accurate Surplus Funds, and Its Budget budget information, by April 2018 the Office of Practices Are Misleading the President should develop a reserve policy that 2016-130 (April 2017) governs how large its reserves should be and the purposes for which they can be used. 5. To determine the amount of money that it can 1 †  reallocate to campuses and to ensure that it publicly presents comprehensive and accurate budget information, by April 2018 the Office of the President should implement our recommended budget presentation shown in Figure 11 on page 40. Specifically, the Office of the President’s budget presentation to the regents should include a comparison of its proposed budget to its actual expenditures for the previous year. It should also include all its expenditures and identify changes to the discretionary and restricted reserves. The Office of the President should combine both the disclosed and undisclosed budgets into one budget presentation. The University of California 8. To ensure that the university achieves its goals 1 †  Office of the President: It of obtaining services at the lowest cost or best Has Not Adequately Ensured value and of providing vendors with fair access Compliance With Its Employee to contracting opportunities, the Office of the Displacement and Services President should revise the university's contract Contract Policies manual to incorporate the best practices found 2016-125.1 (August 2017) in the State Contracting Manual for limiting the use of amendments to repeatedly extend existing contracts. 9. To ensure that the university achieves its goals 1 †  of obtaining services at the lowest cost or best value and of providing vendors with fair access to contracting opportunities, the Office of the President should revise the university's contract manual to narrow the exemption from competition to only selected professional services, similar to the State Contracting Manual. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 31 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 1 †  procurement initiative and to ensure that the university uses those benefits for its teaching, research, and public service missions, the Office of the President should direct all university locations to provide better documentation to substantiate actual benefits they claim related to their procurement decisions. 13. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 1 †  procurement initiative and to ensure that the university uses those benefits for its teaching, research, and public service missions, the Office of the President should revise its guidance to ensure the benefits that university locations claim result from only procurement‑related activities. 15. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 1 Spring 2019 procurement initiative and to ensure that the university uses those benefits for its teaching, research, and public service missions, the Office of the President should study ways to measure actual procurement benefits—possibly focusing this effort on benefits from larger dollar amounts— and if such measurement is not possible, it should clearly disclose to the regents and the public that the amounts it reports are based on estimates. 16. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 1 Spring 2019 procurement initiative and to ensure that the university uses those benefits for its teaching, research, and public service missions, the Office of the President should, if actual benefits are measurable, implement a process to monitor and report annually to the regents the estimated and actual benefits. The University of California: 1. To meet its commitment to California residents, 2 †  Its Admissions and Financial the university should replace its "compare Decisions Have Disadvantaged favorably" policy with a new admission standard California Resident Students for nonresident applicants that reflects the 2015-107 (March 2016) intent of the Master Plan for Higher Education in California (Master Plan). The admission standard should require campuses to admit only nonresidents with admissions credentials that place them in the upper half of the residents it admits. 2. To meet its commitment to California residents, 2 2020 – Aligned the university should amend its referral process by with UC Merced taking steps to increase the likelihood that referred 2020 Project residents ultimately enroll. 3. To ensure that campuses’ interpretations of 2 †  admission standards do not adversely impact residents, the university should implement a thorough process to annually evaluate the qualifications of students who apply and students who are admitted. These evaluations should highlight instances when campuses admit nonresidents who are less qualified than residents and should include corrective action steps. Moreover, this evaluation should include resident and nonresident undergraduate enrollment in majors at each campus. The university should make the results of this evaluation—including details of the academic qualifications of students who applied and who were admitted— publicly available. continued on next page . . . 32 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure the reasonableness of the compensation 2 June 2019 the university pays its executives, it should include—to the extent possible— all items of compensation when setting or adjusting salaries and benefits, when conducting surveys and studies, and when comparing the compensation packages of its executives to those in similar positions outside the university. 10. To improve the transparency and timeliness of its 2 Will Not annual compensation report, the university should Implement streamline the process it uses to prepare the report so it can be issued by April of each year. 12. To maximize the savings and new revenue from 2 Ongoing the Working Smarter initiative and ensure that the university uses them for its academic and research missions, the Office of the President should immediately require that the campuses fully participate in all projects unless they can provide compelling evidence demonstrating a harmful effect. 13. To maximize the savings and new revenue from 2 †  the Working Smarter initiative and ensure that the university uses them for its academic and research missions, the Office of the President should, by June 30, 2016, to the extent possible, implement a process to centrally direct these funds to ensure that campuses use them to support the core academic and research missions of the university. 14. To maximize the savings and new revenue from 2 June 2019 the Working Smarter initiative and ensure that the university uses them for its academic and research missions, the Office of the President should ensure that it substantiates that projects are actually generating savings and new revenue and that it can demonstrate how the university uses these funds. 15. To ensure that its recruiting efforts benefit 2 †  residents, the university should prioritize recruiting residents over nonresidents. In particular, the university should focus its recruiting efforts broadly to ensure that it effectively recruits resident underrepresented minorities. For example, the university could establish a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting. Further, it should develop a process to better track its nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures. 16. To determine if the campuses are using funds to 2 June 2019 further the goals of the University of California system and the Legislature, the Office of the President should begin regularly monitoring and analyzing how campuses are using both state funds and nonresident supplemental tuition. If, after the close of the fiscal year, the Office of the President determines that campuses are not using state funds and/or nonresident supplemental tuition in accordance with those goals, the Office of the President should take steps to correct the campuses' spending decisions as soon as possible. 17. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for 2 †  programs that do not directly relate to educating students, the university should track spending from state funds for programs that do not relate to educating students. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 33 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 18. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for 2 †  programs that do not directly relate to educating students, the university should reevaluate these programs each year to determine whether they continue to be necessary to fulfill the university’s mission. 19. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for 2 †  programs that do not directly relate to educating students, the university should explore whether the programs could be supported with alternate revenue sources. 22. To ensure that its rebenching efforts lead to 2 September 2020 equalized per‑student funding among the campuses, the university should adopt a methodology that it can use, at least every three to five years, to update its weighting system to ensure the weight factors take into account campuses' actual costs of instruction, using the cost study that we recommend in Chapter 1 and other revenue sources if necessary. 23. To ensure that its rebenching efforts lead to 2 Will Not equalized per‑student funding among the Implement campuses, the university should exclude from its rebenching calculation all state funding it uses for programs that do not directly relate to educating students. The university should exclude these programs only after it has evaluated them in accordance with the recommendation we made previously. University of California, Berkeley Sexual Harassment and 58. All universities should ensure that the differences 4 June 2019 E Sexual Violence: California between an informal or early resolution process Universities Must Better and a formal investigation process are clearly Protect Students by Doing explained to ensure that students know what to More to Prevent, Respond to, expect from each process. Further, they should and Resolve Incidents explain that students whose cases are being 2013-124 (June 2014) handled under an informal or early resolution process have the right to move to a formal process at any time. University of California, Board of Regents The University of California 7. To ensure the ongoing accountability of the Office 1 April 2020 G Office of the President: It Failed of the President, the regents should require it to to Disclose Tens of Millions in implement our recommendations and report Surplus Funds, and Its Budget periodically on its progress. Practices Are Misleading 2016-130 (April 2017) 9. To ensure that the Office of the President’s 1 October 2018 financial safeguards are adequate, the regents should require the Office of the President to engage in a financial audit of only the Office of the President’s operations. 14. To ensure that the Office of the President's staffing 1 April 2020 levels are justified and that costs are reasonable and align with the needs of campuses and other stakeholders, the regents should require the Office of the President to implement our recommendations and report periodically on its progress. continued on next page . . . 34 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 15. To ensure that the Office of the President is 1 April 2020 engaging in a thorough review of its systemwide and administrative costs and implementing our recommendations, the regents should develop a contract for an independent third party that can assist the regents in monitoring implementation of the three‑year corrective action plan for the Office of the President. The independent third party should have expertise in higher education, public administration, and public finance. Moreover, the independent third party should have complete access to the Office of the President's documentation and its staff so that it has sufficient and appropriate information to verify the Office of the President's actions. The independent third party should report to the regents on the Office of the President's progress, challenges, and barriers to success at least quarterly. 17. To ensure that the Office of the President is 1 April 2020 engaging in a thorough review of its systemwide and administrative costs and implementing our recommendations, the regents should require the Office of the President to implement our recommendations and report periodically on its progress in doing so. University of California, Davis University of California, 4. UC Davis should collect all late fees that its 3 †   Davis: It Has Not Identified licensees owe. Future Financing for the Strawberry Breeding Program nor Collected All Available Revenues 2014-121 (June 2015) University of California, Los Angeles Sexual Harassment and 9. To help ensure that university faculty and staff 4 January 2019 C Sexual Violence: California do not mishandle student reports of incidents, all Universities Must Better faculty and staff should receive training annually, Protect Students by Doing consistent with their role, on their obligations in More to Prevent, Respond to, responding to and reporting incidents of sexual and Resolve Incidents harassment and sexual violence. 2013-124 (June 2014) 21. All universities should provide their education 4 †  on sexual harassment and sexual violence to incoming students as close as possible to when they arrive on campus but no later than the first few weeks of their first semester or quarter. Further, universities should provide periodic refresher educational programs, at least annually, to all students on campus to ensure that they are aware of how to handle and report incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence. 59. All universities should ensure that the differences 4 June 2019 between an informal or early resolution process and a formal investigation process are clearly explained to ensure that students know what to expect from each process. Further, they should explain that students whose cases are being handled under an informal or early resolution process have the right to move to a formal process at any time. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 35 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION K – 12 EDUCATION California Department of Education California Department of 2. To demonstrate its willingness to fairly evaluate 5 Will Not Education: Despite Some regional expenditures, Education should allow Implement Improvements, Oversight of San Joaquin to reimburse its general fund for the the Migrant Education Program vehicle purchase Education incorrectly disallowed. Remains Inadequate 2012-044 (February 2013) 14. To address a lack of detailed migrant program 5 March 2019 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. California Department of 1. To strengthen its administrative reviews and 1 Will Not R Education: It Has Not Ensured help ensure that school food authorities comply Implement That School Food Authorities with the Buy American requirement, Education Comply With the Federal Buy should update its written procedures to include American Requirement a requirement that reviewers collect and retain 2016-139 (July 2017) evidence for all items they evaluate for compliance with the Buy American requirement. This update should occur no later than October 1, 2017. School Library Services: 22. To better understand the condition of school 1 Partially P Vague State Laws and a Lack libraries statewide and to raise stakeholders’ Implemented of Monitoring Allow School awareness of the State Education Board’s adopted Districts to Provide a Minimal model standards, Education should work with Level of Library Services Teacher Credentialing to assist it in identifying 2016-112 (November 2016) potential misassignments by providing staffing information reported by school districts to Teacher Credentialing by April of each academic year. 23. To better understand the condition of school 1 Will Not libraries statewide and to raise stakeholders' Implement awareness of the State Education Board's adopted model standards, Education should identify school districts that reported employing significantly fewer teacher librarians in fiscal year 2015‑16 than in previous years and verify the accuracy of their fiscal year 2015‑16 reports. School Safety and 19. To provide stronger leadership with respect 5 Will Not Nondiscrimination Laws: Most to school safety and nondiscrimination laws, Implement Local Educational Agencies Do Education, with direction from the superintendent Not Evaluate the Effectiveness of public instruction, should use data from of Their Programs, and the the kids survey and reported suspensions and State Should Exercise Stronger Leadership expulsions to evaluate the levels of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying students 2012-108 (August 2013) encounter and to determine the effectiveness of its own and the local education agency’s (LEA) efforts, and report the results to the Legislature by August 1, 2014. School Violence Prevention: 8. To ensure that districts, county offices, and schools 1 December 2019 Q School Districts, County Offices receive guidance on a variety of safety issues and of Education, and the State to comply with state law, CDE and DOJ should Must Do More to Ensure That resume their partnership activities, as required by School Safety Plans Help state law. Further, the partnership should update Protect Students and Staff During Emergencies the 2002 handbook, Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action, and distribute it to all districts 2016-136 (August 2017) and county offices. If CDE or DOJ determine the need for additional funds to implement the legislative recommendations or to reestablish the partnership's activities, they should request those funds from the Legislature. continued on next page . . . 36 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Student Mental Health 3. To ensure that all LEAs comply with federal 2 Will Not N Services: Some Students’ special education requirements, Education should Implement Services Were Affected by require them to include directly in a student’s a New State Law, and the individualized education program (IEP) document State Needs to Analyze reasons for any changes to student placement Student Outcomes and Track Service Costs or services. 2015-112 (January 2016) 8. To enable it to review additional areas of its 2 Will Not special education program for quality assurance, Implement Education should collect information about the frequency of the provision of each service contained in all students' individualized education programs (IEP). Education should then use this information to annually review the frequency of mental health services and follow up with SELPAs when it observes a significant reduction in the frequency of services. 9. To ensure that LEAs comply with federal and 2 Will Not state requirements, Education should require all Implement LEAs to use the IEP document to communicate the rationale for residential treatment and any potential harmful effects of such placement. 18. Education should analyze and report to the 2 Will Not Legislature, by May 30, 2016, on the outcomes Implement for students receiving mental health services statewide, including outcomes across the six performance indicators we identified, in order to demonstrate whether those services are effective. Once it has reported this statewide information, Education should provide each LEA throughout the State a report regarding the outcomes for the students the LEA served. 20. To ensure that the State knows the amount LEAs 2 Will Not spend to provide mental health services for Implement student IEPs, before the start of the 2017–18 fiscal year, Education should develop, and require all LEAs to follow, an accounting methodology to track and report expenditures related to special education mental health services. 29. To ensure that the State provides special 2 Will Not education and related services to all eligible Implement students, Education should investigate the difference between the estimated number of school aged children statewide who have a severe emotional disturbance and the number receiving mental health services through an IEP and determine the reason for such a discrepancy. Education should then take any steps necessary to assist LEAs in identifying and providing services to children who are severely emotionally disturbed. Uniform Complaint Procedures: 3. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 1 Will Not The California Department and appeals in a timely manner and that it Implement of Education’s Inadequate investigates and reviews all Uniform Complaint Oversight Has Led to a Lack of Procedures (UCP) complaints and appeals in Uniformity and Compliance in compliance with state law and regulations, by July the Processing of Complaints and Appeals 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central 2016-109 (January 2017) office should distribute complaints and appeals to the correct divisions for investigation or review. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 37 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. To ensure that it consistently processes 1 †  complaints and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should establish a single database to record and track all investigations of complaints and reviews of appeals. This database should capture all data necessary for Education to effectively make informed decisions related to UCP complaints or appeals. At a minimum, the database should capture the date on which Education received each complaint or appeal, the date on which it forwarded the complaint or appeal to the appropriate division for investigation or review, and the date on which it sent the decision to the complainant. The database should also include the type of complaint or appeal, the LEA involved, and the decision. 5. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 1 December 2019 and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should track the divisions' progress in processing complaints and appeals to ensure the divisions meet all UCP requirements, including documenting exceptional circumstances that constitute good cause for extending investigations beyond 60 days. 6. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 1 December 2019 and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should work with divisions to establish policies and procedures for the divisions to follow when investigating UCP complaints and reviewing appeals. The procedures should identify the individuals or units responsible for investigating complaints and reviewing appeals, the steps and time frames for conducting investigations and reviews, the requirements for issuing decisions, and the documentation that should be retained in the files. 7. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 1 December 2019 and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should establish and distribute a standard investigation report format that includes the required elements for the divisions to use when processing UCP complaints. continued on next page . . . 38 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 1 †  and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should monitor the divisions’ decisions and reports on complaints and appeals to ensure that they comply with requirements. 9. To ensure that its regulations are consistent and 1 Will Not align with state and federal requirements, by Implement July 2017 Education should initiate revising its regulations to require its divisions to complete investigations of complaints and reviews of appeals related to all programs within 60 days of Education receiving them, including providing its decisions in writing to complainants, unless otherwise specified in statute or federal regulations. 10. To ensure that its regulations are consistent 1 Will Not and align with state and federal requirements, Implement by July 2017 Education should initiate revising its regulations to allow Nutrition Services to investigate all complaints as direct intervention. 16. To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of 1 Will Not LEAs’ UCP processes, Education should work Implement with those LEAs throughout the State that receive a disproportionately high number of non‑UCP complaints through the UCP process to assess the potential benefits of establishing similar mechanisms. 22. To ensure that its regulations are consistent 1 March 2019 and align with state and federal requirements, Education should revise its regulations to allow LEAs to extend investigations under exceptional circumstances that constitute good cause if the LEAs document and support with evidence the reasons for the extensions. 23. After it makes the recommended regulatory 1 December 2019 changes to allow extensions under exceptional circumstances, Education should review LEAs' extensions to investigations as part of its Federal Program Monitoring to ensure that LEAs' documentation is sufficient and that their reasons adequately justify such extensions. 28. Education should revise UCP regulations to 1 March 2019 formally establish uniform time limits for filing all types of complaints. Commission on Teacher Credentialing School Library Services: 18. To strengthen its monitoring of staff assignments, 1 †  P Vague State Laws and a Lack Teacher Credentialing should work with of Monitoring Allow School Education to identify potential misassignments Districts to Provide a Minimal by comparing annually the staffing information Level of Library Services reported by school districts to Education against 2016-112 (November 2016) Teacher Credentialing's credentialing records. Further, Teacher Credentialing should incorporate misassignments identified using Education's data into its existing notification, reporting, and sanctioning structure. If Teacher Credentialing believes it needs express statutory authority to do so, it should seek it. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 39 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Department of Justice Armed Persons With Mental 23. To reduce the risk that it may not identify an 5 July 2019 Illness: Insufficient Outreach armed prohibited person, Justice should revise its From the Department of electronic matching process to use all personal Justice and Poor Reporting identifying numbers available in its databases. From Superior Courts Limit the Identification of Armed Persons 34. To ensure that it fully supports its decision to apply 5 December 2019 With Mental Illness federal prohibition terms to individuals, Justice 2013-103 (October 2013) should review all applicable federal and state laws and continue to seek clarification from the United States Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (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. California Department of 18. To ensure that Social Services receives criminal 1 †  F Social Services: Its Caregiver history information within 14 days of receiving Background Check Bureau an individual's fingerprint information, as state Lacks Criminal History law requires, by July 2017 Justice should analyze Information It Needs to Protect its process, including delayed transmissions; Vulnerable Populations in Licensed Care Facilities implement changes to address problems it identifies; and regularly measure itself against the 2016-126 (March 2017) requirement to determine whether it is meeting its statutory requirement. 19. To ensure that it has complete disposition 1 †  information, Justice should coordinate with the Judicial Council at least once a year to share information about court reporting gaps and to determine the need to distribute additional information to courts about reporting requirements and the manner in which to report. In addition, Justice should reconvene its advisory committee and meet on a regular basis to discuss, at a minimum, improving the frequency and timeliness with which courts report dispositions to Justice and law enforcement agencies report arrest information to Justice. 20. To ensure that it is receiving all arrest information 1 †  from law enforcement agencies, at a minimum, Justice should consider trends in the number of arrest reports each law enforcement agency sends it and the number of reports that it might expect to receive from an agency given the agency’s size, location, and reporting history. Whenever Justice identifies a law enforcement agency that it determines may not be reporting all required information, it should request that the agency forward all required arrest information. continued on next page . . . 40 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION School Violence Prevention: 9. To ensure that districts, county offices, and schools 1 Undetermined Q School Districts, County Offices receive guidance on a variety of safety issues and of Education, and the State to comply with state law, CDE and DOJ should Must Do More to Ensure That resume their partnership activities, as required by School Safety Plans Help state law. Further, the partnership should update Protect Students and Staff During Emergencies the 2002 handbook, Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action, and distribute it to all districts 2016-136 (August 2017) and county offices. If CDE or DOJ determine the need for additional funds to implement the legislative recommendations or to reestablish the partnership's activities, they should request those funds from the Legislature. Sexual Assault Evidence Kits: 4. To report to the Legislature about the effectiveness 3 December 2018 Although Testing All Kits of its Rapid DNA Service (RADS) program and Could Benefit Sexual Assault to better inform decisions about expanding the Investigations, the Extent of number of analyzed sexual assault evidence kits, the Benefits Is Unknown Justice should amend its agreements with the 2014-109 (October 2014) counties participating in the RADS program to require those counties to report case outcome information, such as arrests and convictions for the sexual assault evidence kits Justice has analyzed under the program. Justice should then report annually to the Legislature about those case outcomes. The CalGang Criminal 10. As the Legislature considers creating a public 2 January 2020 O Intelligence System: As the program for shared gang database oversight and Result of Its Weak Oversight accountability, Justice should guide the board Structure, It Contains and the committee to identify and address the Questionable Information That shortcomings that exist in CalGang's current May Violate Individuals’ Privacy Rights operations and oversight. The guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should 2015-130 (August 2016) address, but not be limited to, developing best practices based on the requirements stated in the federal regulations, the state guidelines and state law, and advising user agencies on the implementation of those practices. The best practices should include, but not be limited to, reviewing criminal intelligence, appropriately disseminating information, performing robust audit practices, establishing plans to recover from disasters, and meeting all of the State's juvenile notification law requirements. Justice should guide the board and the committee to develop these best practices by June 30, 2017. 11. As the Legislature considers creating a public 2 †   program for shared gang database oversight and accountability, Justice should guide the board and the committee to identify and address the shortcomings that exist in CalGang’s current operations and oversight. The guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should address, but not be limited to, instructing user agencies that use CalGang to complete a comprehensive review of all the gangs documented in CalGang to determine if they meet the necessary requirements for inclusion and to purge from CalGang any groups that do not meet the requirements. Justice should guide the board and the committee to ensure that user agencies complete this review in phases, with the final phase to be completed by June 30, 2018. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 41 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. As the Legislature considers creating a public 2 †   program for shared gang database oversight and accountability, Justice should guide the board and the committee to identify and address the shortcomings that exist in CalGang’s current operations and oversight. The guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should address, but not be limited to, instructing all user agencies to complete a comprehensive review of the records in CalGang to determine if the user agencies have adequate support for the criteria associated with all the individuals they have entered as gang members. If the user agencies do not have adequate support, they should immediately purge the criteria—and, if necessary, the individuals—from CalGang. In addition, the user agencies should ensure that all the fields in each CalGang record are accurate. Justice should guide the board and the committee to ensure that user agencies complete this review in phases, with the final phase to be completed by September 30, 2019. 13. As the Legislature considers creating a public 2 †   program for shared gang database oversight and accountability, Justice should guide the board and the committee to identify and address the shortcomings that exist in CalGang’s current operations and oversight. The guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should address, but not be limited to, instructing all user agencies to report to Justice every six months, beginning in January 2017, on their progress toward completing their gang and gang member reviews. 19. To promote transparency and encourage public 2 January 2020 participation in CalGang's meetings, Justice should post summary results from the committee's audits of CalGang records to its website unless doing so would compromise criminal intelligence information or other information that must be shielded from public release. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration# State Board of Equalization: 2. Unless the Legislature directs the board to 2 July 2019 Its Tobacco Tax Enforcement eliminate the compliance fund's excess fund Efforts Are Effective and balance within a time frame of more than a Properly Funded, but Other year, the board should eliminate the excess fund Funding Options and Cost balance by June 30, 2017, by using it to offset the Savings Are Possible licensing program's annual funding shortfall. The 2015-119 (February 2016) board should also limit the fund's future balance to no more than two months' worth of licensing program expenditures. California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services** Special Interest License Plate 11. To make certain that money from the special 5 Will Not A Funds: The State Has Foregone plate funds pay only for allowable and Implement 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. continued on next page . . . 42 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Health Facilities Financing Authority Children’s Hospital Program: 1. The authority should amend its regulations 3 Will Not The California Health Facilities to bring them into accord with the Children's Implement Financing Authority Has Hospital Bonds Act of 2004 (2004 act), thus Generally Complied With Laws allowing any eligible hospital to apply for the and Regulations and Resolved 2004 act's funds that remained as of June 30, 2014. Its Issue Related to High Fund Balances 2015-042 (September 2015) Judicial Council of California†† Judicial Branch of California: 1. To ensure that the compensation the AOC 3 Will Not Because of Questionable Fiscal provides is reasonable, the Judicial Council Implement and Operational Decisions, should adopt procedures that require a regular the Judicial Council and the and thorough review of the AOC's compensation Administrative Office of the practices, including an analysis of the job duties Courts Have Not Maximized the Funds Available for the Courts of each position to ensure that the compensation aligns with the requirements of the position. This 2014-107 (January 2015) review should include comparable executive branch salaries, along with a justification when an AOC position is compensated at a higher level than a comparable executive branch position. 3. To ensure that its compensation structure is 3 Will Not reasonable, the AOC should mirror the executive Implement branch's practices for offering leave buyback programs in terms of frequency and amount. 4. To increase its efficiency and decrease its travel 3 Will Not expenses, the AOC should require its directors and Implement managers to work in the same locations as the majority of their staff unless business needs clearly require the staff to work in different locations than their managers. 11. To reduce its expenses, the AOC should cease 3 Will Not its excessive reimbursements for meals by Implement adopting the executive branch's meal and travel reimbursement policies. 14. To ensure that it spends funds appropriately, the 3 †  AOC should develop and implement controls to govern how its staff can spend judicial branch funds. These controls should include specific definitions of local assistance and support expenditures, written fiscal policies and procedures as the rules of court require, and a review process. 19. The AOC should conduct a comprehensive survey 3 †  of the courts on a regular schedule—at least every five years—to ensure that the services it provides align with their responses. The AOC should re‑ evaluate any services that the courts identify as being of limited value or need. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 43 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 20. To justify its budget and staffing levels, the AOC 3 Will Not should conduct the steps in CalHR's workforce Implement planning model in the appropriate order. It should begin by establishing its mission and creating a strategic plan based on the needs of the courts. It should then determine the services it should provide to achieve the goals of that plan. The AOC should base its future staffing changes on the foundation CalHR's workforce planning model provides. Finally, the AOC should develop and use performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of this effort. 21. To ensure that it provides services to the trial 3 Will Not courts as efficiently as possible, the Judicial Implement Council should explore implementing a fee‑for‑ service model for selected services. These services could include those that are little used or of lesser value to the trial courts, as identified in our survey that we discuss in Chapter 3. 22. To justify the budget and staff level of the AOC, 3 Will Not the Judicial Council should implement some or all Implement of the best practices we identified to improve the transparency of AOC spending activities. Judicial Branch Procurement: 3. To improve the usefulness of the Judicial Council's 4 Will Not Semiannual Reports to the semiannual reports until a statutory requirement Implement Legislature Are of Limited is enacted, the AOC should work with the Judicial Usefulness, Information Council to pursue a cost‑effective method to Systems Have Weak Controls, include new contracts and the complete history of and Certain Improvements in Procurement Practices contracts amended during the reporting period in Are Needed the semiannual reports, including the date of the 2013-302 and 2013-303 original contract; the original contract amount and (December 2013) duration; all subsequent contract amendments; and the date, amount, and duration of each such amendment. The AOC should present this information beginning with the semiannual report covering the July 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014, reporting period. 4. To improve the usefulness of the Judicial Council's 4 Will Not semiannual reports until a statutory requirement Implement is enacted, the AOC should work with the Judicial Council to pursue a cost‑effective method to begin tracking additional information in its data systems for inclusion in the semiannual reports. This information should include whether a contract was competitively bid, the justification if it was not competitively bid, and whether the contract was with a Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise. For information technology contracts, the AOC should identify whether the contract was with a small business. The AOC should present this information beginning with the semiannual report covering the July 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014, reporting period. continued on next page . . . 44 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. The AOC should implement all of the best 4 Undetermined practices related to general and business process application controls as outlined in the U.S. Government Accountability Office's Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual no later than December 31, 2014, thereby strengthening and continuously monitoring the effectiveness of the controls over its information systems. In addition, the AOC should immediately begin implementing improvements to its controls over access to its information systems and place these improvements into effect by February 2014. Finally, the AOC should provide guidance and routinely follow up with the superior courts— requiring updates every six months until all identified issues are corrected—to ensure that they make the necessary improvements to their general and business process application controls. 6. The AOC; the Supreme Court; and the first, second, 4 Will Not and fourth districts should implement procedures Implement to ensure that they follow a competitive process for their procurements when required. 13. The AOC should revise the judicial contracting 4 Will Not manual to require judicial entities to maintain Implement documentation on their determinations of fair and reasonable pricing for purchases under $5,000. 17. The AOC should revise the judicial contracting 4 Will Not manual to require that judicial entities maintain Implement documentation for their evaluation and selection process used for competitive procurements. The AOC should also strengthen its procedures to ensure that bid evaluations are conducted properly and calculated correctly. 20. The AOC, Habeas Corpus Resource Center (HCRC), 4 Will Not Supreme Court, and fourth and fifth districts Implement should implement procedures to ensure that required noncompetitive procurement processes, such as preparing justifications and obtaining approval for sole‑source procurements, are properly documented. Additionally, the AOC should ensure that it prepares the appropriate documentation when it amends a contract that it has competitively solicited and the amendment includes a change that was not evaluated in the original competitive process. 25. The AOC should implement procedures to ensure 4 Will Not that its internal controls over payments are Implement followed and that procurements are approved before ordering and receiving goods and services. Secretary of State’s Office Office of the Secretary of State: 4. To enhance the value of the federal Help America 5 Will Not It Must Do More to Ensure Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) spending plan as a Implement Funds Provided Under the transparency and accountability tool for the Federal Help America Vote Act Legislature, the Office should make the following Are Spent Effectively modifications to its annual HAVA 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. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 45 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure the State complies with the National 5 Will Not Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), the Office Implement should take all necessary steps, 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. Santa Clara County Registrar 11. The Secretary of State should adopt regulations 1 June 2019 S of Voters: Insufficient Policies establishing clear criteria for mistakes in election‑ and Procedures Have Led to related materials that constitute reportable errors Errors That May Have Reduced and require counties to report these errors to it Voters’ Confidence in the after each election. Registrar’s Office 2017-107 (October 2017) 12. Beginning in December 2018, the Secretary of 1 December 2018 State should implement annual risk‑based reviews of a selection of county election officials’ offices to ensure their compliance with state election laws and regulations. 13. To inform and enhance the guidance it provides 1 June 2019 to county election officials, the Secretary of State should analyze error reports and its risk‑based review results to focus its guidance on topics most relevant to improving elections throughout the State. State Bar of California State Bar of California: It Has 7. To ensure that the audit and review unit’s 3 December 2018 Not Consistently Protected the random audits of closed case files provide an Public Through Its Attorney effective oversight mechanism, the State Bar Discipline Process and should follow its policy to conduct and record Lacks Accountability meetings and trainings related to the audit 2015-030 (June 2015) report’s recommendations. The State Bar of California: It 6. To assign purchasing cards only to appropriate 1 †  Needs Additional Revisions to staff, ensure that the State Bar’s records of Its Expense Policies to Ensure employees’ credit limits reflect those established That It Uses Funds Prudently with the bank, and to verify that staff use 2017-030 (June 2017) purchasing cards only for allowable and necessary expenses, the State Bar should immediately develop a policy that requires justification of the business needs for employees to receive purchasing cards, and use this policy to limit the number of staff issued a purchasing card. 7. To assign purchasing cards only to appropriate 1 †  staff, ensure that the State Bar’s records of employees’ credit limits reflect those established with the bank, and to verify that staff use purchasing cards only for allowable and necessary expenses, the State Bar should immediately restrict the use of purchasing cards to its original purpose, which was for low‑dollar and frequently occurring purchases. For purchases above $5,000, the State Bar should require the vendor to bill for payment. 9. To ensure that its costs are reasonable and 1 †  appropriate, the State Bar should update its meal and catering policy to align with the meal policy of the State’s Executive Branch and should require individuals attending committee meetings for the State Bar to comply with standard meal per diem rates. 15. To reduce its reliance on outside legal counsel, the 1 †  State Bar should continue its efforts to hire staff to fill its remaining vacant attorney positions. continued on next page . . . 46 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 17. To better measure how well its attorney discipline 1 †  program is meeting the State Bar’s core mission to protect the public from attorney misconduct, the State Bar should, by December 2017, identify key goals and metrics for the attorney discipline system. The State Bar of California: 2. To ensure that it maximizes its cost‑recovery 2 December 2018 Its Lack of Transparency efforts related to the Client Security Fund, the Has Undermined Its State Bar should adopt a policy to file for money Communications With Decision judgments against disciplined attorneys for all Makers and Stakeholders eligible amounts as soon as possible after courts 2015-047 (May 2016) settle the discipline cases. 9. To ensure that it accounts appropriately for 2 January 2019 information technology project costs and their related funding sources, the State Bar should develop a reasonable method for allocating information technology project costs. 10. To ensure that it accounts appropriately for 2 January 2019 information technology project costs and their related funding sources, the State Bar should apply its new cost‑allocation method to the costs of its Technology Improvement Fund. State Controller’s Office High Risk Update: State 4. To improve the accuracy of information in the 4 June 2019 Agencies Credited Their leave accounting system and to ensure that Employees With Millions agencies do not improperly credit employees of Dollars Worth of with leave in the future, the state controller should Unearned Leave implement additional controls by June 2015 2012-603 (August 2014) to prevent the leave accounting system from processing the types of inappropriate transactions we identified in our statewide electronic analysis. For example, it could develop cost‑effective controls in the leave accounting system that would prevent employees from receiving annual leave and sick leave during the same pay period. NATURAL RESOURCES California Natural Resources Agency Special Interest License Plate 15. To make certain that money from the special plate 5 Will Not A Funds: The State Has Foregone funds pay only for allowable and supportable Implement Certain Revenues Related to activities, Resources should use all appropriate Special Interest License Plates funding sources to pay for any expenses that and Some Expenditures Were benefit multiple programs in proportion to Unallowable or Unsupported the benefits these programs actually receive. 2012-110 (April 2013) Further, it should ensure that its allocation of such expenses to different funds is equitable and supported. Department of Water Resources Department of Water 4. To fully comply with state contracting law, DWR 1 February 2019 Resources: The Unexpected should ensure that it competitively selects Complexity of the California architectural and engineering consultants based WaterFix Project Has Resulted on demonstrated competence and professional in Significant Cost Increases qualifications. In addition, DWR should and Delays document in the contract file its evaluation of the 2016-132 (October 2017) competence and professional qualifications of all contractors and any subcontractors that are added to the contract subsequent to the competitive selection process. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 47 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure that only qualified subcontractors 1 Will Not are added to contracts after the initial award is Implement made, DWR should make sure that contractors select their own subcontractors and that DWR subsequently approves the selection after it verifies their qualifications. 7. To ensure that DWR manages WaterFix in an 1 Forthcoming effective manner, DWR should complete both the economic analysis and financial analysis for WaterFix and make the analyses publicly available as soon as possible. 9. In order to prepare for the potential approval 1 2019 of WaterFix and to ensure that the project is managed properly during the design and construction phase, DWR should develop and update when necessary the associated program management plan for the design and construction phase of the project. TRANSPORTATION Department of Motor Vehicles Department of Motor Vehicles: 7. To reduce the risk of fraudulent applications, by 1 Will Not Administrative and Statutory September 2017 DMV should seek interagency Implement Changes Will Improve Its agreements with the health boards responsible for Ability to Detect and Deter licensing providers authorized to certify disabilities Misuse of Disabled Person on placard applications. The agreements should Parking Placards include, but not be limited to, a review by medical 2016-121 (April 2017) experts of a sample of placard applications each quarter to ensure that the disability certifications meet state requirements. For any application that does not meet state requirements, DMV should require that the applicant and his or her provider submit the information needed so that the application meets state requirements. DMV should cancel the placards of those who do not respond within 90 days. 8. To reduce the risk of fraudulent applications, by 1 February 2019 September 2017 DMV should seek interagency agreements with the health boards responsible for licensing providers authorized to certify disabilities on placard applications. The agreements should include, but not be limited to, a process for the health boards to develop guidance for medical providers related to how to meet state requirements. 14. To properly equip its employees with the 1 December 2018 knowledge necessary to identify and report potential fraud indicators in placard applications, DMV should provide employees who process applications with training specific to the types of fraud that can occur in an application. This training should be provided by December 2017 and every other year thereafter. 18. To better equip local parking enforcement 1 December 2018 officials to promptly identify invalid placards, by December 2018 DMV should develop and implement an application, database, or other technology that will allow non‑sworn parking enforcement officials to have immediate access to information on placard status. continued on next page . . . 48 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, HAS APPEARED IN ESTIMATED DATE CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT OF COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Special Interest License Plate 1. To ensure that programs supported by special 5 Will Not A Funds: The State Has Foregone plates receive appropriate amounts of revenues Implement Certain Revenues Related to due to them, DMV should annually collect all fees Special Interest License Plates for special plates that are no longer on a vehicle and Some Expenditures Were but are retained by the plate owner. Unallowable or Unsupported 2012-110 (April 2013) 3. DMV should assess the extent to which it has 5 Partially charged fees for special plates that are not Implemented consistent with those prescribed in statutes and take appropriate action. † Contrary to the State Auditor’s determination, the auditee believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. ‡ 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 report for case I2010-1045 was provided to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in May 2013. The investigative reports for the cases published in I2015-1 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in July 2015. The investigative reports for the cases published in I2016-2 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in June 2016. Lastly, the investigative reports for the cases published in I2017-1 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in January 2017. § As of June 2018, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates became the Public Advocates Office. ll As of July 2012, the California Department of Mental Health became the Department of State Hospitals. # In July 2017, the State Board of Equalization was restructured and transferred duties to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. ** As of July 2013, the California Emergency Management Agency became the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. †† In July 2014, the Judicial Council of California retired the use of Administrative Office of the Courts to refer to the Judicial Council’s staff. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 49 January 2019 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From January 2012 Through October 2017) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION NONSTATE ENTITIES Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified School District Charter Schools: Some 11. To ensure that it has a method to hold 1 October 2018 M School Districts Improperly charter schools accountable for their Authorized and Inadequately educational programs, Acton‑Agua Monitored Out-of-District Dulce Unified should, as a best practice, Charter Schools strengthen its authorization process 2016-141 (October 2017) by using the State Education Board’s criteria for evaluating petitions. 12. To ensure compliance with state law, 1 October 2018 Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should immediately establish a procedure to periodically review and update its charter school policy to include all of the requirements in state law. 13. To ensure compliance with state law, 1 May 2016 Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should immediately review petitions to ensure they include all of the requirements in state law at the time of their approval. 15. To ensure compliance with state law, 1 September 2017 Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should immediately track its actual costs for providing oversight and verify that its oversight fees do not exceed legal limits. 18. To better ensure effective oversight 1 No Action Taken of its charter schools’ finances, Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should place a district representative as a nonvoting member on each charter school’s governing board. 20. To ensure that charter schools work 1 October 2018 toward the academic goals established in their charters, Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should adopt an academic oversight policy that includes steps for working with charter schools with poor performance results. 22. Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should 1 October 2018 maintain active memorandums of understanding with its charter schools that describe the district’s oversight responsibilities and ensure the schools meet the measurable student outcomes to which they have agreed. Antelope Valley Union High School District Charter Schools: Some 30. To better ensure effective oversight 1 September 2018 M School Districts Improperly of its charter schools’ finances, Authorized and Inadequately Antelope Valley Union should place a Monitored Out-of-District district representative as a nonvoting Charter Schools member on each charter school’s 2016-141 (October 2017) governing board. continued on next page . . . 50 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Butte County Indian Gaming Special 7. To ensure that grant recipients comply 4 †  H Distribution Fund: Counties’ with state law concerning interest Benefit Committees Did earned on mitigation grant funds, by Not Always Comply With June 2014, the Butte County benefit State Laws for Distribution committee should establish policies Fund Grants and procedures to verify that grant 2013-036 (March 2014) recipients have placed grant awards in interest‑bearing accounts, and that the interest is spent only on activities that mitigate the effect of tribal gaming on local jurisdictions. Central Basin Municipal Water District Central Basin Municipal 23. To ensure it is efficiently using its 2 July 2019 Water District: Its Board resources, the district should eliminate of Directors Has Failed to its board members’ automobile or Provide the Leadership transportation allowances and instead Necessary for It to Effectively reimburse them based on their Fulfill Its Responsibilities business mileage or transit use. 2015-102 (December 2015) Central Unified School District Trade Apprenticeship 6. To limit its risk and to clarify its roles 1 February 2019 Programs: The State and responsibilities as they relate Needs to Better Oversee to ACTA, Central Unified should Apprenticeship Programs, update its agreement with ACTA Such as the Air Conditioning to reflect each party’s current roles Trade Association’s Sheet Metal Program and responsibilities. Further, Central Unified should periodically update 2016-110 (November 2016) this agreement to ensure that the agreement continues to reflect current roles and responsibilities. City of Indio City of Indio: Although the 1. The city of Indio should shift a share 3 2024 City Complied With the of the water facilities cost borne Mello-Roos Act in Forming by Terra Lago's Improvement Area and Managing Community Number 1 (Area 1) to Improvement Facilities District No. 2004-3, Area Number 2 (Area 2) residents in It Should Do More to Address Inequities proportion to the benefits Area 2 residents receive from the facilities. 2014-119 (December 2014) To do so, it should impose through its Indio Water Authority a water fee on Area 2 residents and use the related revenues to reduce the bond debt of Area 1. City of Irvine City of Irvine: Poor 2. To improve fiscal accountability and 2 Will Not Governance of the to ensure that audits are performed to Implement $1.7 Million Review of the appropriate standards, Irvine should Orange County Great Park adopt an internal audit function by Needlessly Compromised the December 2017. Review’s Credibility 2015-116 (August 2016) 6. To make certain that Irvine complies 2 Will Not with the intent of competitive bidding Implement for professional services, beginning immediately it should not include provisions in its RFPs for potential future services that are above and beyond the desired scope of work. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 51 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. To maintain appropriate, transparent 2 Will Not fiscal accountability, Irvine should Implement amend city contracting and purchasing policies by December 2016 to make certain that all of its contracts and contract amendments with a proposed cost exceeding the threshold requiring city council or other approval receive the appropriate approvals, including approval for sole‑source contracts. Further, city policies should require appropriate approvals when increases in spending authority are accomplished through a purchase order or other means. 10. To provide the public with adequate 2 Will Not information regarding the city council's Implement spending decisions, Irvine's city council should, by December 2016, include in its policies a requirement that motions by the council to appropriate revenue to fund a specific contract should name the recipients and proposed use of the funds. 11. To foster public confidence in its 2 Will Not processes and findings, Irvine should Implement conduct self‑initiated investigations, reviews, or audits in an open and transparent manner that ensures independence. Specifically, Irvine should not establish advisory bodies exempt from open meeting laws to oversee these investigations, reviews, or audits. Instead, any required reports from contractors conducting such investigations, reviews, or audits should go to the city council or a standing committee of the city council to be discussed in either open or closed session, as appropriate. City of Irwindale City of Irwindale: It Must 1. To address the structural deficit in 1 February 2019 Exercise More Fiscal its general fund, the city should seek Responsibility Over Its long‑term solutions to balance its Spending So That It Can budget so that its expenditures do not Continue to Provide Core exceed its revenues. These solutions Services to Residents should include eliminating the reliance 2016-111 (November 2016) on one‑time gains to fund ongoing expenses and identifying opportunities to further reduce spending. The city should document its approach in a long‑term financial plan that should account for the following: a forecast of at least five to 10 years into the future, updates to long‑term planning activities as needed to provide direction to the budget process, and an analysis of its financial status; revenue and expenditure forecasts; and plan‑monitoring mechanisms, such as a scorecard of key indicators of financial health. continued on next page . . . 52 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To ensure that employee compensation 1 †  aligns with job statements, the city should review its salary incentives and modify the eligibility criteria so that they match the job requirements. 3. Considering that the city's retirement 1 Partially benefits are more generous than Implemented those of most comparable cities, and in light of its financial situation, the city should reduce its employee benefits costs by negotiating with employee bargaining groups and key management employees for the elimination of further city contributions to the Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) supplemental benefit plan or at least and increase in participant contributions to cover the full employee share of the plan's costs, recognizing that under California case law the city may not destroy vested pension rights legislatively. 4. To minimize the use of its reserves to 1 Partially reduce long‑term liabilities, the city Implemented should annually determine whether it has sufficient funding to cash out employee leave balances. Additionally, in future labor negotiations, the city should explore the possibility of eliminating or reducing voluntary leave balance cash‑outs by employees, and eliminate sick leave cash‑outs altogether. 6. To reduce costs, the city should 1 Will Not consider eliminating its current resident Implement prescription drug benefit program and replacing it with the prescription discount card program offered by the League of California Cities that would provide discounts on prescriptions to residents at no cost to the city. 7. If the city chooses not to participate 1 Will Not in the prescription discount card Implement program offered by the League of California Cities, it should at least take the following step related to its current prescription drug benefit program: Align its prescription drug benefit program with its established purpose—to treat conditions proven to be caused or worsened by the city’s mining activities—and limit the availability of benefits to only those medications approved for the treatment of such conditions. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 53 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. If the city chooses not to participate in 1 Will Not the prescription discount card program Implement offered by the League of California Cities, it should at least reduce the cost of its current prescription drug benefit program by enacting limits—similar to those in its resident vision benefits— on the number or dollar amount of prescriptions an individual can receive each year. 9. To reduce the costs of its resident 1 Will Not prescription drug benefit program, Implement the city council should follow the recommendations of its consultant by approving the following: align copayments by increasing those paid by residents 50 years of age and older to the same level as those paid by residents who are 49 years or younger. 10. To reduce the costs of its resident 1 Will Not prescription drug benefit program, Implement the city council should follow the recommendations of its consultant by approving the following: implement coordination of benefits provisions, where applicable, to designate the city as a secondary payer to residents’ primary insurance coverage. 11. To eliminate the need for police officer 1 Will Not overtime, the city should evaluate Implement the possibility of contracting for police services with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or another law enforcement agency as an alternative to operating its own police department. 13. While the city is considering 1 Will Not recommendation #11, and if it should Implement choose not to contract for police services, it should promote public safety and equity among its police officers by implementing a rotational order for scheduled overtime to prevent some officers from working excessive shifts. 14. To help ensure that it receives the best 1 November 2018 value for contracts it exempts from competitive bidding, the city should revise its purchasing policy to require its staff to perform a price analysis and prepare a cost justification form and place the document in each contract file as evidence that the contract price is fair and reasonable. continued on next page . . . 54 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 15. To help ensure that it receives 1 November 2018 good‑quality services, the city should monitor all spending for contracted services. The city should also require its staff to perform post‑contract evaluations of professional services contracts, particularly for those continuing services contracts it exempts from competitive bidding. 16. The Housing Authority should consider 1 Will Not options to provide low‑income Implement housing opportunities to more people. Additionally, if the Housing Authority intends to continue providing low‑income housing opportunities in the future, the city should examine the available funding mechanisms to continue providing low‑income housing before it exhausts its Housing Authority Fund balance. 17. To ensure that all residents have an 1 Unknown equal chance to participate in the Housing Authority’s housing programs, the city should remove the long‑term residency priorities from any future housing programs. City of Novato Residential Building Records: 2. To ensure that it is aware of the degree 2 Will Not K The Cities of San Rafael, of property owners’ compliance with Implement Novato, and Pasadena its resale record ordinance, Novato Need to Strengthen the should implement procedures that can Implementation of Their help it monitor the sale or exchange Resale Record Programs of properties that require resale record 2015-134 (March 2016) inspections. The city should work with applicable stakeholders, such as realtors, to aid in this effort. 5. To verify that new property owners are 2 Will Not aware of the health and safety concerns Implement at their properties and any corrections they need to make, Novato should develop a process to ensure that it receives homeowners’ cards. 34. To ensure that the resale record fees 2 Will Not it charges is appropriate, Novato Implement should establish a time frame to periodically determine whether the fees are commensurate with the cost of administering the resale record program. The city should ensure that it retains any documentation used to support its analyses and any subsequent adjustments to fees. City of Pasadena Residential Building Records: 3. To ensure that it is aware of the degree 2 January 2019 K The Cities of San Rafael, of property owners’ compliance with Novato, and Pasadena its resale record ordinance, Pasadena Need to Strengthen the should implement procedures that can Implementation of Their help it monitor the sale or exchange Resale Record Programs of properties that require resale record 2015-134 (March 2016) inspections. The city should work with applicable stakeholders, such as realtors, to aid in this effort. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 55 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To verify that new property owners are 2 January 2019 aware of the health and safety concerns at their properties and any corrections they need to make, Pasadena should develop a process to ensure that staff sign the inspection certificates and add them to the city’s database. 9. To ensure that it can monitor the 2 January 2019 satisfaction individuals have with the resale record program and that it has a uniform approach for resolving complaints, Pasadena should develop a formal process for tracking the complaints it receives. In addition, Pasadena should develop a formal policy that describes how staff should evaluate complaints, and it should document its activities associated with resolving complaints, such as the resolution and the rationale for the resolution. The city should also establish a designated location in its database to record this information. 12. Pasadena should develop formal 2 January 2019 written procedures for staff to follow up on property owners’ correction of violations. These procedures should identify the method in which staff document in the database the violations identified during inspections and their actions to bring the property into compliance. In addition, the procedures should identify where within the database these documents should be kept as well as identify the protocol for ensuring that repeat violations are corrected in a timely manner. 16. To ensure that property owners 2 January 2019 correct violations in a timely manner, Pasadena should develop a work plan by July 2016 to identify and address its enforcement backlog by April 2017 so that the city is up to date with its enforcement actions, such as issuing notice letters and monitoring property owners’ actions to resolve violations. Pasadena’s work plan should also include updating the completion status of the violations so unresolved violations can be identified and monitored for subsequent correction. 19. To ensure that property owners 2 January 2019 correct violations in a timely manner, Pasadena should follow through with its enforcement policies, such as issuing notice letters. 22. To ensure that property owners correct 2 January 2019 violations in a timely manner, Pasadena should establish a written process for staff to monitor and ensure that property owners correct violations, including accurately identifying the properties that have not obtained necessary permits or have not had required reinspections performed. continued on next page . . . 56 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 25. To ensure that it conducts its resale 2 January 2019 record inspections and completes the reports in a timely manner, Pasadena should establish a process to monitor its ability to meet its established time goals from application date to report issuance, such as developing a reminder report or using an automated feature of its database. Pasadena should also document the date the report is issued on the resale record report and in its database. 27. To ensure that it conducts its resale 2 January 2019 record inspections and completes the reports in a timely manner, Pasadena should review its time goals by July 2016 for the resale record program and modify them if necessary, factoring in property owners’ expectations and staff resources to complete the resale record reports. If applicable, Pasadena should update its policies and procedures to reflect the revised time goals. 30. To ensure that it conducts its resale 2 January 2019 record inspections and completes the reports in a timely manner, Pasadena should establish a method to identify those inspections that have inspection dates requested by property owners. 32. To ensure that the resale record fees 2 January 2019 it charges is appropriate, Pasadena should finalize its formal fee study by April 2016. 35. To ensure that the resale record fees 2 January 2019 it charges is appropriate, Pasadena should establish a time frame to periodically determine whether the fees are commensurate with the cost of administering the resale record program. The city should ensure that it retains any documentation used to support its analyses and any subsequent adjustments to fees. 38. To ensure that it can demonstrate 2 January 2019 that its resale record inspectors are qualified, Pasadena should develop a process to maintain continuing education attendance records. The city should ensure that staff receive periodic continuing education through internal and external sources to keep them current on code requirements, especially when the requirements are updated. 40. If Pasadena subsequently requires 2 January 2019 its resale record inspectors to have International Code Council certifications, it should ensure that those staff maintain them in good standing to perform their necessary job functions. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 57 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Coachella Valley Unified School District College Readiness of 3. To increase students’ access to and 1 Unknown California’s High School completion rates of college preparatory Students: The State Can coursework, districts should develop Better Prepare Students and institute an on track/off track for College by Adopting student identification model similar to New Strategies and Increasing Oversight San Francisco’s model that will allow them to determine whether students 2016-114 (February 2017) are completing grade‑level college preparatory coursework. The districts should notify parents when they identify students as falling off track and should advise the parents and students of available support and credit recovery options. Furthermore, school staff should be required to meet with and document the support they provide to these students. 5. To increase students’ access to and 1 May 2018 completion rates of college preparatory coursework, districts should create a robust and stable network of credit recovery options that reflect the needs of their student populations. These options—which the districts should monitor for effectiveness—should include summer school courses and evening courses. 7. To increase students’ access to and 1 Unknown completion rates of college preparatory coursework, districts should create and institute a centralized process for submitting, managing, and tracking college preparatory courses and certification requests. This process should maximize the number of certified courses that the district offers. Further, to ensure that students receive appropriate credit for their college preparatory coursework, this process should match the UC’s course listings with each school’s master schedule of courses. County of Alameda Dually Involved Youth: The 9. Alameda County probation department 2 Unknown J State Cannot Determine the should update its existing procedures Effectiveness of Efforts to to ensure that its staff are accurately Serve Youth Who Are Involved recording family reunification service in Both the Child Welfare and components within the statewide case Juvenile Justice Systems management system. 2015-115 (February 2016) 11. To identify their population of dually 2 Unknown involved youth, Alameda County’s CWS and probation agencies should designate the data system they will use for tracking the dates and results of joint assessment hearings. 17. To identify their population of dually 2 Unknown involved youth, Alameda County's Child Welfare Service's (CWS) and probation agencies should provide guidance or training to staff on recording joint assessment hearing information consistently within the designated system. continued on next page . . . 58 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION County of Fresno Indian Gaming Special 1. If the Legislature appropriates 1 June 2019 L Distribution Fund: The funding from the distribution fund Method Used to Mitigate for mitigation grants in the future, to Casino Impacts Has Changed, comply with state law, the benefit and Two Counties’ Benefit committee for Fresno County should Committees Did Not Ensure Compliance With State Law ensure that it obtains sufficient When Awarding Grants documentation from grant applicants 2016-036 (March 2017) to demonstrate that the requested funding represents the correct proportionate share of the costs attributable to casino impacts. 2. If the Legislature appropriates 1 June 2019 funding from the distribution fund for mitigation grants in future years, Fresno County’s benefit committee should revise its procedures to include specific steps to verify that grantees will place grant funds into interest‑bearing accounts when awarding any mitigation grants. These steps should include requiring grantees to report the interest accrued in their quarterly reports and to substantiate those reports with bank statements or other reports of interest earned, and following up with the grantee when the grantee reports no earned interest for the period. County of Los Angeles County Pay Practices: 7. To ensure that they consistently 2 Will Not Although the Counties We demonstrate that candidates are hired Implement Visited Have Rules in Place to for permanent civil service positions Ensure Fairness, Data Show based on valid and job‑related criteria, That a Gender Wage Gap regardless of their sex, each county Still Exists should develop policies requiring 2015-132 (May 2016) hiring managers to document the reasons why they chose the selected candidate over others from the certified eligibility list. Los Angeles County: Lacking 1. To determine whether its trauma 4 Will Not a Comprehensive Assessment system is appropriately designed Implement of Its Trauma System, It and serving the needs of residents Cannot Demonstrate That It in underserved areas and the needs Has Used Measure B Funds of the most at‑risk populations, the to Address the Most Pressing Trauma Needs board should use Measure B funds to engage the College of Surgeons by 2013-116 (February 2014) July 2014 to perform a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system and then make the results available to the public. To the extent the assessment identifies weaknesses in the trauma system, the board should develop strategies to address those weaknesses where feasible. Specifically, the board should ask the College of Surgeons to assist the board in better defining and identifying underserved areas in Los Angeles. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 59 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To determine whether its trauma 4 Will Not system is appropriately designed Implement and serving the needs of residents in underserved areas and the needs of the most at‑risk populations, the board should use Measure B funds to engage the College of Surgeons by July 2014 to perform a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system and then make the results available to the public. To the extent the assessment identifies weaknesses in the trauma system, the board should develop strategies to address those weaknesses where feasible. Specifically, the board should ask the College of Surgeons to review Measure B allocations to ensure that they are addressing the most pressing needs of at‑risk populations in Los Angeles. 3. To determine whether its trauma 4 Will Not system is appropriately designed Implement and serving the needs of residents in underserved areas and the needs of the most at‑risk populations, the board should use Measure B funds to engage the College of Surgeons by July 2014 to perform a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system and then make the results available to the public. To the extent the assessment identifies weaknesses in the trauma system, the board should develop strategies to address those weaknesses where feasible. Specifically, the board should ask the College of Surgeons to assess the adequacy of helicopter services it provides in underserved areas. 4. To determine whether its trauma 4 Will Not system is appropriately designed Implement and serving the needs of residents in underserved areas and the needs of the most at‑risk populations, the board should use Measure B funds to engage the College of Surgeons by July 2014 to perform a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system and then make the results available to the public. To the extent the assessment identifies weaknesses in the trauma system, the board should develop strategies to address those weaknesses where feasible. Specifically, the board should ask the College of Surgeons to analyze how Los Angeles' Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMS) might better use the data it collects to evaluate, improve, and report continuously on its trauma system. continued on next page . . . 60 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure that it allocates Measure B 4 Partially funds to address the most significant Implemented needs of residents within its trauma system, the board should reinstate a Measure B oversight committee, with participation from departments with trauma, EMS, and bioterrorism preparedness expertise, as well as representatives of the public. The oversight committee should review trauma system and other county needs annually and advise the board on Measure B expenditures. As part of its responsibilities, the oversight committee should reevaluate the Measure B allocation approach, taking into consideration the results of Los Angeles’s comprehensive assessment and the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Act), and issue a report on its findings no later than December 2015. Los Angeles County: 1. By April 2017, the county should reach 1 TBD Weak Oversight of Its Lease agreement with the association on the With the Los Angeles County date by which the association must pay Fair Association Has Likely the county for the rent in arrears related Cost Millions of Dollars to the hotel. in Revenue 2016-106 (November 2016) 2. By April 2017, the county should reach 1 TBD agreement with the association on how much rent the association owes the county from the hotel’s operations since 1992. 3. As soon as possible, the county should 1 TBD collect from the association all amounts presently owed under the lease as a result of the revenue generated by the conference center. 4. To ensure that it recognizes and 1 TBD addresses in a timely manner areas of potential concern related to the association’s rent, the county should create and adhere to a policy of reviewing the association’s rent calculations at least every three years. 5. To protect its interests and maximize 1 TBD its future revenue, the county should strongly consider ensuring that any potential amendment to the lease includes a revised rent calculation formula that factors in revenue from all of the association's activities, including its hotel and conference center, as well as revenue from its subsidiaries' activities at the Fairplex. This revised rent calculation formula should require the association either to pay the county an agreed‑upon fixed amount, adjusted periodically for inflation, or to pay the county both a fixed amount every year and a percentage of the total gross revenue that the association earns at the Fairplex. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 61 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To protect its interests and maximize 1 TBD its future revenue, the county should strongly consider ensuring that any potential amendment to the lease includes terms that define the circumstances or dates that require a renegotiation of the lease and the rent calculation formula. 7. To protect its interests and maximize 1 TBD its future revenue, the county should strongly consider ensuring that any potential amendment to the lease includes an agreement on the types of entities whose gross revenues the association must include in rent calculations. This agreement should cover any new businesses the association creates that operate at the Fairplex. 8. To protect its interests and maximize 1 TBD its future revenue, the county should strongly consider ensuring that any potential amendment to the lease includes terms that require the association to provide the county with any subleases it wishes to enter, even those subleases that do not exceed 10 years. The terms should also require the association to provide the county with approval over other agreements that could affect the rent calculation, including the association’s hotel management agreement and its amendments. 9. To protect its interests and maximize 1 TBD its future revenue, the county should strongly consider ensuring that any potential amendment to the lease includes terms that require the association to provide the county with advance notice of any refinancing of the association’s debt and what impact, if any, such transactions would have on the amount or timing of rent payments to the county. County of San Diego Indian Gaming Special 10. If San Diego County’s benefit 4 †  H Distribution Fund: Counties’ committee believes that its processes Benefit Committees Did for distributing grant funds are vital Not Always Comply With to its effective management of State Laws for Distribution distribution fund grants, it should Fund Grants seek legislative authority to change 2013-036 (March 2014) its process. Otherwise, San Diego County’s benefit committee should refrain from placing limits on the time available for grant recipients to spend the grant funds. continued on next page . . . 62 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Indian Gaming Special 4. If the Legislature appropriates 1 †  L Distribution Fund: The funding from the distribution fund Method Used to Mitigate for mitigation grants in the future, to Casino Impacts Has Changed, comply with state law, the benefit and Two Counties’ Benefit committee for San Diego County Committees Did Not Ensure Compliance With State Law should ensure that it obtains sufficient When Awarding Grants documentation from grant applicants 2016-036 (March 2017) to demonstrate that the requested funding represents the correct proportionate share of the costs attributable to casino impacts. County of Santa Clara Dually Involved Youth: The 16. To identify their population of dually 2 Will Not J State Cannot Determine the involved youth, Santa Clara County’s Implement Effectiveness of Efforts to CWS and probation agencies should Serve Youth Who Are Involved designate the data system they will in Both the Child Welfare and use for tracking the dates and results of Juvenile Justice Systems joint assessment hearings. 2015-115 (February 2016) 22. To identify their population of dually 2 Will Not involved youth, Santa Clara County’s Implement CWS and probation agencies should provide guidance or training to staff on recording joint assessment hearing information consistently within the designated system. East Side Union High School District Student Mental Health 17. To better understand the effectiveness 2 †   N Services: Some Students’ of the mental health services in its Services Were Affected by special education program, East Side a New State Law, and the Union High School District should use State Needs to Analyze the six performance indicators we Student Outcomes and Track Service Costs identified to perform analysis annually on the subset of students receiving 2015-112 (January 2016) mental health services. Hesperia Water District Apple Valley Area Water 1. To assist low‑income water customers, 3 Will Not I Rates: Differences in Costs Hesperia should work with its Implement Affect Water Utilities’ Rates, governing body to consider the and One Utility May Have feasibility of using revenues from Spent Millions of Ratepayer sources other than water rates to Funds Inappropriately implement a rate assistance program. 2014-132 (April 2015) Long Beach Unified School District Student Mental 4. To better communicate with parents 2 †  N Health Services: Some and future individualized education Students’ Services Were programs (IEP) teams about reasons Affected by a New State for any changes to student services, Law, and the State Needs to including changes to mental health Analyze Student Outcomes and Track Service Costs services and student placements, Long Beach should develop a process 2015-112 (January 2016) to ensure that IEP teams record these reasons in student IEP documents. 10. To ensure that it complies with federal 2 †  and state requirements, Long Beach should develop a process to ensure that IEP teams record, in student IEP documents, the rationale for residential treatment and any potential harmful effects of such placement. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 63 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To better understand the effectiveness 2 †   of the mental health services in its special education program, Long Beach should use the six performance indicators we identified to perform analysis annually on the subset of students receiving mental health services. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Los Angeles Department 1. To ensure that the Los Angeles Board 3 2020 of Water and Power: of Water and Power Commissioners Consequences Linked to (board) can more effectively exercise Its Premature Launch of oversight for the department’s Its Customer Information significant information technology System May Push Total Costs Beyond $200 Million projects, the board should establish a standing committee comprised 2014-105 (March 2015) of board members to oversee and critically evaluate the status of the department’s various information technology projects. Given the limited tenure of board members and the potential for multiyear and high‑cost information technology projects, the board president should consider appointing as many committee members as practicable in order to promote continuity of oversight. 2. To ensure that the board can more 3 2020 effectively exercise oversight for the department’s significant information technology projects, the board should develop reporting standards for the department’s management to follow when discussing the status of information technology projects with the standing committee or the board. Such reporting standards should, at a minimum, specify the frequency with which the department’s management makes such reports and require the following disclosures about each information technology project: • The amount of project growth, in terms of both budget and scope of work, from initial project estimates through current projections. • The results from system testing and a listing of the critical defects that exist and must be fixed prior to system use. • The concerns the quality assurance contractor has raised and how the department is addressing them. 3. To ensure that the board can more 3 2020 effectively exercise oversight for the department’s significant information technology projects, the board should develop a process for the board to designate certain information technology projects as having a potentially significant effect on business operations or customer relations, and require that department managers first obtain the board’s approval before launching such critical new systems. continued on next page . . . 64 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles Police Department The CalGang Criminal 23. Until the Los Angeles Police 2 †   O Intelligence System: As the Department receives further direction Result of Its Weak Oversight from the board, the committee, or Structure, It Contains Justice, it should address the specific Questionable Information deficiencies we found by reviewing That May Violate Individuals’ Privacy Rights the gangs it has entered into CalGang to ensure the gangs meet reasonable 2015-130 (August 2016) suspicion requirements. It should also begin reviewing the gang members it has entered into CalGang to ensure the existence of proper support for each criterion. It should purge from CalGang any records for gangs or gang members that do not meet the criteria for entry. Individuals who are independent from the ongoing administration and use of CalGang should lead this review. The agency should complete the gang and gang member reviews in phases, with the final phase for gangs to be completed by June 30, 2018, and the final phase for gang members to be completed by June 30, 2019. New Jerusalem Elementary School District Charter Schools: Some 44. To better ensure effective oversight of its 1 No Action Taken M School Districts Improperly charter schools’ finances, New Jerusalem Authorized and Inadequately should place a district representative as Monitored Out-of-District a nonvoting member on each charter Charter Schools school’s governing board. 2016-141 (October 2017) 48. To ensure that charter schools work 1 †  toward the academic goals established in their charters, New Jerusalem should provide its charter schools with annual oversight reports on their academic performance. Quartz Hill Water District Antelope Valley Water Rates: 13. To assist low‑income water customers, 4 Will Not Various Factors Contribute Quartz Hill Water District should work Implement to Differences Among with its governing body to consider Water Utilities the feasibility of using revenues from 2013-126 (July 2014) sources other than water rates to implement rate assistance programs for low‑income water customers. San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools School Violence Prevention: 12. To ensure that their schools’ safety 1 Unknown Q School Districts, County plans comply with state law and are Offices of Education, and the submitted and approved on or before State Must Do More to Ensure March 1 each year, the Kern, Placer, That School Safety Plans Help and San Bernardino county offices, and Protect Students and Staff During Emergencies San Bernardino City Unified should implement procedures to monitor and 2016-136 (August 2017) approve their schools’ safety plans. The procedures should include the use of electronic document‑tracking systems and safety plan templates. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 65 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION San Francisco Unified School District California Department of 10. To help ensure that they consistently 1 Unknown R Education: It Has Not Ensured comply with the Buy American That School Food Authorities requirement, San Francisco should Comply With the Federal Buy establish written policies and American Requirement procedures related to the Buy American 2016-139 (July 2017) requirement by October 1, 2017. At a minimum, those policies and procedures should include the following: • An explanation of how it will ensure that it consistently includes language related to the Buy American requirement in its bid solicitation documents and contracts. • A minimum expectation for how regularly it will verify that food items its vendors provide are domestic commodities or products. • A requirement that its staff identify the need to purchase foreign‑sourced items as early as possible in the food purchasing process and that they begin documenting the justification for such exceptions to the Buy American requirement at that time. • Guidance for how it will maintain documentation showing that its purchases of foreign‑sourced food items meet one of the two allowable exceptions. San Juan Unified School District School Library Services: 7. To strengthen its library programs and 1 Unknown P Vague State Laws and a Lack help the State assess the condition of of Monitoring Allow School school libraries statewide, San Juan Districts to Provide a Minimal Unified should ensure that teacher Level of Library Services librarians are involved in the selection 2016-112 (November 2016) of library materials at each school. 9. To strengthen its library programs and 1 Unknown help the State assess the condition of school libraries statewide, San Juan Unified should use the model standards to assess the needs of its school library programs and address any identified needs during its local control accountability plans (LCAP) process. continued on next page . . . 66 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Santa Ana Police Department The CalGang Criminal 25. Until the Santa Ana Police Department 2 June 2019 O Intelligence System: As the receives further direction from the Result of Its Weak Oversight board, the committee, or Justice, it Structure, It Contains should address the specific deficiencies Questionable Information we found by reviewing the gangs it That May Violate Individuals’ Privacy Rights has entered into CalGang to ensure the gangs meet reasonable suspicion 2015-130 (August 2016) requirements. It should also begin reviewing the gang members it has entered into CalGang to ensure the existence of proper support for each criterion. It should purge from CalGang any records for gangs or gang members that do not meet the criteria for entry. Individuals who are independent from the ongoing administration and use of CalGang should lead this review. The agency should complete the gang and gang member reviews in phases, with the final phase for gangs to be completed by June 30, 2018, and the final phase for gang members to be completed by June 30, 2019. Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Santa Clara County Registrar 3. To reduce errors and potentially its 1 Approximately S of Voters: Insufficient Policies workload, Santa Clara should research March 2019 and Procedures Have Led by January 2018 its opportunities to to Errors That May Have integrate mapping software with Reduced Voters’ Confidence in its election management software, the Registrar’s Office and Santa Clara should implement 2017-107 (October 2017) this integration of mapping software technology by June 2018. 6. To ensure accuracy and consistency in 1 2019 the creation, review, and distribution of election‑related materials, Santa Clara should review and document in detail all policies and procedures by October 2018, prioritizing its documentation for the divisions that are responsible for the most frequent and egregious election‑related errors. Specifically, Santa Clara should review and formalize Mapping policies and procedures by January 2018, to allow time for implementation before the June primary election process. By October 2018, Santa Clara should review and formalize policies and procedures for the remaining divisions—including Ballot Layout, Candidate Services, and Vote by Mail—to provide adequate time for implementation before the November general election process. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 67 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To reduce the risk of staff errors, 1 †   inconsistencies in procedures, and the loss of institutional knowledge in the creation, review, and distribution of election‑related materials, Santa Clara should develop and implement training for its staff that includes instructions on its comprehensive policies and procedures. The development of this training should take place concurrently with Santa Clara’s detailed documentation of its policies and procedures, and Santa Clara should require relevant staff to attend this training before each major election. Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office The CalGang Criminal 27. Until Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office 2 June 2019 O Intelligence System: As the receives further direction from the Result of Its Weak Oversight board, the committee, or Justice, it Structure, It Contains should address the specific deficiencies Questionable Information we found by reviewing the gangs it That May Violate Individuals’ Privacy Rights has entered into CalGang to ensure the gangs meet reasonable suspicion 2015-130 (August 2016) requirements. It should also begin reviewing the gang members it has entered into CalGang to ensure the existence of proper support for each criterion. It should purge from CalGang any records for gangs or gang members that do not meet the criteria for entry. Individuals who are independent from the ongoing administration and use of CalGang should lead this review. The agency should complete the gang and gang member reviews in phases, with the final phase for gangs to be completed by June 30, 2018, and the final phase for gang members to be completed by June 30, 2019. 28. Until Santa Clara County Sheriff’s 2 March 2019 Office receives further direction from the board, the committee, or Justice, it should address the specific deficiencies we found by developing or modifying as necessary all its policies and procedures related to CalGang to ensure they align with state law, CalGang policy, the federal regulations, and the state guidelines. In particular, the agency should implement appropriate policies and procedures for entering gangs, performing supervisory reviews of gang and gang member entries, performing periodic CalGang record reviews, sharing CalGang information, and complying with juvenile notification requirements. The agency should complete this recommendation by March 31, 2017. continued on next page . . . 68 California State Auditor Report 2018-041 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Stockton Unified School District California Department of 11. To help ensure that they consistently 1 †  R Education: It Has Not Ensured comply with the Buy American That School Food Authorities requirement, Stockton should establish Comply With the Federal Buy written policies and procedures related American Requirement to the Buy American requirement by 2016-139 (July 2017) October 1, 2017. At a minimum, those policies and procedures should include the following: • An explanation of how it will ensure that it consistently includes language related to the Buy American requirement in its bid solicitation documents and contracts. • A minimum expectation for how regularly it will verify that food items its vendors provide are domestic commodities or products. • A requirement that its staff identify the need to purchase foreign‑sourced items as early as possible in the food purchasing process and that they begin documenting the justification for such exceptions to the Buy American requirement at that time. • Guidance for how it will maintain documentation showing that its purchases of foreign‑sourced food items meet one of the two allowable exceptions. Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Judicial Branch Procurement: 13. To ensure that it properly authorizes 1 †  The Five Superior Courts We payments and purchases only Reviewed Mostly Adhered to allowable items, the San Mateo Required and Recommended court should process payments in Practices, but Some accordance with the requirements and Improvements Are Needed recommended practices of the Judicial 2016-301 (November 2016) Council and the State. Specifically, the San Mateo court should amend its bottled water service contract to ensure that water is purchased for use by jurors and court room staff only. Victorville Water District Apple Valley Area Water 2. To assist low‑income water customers, 3 Will Not I Rates: Differences in Costs Victorville should work with its Implement Affect Water Utilities’ Rates, governing body to consider the and One Utility May Have feasibility of using revenues from Spent Millions of Ratepayer sources other than water rates to Funds Inappropriately implement a rate assistance program. 2014-132 (April 2015) 6. To demonstrate to water customers 3 Will Not how they are working to keep rates Implement reasonable, the four water utilities should document their cost‑saving efforts and quantify, to the extent possible, any specific cost savings achieved from their respective efforts. California State Auditor Report 2018-041 69 January 2019 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ITS ADDRESS ALL REPORT TITLE, NUMBER HAS APPEARED IN DATE OF CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE AND ISSUE DATE RECOMMENDATION THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that it does not use revenues 3 Will Not from ratepayers for inappropriate Implement purposes, by October 2015, Victorville should revise its policies to prohibit transfers or loans of water fee revenue for nonwater district purposes. Victorville should also revise its investment policy that specifies the circumstances under which it can invest water revenues—setting prudent limits on its investment in assets that the Victorville city council manages. 8. To address the excess interest expense 3 Will Not resulting from loans to the city of Implement Victorville and the building of the wastewater plant, Victorville should seek reimbursement from the city for its unrecovered costs. Victorville should work with the city to prepare and submit to the water district board and the Victorville city council by October 2015 a formal repayment plan including specific dates and payments to be made to ensure that the water district and its ratepayers are made whole. When the water district board approves such a plan, it should take steps to ensure compliance with the repayment plan. † Contrary to the State Auditor’s determination, the auditee believes it has fully implemented the recommendation.