Status of Recommendations

Recommendations Not Fully Implemented After One Year The Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 January 2021 REPORT 2020-041 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 12, 2021 2020‑041 The Governor of California President pro Tempore of the Senate Speaker of the Assembly State Capitol Sacramento, California 95814 Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders: Consistent with the Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 (California Government Code, sections 8548.7 and 8548.9), the California State Auditor (State Auditor) presents this special report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and Department of Finance. This report notes that from November 2013 through October 2019, our office issued 219 reports on audits and investigations of state agencies. Those reports included 1732 recommendations, and state agencies had fully implemented 1439, or 83 percent of them, as of November 2020. However, we identified 293 unaddressed recommendations that were more than one year old. Similarly, we issued 81 reports to nonstate entities, such as counties or school districts. Those reports included 835 recommendations, and as of November 2020, the nonstate entities had implemented 676, or 81 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 June 2018, our office released an audit concerning the University of California (university) and its responses to sexual harassment complaints involving faculty and staff harassers and student victims. During the audit, we found that the three campuses we reviewed took much longer to discipline Academic Senate faculty than staff and often imposed inconsistent discipline on faculty who were the subject of multiple sexual harassment complaints. As of November 2020, the university fully implemented 29 of 32 recommendations designed specifically to improve the university’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. By implementing the recommendations, the university is helping to ensure that it will take appropriate action to stop, prevent, and remedy instances of sexual harassment. 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 2020-041 v January 2021 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 9 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented 61 vi California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 1 January 2021 INTRODUCTION As required by the Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 (Accountability Act), the California State Auditor (State Auditor) presents our 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 our office to provide updates on their implementation of audit recommendations. In October 2020, we provided our annual reminder to relevant state agencies about such recommendations that we issued more than a year ago and that they had not yet fully implemented. In subsequent months we reviewed agencies’ responses and corresponding evidence. The following report of the status of these recommendations is accurate as of November 2020. Throughout the year, our website at www.auditor.ca.gov contains the most up-to-date information on the status of all audit recommendations. RESULTS IN BRIEF State Entities From November 2013 through October 2019, the State Auditor issued 219 reports that related to audits or investigations of state agencies. These reports were requested through the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, legislation, or as the result of an investigation.1 The State Auditor made 1732 recommendations to the audited state agencies in those reports, of which 1439 have been fully implemented. However, the State Auditor identified 293 recommendations made to 45 agencies that had been outstanding at least one year and remain not fully implemented as of November 2020.2 Nonstate Entities From November 2014 through October 2019, the state auditor issued 81 reports that included nonstate entities, and made 835 recommendations to these entities. As of November 2020, the State Auditor identified 159 recommendations issued to 41 nonstate entities that are more than one year old and not fully implemented. Importance of Implementing Recommendations The State Auditor’s audit and investigative efforts bring the greatest return when agencies act upon the findings and recommendations. For example, in June 2018, the State Auditor released an audit concerning the University of California (university) and its responses to sexual harassment complaints involving faculty and staff harassers and student victims. At the three campuses the State Auditor reviewed, it found the campuses took much longer to discipline Academic Senate faculty than staff and often imposed inconsistent discipline on faculty who were the subject of multiple sexual harassment complaints. The audit also found that, although Title IX campus 1 The statewide single audit (financial and federal compliance audits) is mandated as a condition of California receiving federal funding. The State Auditor follows up on 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 investigate 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 2020-041 January 2021 coordinators are responsible for the university’s overall effort to address sexual harassment, they do not have sufficient involvement in determining discipline in substantiated cases. To address these and other issues found during the audit, the audit made several recommendations that if implemented would improve the university’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. In response to our recommendations, the university revised its sexual harassment policies in July 2019 to require Chancellors or their designees to consult with campus coordinators before deciding discipline for all faculty and staff found responsible for violating the UC’s sexual harassment policies. As of November 2020, the university fully implemented 29 of 32 recommendations made by the State Auditor. By implementing the recommendations, the university is helping to ensure that it will take appropriate action to stop, prevent, and remedy instances of sexual harassment on its campuses. In October 2020, 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 2013 through October 2019. The tables beginning on page 5 summarize and provide information on recommendations issued between November 2013 and October 2019. Table 1 shows recommendations more than five years old, issued between November 2013 and October 2014, 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, the State Auditor will not reassess them in subsequent reports. Table 2, beginning on page 9, summarizes recommendations that have not been fully implemented for audits and investigations pertaining to state entities, issued between November 2014 and October 2019. 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 61, 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 2020-041 3 January 2021 Index Reference for Reports Featuring Recommendations to Multiple Entities REPORT ENTITIES WITH RECOMMENDATIONS State Entities With Recommendations—Included in Tables 1 or 2 A 2013-109 California Public Utilities Commission, Public Advocates Office B 2014-116 California Department of Technology, Department of Consumer Affairs C 2015-131 California Department of Social Services, Medical Board of California D 2016-126 California Department of Justice, California Department of Social Services E 2016-130 University of California; University of California, Board of Regents F 2016-136 California Department of Education, California Department of Justice G 2017-109 California Department of Public Health, Department of Health Care Services, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development H 2017-117 Department of Health Care Services, Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission I 2017-119 San Diego State University, The California State University J 2018-113 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Prison Industry Authority, California Rehabilitation Oversight Board K 2018-132 California Department of Justice, California Gambling Control Commission L I2018-1 California Correctional Health Care Services, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 3 M 2014-132 Hesperia Water District, Victorville Water District N 2015-115 County of Alameda, County of Santa Clara O 2015-134 City of Novato, City of Pasadena P 2016-036 County of Fresno, County of San Diego Q 2016-141 Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District, Antelope Valley Union High School District, New Jerusalem Elementary School District R 2017-032 Bakersfield College, Peralta Community College District S 2017-101 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department T 2017-104 Los Angeles County Office of Education, Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium, Montebello Unified School District State and Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Tables 2 and 3 U 2015-112 California Department of Education, Long Beach Unified School District V 2015-130 California Department of Justice, Los Angeles Police Department W 2016-112 California Department of Education, San Juan Unified School District X 2016-139 California Department of Education, San Francisco Unified School District, Y 2017-102 Cerritos College, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, Foothill-De Anza Community College District, Los Rios Community College District Z 2017-118 Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Water Resources Control Board AA 2017-131 California Department of Justice, Los Angeles Police Department, Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department BB 2018-106 Alameda County Sheriff's Office, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 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 2020-041 January 2021 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 5 January 2021 Table 1 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than Five Years Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2013 Through October 2014) NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Correctional 5. To ensure that it can better monitor how its medical staff and 6 Will Not Health Care Services contractors adhere to the informed consent requirements of Title 22, Implement Sterilization of Female Inmates: sections 70707.1 through 70707.7, the Receiver’s Office should develop Some Inmates Were Sterilized a plan by August 2014 to implement a process by December 2014 Unlawfully, and Safeguards that would include working with Corrections to establish a process Designed to Limit Occurrences of whereby inmates can have witnesses of their choice when consenting the Procedure Failed to sterilization, as required by Title 22, or working to revise such requirements so that there is an appropriate balance between the 2013-120 need for secure custody and the inmate’s ability to have a witness of (June 2014) her choice. GENERAL GOVERNMENT California Public Utilities Commission California Public 14. The commission should follow the requirement in state law to inspect 6 October Utilities Commission: and audit the accounting records of utilities it regulates within 2021 A Improved Monitoring of Balancing required time frames. If the commission chooses to continue to meet Accounts Would Better Ensure this requirement through the general rate case process, it should That Utility Rates Are Fair ensure that all utilities file a general rate case on a regular schedule and Reasonable so as to comply with the state law's audit requirement. However, the commission should follow alternate methods to comply with the 2013-109 audit requirement when a utility will not be filing for its general rate (March 2014) case in time to be audited within three or five years, depending on the timing of the required audit for that utility. California Public 12. To detect and deter carriers from operating illegally at airports, 6 † Utilities Commission: the branch should use as intended the five positions added for It Fails to Adequately Ensure passenger carrier enforcement at airports. If the branch chooses not Consumers' Transportation Safety to designate five positions solely for this purpose, then it must be and Does Not Appropriately prepared to demonstrate regularly that an equivalent number of Collect and Spend Fees From full‑time positions are working on this activity. Passenger Carriers 2013-130 (June 2014) Public Advocates Office‡ California Public 7. To further its mission to obtain the lowest possible rates for reliable 6 Will Not Utilities Commission: and safe utility service for ratepayers through its reviews of balancing Implement A Improved Monitoring of Balancing accounts, Ratepayer Advocates should use the commission's list of Accounts Would Better Ensure balancing accounts to guide its selection of the number, size, and That Utility Rates Are Fair type of balancing accounts to review so that its review coverage is and Reasonable more proportional across all utilities. 2013-109 (March 2014) continued on next page . . . 6 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES California Department of Public Health California Department 3. To protect the health, safety, and well‑being of residents in long‑term 6 December of Public Health: health care facilities, Public Health should improve its oversight of 2021 It Has Not Effectively Managed complaint processing. Specifically, by May 1, 2015, Public Health Investigations of Complaints should establish a specific time frame for completing facility‑related Related to Long‑Term Health complaint investigations and ERI investigations and inform staff of Care Facilities the expectation that they will meet the time frame. Public Health should also require district offices to provide adequate, documented 2014-111 justification whenever they fail to meet this time frame. (October 2014) 4. To protect the health, safety, and well‑being of residents in long‑term 6 Will Not health care facilities, Public Health should improve its oversight of Implement complaint processing. Specifically, by May 1, 2015, Public Health should develop formal written policies and procedures for 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 facilities from 6 June potential harm, Public Health should ensure that its district offices 2023 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. California Department of Social Services Child Welfare Services: 40. To promote continued improvement in the CWS system, Social 6 March The County Child Welfare Services Services should encourage each county CWS agency to designate 2021 Agencies We Reviewed Must personnel to update regularly their policies and procedures, to Provide Better Protection for include a detailed description of the need for ongoing supervisory Abused and Neglected Children reviews of key aspects of their respective service processes and incorporate that description into their policies and procedures, and 2013-110 to designate personnel to perform regular quality assurance reviews. (April 2014) 41. To promote continued improvement in the CWS system, 6 January Social Services should ask each county CWS agency to report 2021 to Social Services on the status of these efforts within 60 days, six months, and one year from the publication of this audit report. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 7 January 2021 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT HIGHER EDUCATION University of California, Los Angeles Sexual Harassment 9. To help ensure that university faculty and staff do not mishandle 6 January and Sexual Violence: student reports of incidents, all faculty and staff should receive 2021 California Universities Must Better training annually, consistent with their role, on their obligations in Protect Students by Doing More responding to and reporting incidents of sexual harassment and to Prevent, Respond to, and sexual violence. Resolve Incidents 21. All universities should provide their education on sexual harassment 6 January 2013-124 and sexual violence to incoming students as close as possible to when 2020# (June 2014) 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. LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Department of Justice Sexual Assault Evidence Kits: 4. To report to the Legislature about the effectiveness of its RADS 6 † Although Testing All Kits program and to better inform decisions about expanding the number Could Benefit Sexual Assault of analyzed sexual assault evidence kits, Justice should amend its Investigations, the Extent of the agreements with the counties participating in the RADS program to Benefits Is Unknown require those counties to report case outcome information, such as arrests and convictions for the sexual assault evidence kits Justice has 2014-109 analyzed under the program. Justice should then report annually to (October 2014) the Legislature about those case outcomes. Judicial Council of California§ Judicial Branch Procurement: 3. To improve the usefulness of the Judicial Council’s semiannual 6 Will Not Semiannual Reports to the reports until a statutory requirement is enacted, the AOC should work Implement Legislature Are of Limited with the Judicial Council to pursue a cost‑effective method to do Usefulness, Information Systems the following: Have Weak Controls, and Certain • Include new contracts and the complete history of contracts Improvements in Procurement amended during the reporting period in the semiannual reports, Practices Are Needed including the date of the original contract; the original contract 2013-302 and 2013-303 amount and duration; all subsequent contract amendments; and (December 2013) 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 semiannual 6 Will Not reports until a statutory requirement is enacted, the AOC should work Implement with the Judicial Council to pursue a cost‑effective method to do the following: • 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 . . . 8 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT 5. The AOC should implement all of the best practices related to 6 Unknown 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, and fourth 6 Will Not districts should implement procedures to ensure that they follow a Implement competitive process for their procurements when required. 13. The AOC should revise the judicial contracting manual to require 6 Will Not judicial entities to maintain documentation on their determinations Implement of fair and reasonable pricing for purchases under $5,000. 17. The AOC should revise the judicial contracting manual to require 6 Will Not that judicial entities maintain documentation for their evaluation Implement 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, HCRC, Supreme Court, and fourth and fifth districts should 6 Will Not implement procedures to ensure that required noncompetitive Implement 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 that its internal 6 Will Not controls over payments are followed and that procurements are Implement approved before ordering and receiving goods and services. † Contrary to the State Auditor’s determination, the audited agency believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. ‡ As of June 2018, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates became the Public Advocates Office. § 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. # In its latest response, the audited agency did not update its estimated date of completion. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 9 January 2021 Table 2 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2014 Through October 2019) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, HOUSING Board of Registered Nursing Board of 7. To ensure that BRN resolves complaints 3 †  Registered Nursing: regarding nurses in a timely manner, by Significant Delays and March 1, 2017, it should establish a plan to Inadequate Oversight eliminate its backlog of complaints awaiting of the Complaint assignment to an investigator. Resolution Process Have 10. To increase its pool of expert witnesses, 3 Will Not Allowed Some Nurses by June 2017, BRN should take the steps Implement Who May Pose a Risk necessary to increase the hourly wage it pays to Patient Safety to expert witnesses. Continue Practicing 2016-046 (December 2016) Department of Consumer Affairs California Department 17. To the extent that Consumer Affairs 5 †  of Consumer Affairs’ chooses to implement BreEZe at the phase 3 B BreEZe System: regulatory entities, it should first complete Inadequate Planning a formal cost‑benefit analysis to ensure that and Oversight Led to BreEZe is a cost‑effective solution to meet Implementation at these regulatory entities’ business needs. Far Fewer Regulatory To make certain this analysis is complete, Entities at a Significantly it should include an assessment of the Higher Cost potential changes these regulatory entities may require to be made of the BreEZe system 2014-116 and the associated costs. Consumer Affairs (February 2015) 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. 35. To ensure that future training for BreEZe 5 March system rollouts is timely and effective, 2021 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 5 March system rollouts is timely and effective, 2021 Consumer Affairs should work with the regulatory entities to develop training that is specific to each entity’s business processes. continued on next page . . . 10 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Housing and Community Development California Department 5. To ensure that it appropriately monitors 2 January of Housing and CalHome as required by statute, regulation, and 2021 Community program guidelines, HCD should immediately Development: collect all required reports and follow up with Its Oversight of Housing recipients to obtain missing reports. Staff Bond Funds Remains should withhold fund disbursements from Inconsistent recipients that have not submitted required reports. If the submitted reports reveal a 2018-037 problematic trend, such as a recipient not (September 2018) disbursing funds, HCD should take appropriate corrective action with the recipient. 8. To ensure that the IIG program award funds 2 January benefit the target population, HCD should 2021 develop and use a tool by December 1, 2018, to track which awards are monitored by local jurisdictions or by other HCD programs and which are not monitored at all. HCD should then immediately obtain monitoring reports from the local jurisdictions and other HCD programs to verify monitoring and review the results of such monitoring. HCD should follow up on any noted deficiencies. Further, HCD should, by January 1, 2019, develop a plan to perform on‑site visits for those recipients that do not receive adequate monitoring from another source, and it should perform the planned on‑site monitoring. 14. To ensure that it maximizes the benefit of the 2 December funds it has invested in CAPES's development 2021 and to support its ongoing efforts to improve CAPES's usability, HCD should, by January 1, 2019, develop a documented process to ensure that all data in CAPES are accurate and complete. This process should include all phases of contract management, including monitoring. HCD should implement a routine periodic review of this process and update the process as necessary. 16. To ensure that it is able to meet its 2 December administrative monitoring obligations 2021 and that it uses housing bond funds in compliance with state law, regulations, and program guidelines, HCD should develop a long‑term plan by January 1, 2019, for how it will avoid exceeding the administrative cost limits of those programs in the most immediate danger of overage and for how it will address instances when it has exceeded administrative cost limits. The plan should identify the programs at risk of exceeding the limit; the actions HCD will take for each program to gain efficiencies; its plan for moving staff between programs; a request for more money or legislative changes such as modifying the statutory limit on administrative spending, if necessary; and an evaluation of the consequences of not fulfilling its monitoring obligations. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 11 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 18. To ensure that it complies with state law, 2 December prudently uses administrative funding, 2021 and promotes transparency, HCD should calculate and retain only funds equal to its actual administrative costs in instances when it does not disburse awarded funds to a recipient and subsequently grants the funds to another recipient. 19. To ensure that it does not exceed 2 December administrative cost restrictions and that it 2021 maximizes the funds intended to address target populations' housing needs, HCD should estimate when it will run out of administrative funds for any specific program, document its projection methodology, and provide underlying data and support for its estimates. The projections should include, but not be limited to, actual staff time spent on the program, the number of awards being monitored, and the length of monitoring. Staff should provide these projections and methodologies to management for review and approval by December 1, 2018, and then at least biannually thereafter. Medical Board of California California’s Foster 35. Following the completion of the analysis 4 Undetermined Care System: (described in Recommendation 34), the C The State and Counties Medical Board should take the appropriate Have Failed to follow‑up actions that it deems necessary, Adequately Oversee including the investigation of physicians the Prescription identified in its analysis. of Psychotropic Medications to Children in Foster Care 2015-131 (August 2016) CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION California Correctional Health Care Services Investigations of 14. Ensure that scheduling staff use the 2 August Improper Activities appropriate post codes in the scheduling 2021 L by State Agencies software for all nursing staff so their time is and Employees: accurately reported. Misuse of State Time, 15. Ensure that all other nursing staff 2 August Economically Wasteful assignments to ad hoc posts are appropriate, 2021 Activities, and Misuse of and require schedulers to enter a note State Property in the scheduling software indicating I2018-1 (July 2018)‡ an employee’s duties while in a general ad hoc post. continued on next page . . . 12 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California Department 2. Corrections should immediately require 3 †  of Corrections and mental health staff to score 100 percent on Rehabilitation: risk evaluation audits in order to pass. If a It Must Increase Its staff member does not pass, Corrections Efforts to Prevent and should require the prison to follow its Respond to Inmate current policies by reviewing additional Suicides risk evaluations to determine whether the staff member needs to undergo 2016-131 additional mentoring. (August 2017) 15. To ensure that it has enough staff to provide 3 Undetermined 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 3 Undetermined policies 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 3 Undetermined 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 3 Undetermined meet 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. California Department 1. To ensure that Corrections has reliable 1 December of Corrections and tools for assessing the needs of its inmate 2021 J Rehabilitation: population, it should validate COMPAS and Several Poor CSRA by January 2020 and revalidate all of its Administrative assessment tools at least every five years. Practices Have 2. To ensure that Corrections is able to 1 Ongoing Hindered Reductions in discover and prioritize the most effective Recidivism and Denied CBT rehabilitation curricula, it should begin Inmates Access to using its ability to record the individual CBT In‑Prison Rehabilitation curricula inmates receive, and then use this Programs information in an analysis of its rehabilitation 2018-113 programs in 2020. (January 2019) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 13 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To increase the space available for 1 Fiscal Year rehabilitation programs, by January 2020 2020–21 Corrections should analyze and report on its current infrastructure capacity compared to its needs for the programs. The report should include the current space available and the square footage needed. If the report indicates that additional space is necessary, Corrections should work with the Legislature to address those needs. 9. To improve the inmate enrollment rates 1 Fiscal Year in CalPIA's vocational education programs, 2021–22 CalPIA and Corrections should require a CalPIA representative to attend all classification committee meetings at all nine prisons where CalPIA offers vocational education. Corrections should also ensure that it enrolls eligible inmates in CalPIA's vocational programs before filling spots in its own vocational programs. In addition, if the CalPIA recidivism study indicates that CalPIA's vocational programs are better at reducing recidivism than Corrections' vocational programs, CalPIA should request funding from the Legislature to expand its vocational training program. 11. To ensure that Corrections effectively and 1 Fiscal Year efficiently allocates resources and reduces 2020–21 recidivism, it should partner with a research organization to conduct a systematic evaluation during fiscal year 2020–21 to determine whether its rehabilitation programs are reducing recidivism and if they are cost‑effective. In addition, the external researcher should provide input on the development of performance targets, including recidivism reduction. Depending upon the results of the analysis, Corrections should then eliminate or modify programs that prove ineffective. 12. To ensure that Corrections effectively and 1 Fiscal Year efficiently allocates resources and reduces 2020–21 recidivism, it should partner with an external researcher during fiscal year 2020–21 to help it quantify the effect volunteer programs have on inmate outcomes and consider expanding those programs if they prove effective or ceasing them if they are not effective. 13. "To ensure that Corrections effectively and 1 Ongoing efficiently allocates resources and reduces recidivism, it should collaborate with C‑ROB during fiscal year 2019–20 to establish annual targets for reducing recidivism and determining the cost‑effectiveness of the programs. Corrections should also request federal grants tied to setting targets for recidivism reduction. continued on next page . . . 14 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Correctional Officer 21. To ensure the health and safety of its 2 †   Health and Safety: officers when interacting with inmates, BB Some State and County CIM should provide annual training that is Correctional Facilities specific to preventing and responding to Could Better Protect gassing attacks. Their Officers From the Health Risks of Certain Inmate Attacks 2018-106 (September 2018) Investigations of 15. CDCR should revise the Institutional Worker 3 Unknown Improper Activities Supervision Pay (IWSP) procedure to require by State Agencies that personnel staff review and ensure that and Employees: an employee’s direct supervisor signs the Misuse of Resources, qualifying employee’s timesheets and IWSP Inaccurate Attendance documents each month. Records, Disclosure 17. CDCR should enforce its current procedure to 3 Unknown of Confidential retain Institutional Worker Supervision Pay Information, and (IWSP) documentation. Improper Payments 19. CDCR should train all employees, supervisors, 3 Unknown I2017-1 (March 2017)‡ and 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. Investigations of 20. Fully implement and continue to follow 2 Unknown Improper Activities recommendations from prior investigative L by State Agencies reports involving similar inappropriate and Employees: inmate supervision pay at other CDCR Misuse of State Time, facilities, including the recommendation to Economically Wasteful train all employees who receive, approve, Activities, and Misuse of or issue the inmate supervision pay. State Property I2018-1 (July 2018)‡ California Prison Industry Authority California Department 10. To improve the inmate enrollment rates in 1 June 2021 of Corrections and CalPIA's vocational education programs, J Rehabilitation: CalPIA and Corrections should require Several Poor a CalPIA representative to attend all Administrative classification committee meetings at all Practices Have nine prisons where CalPIA offers vocational Hindered Reductions in education. Corrections should also ensure Recidivism and Denied that it enrolls eligible inmates in CalPIA's Inmates Access to vocational programs before filling spots in In‑Prison Rehabilitation its own vocational programs. In addition, if Programs the CalPIA recidivism study indicates that CalPIA's vocational programs are better 2018-113 at reducing recidivism than Corrections' (January 2019) vocational programs, CalPIA should request funding from the Legislature to expand its vocational training program. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 15 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Rehabilitation Oversight Board California Department 16. To ensure that Corrections is taking 1 Will Not of Corrections and steps to reduce recidivism, C‑ROB should Implement J Rehabilitation: monitor whether Corrections is developing Several Poor appropriate recidivism targets and, in its Administrative Practices annual report, should evaluate Corrections' Have Hindered progress toward meeting those targets. Reductions in Recidivism and Denied Inmates Access to In‑Prison Rehabilitation Programs 2018-113 (January 2019) Department of Rehabilitation Department of 3. To comply with state laws and regulations 2 †  Rehabilitation: and help ensure that staff involved in making Its Inadequate Guidance governmental decisions during the grant and Oversight of the process are impartial, Rehabilitation should Grant Process Led to ensure that they receive ethics training, Inconsistencies and which includes conflict‑of‑interest training, Perceived Bias in Its at least every two years. Evaluations and Awards 6. To increase transparency and ensure that 2 †  of Some Grants applicants have the information necessary to 2017-129 understand the grant process, Rehabilitation (July 2018) should include in its RFAs clear scoring criteria and descriptions of the evaluation, award, and appeals processes, including the process it will use to address applications that receive tied scores. 11. To increase the transparency of its selection 2 †  process and to ensure that it receives the most qualified evaluators possible, Rehabilitation should issue a public solicitation for evaluators for each grant that includes a description of essential and desirable qualifications. 13. To ensure that it provides sufficient oversight 2 †  of the grant process, Rehabilitation should ensure that the technical review teams it assigns to grants provide the director and chief deputy with a memorandum summarizing the evaluation process and the evaluators' recommended grant awardees. Rehabilitation should also designate an individual responsible for reviewing and approving the memorandum and recommended awardees before it publishes its notice of intent to award. continued on next page . . . 16 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. If it finds errors in an evaluation that merit 2 †  restarting the grant process, rescoring of applications, or convening a new evaluation panel, Rehabilitation should resolve any issues before it begins the rescoring process. It should also notify applicants to ensure that they are aware of any changes to the process due to the errors. Further, it should consider promulgating regulations and amending its grant manual to permit staff to request evaluators to rescore applications or convene a new evaluation panel when it finds issues with an evaluation. 15. To ensure that it consistently and thoroughly 2 †  evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish in state regulations and its grant manual that staff at the appropriate level of authority are to acknowledge all appeal requests, notify intended awardees that could be affected by the appeals, and inform the appellant of the qualifications of the review committee members. Staff at the appropriate level of authority must also notify all affected parties of the review committee’s final decision within the time frame Rehabilitation establishes in regulations. 16. To ensure that Rehabilitation has appropriate 2 †  oversight of its grant process and can sufficiently demonstrate that it followed the process, it should designate staff, separate from those involved in the respective grant process, to conduct a review of each grant process for procedural errors, evaluator prejudice, and whether evaluators supported their scores with evidence from the relevant applications before it awards grants. 17. To comply with federal and state 2 March requirements, and to ensure consistency and 2021 fairness in its grant process, Rehabilitation should revise and formalize the policies and procedures in its grant manual to incorporate the rules adopted by regulation and to address the recommendations in this report. The grant manual should specify that any deviations from the required grant process must be for good cause and be documented. 18. To ensure that it consistently and thoroughly 2 †  evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish in state regulations and its grant manual a process for the review committees to request additional information from appellants or program staff. To allow time for an adequate review of any additional information, Rehabilitation should consider extending the time for review committees to issue their decision on appeals from 30 days to 45 days. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 17 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 19. To ensure that it consistently and 2 †  thoroughly evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish in state regulations and its grant manual that to be able to rescore applications when necessary, the review committee members should be subject‑matter experts or, if they are not subject‑matter experts, the review committee should have the authority to recommend a new evaluation panel instead of rescoring applications itself when it identifies a reason to invalidate previous evaluations. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery California Department 5. In order to bring violators of the recycling 2 †  of Resources Recycling act into compliance and to ensure that its and Recovery: enforcement activities are timely, CalRecycle It Has Not Provided the should do the following: Oversight Necessary • Assess penalties for noncompliance with to Ensure That the the recycling act. Mattress Recycling • Publicize any penalties it assesses against Program Fulfills Its violators of the recycling act as a deterrent Purpose to potential violators. 2018-107 • Monitor inspection cases to ensure that (August 2018) it does not complete them before the retailers in question have remedied any instances of noncompliance. • Execute a plan to verify compliance for all inspections in which it did not obtain evidence of compliance. • Develop and implement a timeline for the penalty phase of the enforcement process. • Regularly review the timeliness of its enforcement process and prioritize any overdue enforcement actions based on its enforcement timelines. continued on next page . . . 18 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department 2. To ensure it can demonstrate that its fraud 5 December of Resources Recycling prevention efforts are maximizing financial 2020 and Recovery: recoveries for the beverage program, The Beverage Container CalRecycle should both modify and annually Recycling Program update its fraud management plan to include Continues to Face the following: Deficits and Requires • By December 31, 2014, formally establish Changes to Become a systematic process for analyzing, Financially Sustainable monitoring, and responding to the risk 2014-110 of fraudulent recycling of out‑of‑state beverage containers. (November 2014) • 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 5 October legal challenges claiming that its policies 2021 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. State Water Resources Control Board Investigations of 1. Take appropriate corrective action against 4 Unknown Improper Activities the district engineer and the supervisors for by State Agencies their participation in or failure to address the and Employees: conflict of interest. Conflict of Interest, Violation of Post‑Employment Ethics Restrictions, Waste of State Funds, Misuse of State Resources, and Incompatible Activities I2016-2 (August 2016)‡ California State Auditor Report 2020-041 19 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION State and Regional 7. If the State Water Board believes regulations 2 Pending Water Boards: are necessary to ensure that the regional Z They Must Do More boards and local jurisdictions follow its to Ensure That Local guidance regarding adequate and consistent Jurisdictions’ Costs to information pertaining to their costs for Reduce Storm Water storm water management, the State Water Pollution Are Necessary Board should adopt such regulations. and Appropriate 11. The State Water Board should revise its trash 2 Will Not 2017-118 policy to focus it on local jurisdictions that Implement (March 2018) have water bodies that are harmed by trash, as identified by the polluted waters list. In addition, the State Water Board should review the polluted waters list at least biannually to identify any additional water bodies recently determined to be harmed by trash and impose its trash policy on the applicable jurisdictions. GENERAL GOVERNMENT California Department of Food and Agriculture Gross Mismanagement 1. CDFA: Ensure that its audit office conducts 1 Unknown Led to the Misuse of biannual compliance audits for all district State Resources and agricultural associations and that the office Multiple Violations of prioritizes auditing district agricultural State Laws associations on the watch program. I2019-4 3. CDFA: Provide district agricultural 1 Unknown (August 2019)‡ associations with timely notifications from the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Employer Pull Notice Program and follow up to ensure that the district agricultural associations take appropriate action. 4. CDFA: To the extent that its authority 1 Unknown allows, oversee implementation of our recommendations to the association. 5. Association: Take appropriate disciplinary 1 Unknown action against the CEO, the maintenance supervisor, and all other permanent and temporary employees who engaged in the improper governmental activities that we identified. 12. Association: Formally adopt, train staff on, 1 Unknown and follow the Fairs and Expositions branch’s accounting procedures manual, as well as CDFA’s Controlled Substances and Alcohol and Incompatible Activities policies. continued on next page . . . 20 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Veterans Affairs California Department 10. To ensure that the veterans homes receive all 1 †  of Veterans Affairs of the funding to which they are entitled, by and Department of the May 2019 budget revision, CalVet should General Services: seek an augmentation to its appropriation The Departments’ for the homes equal to the lease revenues it Mismanagement of generated from July 2015 through June 2018. the Veterans Home If CalVet believes the state law requiring lease Properties Has Not proceeds to augment its appropriation is Served the Veterans’ outdated, it should seek a change to state law. Best Interests and Has 11. To monitor whether lessees are current on 1 March Been Detrimental to payments, CalVet should track payment 2021 the State compliance for all lease payments that it 2018-112 receives and promptly follow up with lessees (January 2019) that do not pay as required. This should include collecting sufficient records from lessees that pay rent based on a percentage of sales to calculate the amount that each is required to pay to ensure that the lessees are making the correct rent payments. 16. To prevent unauthorized use of its property, 1 March CalVet should regularly monitor the use 2021 of the leased properties and take action to cease any activity that is not allowed by the terms of the lease agreements. Further, it should take action to cease the balloon launches from the golf course or amend its lease with the lessee to identify balloon launches as an approved use of the property. Disabled Veteran 9. To ensure that its outreach efforts are 1 June Business Enterprise effective and result in a greater number of 2021 Program: DVBE firms available that can provide the The Departments of necessary goods and services awarding General Services and departments are seeking, CalVet should Veterans Affairs Have assess, at least annually, the effectiveness Failed to Maximize of its past outreach efforts in increasing the Participation and to number of DVBE firms that become certified. Accurately Measure 11. To ensure that its outreach efforts are 1 June Program Success effective and result in a greater number of 2021 2018-114 DVBE firms available that can provide the (February 2019) necessary goods and services awarding departments are seeking, CalVet should work with awarding departments to identify the types of goods and services for which they struggle to find a DVBE contractor or subcontractor. 13. To ensure that its outreach efforts are effective 1 June and result in a greater number of DVBE firms 2021 available that can provide the necessary goods and services awarding departments are seeking, CalVet should develop an outreach plan to include outreach activities found to be effective in the past based on its assessment. This plan should also emphasize outreach to increase the number of DVBE firms that provide the types of goods and services that awarding departments struggle to obtain from DVBE firms. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 21 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 15. To ensure that its outreach efforts are 1 June effective and result in a greater number of 2021 DVBE firms available that can provide the necessary goods and services awarding departments are seeking, CalVet should develop better tracking of the businesses owned by disabled veterans that attend its outreach events and review certification data to determine whether these businesses obtained their certifications. 17. To ensure that its outreach efforts are 1 June effective and result in a greater number of 2021 DVBE firms available that can provide the necessary goods and services awarding departments are seeking, CalVet should conduct periodic surveys of businesses owned by disabled veterans that attended its outreach events but chose not to become DVBE certified to determine the reasons for not applying for the certification. The department should use this information to improve its outreach and any other areas of the program. 19. Until the Legislature amends the law to 1 June transfer its responsibility for assisting 2021 underachieving departments to General Services, CalVet should develop and follow policies and procedures to identify and assist awarding departments that fail to meet, or are at risk of not meeting, the 3 percent DVBE participation goal. California Gambling Control Commission Bureau of Gambling 9. To prevent unnecessary delays and use of 1 Depends on Control and California resources and to ensure its compliance with Legislative K Gambling Control state law, the commission should, following Action Commission: the Legislature's amendment of the Gambling Their Licensing Act that we recommend, revise its regulations Processes Are Inefficient and policies for conducting evidentiary and Foster Unequal hearings. These revisions should specify that Treatment of Applicants the commission may vote at regular meetings on a final basis to approve or deny licenses, 2018-132 registrations, permits, findings of suitability, (May 2019) or other matters and that it is not required to conduct evidentiary hearings unless applicants request that it do so. continued on next page . . . 22 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To better align the revenue in the Gambling 1 Depends on Fund with the costs of the activities that Legislative the fund supports, the bureau and the Action commission should conduct cost analyses of those activities by July 2020. At a minimum, these cost analyses should include the following: • The entities’ personnel costs, operating costs, and any program overhead costs. • Updated time estimates for their core and support activities, such as background investigations. • The cost of their enforcement activities. • Using this information, the bureau and commission should reset their regulatory fees to reflect their actual costs. Before conducting its fee study, the bureau should implement our recommendations to improve its processes for assigning applications, ensuring the completeness of applications, and developing time‑reporting protocols. California Public Utilities Commission California Public 6. To ensure that the CPUC fulfills its statutory 1 †   Utilities Commission: requirement for auditing all water utilities, It Could Improve the it should immediately begin to follow its Transparency of Water Standard Practice when auditing Class Rate Increases by A water utilities, or develop policies and Disclosing Its Review procedures by May 2019 to ensure that Process and Ensuring the reviews Public Advocates conducts of That Utilities Notify general rate cases demonstrate compliance Customers as Required with the legal requirement for audits of these utilities. 2018-118 (December 2018) 7. To ensure that the CPUC fulfills its statutory 1 January requirement for auditing all water utilities, 2022 it should immediately develop a plan to complete audits of Class A water utilities and small water utilities in a timely manner. California Public 3. To ensure that policy makers, enforcement 5 May Utilities Commission: officials, and the general public have access 2021 It Needs to Improve the to accurate consumer complaint data Quality of Its Consumer in CIMS, the branch should continue to Complaint Data and implement its quality management team the Controls Over Its program component focused on reviewing Information Systems the categorization of complaints and correcting identified errors. 2014-120 (April 2015) 4. To ensure that policy makers, enforcement 5 May officials, and the general public have access 2021 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 5 December complies with all policy requirements in SAM 2021 Chapter 5300 no later than April 2016. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 23 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. The commission should revise its existing 5 December recovery plan to include a list of applications 2021 supporting critical business functions, their maximum acceptable outage time frames, and detailed recovery strategies for each application. 17. The commission should revise its existing 5 December recovery plan to include detailed procedures 2021 for rebuilding its technology infrastructure at an alternate processing site. 18. The commission should conduct regular tests 5 December and exercises to assess the sufficiency of the 2021 revised recovery plan and refine the plan when necessary. California Public 2. To ensure that the choice of a vendor is 4 Will Not Utilities Commission: sufficiently justified and that the vendor Implement It Should Reform represents the best value, the CPUC should Its Rules to Increase explain in its final decision how the vendor Transparency and was the most qualified in all cases when Accountability, and Its the CPUC does not competitively select the Contracting Practices vendor it directs utilities to contract with. Do Not Align With 4. To avoid the appearance of inappropriate 4 Will Not Requirements or relationships, the CPUC should adopt a policy Implement Best Practices to prohibit commissioners from accepting 2016-104 gifts from regulated utilities and energy (September 2016) companies and free travel from organizations with significant ties to regulated utilities and other parties with financial interests in CPUC proceedings. 8. To ensure that its contracting practices align 4 June with state requirements and best practices, 2021 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. 13. The CPUC should update its regulations to 4 Will Not require parties joining a proceeding by filing Implement a protest 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. California’s Alternative 3. To show how air pollution emissions 5 November Energy and Efficiency reductions related to the solar initiative 2020# Initiatives: benefit the State, the commission should Two Programs Are include in future reports the measurable Meeting Some benefits of those reductions. Goals, but Several Improvements Are Needed 2014-124 (February 2015) continued on next page . . . 24 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS California Department of Technology California Department 14. To ensure that IT projects have the oversight 5 †  of Consumer Affairs’ needed to better position them for success, B BreEZe System: CalTech should develop thresholds relating Inadequate Planning to IT project cost increases and schedule and Oversight Led to delays to inform and better justify its Implementation at decision to allow an IT project to continue. If Far Fewer Regulatory a department’s IT project reaches or exceeds Entities at a Significantly these thresholds, CalTech should require Higher Cost the department to conduct a cost‑benefit analysis for the project and include this 2014-116 analysis in an SPR. CalTech should consider (February 2015) 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. Department of General Services California Department 2. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective 4 December of General Services’ delivery of projects, the division, in its 2021 Real Estate Services planned implementation of its new project Division: management system in July 2017, should To Better Serve Its ensure that the project management Client Agencies, It system can centrally track and extract all Needs to Track and data regarding project status, including Analyze Project Data time delays, cost overages, and the reasons and Improve Its for each. Management Practices 3. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective 4 December 2015-117 delivery of projects, the division, in its 2021 (March 2016) 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 4 December delivery of projects, the division, in its 2021 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 25 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. Until the division implements its planned 4 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 4 Will Not a process for preparing reasonable time Implement 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 4 Will Not equitable rates, by December 2016 General Implement 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. 8. To ensure that the project management 4 Will Not branch charges its client agencies a Implement 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 4 December agencies, the division should develop a 2021 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 4 †  of its 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. continued on next page . . . 26 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To ensure that its project management 4 †  staff are 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 3 Will Not Services and California noncompetitive contracts, General Services Implement Department of should, within 90 days, create plans for Technology: regularly performing statewide analyses Neither Entity Has to identify potential abuse or overuse of Provided the Oversight noncompetitive contracts. These analyses Necessary to Ensure should include, but not be limited to, That State Agencies calculating the proportional value and Consistently Use the number of the State’s competitive and Competitive Bidding noncompetitive contracts and amendments, Process examining trends in agencies’ use of noncompetitive contracts and amendments, 2016-124 and identifying unusual patterns among (June 2017) vendors receiving state contracts through noncompetitive means. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES California Department of Public Health California Department 2. To increase its efforts to prevent and control 5 Will Not of Public Health: diabetes, Public Health should develop a Implement Even With a Recent process for identifying and applying for Increase in Federal federal funding opportunities, including Funding, Its Efforts to routinely and proactively searching for Prevent Diabetes Are grants. In addition, Public Health should Focused on a Limited seek funding for a grants specialist position Number of Counties to identify and apply for federal and other grants. 2014-113 (January 2015) Follow-Up— 8. To ensure it can provide effective oversight of 5 December California Department labs as state law requires, Laboratory Services 2020 of Public Health: should address staffing issues by preparing and Laboratory Field resubmitting to Public Health a recruitment Services Is Unable and retention proposal, developing a to Oversee Clinical succession plan, and taking necessary steps to Laboratories Effectively, implement its planned reorganization. but a Feasible 9. To ensure it can provide effective oversight 5 June Alternative Exists of labs as state law requires, Laboratory 2022 2015-507 Services should ensure that its information (September 2015) technology data systems have necessary safeguards, contain accurate and complete data, and support its program needs. 10. To ensure it can provide effective oversight 5 January of labs as state law requires, Laboratory 2023 Services should update and develop its regulations as necessary to ensure consistency with existing state law. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 27 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Skilled Nursing 8. As the Legislature considers changes to state 2 3rd qtr. 2020# Facilities: law, Public Health should take the steps G Absent Effective State necessary to ensure that its oversight results Oversight, Substandard in nursing facilities improving their quality Quality of Care Has of care by amending its application licensing Continued reviews by developing a defined process that specifies how an analyst will determine 2017-109 whether an applicant has demonstrated (May 2018) its ability to comply with state and federal requirements. This process also needs to ensure that analysts conduct complete and standardized reviews of each nursing facility application within each class of facility. Specifically, these processes should clearly outline what factors analysts will consider when determining whether an applicant is in compliance, how analysts will weigh those factors for each class of facility, and what objective thresholds will prompt analysts to elevate applications for review and approval by higher‑level management. Additionally, Public Health should document the additional factors higher‑level management will consider if applications are elevated for their review to ensure that Public Health conducts standardized reviews of nursing facility applications of the same class. Finally, Public Health should develop processes ensuring that it documents its decisions adequately. 9. As the Legislature considers changes to state 2 †  law, Public Health should take the steps necessary to ensure that its oversight results in nursing facilities improving their quality of care by ensuring that it issues citations in a timely manner, especially for immediate jeopardy deficiencies. 11. To improve the availability and transparency 2 3rd qtr. 2020# of information, Public Health should upload all inspection findings to Cal Health Find and review ownership data by May 2019. California Department of Social Services California Department 10. To ensure that Social Services evaluates 3 January of Social Services: the risk individuals may pose to vulnerable 2021 D Its Caregiver populations in its licensed care facilities Background Check as quickly as possible, by July 2017 Social Bureau Lacks Criminal Services should establish time frames History Information for staff to evaluate individuals who are It Needs to Protect present in their facilities and who have Vulnerable Populations received administrative actions from other in Licensed Care departments. In addition, it should monitor Facilities and follow up with the appropriate staff regarding the status of their assessments of 2016-126 these individuals and their final decisions. (March 2017) continued on next page . . . 28 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To comply with state law and better protect 3 Will Not vulnerable populations in California’s Implement licensed 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 3 January Services receive both California and federal 2021 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 CBCB all self‑disclosure forms that identify a conviction. 17. Until the Legislature requires that Social 3 January Services receive both California and federal 2021 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 3 January actions in a timely manner, by July 2017 2021 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 State Auditor Report 2020-041 29 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California’s 30. To improve the oversight of psychotropic 4 Will Not Foster Care System: medications prescribed to foster children, Implement C The State and Counties Social Services should collaborate with the Have Failed to counties and other relevant stakeholders— Adequately Oversee including Health Care Services, as the Prescription necessary—to develop and implement a of Psychotropic reasonable oversight structure that ensures Medications to Children the coordination of the State’s and counties’ in Foster Care various oversight mechanisms as well as the accuracy and completeness of the information 2015-131 in Social Services’ data system. (August 2016) Follow-Up— 4. To ensure that counties’ use of foster family 5 Will Not California Department agency placements is justified, Social Implement of Social Services: Services should take action to implement Although Making the recommendation we previously made in Progress, It Could our 2011 audit. Specifically, Social Services Do More to Ensure should require counties to give licensed the Protection and foster homes a higher priority than foster Appropriate Placement family agencies for children that do not have of Foster Children identified treatment needs. 2015-502 5. To ensure that counties’ use of foster family 5 Will Not (July 2015) 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 5. To make certain that counties receive 5 †  Department of Social the greatest benefit from the resources Services: they spend on antifraud efforts related It Has Not Corrected to CalWORKs and CalFresh cases, Social Previously Recognized Services should, using the results from the Deficiencies in Its recommended cost‑effectiveness analysis, Oversight of Counties’ determine why some counties’ efforts to Antifraud Efforts for the combat welfare fraud are more cost‑effective CalWORKs and CalFresh than others. Programs 6. To make certain that counties receive 5 †  2015-503 the greatest benefit from the resources (June 2015) 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’ 5 Will Not prosecution thresholds for welfare fraud Implement cases and determine 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. continued on next page . . . 30 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. To make certain that counties receive 5 †  the greatest 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. 12. To make counties’ review of match lists more 5 †  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. Department of Developmental Services California Department 2. To ensure timelier fee assessments, 5 Will Not of Developmental Developmental Services should hold Implement Services: regional centers accountable for providing Its Process for Assessing the monthly placement reports and copies Fees Paid by Parents of information letters required by state of Children Living in regulations. To encourage compliance, Residential Facilities Developmental Services should specify in its Is Woefully Inefficient regional center contracts that noncompliant and Inconsistent regional centers will pay financial penalties equal to the amount of revenue lost because 2014-118 of their inaction. (January 2015) Department of 4. To ensure that regional centers are aware 4 July Developmental of the benefits, including cost savings to 2021 Services: the State that can be realized by using FMS It Cannot Verify vendors, DDS should formally communicate That Vendor to regional centers regarding the model. Rates for In‑Home 5. To ensure that in‑home respite vendors are 4 Will Not Respite Services providing quality services and that vendors Implement Are Appropriate are adhering to state requirements, DDS and That Regional should issue regulations requiring regional Centers and Vendors centers to conduct periodic and ongoing Meet Applicable reviews of vendors’ programs, employees, Requirements and consumer records. 2016-108 6. To ensure that in‑home respite vendors 4 July (October 2016) comply with vendor requirements on an 2021 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 4 July in accordance with state law and federal 2021 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 31 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Health Care Services California Department 6. If Health Care Services finds significant 5 †  of Health Care errors in a health plan’s provider directory, it Services: Improved should work with that health plan to identify Monitoring of Medi‑Cal reasons for the inaccuracies and require the Managed Care Health health plan to develop processes to eliminate Plans Is Necessary to the inaccuracies. Better Ensure Access to Care 2014-134 (June 2015) California 1. To ensure that it provides claiming units 5 Will Not Department of with reasonable opportunities to address Implement Health Care Services: concerns with its decisions or actions, Health It Should Improve Care Services should, within three months, Its Administration begin preparing regulations to establish and Oversight of and implement a formal appeals process School‑Based Medi‑Cal that allows claiming units to directly appeal Programs Health Care Services’ decisions. 2014-130 2. To ensure that it provides claiming units with 5 Will Not (August 2015) 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. 4. Until the Legislature implements our 5 Will Not recommendation in Chapter 2, Health Implement 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. 5. Until the Legislature implements our 5 Will Not recommendation in Chapter 2, Health Implement 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. continued on next page . . . 32 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To minimize the risk that claiming units could 5 December include unallowable costs when calculating 2020 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 5 July its administrative activities program and to 2021 improve the program’s cost‑effectiveness, Heath 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 5 July its administrative activities program and to 2025 improve the program’s cost‑effectiveness, Heath 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 5 July its administrative activities program and to 2021 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 5 Will Not and local governmental agencies are no Implement longer 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. 17. To better maximize federal reimbursements 5 Will Not for the administrative activities program, Implement 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 33 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 21. To provide the public with the ability to 5 December participate fully in developing the rules 2021 governing the administrative activities program, Health Care Services should, in accordance with California’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), immediately develop and adopt the regulations cited in the four subdivisions of Section 14132.47 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code. California 20. To make certain that it meets the 5 Will Not Department of requirements of the new state law and that Implement Health Care Services: its performance measures are accurate, Weaknesses in Its Health Care Services should establish the Medi‑Cal Dental provider‑to‑beneficiary ratio statewide Program Limit and by county as performance measures Children’s Access to designed to evaluate access and availability Dental Care of dental services and include this measure in its October 2015 report to the Legislature. 2013-125 (December 2014) 23. To ensure that Health Care Services and its 5 February fiscal intermediaries reimburse providers 2021 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. Department of 4. By September 2019, and periodically 1 July Health Care Services: thereafter, DHCS should conduct another 2021 Although Its Oversight risk assessment and ensure that it includes a of Managed Care comprehensive evaluation of which contract Health Plans Is areas—including conflicts of interest—it Generally Sufficient, should focus on in its annual medical audits. It Needs to Ensure That 5. Going forward, DHCS should conduct 1 January Their Administrative a comprehensive risk assessment and 2021 Expenses Are ensure that it reviews health plans' Reasonable and conflict‑of‑interest controls at least once Necessary every three years. 2018-115 6. DHCS should develop and issue an All‑Plan 1 June (April 2019) letter or other binding guidance by March 2021 2020 to the health plans that specifically defines what constitutes reasonable and necessary administrative expenses. 7. DHCS should provide guidance to health 1 Will Not plans on what is a reasonable bonus Implement program. In doing so, DHCS should perform the necessary oversight to ensure health plans comply with this direction. Department of 1. To ensure that beneficiaries in Regional 1 Will Not Health Care Services: Model counties have adequate access to Implement It Has Not Ensured That care, DHCS should identify by August 2020 Medi‑Cal Beneficiaries the locations requiring additional providers in Some Rural Counties and the types of providers required. It should Have Reasonable Access also develop strategies for recruiting and to Care retaining providers in those locations. If it requires additional funding to complete 2018-122 this assessment or to implement actions to (August 2019) address its findings, DHCS should determine the amounts it needs and request that funding from the Legislature. continued on next page . . . 34 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10 To ensure that all counties are aware of the 1 †  managed care model options available to them and of the steps necessary to implement those models, DHCS should provide by December 2019 information to all counties that clearly defines each managed care model and the steps and legal requirements needed to establish each model. 11. To ensure that it makes informed decisions 1 December regarding the extension or renewal of 2020 its contracts with managed care health plans, DHCS should immediately begin the practice of requesting annual feedback from the counties that the health plans serve and of using that feedback in its decision‑making process. 13. To ensure that beneficiaries in the Regional 1 Will Not Model counties have reasonable access to Implement care, DHCS should evaluate by June 2020 whether the structural characteristics of a COHS Model would be better suited to providing reasonable access to care in the Regional Model counties and notify the counties whether a COHS would improve beneficiaries' access to care. If some or all of these counties desire to transition to a COHS, DHCS should assist them in making that change after their current contracts expire. 14. To ensure that beneficiaries in the Regional 1 Will Not Model counties have reasonable access to Implement care, DHCS should evaluate by June 2020 whether it has the financial resources to provide assistance to counties interested in establishing a COHS or other managed care model after the current Regional Model contracts expire. If DHCS does not have the required financial resources, it should seek an appropriate amount of funding from the Legislature. 15. To ensure that beneficiaries in the Regional 1 Will Not Model counties have reasonable access to Implement care, DHCS should provide these counties by June 2020 with reasonable opportunities to decide whether to change their managed care models after the expiration of the Regional Model health plan contracts. DHCS should provide counties that choose to do so sufficient time to establish their new models. DHCS should also include language in its 2020 RFP to allow Regional Model counties that can demonstrate their ability to implement a COHS Model in their county by 2023 to opt out of the RFP process. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 35 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Health 2. To recover inappropriately spent funds, 2 December Care Services: It Paid prevent future erroneous payments, and 2022 Billions in Questionable ensure eligible individuals' access to care, Medi‑Cal Premiums Health Care Services should resolve the and Claims Because It discrepancies we identified and recover Failed to Follow Up on erroneous payments where allowable by Eligibility Discrepancies June 30, 2019. 2018-603 3. To prevent future erroneous payments, Health 2 December (October 2018) Care Services should implement procedures 2022 by December 31, 2018, to ensure the timely resolution of system discrepancies. These procedures should include Health Care Services regularly following up on recurring, unresolved system discrepancies with the responsible county. 4. To prevent future erroneous payments, Health 2 June Care Services should establish procedures by 2022 December 31, 2018, that define when it will use its authority as defined in state law to sanction unresponsive counties that do not remedy known discrepancies. 6. To assist counties in addressing discrepancies, 2 June Health Care Services should reevaluate 2021 and update its guidance to the counties related to prioritizing MEDS alerts by December 31, 2018. Department of 6. To increase access to preventive health 1 Will Not Health Care Services: services for children in areas where they Implement Millions of Children are needed most, DHCS should identify by in Medi‑Cal Are Not September 2019 where more providers who Receiving Preventive see children are needed and propose to the Health Services Legislature funding increases to recruit more providers in these areas. 2018-111 (March 2019) 7. To ensure that children in Medi‑Cal have 1 December access to all of the preventive services for 2020 which they are eligible, DHCS should modify by May 2019 its contracts to make it clear to plans and providers that they are required to provide services according to Bright Futures. 8. To ensure that eligible children and their 1 June families know about all the preventive 2021 services they are entitled to through Medi‑Cal, DHCS should include by May 2019 clearer and more comprehensive information about those services in its written materials and by September 2019 ensure annual follow‑up with any children and their families who have not used those services. 9. To improve access and utilization rates, DHCS 1 February should establish by March 2020 performance 2021 measures that cover Bright Futures services through well‑child visits for all age groups, and require plans to track and report the utilization rates on those measures. continued on next page . . . 36 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 11. To ensure that plans address underutilization 1 February of children's preventive services, DHCS 2021 should require plans by September 2019 to use their utilization management programs to identify barriers to usage specifically for these services and hold the plans accountable to address the barriers they identify. 12. To better ensure the accuracy of its data and 1 September ensure that California receives all available 2021 federal Medicaid funding, DHCS should require its EQRO to perform its encounter data validation studies annually using the most recent set of data available, and it should implement recommendations from its EQRO studies. 13. To ensure that plan provider directories are 1 December accurate, by September 2019 DHCS should 2021 begin using a 95 percent confidence level and not more than a 10 percent margin of error on its statistical sampling tool and should require at least 95 percent accuracy before approving a plan's provider directory. In addition, DHCS should ensure that its staff adhere to its policy to retain all documentation related to its review of provider directories for at least three years. 14. To mitigate health disparities for children 1 April of differing ethnic backgrounds and 2021 language needs, DHCS should revise by September 2019 the methodology for its EQRO's health disparity study to enable it to better make demographic comparisons, and it should use the findings to drive targeted interventions within plan service areas. It should publish this study annually. 16. To help increase utilization rates, DHCS 1 April should begin by September 2019 to monitor 2021 and identify effective incentive programs at the plan level and share the results with all plans. 18. To improve its ability to ensure that children 1 †  are receiving recommended preventive health services, DHCS should create by September 2019 an action plan to annually address the EQRO's recommendations relating to children's preventive services, including recommendations left unaddressed from the previous two years' reports. Mental Health 6. To increase access to preventive health 2 December Services Act: services for children in areas where they 2021 H The State Could Better are needed most, DHCS should identify by Ensure the Effective September 2019 where more providers who Use of Mental Health see children are needed and propose to the Services Act Funding Legislature funding increases to recruit more providers in these areas. 2017-117 (February 2018) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 37 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Skilled Nursing 12. Health Care Services should use current 2 December Facilities: data to revise and update the peer groups 2020 G Absent Effective State it uses to set Medi‑Cal rates. In doing Oversight, Substandard so, it should take into consideration the Quality of Care Has consolidation of the nursing facility industry. Continued 2017-109 (May 2018) Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission Mental Health 10. To ensure that the MHSA‑funded triage 2 †  Services Act: grants are effective, the Oversight H The State Could Better Commission should require that local mental Ensure the Effective health agencies uniformly report data on Use of Mental Health their uses of triage grants. It should also Services Act Funding establish statewide metrics to evaluate the impact of triage grants by July 2018. 2017-117 (February 2018) Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Skilled Nursing 10. To ensure that it provides the public with 2 †  Facilities: nursing facility information that is accurate G Absent Effective State and comprehensible, Health Planning should Oversight, Substandard update its regulations to do the following: Quality of Care Has • Append additional schedules to the Continued template for the annual cost report to 2017-109 enable nursing facilities to fully disclose related‑party transactions. (May 2018) • Provide a single location in the annual cost report template for nursing facilities to enter related‑party transaction amounts next to the amounts they are claiming for Medi‑Cal reimbursement. • Create an additional schedule in the cost report template that depicts how a company is investing in quality‑of‑care improvements. continued on next page . . . 38 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION HIGHER EDUCATION Chancellor of the California Community Colleges California 4. To ensure that students with disabilities have 2 †  Community Colleges: equal access to instructional materials, by Y The Colleges Reviewed June 2018, the Chancellor's Office should Are Not Adequately develop guidance for the community Monitoring Services for colleges on periodically monitoring the Technology Accessibility, accessibility of instructional materials and and Districts and on providing training to all instructors in Colleges Should making their materials accessible to students Formalize Procedures for with disabilities. Upgrading Technology 7. To assist all community colleges in 2 Will Not 2017-102 increasing transparency of their shared Implement (December 2017) governance decision‑making processes, by September 2018, the Chancellor's Office should issue guidance to the community colleges on establishing procedures to document the attendees, input received, and agreements reached during department meetings, including those to consider technology equipment requests. San Diego State University California State 56. To ensure the health and safety of students 2 January University: in a laboratory setting, beginning in the Fall 2021 I It Has Not Provided 2018 semester, San Diego should perform Adequate Oversight of reviews at least annually to ensure that all the Safety of Employees departments are using the student training and Students Who acknowledgement forms and are complying Work With Hazardous with the retention requirement. Materials 2017-119 (April 2018) The California State University California State 3. To improve CSU's financial transparency 1 †  University: with students and other stakeholders, It Failed to Fully the Chancellor's Office, with the approval Disclose Its $1.5 Billion of the trustees, should revise CSU policy Surplus, and It Has Not by October 2019 to require that it publish Adequately Invested in information about CSU's discretionary surplus. Alternatives to Costly At a minimum, the Chancellor's Office should Parking Facilities revise its reserve policy to establish and justify a minimum sufficient level of reserve 2018-127 for economic uncertainty and require the (June 2019) Chancellor's Office to provide additional oversight to ensure that CSU maintains that level. This oversight should include monitoring, approving, and notifying the trustees of any uses of the reserve for economic uncertainty. 9. The Chancellor's Office should require that, 1 March by October 2019, the campuses publish 2020# the names of the alternate transportation committee members, the committee meeting minutes, and the committee meeting schedule on their parking and transportation services websites. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 39 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California State 5. Once it has developed the health and safety 2 January University: reporting template and campuses have used 2021 I It Has Not Provided it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Adequate Oversight of Office should develop recommendations for the Safety of Employees improving campus health and safety and and Students Who follow up on the campuses' implementation Work With Hazardous of any corrective actions related to Materials these recommendations. 2017-119 6. Once it has developed the health and safety 2 January (April 2018) reporting template and campuses have used 2021 it to submit their reports, the Chancellor's Office should incorporate the risks identified in its assessments into the University Auditor's audit plan to ensure that the University Auditor evaluates problem areas related to campus health and safety. 10. To ensure the health and safety of employees 2 June working with hazardous materials, the 2021 Chancellor's Office should prescribe the frequency for which the campuses provide refresher laboratory safety training to employees. 59. Based on campuses annual reports on 2 June the timeliness of their inspections of 2021 safeguards, engineering controls, and ventilation systems, the Chancellor's Office should follow up with campuses that report untimely inspections and should require that the campuses develop action plans to ensure that they complete inspections as often as state regulations require. California State 3. To improve the oversight of CSU’s 3 June University: management personnel, the Chancellor’s 2021 Stronger Oversight Office should work with campuses, Is Needed for Hiring bargaining unit representatives, the Public and Compensating Employment Relations Board, and others as Management Personnel necessary to come to an agreement on the and for Monitoring appropriate classification of coaches. The Campus Budgets Chancellor’s Office should take into account the concerns that San Diego State has raised 2016-122 about the labor market for these employees. (April 2017) 10. The Chancellor’s Office should finish 3 December developing the Common Human Resources 2024 System and implement it as scheduled by December 2019. continued on next page . . . 40 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION University of California The University of 5. To determine the amount of money that it 3 †  California Office can reallocate to campuses and to ensure E of the President: that it publicly presents comprehensive and It Failed to Disclose Tens accurate budget information, by April 2018 of Millions in Surplus the Office of the President should implement Funds, and Its Budget our recommended budget presentation Practices Are Misleading shown in Figure 11 on page 40. Specifically, the Office of the President’s budget 2016-130 presentation to the regents should include (April 2017) 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. 22. To determine the amount of money that it 3 †  can reallocate to campuses and to ensure that it publicly presents comprehensive and accurate budget information, by April 2019 the Office of the President should continue to present a comprehensive budget based on the presentation in Figure 11 to the regents, the Legislature, and the public. 23. To ensure that its staffing costs align with the 3 †  needs of campuses and other stakeholders, by April 2019 the Office of the President should set targets for any needed reductions to salary amounts using the results from its public and private sector comparison and adjust its salaries accordingly. 32. To determine the amount of money that it 3 †  can reallocate to campuses and to ensure that it publicly presents comprehensive and accurate budget information, by April 2020 the Office of the President should evaluate its budget process to ensure that it is efficient and has adequate safeguards that ensure that staff approve and justify all budget expenditures. If the Office of the President determines that its safeguards are sufficient, it should begin developing a multiyear budget plan. 34. To ensure that its staffing costs align with the 3 †  needs of campuses and other stakeholders, by April 2020 the Office of the President should adjust its salary levels and ranges to meet its established targets. 36. To ensure that its staffing costs align with the 3 †  needs of campuses and other stakeholders, by April 2020 the Office of the President should reallocate funds to campuses when adjustments to its salaries and benefits result in savings. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 41 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 39. To ensure that its staffing costs align with the 3 †  needs of campuses and other stakeholders, by April 2020 the Office of the President should report to the regents on the amount of funds it reallocates to campuses as a result of implementing our recommendations. The University of 8. To ensure that the university achieves its goals 3 †   California Office of obtaining services at the lowest cost or of the President: best value and of providing vendors with fair It Has Not Adequately access to contracting opportunities, the Office Ensured Compliance of the President should revise the university’s With Its Employee contract manual to incorporate the best Displacement and practices found in the State Contracting Services Contract Manual for limiting the use of amendments to Policies repeatedly extend existing contracts. 2016-125.1 9. To ensure that the university achieves its 3 †   (August 2017) goals 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. 15. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 3 June procurement initiative and to ensure that the 2021 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 3 June procurement initiative and to ensure that the 2021 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 24. To address any patterns or systemic 2 †  of California: problems of sexual harassment, by July 2019 It Must Take Additional the systemwide office should work with each Steps to Address campus to develop and implement processes Long‑Standing Issues and data reports to assist the campus in With Its Response to regularly identifying patterns and systemic Sexual Harassment problems related to sexual harassment and Complaints in instituting sexual harassment prevention education and training in those areas that 2017-125 need it. (June 2018) continued on next page . . . 42 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 25. To address any patterns or systemic 2 †  problems of sexual harassment, by July 2019 the systemwide office should work with each campus to implement ongoing data quality control processes in order to ensure sexual harassment complaints data are accurate and complete. 26. To address any patterns or systemic 2 †  problems of sexual harassment, by July 2019 the systemwide office should identify and review campuses' complaints data to identify outliers in their use of the formal, informal, and administratively closed processes. The University 1. To meet its commitment to California 4 Will Not of California: residents, the university should replace Implement Its Admissions and its “compare favorably” policy with a Financial Decisions new admission standard for nonresident Have Disadvantaged applicants that reflects the intent of the California Resident Master Plan. The admission standard should Students require campuses to admit only nonresidents with admissions credentials that place them 2015-107 in the upper half of the residents it admits. (March 2016) 2. To meet its commitment to California 4 Ongoing residents, the university should amend its referral process by taking steps to increase the likelihood that referred residents ultimately enroll. 3. To ensure that campuses’ interpretations 4 Ongoing of 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. 8. To ensure the reasonableness of the 4 Undetermined compensation 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 4 Will Not of its annual compensation report, the Implement university should streamline the process it uses to prepare the report so it can be issued by April of each year. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 43 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To maximize the savings and new revenue 4 Ongoing from 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 4 †   from 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 4 Ongoing from 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 4 Will Not residents, the university should prioritize Implement 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 4 †   funds to 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 4 †   for 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. continued on next page . . . 44 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 18. To ensure that it spends state funds 4 †   prudently for 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 4 †   prudently for 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 4 Undetermined 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 4 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, Board of Regents The University of 7. To ensure the ongoing accountability of 3 †  California Office the Office of the President, the regents E of the President: should require it to implement our It Failed to Disclose Tens recommendations and report periodically on of Millions in Surplus its progress. Funds, and Its Budget 14. To ensure that the Office of the President’s 3 †  Practices Are Misleading staffing levels are justified and that costs 2016-130 are reasonable and align with the needs (April 2017) of campuses and other stakeholders, the regents should require the Office of the President to implement our recommendations and report periodically on its progress. University of California, Davis University of 4. UC Davis should collect all late fees that its 5 Will Not California, Davis: licensees owe. Implement It Has Not Identified Future Financing for the Strawberry Breeding Program nor Collected All Available Revenues 2014-121 (June 2015) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 45 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION K–12 EDUCATION California Department of Education California Department 1. To strengthen its administrative reviews 3 Will Not of Education: and help ensure that school food authorities Implement X It Has Not Ensured That comply with the Buy American requirement, School Food Authorities Education should update its written Comply With the procedures to include a requirement that Federal Buy American reviewers collect and retain evidence for Requirement all items they evaluate for compliance with the Buy American requirement. This update 2016-139 should occur no later than October 1, 2017. (July 2017) Community 4. To make its appeal process more accessible 2 Will Not Child Care Council of to families who may not receive a satisfactory Implement Santa Clara County: resolution from its contractors, Education Because It should, by October 2018, require that its Disadvantaged Some contractors share key information in their Families and Misused communications with families about the State Funds, It Could process for appealing notices. The required Benefit From Increased information should include valid grounds for a Monitoring by the family to file an appeal as well as information California Department or documentation Education would need in of Education order to review the family’s appeal of adverse decisions regarding their child‑care services. 2017-116 Education should also require contractors to (April 2018) incorporate this information into contractually mandated staff training and into publicly available policies and procedures. 11. To ensure that its contractors can effectively 2 Will Not make program improvements and maintain Implement successes in ways that are meaningful to their stakeholders, Education should adopt measures to ensure its contractors follow the terms of their contracts by demonstrating that their board members conduct a critical appraisal of each education program. School Library 23. To better understand the condition of school 3 Will Not Services: libraries statewide and to raise stakeholders’ Implement W Vague State Laws and awareness of the State Education Board’s a Lack of Monitoring adopted model standards, Education should Allow School Districts to identify school districts that reported Provide a Minimal Level employing significantly fewer teacher of Library Services librarians in fiscal year 2015–16 than in previous years and verify the accuracy of 2016-112 their fiscal year 2015–16 reports. (November 2016) continued on next page . . . 46 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION School Violence 8. To ensure that districts, county offices, 3 †  Prevention: and schools receive guidance on a variety F School Districts, County of safety issues and to comply with state Offices of Education, law, CDE and DOJ should resume their and the State Must Do partnership activities, as required by More to Ensure That state law. Further, the partnership should School Safety Plans update the 2002 handbook, “Safe Schools: Help Protect Students A Planning Guide for Action,” and distribute and Staff During it to all districts and county offices. If CDE Emergencies or DOJ determine the need for additional funds to implement the legislative 2016-136 recommendations or to reestablish the (August 2017) partnership’s activities, they should request those funds from the Legislature. Student Mental 3. To ensure that all LEAs comply with federal 4 Will Not Health Services: special education requirements, Education Implement U Some Students’ Services should require them to include directly in Were Affected by a a student’s IEP document reasons for any New State Law, and the changes to student placement or services. State Needs to Analyze 8. To enable it to review additional areas of 4 Will Not Student Outcomes and its special education program for quality Implement Track Service Costs assurance, Education should collect 2015-112 information about the frequency of the (January 2016) provision of each service contained in all students’ IEPs. 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 4 Will Not and state requirements, Education should Implement require all 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 4 Will Not the Legislature, by May 30, 2016, on the Implement outcomes 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 4 Will Not LEAs spend to provide mental health Implement services for 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 47 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 29. To ensure that the State provides special 4 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 3. To ensure that it consistently processes 3 December Procedures: complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 The California and that it investigates and reviews all UCP Department of complaints and appeals in compliance with Education’s Inadequate state law and regulations, by July 2017 Oversight Has Led to Education should designate a central office a Lack of Uniformity to receive all complaints and appeals. This and Compliance in central office should distribute complaints the Processing of and appeals to the correct divisions for Complaints and Appeals investigation or review. 2016-109 4. To ensure that it consistently processes 3 December (January 2017) complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 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 3 December complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 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. continued on next page . . . 48 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To ensure that it consistently processes 3 December complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 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 3 December complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 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. 8. To ensure that it consistently processes 3 December complaints and appeals in a timely manner 2021 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. 16. To increase the efficiency and effectiveness 3 Will Not of LEAs’ UCP processes, Education should Implement work 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 3 Will Not consistent and align with state and Implement 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 49 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 23. After it makes the recommended regulatory 3 Will Not changes to allow extensions under Implement 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. LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Employment Development Department Employment 2. To reduce the risk of identity theft for 1 Fiscal Year Development its claimants before it completes its 2020–21 Department: modernization project, EDD should, by Its Practice of Mailing December 2021, implement one or more of Documents Containing our proposed solutions or another viable Social Security Numbers solution to discontinue its use of full SSNs Puts Californians at Risk as unique identifiers on all documents of Identity Theft that it mails to claimants. Further, it should prioritize addressing documents with the 2018-129 highest mail volumes, and it should make (March 2019) changes to these documents by March 2020. When providing us with the status of its implementation of this recommendation at 60 days, six months, and one year after the issuance of this report, and annually thereafter, EDD should note which documents it has addressed since the release of our report, how it has addressed them, and the dates by which it expects to address the remaining documents containing full SSNs that it mails to claimants. 3. To ensure that it eliminates any unnecessary 1 December uses of personal information in its external 2021 communications and to ensure that it fully protects its claimants' privacy, EDD should, by May 2019, implement its recently developed plan for reviewing new, revised, and existing documents. EDD should provide documents to us indicating the progress it has made to implement this recommendation at 60 days, six months, and one year following the release of this report. Finally, it should, by December 2021, complete its full review of existing documents and remove any unnecessary instances of personal information. continued on next page . . . 50 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Department of Justice Bureau of Gambling 7. To minimize the degree to which its process 1 Fall Control and California to change its regulations may result in the 2021 K Gambling Control disparate treatment of card room owners, Commission: the bureau should temporarily approve or Their Licensing deny its backlogged games applications by Processes Are Inefficient July 2019. and Foster Unequal 12. To better align the revenue in the Gambling 1 July Treatment of Applicants Fund with the costs of the activities 2020# 2018-132 that the fund supports, the bureau and (May 2019) the commission should conduct cost analyses of those activities by July 2020. At a minimum, these cost analyses should include the following: • The entities’ personnel costs, operating costs, and any program overhead costs. • Updated time estimates for their core and support activities, such as background investigations. • The cost of their enforcement activities. Using this information, the bureau and commission should reset their regulatory fees to reflect their actual costs. Before conducting its fee study, the bureau should implement our recommendations to improve its processes for assigning applications, ensuring the completeness of applications, and developing time‑reporting protocols. 21. To ensure that it can provide useful and 1 Depends on accurate data on the locations where Funding enforcement employees spend their time, the bureau should equip its time‑reporting system by November 2019 with the capacity to track all hours employees spend at each card room and casino California Department 19. To ensure that it has complete disposition 3 March of Social Services: information, Justice should coordinate with 2021 D Its Caregiver the Judicial Council at least once a year to Background Check share information about court reporting Bureau Lacks Criminal gaps and to determine the need to distribute History Information additional information to courts about It Needs to Protect reporting requirements and the manner in Vulnerable Populations which to report. In addition, Justice should in Licensed Care reconvene its advisory committee and meet Facilities on a regular basis to discuss, at a minimum, improving the frequency and timeliness with 2016-126 which courts report dispositions to Justice (March 2017) and law enforcement agencies report arrest information to Justice. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 51 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 20. To ensure that it is receiving all arrest 3 Will Not information from law enforcement agencies, Implement 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. Hate Crimes 3. To increase the effectiveness of hate 2 January in California: crime prevention and response efforts, 2021 AA Law Enforcement DOJ should provide additional guidance Has Not Adequately to law enforcement agencies by adding Identified, Reported, region‑specific data fields to the hate crime or Responded to Hate database, including items such as the zip Crimes code in which reported hate crimes took place and other fields that DOJ determines 2017-131 will support its outreach efforts. (May 2018) 4. To increase the effectiveness of hate crime 2 January prevention and response efforts, DOJ 2021 should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by analyzing reported hate crimes in various regions in the State and sending advisory notices when it detects hate crimes happening across multiple jurisdictions. It should also seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary. 5. To increase the effectiveness of hate crime 2 January prevention and response efforts, DOJ 2021 should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by creating and disseminating outreach materials so law enforcement agencies can better engage with their communities. 6. To increase the effectiveness of hate crime 2 January prevention and response efforts, DOJ 2021 should provide additional guidance to law enforcement agencies by creating and making available training materials for law enforcement agencies on how best to identify and respond to hate crimes. 7. To ensure that law enforcement agencies 2 January effectively engage with communities regarding 2021 hate crimes, DOJ should provide guidance and best practices for law enforcement agencies to follow when conducting hate crime outreach to vulnerable communities within their jurisdictions, such as collaborating with a county human rights commission. It should make the outreach materials available to law enforcement agencies and should include in them presentation materials for various types of communities, including immigrants and Muslims, among others. It should seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary. continued on next page . . . 52 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION School Violence 9. To ensure that districts, county offices, 3 Unknown Prevention: and schools receive guidance on a variety F School Districts, County of safety issues and to comply with state Offices of Education, law, CDE and DOJ should resume their and the State Must Do partnership activities, as required by state More to Ensure That law. Further, the partnership should update School Safety Plans the 2002 handbook, “Safe Schools: A Help Protect Students Planning Guide for Action,” and distribute and Staff During it to all districts and county offices. If CDE Emergencies or DOJ determine the need for additional funds to implement the legislative 2016-136 recommendations or to reestablish the (August 2017) partnership’s activities, they should request those funds from the Legislature. The CalGang Criminal 10. As the Legislature considers creating a public 4 October Intelligence System: program for shared gang database oversight 2021 V As the Result of Its Weak and accountability, Justice should guide Oversight Structure, It the board and the committee to identify Contains Questionable and address the shortcomings that exist in Information That May CalGang’s current operations and oversight. Violate Individuals’ The guidance Justice provides to the board Privacy Rights and the committee should address, but not be limited to, developing best practices 2015-130 based on the requirements stated in the (August 2016) 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 4 October program for shared gang database oversight 2021 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 2020-041 53 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. As the Legislature considers creating a public 4 October program for shared gang database oversight 2021 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 4 October program for shared gang database oversight 2021 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. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration§ State Board of 2. Unless the Legislature directs the board 4 December Equalization: to eliminate the compliance fund’s excess 2021 Its Tobacco Tax fund balance within a time frame of more Enforcement Efforts than a year, the board should eliminate the Are Effective and excess fund balance by June 30, 2017 by Properly Funded, but using it to offset the licensing program’s Other Funding Options annual funding shortfall. The board should and Cost Savings also limit the fund’s future balance to no Are Possible more than two months’ worth of licensing program expenditures. 2015-119 (March 2016) continued on next page . . . 54 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION The Bradley-Burns 6. To help address California’s e‑commerce tax 2 Will Not Tax and Local gap and further ensure out‑of‑state retailers’ Implement Transportation Funds: compliance with state law regarding nexus, Changing the Allocation Tax Administration should implement a Structure for the two‑year pilot of its authorized reward Bradley‑Burns Tax program for information resulting in the Would Result in a More identification of unreported sales and Equitable Distribution use taxes. of Local Transportation Funding 2017-106 (November 2017) California Health Facilities Financing Authority Children’s Hospital 1. The authority should amend its regulations 5 Will Not Program: to bring them into accord with the 2004 act, Implement The California Health thus allowing any eligible hospital to apply Facilities Financing for the 2004 act’s funds that remained as of Authority Has Generally June 30, 2014. Complied With Laws and Regulations and Resolved Its Issue Related to High Fund Balances 2015-042 (September 2015) Commission on Judicial Performance Commission on 6. To ensure that it adequately investigates 1 †  Judicial Performance: alleged judicial misconduct, by April 2020 Weaknesses in Its CJP should expand the role of its legal Oversight Have Created advisor's office to include periodic reviews of Opportunities for the quality of closed investigations and, as Judicial Misconduct warranted, to recommend changes to CJP's to Persist investigative practices. 2016-137 8. To allow it to detect potential judicial 1 January (April 2019) misconduct associated with legal errors, CJP 2021 should immediately direct its staff to use more appropriate allegation codes when closing complaints at intake. By October 2019, CJP should determine what data it will need to begin tracking so it can trend information— voluntarily provided by complainants—that could indicate complaints about legal error should be investigated because there is a risk that legal error is the result of underlying misconduct, such as bias. By October 2019, CJP should also develop procedures that indicate how often it will evaluate its data for such trends and establish guidelines for when trends warrant CJP staff recommending that the commission open an investigation. CJP should begin tracking that information and implement these procedures as soon as possible. 10. To improve its transparency and accessibility 1 May to the general public, by April 2020 CJP 2021 should implement a plan to regularly engage in outreach activities that target the general public. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 55 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To ensure that it expeditiously improves 1 January the public's ability to submit complaints, 2021 CJP should begin accepting complaints online upon updating its electronic case management system. 14. To maximize the resources available for its 1 Unknown core functions, CJP should immediately begin exploring options for relocating its office to a less expensive location and relocate as soon as possible. 15. To ensure that it obtains the resources 1 May necessary to fulfill its mission, CJP should 2021 report to the Legislature by May of each of & the next three years about the following: May • Its progress in implementing our 2022 recommendations and any associated effects on its workload. • The steps it has taken to realize efficiencies in its operations. • Its evaluation of whether the investigations manager is a full‑time position and any funding it will need in the future to support that position. • Its progress in purchasing and implementing a new electronic case management system. • Its progress in relocating its office space to a more affordable location. • Any savings or unforeseen costs arising from the changes we identify above. Judicial Council of California II Judicial Branch 1. To ensure that the compensation the AOC 5 Will Not of California: provides is reasonable, the Judicial Council Implement Because of should adopt procedures that require a Questionable Fiscal and regular and thorough review of the AOC’s Operational Decisions, compensation practices including an the Judicial Council analysis of the job duties of each position and the Administrative to ensure that the compensation aligns Office of the Courts with the requirements of the position. This Have Not Maximized review should include comparable executive the Funds Available branch salaries, along with a justification for the Courts when an AOC position is compensated at a higher level than a comparable executive 2014-107 branch position. (January 2015) 3. To ensure that its compensation structure 5 Will Not is reasonable, the AOC should mirror the Implement executive branch’s practices for offering leave buyback programs in terms of frequency and amount. 4. To increase its efficiency and decrease its travel 5 Will Not expenses, the AOC should require its directors Implement and 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. continued on next page . . . 56 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 11. To reduce its expenses, the AOC should cease 5 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, 5 Will Not the AOC should develop and implement 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 5 Will Not survey of the courts on a regular schedule— Implement 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. 20. To justify its budget and staffing levels, the 5 Will Not AOC should conduct the steps in CalHR’s Implement workforce 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 5 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 5 Will Not AOC, the Judicial Council should implement Implement some or all of the best practices we identified to improve the transparency of AOC spending activities. Secretary of State’s Office Santa Clara County 11. The Secretary of State should adopt 3 December Registrar of Voters: regulations establishing clear criteria for 2021 Insufficient Policies mistakes in election‑related materials that and Procedures Have constitute reportable errors and require Led to Errors That May counties to report these errors to it after Have Reduced Voters’ each election. Confidence in the 12. Beginning in December 2018, the Secretary 3 December Registrar’s Office of State should implement annual risk‑based 2021 2017-107 reviews of a selection of county election (October 2017) officials' offices to ensure their compliance with state election laws and regulations. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 57 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To inform and enhance the guidance it 3 December provides to county election officials, the 2021 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: 9. To enable it to effectively determine its 1 1st Quarter It Should Balance budget, State Bar should continue to 2021 Fee Increases With annually prepare five‑year projections. Other Actions to 10. To ensure that it maximizes the revenue from 1 Unknown Raise Revenue and its San Francisco building, State Bar should Decrease Costs lease all available space and ensure that 2018-030 its leases reflect market rates. (April 2019) 11. To ensure that it maximizes the revenue 1 Unknown from its San Francisco building, in the event of any future staff growth, State Bar should avoid adding space by reducing its space allocations when practical to more closely match industry standards. 14. To further its ability to operate more 1 1st Quarter efficiently and reduce the backlog of 2021 discipline cases, State Bar should use its performance measures and collected data going forward to evaluate its case processing goals and work with the Legislature to revise the 180‑day statutory goal if necessary. The State Bar 6. To assign purchasing cards only to 3 †   of California: appropriate staff, ensure that the State Bar's It Needs Additional records of employees' credit limits reflect Revisions to Its Expense those established with the bank, and to Policies to Ensure That It verify that staff use purchasing cards only for Uses Funds Prudently allowable and necessary expenses, the State Bar should immediately develop a policy that 2017-030 requires justification of the business needs (June 2017) 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 3 †   appropriate 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 3 †   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. continued on next page . . . 58 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION State Controller’s Office Investigations of 22. By April 2019, the SCO should review 1 Pending Improper Activities attendance for the employee for the by State Agencies and time period that she worked an alternate Employees: schedule to determine whether she owes Inefficient Management the State any additional hours as a result of State Resources, of informally switching her regular day off Misuse of State (RDO). If she does, the SCO should recover Time and Inaccurate any overpayments or adjust her leave Attendance Records, balances accordingly. and Inadequate 23. By June 2019, the SCO should review the 1 Pending Supervision attendance records of the manager's other I2019-2 staff to determine whether the other (April 2019)‡ employees also failed to account for any missed work time. 24. The SCO should determine whether other 1 Pending managers or supervisors at the SCO also allowed employees to informally switch their RDOs. If so, the SCO should review the attendance records for the relevant employees to verify that they accurately recorded their time off and hours worked. To the extent that the SCO determines other employees improperly accounted for their time, the SCO should recover any overpayments or adjust their leave balances accordingly. Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Judicial Branch 2. The Los Angeles court should ensure that 1 June Procurement: it documents best value in its procurement 2021 Some Superior Courts files when selecting vendors from leveraged Generally Followed procurement agreements. Requirements but Could Improve Their Procurement Practices 2018-301 (January 2019) Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Judicial Branch 13. To ensure that it properly authorizes 3 Will Not Procurement: payments and purchases only allowable Implement The Five Superior Courts items, the San Mateo court should We Reviewed Mostly process payments in accordance with the Adhered to Required requirements and recommended practices and Recommended of the Judicial Council and the State. Practices, but Some Specifically, the San Mateo court should Improvements amend its bottled water service contract to Are Needed ensure that water is purchased for use by jurors and court room staff only. 2016-301 (November 2016) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 59 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION NATURAL RESOURCES California Department of Water Resources Department of 7. To ensure that DWR manages WaterFix in 3 March Water Resources: an effective manner, DWR should complete 2024 The Unexpected both the economic analysis and financial Complexity of the analysis for WaterFix and make the analyses California WaterFix publicly available as soon as possible. Project Has Resulted in Significant Cost Increases and Delays 2016-132 (October 2017) TRANSPORTATION California High-Speed Rail Authority California High-Speed 4. To enable policymakers and the public to 1 †  Rail Authority: track the Authority's progress toward meeting Its Flawed Decision the federal grant deadline of December 2022, Making and Poor the Authority should, by January 2019, begin Contract Management providing quarterly updates to the Legislature Have Contributed to detailing the progress of the three Central Billions in Cost Overruns Valley construction projects using an earned and Delays in the value model that compares construction System’s Construction progress to the projected total completion cost and date. The Authority should 2018-108 base these updates on the most current (November 2018) estimates available. 5. To ensure that it is adequately prepared if it 1 June is unable to meet the federal grant deadline 2021 of December 2022, the Authority should, by May 2019, develop a contingency plan for responding to such a scenario. † Contrary to the State Auditor’s determination, the audited agency believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. ‡ Before publishing a report of an investigation, the State Auditor provides the head of each 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 case published in report I2016‑2 for recommendation 1 was provided to the State Water Resources Control Board in June 2016. The case published in report I2017‑1 for recommendations 15, 17, and 19 was provided to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in January 2017. The cases published in report I2018‑1 under recommendations 14, 15, and 20 were provided to the involved departments and agencies in February 2018. The case published in report I2019‑2 for recommendations 22, 23, and 24 was provided to the State Controller’s Office in February 2019. Lastly, the case published in report I2019‑4 for recommendations 1, 3, 4, 5, and 12 was provided to the California Department of Food and Agriculture in April 2019. § In July 2017, the State Board of Equalization was restructured and transferred certain duties to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. ll 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. # In its latest response, the audited agency did not update its estimated date of completion. 60 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 Blank page inserted for reproduction purposes only. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 61 January 2021 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2014 Through October 2019) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION NONSTATE ENTITIES Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District Charter Schools: 11. To ensure that it has a method to hold charter 3 †   Some School schools accountable for their educational Q Districts Improperly programs, Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should, Authorized and as a best practice, strengthen its authorization Inadequately Monitored process by using the State Education Board’s Out‑of‑District Charter criteria for evaluating petitions. Schools 12. To ensure compliance with state law, 3 †   2016-141 Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified should (October 2017) 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, 3 †   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, 3 †   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 of its 3 Will Not charter schools’ finances, Acton‑Agua Dulce Implement Unified should place a district representative as a nonvoting member on each charter school’s governing board. 20. To ensure that charter schools work toward 3 †   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 maintain 3 †   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. continued on next page . . . 62 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officer 27. To ensure that it is able to identify high risk 2 †  Health and Safety: situations and deter repeat offenders, Santa BB Some State and County Rita should specifically track all gassing Correctional Facilities attacks and use the tracking data as a tool to Could Better Protect prevent future gassing attacks. Their Officers From the Health Risks of Certain Inmate Attacks 2018-106 (September 2018) Alum Rock Union School District Alum Rock Union 2. To preclude a situation where a contractor 1 †  Elementary oversees its own work, the board should School District: enact a policy by August 2019 to prohibit The District and contracting with the same entity for Its Board Must construction management and program Improve Governance management services. and Operations to 3. To strengthen its ability to oversee district 1 †  Effectively Serve the expenditures, the board should require the Community district by August 2019 to prepare monthly 2018-131 summaries that report the total amounts (May 2019) it paid to each of its contractors, along with descriptions of the purpose of those payments, and to include the summaries with the monthly warrant lists it provides to the board. 5. By November 2019, the district should 1 †   develop contract monitoring procedures with defined staff roles and responsibilities, including retaining evidence of monitoring efforts. The district should also train its staff to follow these procedures. 6. By November 2019, the district should 1 June develop procedures specifying a designated 2021 location for staff to retain contracts and related documentation and identifying those staff who are responsible for ensuring that these documents are stored appropriately. The district should also train staff to follow these procedures. 7. By November 2019, the district should 1 †   work with the county office to ensure that its new financial system includes unique identifiers for contract payment authorization documents. 8. To identify its contracted personnel's 1 †  potential conflicts of interest, the district should develop and implement a process by November 2019 to assess whether contracted personnel should be classified as consultants and are therefore subject to the district's code for disclosing financial interests. 9. The district should immediately follow its 1 †  conflict‑of‑interest code to ensure that all required individuals file Forms 700. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 63 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 12. To ensure compliance with government 1 †  transparency laws in future meetings, the board should ensure that it publicly identifies all parties involved in real estate negotiations prior to entering closed sessions. 17. To ensure that it provides a clear strategic 1 January direction for the district, the board should 2020# develop a vision and establish goals for the district by November 2019 and regularly monitor progress toward achieving these goals, as district policy requires. 19. To increase the board's accountability and 1 †   ensure the prudent spending of district funds, the board should implement procedures by August 2019 requiring that its members document on their requests for reimbursement how their travel complies with district policy. 22. To demonstrate its commitment to 1 †   improving its governance over the district's operations, the board should immediately direct district staff to track and prioritize the implementation of the remaining outstanding recommendations from the FCMAT audit report. The board should also direct staff to analyze the recommendations relating to its terminated contracts with Del Terra, identify those recommendations that will continue to be relevant after the appointment of a new construction manager and a new program manager, and implement policies to strengthen the district's monitoring of those contractors. The board should then monitor the status of the recommendations to ensure their implementation. 24. To reinforce the ethical principles, laws, 1 †   and policies that the board must follow, the district should establish a policy by July 2019 to provide biennial training to board members on ethics, applicable government transparency, conflict‑of‑interest requirements, and district policies. 26. To ensure that the bond committee 1 †   includes representatives from all required constituencies, the district should verify and document representation of the committee members that the board appoints. 28. To ensure that district staff have appropriate 1 †  guidance when awarding contracts under emergency conditions, the district should create and implement by November 2019 policies and procedures describing the protocol for awarding emergency contracts, including the use of the district's standard contracting forms. The district should also train staff to follow these policies and procedures. continued on next page . . . 64 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Antelope Valley Union High School District Charter Schools: 30. To better ensure effective oversight of its 3 Will Not Some School charter schools’ finances, Antelope Valley Implement Q Districts Improperly Union should place a district representative Authorized and as a nonvoting member on each charter Inadequately Monitored school’s governing board. Out‑of‑District Charter Schools 2016-141 (October 2017) Bakersfield College Clery Act 19. To ensure Bakersfield requests and reports 2 January Requirements and Clery Act crimes from local law enforcement, 2021 R Crime Reporting: the institution should by August 2018 Compliance Continues create and begin following a procedure, to Challenge California’s in conjunction with a written agreement Colleges and with local law enforcement, to obtain crime Universities statistics for the annual security report. 2017-032 (May 2018) Central Basin Municipal Water District Central Basin 23. To ensure it is efficiently using its resources, 4 Will Not Municipal Water the district should eliminate its board Implement District: members’ automobile or transportation Its Board of Directors allowances and instead reimburse them Has Failed to Provide based on their business mileage or the Leadership transit use. Necessary for It to Effectively Fulfill Its Responsibilities 2015-102 (December 2015) Cerritos College California 11. To ensure that all instructors are aware of 2 †  Community Colleges: the accessibility standards for instructional Y The Colleges Reviewed materials, Cerritos should include in its Are Not Adequately next collective bargaining negotiations a Monitoring Services requirement for instructors to periodically for Technology attend accessibility trainings. Accessibility, and 13. To ensure that its technology master plan 2 †  Districts and Colleges supports the strategic goals of the district, Should Formalize Cerritos should update its master plan by June Procedures for 2018, and should ensure that the plan includes Upgrading Technology detailed steps to accomplish its goals. 2017-102 14. To increase the transparency of its annual 2 †  (December 2017) review process, by June 2018, Cerritos should establish procedures requiring its departments to document attendees, input received, and agreements reached during meetings to consider instructional technology equipment requests. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 65 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION City of Indio City of Indio: 1. The city of Indio should shift a share of 5 2024 Although the City the water facilities cost borne by Area 1 to Complied With the Area 2 residents in proportion to the benefits Mello‑Roos Act in Area 2 residents receive from the facilities. Forming and Managing To do so, it should impose through its Indio Community Facilities Water Authority a water fee on Area 2 District No. 2004‑3, residents and use the related revenues to It Should Do More to reduce the bond debt of Area 1. Address Inequities 2014-119 (December 2014) City of Irvine City of Irvine: 2. To improve fiscal accountability and 4 Will Not Poor Governance of to ensure that audits are performed to Implement the $1.7 Million Review appropriate standards, Irvine should adopt of the Orange County an internal audit function by December 2017. Great Park Needlessly 6. To make certain that Irvine complies with 4 Will Not Compromised the the intent of competitive bidding for Implement Review’s Credibility professional services, beginning immediately 2015-116 it should not include provisions in its RFPs for (August 2016) potential future services that are above and beyond the desired scope of work. 9. To maintain appropriate, transparent fiscal 4 Will Not accountability, Irvine should amend city Implement 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 4 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 processes 4 Will Not and findings, Irvine should conduct self‑ Implement 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. continued on next page . . . 66 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION City of Irwindale City of Irwindale: 1. To address the structural deficit in its 3 †  It Must Exercise More general fund, the city should seek long‑ Fiscal Responsibility term solutions to balance its budget so Over Its Spending So that its expenditures do not exceed its That It Can Continue to revenues. These solutions should include Provide Core Services to eliminating the reliance on one‑time gains Residents to fund ongoing expenses and identifying opportunities to further reduce spending. 2016-111 The city should document its approach in a (November 2016) 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. 2. To ensure that employee compensation 3 †  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 3 Partially benefits are more generous than those of Implemented 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 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 reduce 3 Partially long‑term liabilities, the city should annually Implemented 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 consider 3 Will Not eliminating its current resident prescription Implement 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 67 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. If the city chooses not to participate in the 3 Will Not prescription discount card program offered Implement 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. 8. If the city chooses not to participate in 3 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 3 Will Not prescription drug benefit program, the city Implement 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 3 Will Not prescription drug benefit program, the city Implement 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 3 Will Not overtime, the city should evaluate the Implement 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 3 Will Not recommendation #11, and if it should choose Implement 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. continued on next page . . . 68 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. The Housing Authority should consider 3 Will Not options to provide low‑income housing Implement 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 equal 3 June chance to participate in the Housing 2025 Authority’s housing programs, the city should remove the long‑term residency priorities from any future housing programs. City of Lincoln City of Lincoln: 1. To ensure that it complies with state law, 1 January Financial Lincoln should immediately review all of its 2022 Mismanagement, outstanding interfund loans to determine Insufficient whether the borrowing funds can repay Accountability, and Lax the loans according to the terms. For any Oversight Threaten the loan that is from a restricted fund and that City’s Stability does not have the capacity to be repaid, Lincoln should develop a plan that ensures 2018-110 repayment within a reasonable time frame, (March 2019) including seeking possible alternative financing or revenue sources, such as the general fund, bonds, one‑time revenue, or a tax increase, to address the obligation. 17. To ensure that it applies the correct fee 1 January credits to developers, Lincoln should develop 2021 policies and procedures by September 2019 for establishing fee credits and maintaining adequate documentation to justify modifications to fee credits, including credits it awards based on changes in fee schedules and updated development agreements. City of Novato Residential 2. To ensure that it is aware of the degree of 4 Will Not Building Records: property owners’ compliance with its resale Implement O The Cities of San Rafael, record ordinance, Novato should implement Novato, and Pasadena procedures that can help it monitor the sale Need to Strengthen the or exchange of properties that require resale Implementation of Their record inspections. The city should work with Resale Record Programs applicable stakeholders, such as realtors, to aid in this effort. 2015-134 (March 2016) 5. To verify that new property owners are aware 4 Will Not of the health and safety concerns at their Implement properties and any corrections they need to make, Novato should develop a process to ensure that it receives homeowners’ cards. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 69 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 34. To ensure that the resale record fees 4 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 6. To verify that new property owners are aware 4 January Building Records: of the health and safety concerns at their 2020# O The Cities of San Rafael, properties and any corrections they need to Novato, and Pasadena make, Pasadena should develop a process to Need to Strengthen the ensure that staff sign the inspection certificates Implementation of Their and add them to the city’s database. Resale Record Programs 9. To ensure that it can monitor the satisfaction 4 January 2015-134 individuals have with the resale record 2020# (March 2016) 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 written 4 January procedures for staff to follow up on property 2020# 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 correct 4 January violations in a timely manner, Pasadena 2020# 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 correct 4 January violations in a timely manner, Pasadena 2020# should follow through with its enforcement policies, such as issuing notice letters. continued on next page . . . 70 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 22. To ensure that property owners correct 4 January violations in a timely manner, Pasadena 2020# 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. 40. If Pasadena subsequently requires its resale 4 Will Not record inspectors to have International Code Implement Council certifications, it should ensure that those staff maintain them in good standing to perform their necessary job functions. County of Alameda Dually Involved Youth: 9. Alameda County probation department should 4 December The State Cannot update its existing procedures to ensure 2020 N Determine the that its staff are accurately recording family Effectiveness of Efforts reunification service components within the to Serve Youth Who statewide case management system. Are Involved in Both 11. To identify their population of dually involved 4 †   the Child Welfare and youth, Alameda County’s CWS and probation Juvenile Justice Systems agencies should designate the data system 2015-115 they will use for tracking the dates and results (February 2016) of joint assessment hearings. 17. To identify their population of dually 4 †   involved youth, Alameda County’s CWS and probation agencies should provide guidance or training to staff on recording joint assessment hearing information consistently within the designated system. County of Fresno Indian Gaming Special 1. If the Legislature appropriates funding from 3 Depends on Distribution Fund: the distribution fund for mitigation grants Legislative P The Method Used to in the future, to comply with state law, Action Mitigate Casino Impacts the benefit committee for Fresno County Has Changed, and should ensure that it obtains sufficient Two Counties’ Benefit documentation from grant applicants to Committees Did Not demonstrate that the requested funding Ensure Compliance represents the correct proportionate share of With State Law When the costs attributable to casino impacts. Awarding Grants 2. If the Legislature appropriates funding from 3 Depends on 2016-036 the distribution fund for mitigation grants Legislative (March 2017) in future years, Fresno County’s benefit Action 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. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 71 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION County of Los Angeles County Pay Practices: 7. To ensure that they consistently demonstrate 4 Will Not Although the Counties that candidates are hired for permanent civil Implement We Visited Have Rules in service positions based on valid and job‑ Place to Ensure Fairness, related criteria, regardless of their sex, each Data Show That a Gender county should develop policies requiring Wage Gap Still Exists hiring managers to document the reasons why they chose the selected candidate over 2015-132 others from the certified eligibility list. (May 2016) Los Angeles County: 1. By April 2017, the county should reach 3 December Weak Oversight of agreement with the association on the date 2020 Its Lease With the by which the association must pay the county Los Angeles County Fair for the rent in arrears related to the hotel. Association Has Likely 2. By April 2017, the county should reach 3 December Cost Millions of Dollars agreement with the association on how 2020 in Revenue much rent the association owes the county 2016-106 from the hotel’s operations since 1992. (November 2016) 3. As soon as possible, the county should collect 3 December from the association all amounts presently 2020 owed under the lease as a result of the revenue generated by the conference center. 4. To ensure that it recognizes and addresses in 3 May a timely manner areas of potential concern 2020# 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 its 3 December future revenue, the county should strongly 2020 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. 6. To protect its interests and maximize its 3 December future revenue, the county should strongly 2020 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. continued on next page . . . 72 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To protect its interests and maximize its 3 December future revenue, the county should strongly 2020 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 its future 3 December revenue, the county should strongly consider 2020 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 its 3 December future revenue, the county should strongly 2020 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 4. If the Legislature appropriates funding from 3 †  Distribution Fund: the distribution fund for mitigation grants P The Method Used to in the future, to comply with state law, the Mitigate Casino Impacts benefit committee for San Diego County Has Changed, and should ensure that it obtains sufficient Two Counties’ Benefit documentation from grant applicants to Committees Did Not demonstrate that the requested funding Ensure Compliance represents the correct proportionate share of With State Law When the costs attributable to casino impacts. Awarding Grants 2016-036 (March 2017) County of Santa Clara Dually Involved Youth: 16. To identify their population of dually involved 4 July The State Cannot youth, Santa Clara County’s CWS and 2021 N Determine the probation agencies should designate the data Effectiveness of Efforts system they will use for tracking the dates and to Serve Youth Who results of joint assessment hearings. Are Involved in Both 22. To identify their population of dually 4 July the Child Welfare and involved youth, Santa Clara County’s CWS 2021 Juvenile Justice Systems and probation agencies should provide 2015-115 guidance or training to staff on recording (February 2016) joint assessment hearing information consistently within the designated system. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 73 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District Fallen Leaf Lake 7. To rectify the excessive reimbursement 1 †   Community Services amounts it received for strike team District: assignments, the district should, by Its Billing Practices December 31, 2019, develop and implement and Small Electorate a plan for returning to the paying agencies Jeopardize Its Ability to the excessive reimbursements it received for Provide Services 2016 through 2018. 2018-133 8. To rectify the excessive reimbursement 1 June (July 2019) amounts it received for strike team 2021 assignments, the district should, by December 31, 2019, work with Cal OES to identify the amounts of excess reimbursements the district received for 2013 through 2015 and then develop and implement a plan for returning those amounts to the paying agency. 10. To improve its financial viability and 1 June safeguard its ability to continue providing 2021 services to the Fallen Leaf Lake community, the district should, by December 31, 2019, monitor the financial risks it may face in the future, forecast their impact on its finances and budget, and plan and implement appropriate changes to its budget as necessary throughout the fiscal year. 11. To improve its financial viability and 1 June safeguard its ability to continue providing 2021 services to the Fallen Leaf Lake community, the district should, by December 31, 2019, limit the extent to which it relies on volatile revenue sources to balance its budget. 13. To improve its financial viability and safeguard 1 September its ability to continue providing services to 2020# the Fallen Leaf Lake community, the district should, by December 31, 2019, develop a five‑year forecast of estimated revenues and expenditures and a plan to guide its decisions and actions in the event of fluctuations. Foothill-De Anza Community College District California 15. To ensure that it is fulfilling requests for 2 †  Community Colleges: alternate media services from students with Y The Colleges Reviewed disabilities in a timely manner, by June 2018, Are Not Adequately De Anza should establish procedures for Monitoring Services monitoring its timeliness in responding for Technology to such requests so that it can periodically Accessibility, and Districts review its performance in completing the and Colleges Should requests. Specifically, it should record Formalize Procedures for and track sufficient information to be able Upgrading Technology to review how long it takes to complete requests. Additionally, De Anza should 2017-102 calculate the number of days it takes to (December 2017) complete requests, and periodically evaluate its performance against its time‑frame goals. Further, to evaluate its performance, De Anza should establish a time‑frame goal for completing alternate media requests. continued on next page . . . 74 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To ensure that it promptly addresses any 2 †  complaints it receives related to web accessibility and alternate media requests, De Anza should follow its new procedures for tracking and reviewing complaints related to accessibility. 17. To ensure that students with disabilities 2 †   have equal access to instructional materials, by June 2018, De Anza should develop procedures to monitor and periodically review the accessibility of instructional materials. For example, De Anza could develop an accessibility checklist for instructors to complete when developing or selecting instructional materials, from which the college could periodically review a sample of course content to ensure that instructors completed the checklist and that the instructional materials comply with accessibility standards. 18. To ensure that its website complies with 2 †   accessibility standards, by June 2018, De Anza should develop procedures to monitor website accessibility and incorporate steps to prevent instructors from publishing inaccessible content on the college’s website. These procedures should include a tracking mechanism to demonstrate how many accessibility errors the college identifies and how long it takes to fix those errors. 19. To ensure that all instructors are aware of 2 Will Not the accessibility standards for instructional Implement materials, De Anza should include in its next collective bargaining negotiations a requirement for instructors to periodically attend accessibility trainings. 21. To increase the transparency of its annual 2 †   review process, by June 2018, De Anza should establish procedures requiring its departments to document attendees, input received, and agreements reached during meetings to consider instructional technology equipment requests. Hesperia Water District Apple Valley Area 1. To assist low‑income water customers, 5 Will Not Water Rates: Hesperia should work with its governing Implement M Differences in Costs body to consider the feasibility of using Affect Water Utilities’ revenues from sources other than water rates Rates, and One Utility to implement a rate assistance program. May Have Spent Millions of Ratepayer Funds Inappropriately 2014-132 (April 2015) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 75 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Long Beach Unified School District Student Mental 14. To better understand the effectiveness of 4 †  Health Services: the mental health services in its special U Some Students’ Services education program, Long Beach should use Were Affected by a the six performance indicators we identified New State Law, and the to perform analysis annually on the subset of State Needs to Analyze students receiving mental health services. Student Outcomes and Track Service Costs 2015-112 (January 2016) Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services Los Angeles County 6. To ensure that its staff appropriately use SDM 1 March Department of assessments to identify safety threats and 2021 Children and Family risks, the department should incorporate SDM Services: instructions into its policies and procedures by It Has Not Adequately July 2019 and provide mandatory annual SDM Ensured the Health and training for applicable staff, supervisors, and Safety of All Children in other members of management by May 2020. Its Care 9. To improve the quality of supervisors' 1 May 2018-126 reviews and to allow it to hold supervisors 2021 (May 2019) accountable, the department should, by May 2020, reduce the number of social workers assigned to each supervisor to at least the ratio specified in its union contract. 12. To strengthen and improve its quality 1 †  control processes, by November 2019 the department should broaden its case reviews to include an evaluation of the quality of supervisor reviews. Los Angeles County Office of Education Montebello Unified 1. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 2 Undetermined School District: necessary to prevent state intervention and T County Superintendent regain its positive financial certification, Intervention Is the county superintendent should direct Necessary to Address Montebello to submit a corrective action plan Its Weak Financial to address the issues identified in this report Management and including balancing its budget, amending Governance and adhering to its hiring procedures, and establishing adequate safeguards to ensure 2017-104 that policies related to bond proceeds, (November 2017) conflicts of interest, and the approval of expenditures are implemented and followed. 2. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 2 Undetermined necessary to prevent state intervention and regain its positive financial certification, the county superintendent should assist Montebello in developing a plan to justify its workforce size and cost in terms of its current and projected enrollment, including evaluating the necessity of current staff levels and personnel costs. continued on next page . . . 76 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 3. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 2 Undetermined necessary to prevent state intervention and regain its positive financial certification, the county superintendent should evaluate the necessity of executive positions and adjust executives’ salaries based on an analysis of the number and cost of executives in comparable districts. 4. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 2 Undetermined necessary to prevent state intervention and regain its positive financial certification, the county superintendent should ensure that Montebello implements all of the recommendations detailed in the report. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry 1. To ensure that its CCW licensing decisions 2 Will Not Weapon Licenses: align with its CCW policy, Los Angeles Implement S Sheriffs Have should only issue licenses to applicants Implemented Their Local after collecting documentation of specific, Programs Inconsistently personal threats against the applicants so and Sometimes as to satisfy its definition of good cause. If Inadequately Los Angeles believes that its public licensing policy does not include all acceptable good 2017-101 causes for a CCW license, then by March 2018 (December 2017) it should revise that policy and publish the new policy on its website. It should then immediately begin processing applications according to that revised policy. 2. To ensure that it only issues licenses to 2 March individuals after receiving evidence of 2018# residency, firearms training, and good moral character that aligns with its policy, Los Angeles should only issue licenses after verifying that it has received this evidence. To avoid overlooking required evidence, Los Angeles should create procedures by March 2018 for its staff to follow to ensure that each CCW file contains the evidence its policy requires before issuing the license. 10. To ensure that it is only charging fees 2 †   that state law allows, Los Angeles should immediately cease charging applicants fees in addition to its license processing fee. Los Angeles should reimburse applicants who paid the unallowable fees. Further, if Los Angeles believes its license fee does not recover its entire cost of processing an initial application, it should complete a cost study and, if appropriate, revise its fee according to the results of that study and the maximum allowed fees under state law. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 77 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Los Angeles 1. To ensure that the Los Angeles Board of 5 Ongoing Department of Water Water and Power Commissioners (board) and Power: can more effectively exercise oversight for Consequences Linked the department’s significant information to Its Premature technology projects, the board should Launch of Its Customer establish a standing committee comprised Information System May of board members to oversee and critically Push Total Costs Beyond evaluate the status of the department’s $200 Million various information technology projects. Given the limited tenure of board members 2014-105 and the potential for multiyear and high‑cost (March 2015) 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 effectively 5 Ongoing 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 effectively 5 Ongoing 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 . . . 78 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles Police Department Hate Crimes in 8. To ensure that they accurately identify and 2 January California: report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police 2020# AA Law Enforcement should update their hate crime policies Has Not Adequately and procedures, and the Orange County Identified, Reported, Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should or Responded to Hate implement supplemental hate crime reports Crimes and require officers to use them. 2017-131 13. To ensure accurate and complete reporting, 2 January (May 2018) LA Police and SFSU Police should provide 2020# sufficient guidance and oversight to their officers and staff so that they report all hate crimes to DOJ. The CalGang Criminal 23. Until the Los Angeles Police Department 4 †   Intelligence System: receives further direction from the board, the V As the Result of Its Weak committee, or Justice, it should address the Oversight Structure, It specific deficiencies we found by reviewing Contains Questionable the gangs it has entered into CalGang to Information That May ensure the gangs meet reasonable suspicion Violate Individuals’ requirements. It should also begin reviewing Privacy Rights the gang members it has entered into CalGang to ensure the existence of proper 2015-130 support for each criterion. It should purge (August 2016) 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. Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium Montebello Unified 31. To ensure that state adult education 2 June School District: funds are used in the most efficient and 2020# T County Superintendent effective manner, the consortium should, Intervention Is within one year, complete an assessment Necessary to Address of Montebello’s ability to meet the Its Weak Financial requirements of its adult education plan to Management and determine whether its use of state funds Governance has been effective. If Montebello is found to be consistently ineffective, the consortium 2017-104 should immediately recalculate the adult (November 2017) program’s fund allocation for the future. 32. To ensure that state adult education funds 2 December are used in the most efficient and effective 2019# manner, the consortium should, within one year, develop policies and procedures to ensure the proper collection and reporting of enrollment, attendance, and expenditure data by consortium members. Periodically review enrollment, attendance, and expenditure data to ensure their accuracy. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 79 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board State and Regional 18. Los Angeles should correct its pollutant 2 June Water Boards: control plan where it miscalculated two 2021 Z They Must Do More pollutant limits. to Ensure That Local Jurisdictions’ Costs to Reduce Storm Water Pollution Are Necessary and Appropriate 2017-118 (March 2018) Los Rios Community College District California Community 24. To ensure that students with disabilities have 2 †  Colleges: equal access to instructional materials, by Y The Colleges Reviewed June 2018, American River should develop Are Not Adequately procedures to monitor and periodically Monitoring Services review the accessibility of instructional for Technology materials. For example, American River Accessibility, and could develop an accessibility checklist for Districts and Colleges instructors to complete when developing Should Formalize or selecting instructional materials, from Procedures for which the college could periodically review Upgrading Technology a sample of course content to ensure that instructors completed the checklist and 2017-102 that the instructional materials comply with (December 2017) accessibility standards. 25. To ensure that its website complies with 2 December accessibility standards, by June 2018, 2019# American River should develop procedures to monitor website accessibility and incorporate steps to prevent instructors from publishing inaccessible content on the college’s website. These procedures should include a tracking mechanism to demonstrate how many accessibility errors the college identifies and how long it takes to fix those errors. 26. To ensure that all instructors are aware of 2 Unknown the accessibility standards for instructional materials, American River should include in its next collective bargaining negotiations a requirement for instructors to periodically attend accessibility trainings. 28. To ensure that it fully implements its 2 December technology master plan, by June 2018, 2019# American River should establish an implementation plan with detailed steps for achieving the goals in its technology master plan that it has not yet accomplished. Further, it should develop an implementation plan in conjunction with the development of its future technology master plan. continued on next page . . . 80 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 29. To increase the transparency of its annual 2 †  review processes, by June 2018, American River should establish procedures requiring its departments to document attendees, input received, and agreements reached during meetings to consider instructional technology equipment requests. Montebello Unified School District Montebello Unified 5. To improve its current financial condition and 2 †  School District: ensure future viability, Montebello should, T County Superintendent within 60 days, revise its fiscal stabilization Intervention Is plan and make the necessary cuts to fund its Necessary to Address ongoing commitments. Its Weak Financial 6. To improve its current financial condition 2 †  Management and and ensure future viability, Montebello Governance should create a robust budgeting process 2017-104 within 90 days using best practices of the (November 2017) Government Finance Officers Association to ensure Montebello’s ability to meet its priorities while maintaining the required level of reserves that buffers the district from drastic cuts in times of economic instability. 7. To improve its current financial condition and 2 †  ensure future viability, Montebello should, within 90 days, implement an effective budget monitoring process with regular budget‑to‑actual comparisons. This process should include safeguards against spending in excess of budgeted expenditures and require advance board approval of such spending before it occurs. For example, Montebello should require that the budget manager perform monthly reviews of budget‑to‑actual figures and provide detailed explanations to the board for any variances. 8. To ensure that Montebello hires the most 2 †  qualified executive and management staff, Montebello should immediately adhere to its policies for hiring classified employees, including screening candidates to ensure that they meet the minimum qualifications. Montebello should also hold provisional employees to the same standards for minimum qualifications as its policy requires. 9. To ensure that Montebello hires qualified 2 †  classified employees, the personnel commission should, within 90 days, revise its policies to require the classified director to provide it with the education and work experience of any candidates on eligibility lists for high‑ranking positions. It should also require the director of the personnel commission—the classified director—to provide it with a list of all provisional appointments, including information on how those employees meet the minimum qualifications. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 81 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. To ensure that it does not violate state law, 2 †  Montebello should immediately adhere to its policies and ensure that provisional employees do not work more than the legal maximum number of days of service. 12. In order to rebuild trust with its community, 2 †  Montebello should adhere to its policies for hiring certificated personnel and fill any vacant positions for executives through a competitive hiring process, including advertising the positions, screening to ensure that minimum qualifications are met, and interviewing to ensure that it hires and retains the most qualified and talented leaders. 13. To ensure that Montebello creates employee 2 †  positions only when necessary, it should establish a policy within 30 days that requires a justification for why the district is creating a position. Additionally, in order to maintain transparency when creating new positions, Montebello should immediately begin to document its justifications. 14. To ensure that Montebello hires qualified 2 January certificated and classified employees, within 2020# 90 days the board should revise its policies to require the superintendent or his or her designee to provide information to the board about recruitments for high‑ranking employees. The board should consider, at a minimum, the following information when approving appointments: • The number of initial applicants. • The number of candidates who passed the screening and interviewing steps. • The education and work experience of the final candidate recommended by the superintendent or designee. 15. To ensure that Montebello is making hiring 2 †  decisions free of bias or favoritism, within 90 days it should strengthen its hiring policies related to nepotism and conflicts of interest for classified and certificated personnel to include the following: establishing restrictions on immediate family members being involved in the screening and interviewing processes and definitions of what types of personal relationships fall under the nepotism policy, which work relationships the nepotism policy applies to, and what factors to consider when evaluating the potential impact of a personal relationship. continued on next page . . . 82 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 24. To ensure that Montebello spends its funds for 2 December allowable and reasonable purposes, it should 2020 implement an inventory tracking system that allows it to know where its equipment is located. Montebello should also periodically review its inventory listing to ensure that equipment is being properly used. 29. To ensure that state adult education 2 †  expenditures are reasonable and justified, the board should, within one year, require the adult program to annually report to the consortium and to the board on the accurate number of students in each class, number of hours taught, and cost of the class per student. New Jerusalem Elementary School District Charter Schools: 44. To better ensure effective oversight of its 3 December Some School Districts charter schools’ finances, New Jerusalem 2020 Q Improperly Authorized should place a district representative as a and Inadequately nonvoting member on each charter school’s Monitored Out‑of‑District governing board. Charter Schools 2016-141 (October 2017) Peralta Community College District Clery Act Requirements 32. To ensure that its campuses provide the 2 Will Not and Crime Reporting: necessary resources and information to Implement R Compliance Continues students about campus safety, Peralta to Challenge California’s should by December 2018, develop all Colleges and Universities required policies related to campus safety in compliance with the Education Code. 2017-032 (May 2018) Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry 3. To ensure that staff are gathering consistent 2 Unknown Weapon Licenses: evidence from applicants to demonstrate S Sheriffs Have residency, good moral character, and firearms Implemented Their training and are including which requirement Local Programs applicants did not meet in its denial letters, by Inconsistently March 2018 Sacramento should create formal and Sometimes CCW processing procedures and train its staff Inadequately to follow these procedures. These procedures should require staff to gather and evaluate 2017-101 the information the department believes (December 2017) is required to demonstrate that each of the criteria for a CCW license has been met, and they should also require staff to include which requirement applicants did not meet in its denial letters. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 83 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 4. To ensure that staff are following its newly 2 Unknown established procedures and to identify any need for additional guidance, by March 2018 Sacramento should establish a review process wherein it regularly reviews a selection of license files and denied applications to determine whether its staff are collecting sufficient and consistent documentation in accordance with its policies and are appropriately including which requirement applicants did not meet in its denial letters. 7. To ensure that it provides all required 2 Unknown information to Justice, Sacramento should immediately inform Justice when it revokes a CCW license, including when it receives a prohibition notice from Justice. 11. To ensure that it is maximizing allowable 2 Unknown revenue from the CCW program and reducing its program deficits, Sacramento should perform a cost study of its initial application processing and, on completion of the study, immediately increase its CCW license fees and begin charging the maximum amounts allowable under state law. San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry 5. To ensure that its staff appropriately renew 2 Unknown Weapon Licenses: CCW licenses, by March 2018 San Diego S Sheriffs Have should establish a routine supervisory review Implemented Their of a selection of renewed licenses. Local Programs 6. To ensure that it consistently obtains 2 Unknown Inconsistently sufficient evidence to demonstrate that and Sometimes an applicant satisfies its requirements for Inadequately a license, by March 2018 San Diego should 2017-101 develop guidance and train its staff on (December 2017) what good cause documentation staff should request from applicants. Further, it should train its staff regarding the expected documents for residency and training. 8. To ensure that it follows state law’s 2 Unknown requirements for revoking licenses, San Diego should immediately revoke CCW licenses and should then inform Justice that it has revoked licenses whenever license holders become prohibited persons. Additionally, San Diego should notify Justice when it suspends a license or a license is surrendered. 12. To ensure that it maximizes allowable 2 Unknown revenue from its CCW program, San Diego should immediately pursue increasing its initial, renewal, and amendment fees to the maximum amounts allowable under state law. continued on next page . . . 84 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission San Francisco Bay 10. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 1 †  Conservation and and effectiveness of its enforcement and Development permitting programs, the commission Commission: should by January 2020 develop guidance Its Failure to Perform that enumerates the violation types that Key Responsibilities Has the commissioners deem worthy of swift Allowed Ongoing Harm enforcement action, those that staff can to the San Francisco Bay defer for a specified amount of time, and those that do not warrant enforcement 2018-120 action or that can be resolved through fines. (May 2019) 11. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 1 †  and effectiveness of its enforcement and permitting programs, the commission should by January 2020 simplify its system for prioritizing enforcement cases, to help it focus its enforcement efforts on cases with the greatest potential for harming the Bay. 12. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 1 May and effectiveness of its enforcement and 2021 permitting programs, the commission should by January 2020 create a penalty calculation worksheet. The commission should require the worksheet’s use for all enforcement actions that will result in fines or penalties, and it should create formal policies, procedures, and criteria to provide staff with guidance on applying the worksheet. 13. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 1 †  and effectiveness of its enforcement and permitting programs, the commission should by January 2020 develop a procedure to identify stale cases. After applying this procedure, the commission should seek appropriate settlements for such cases that preserve or exercise the State’s legal rights to resolve violations and levy penalties. 16. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 1 Will Not and effectiveness of its enforcement and Implement permitting programs, the commission should by January 2020 appoint a new citizens’ advisory committee as required by law and determine a schedule for the committee to conduct regular meetings. 17. To ensure that it uses the abatement fund 1 Will Not for the physical cleanup of the Bay, the Implement commission should create a policy by January 2020 identifying the minimum amounts it will disburse and prioritizing the projects that it will support through disbursements to the appropriate entities. California State Auditor Report 2020-041 85 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 18. To build on prior recommendations and 1 June ensure that it maximizes the effectiveness of 2021 its enforcement program, the commission should by January 2021 conduct a workforce study of all its permit and regulatory activities and determine whether it requires additional staff, including supervisors, to support its mission. 19. To build on prior recommendations and 1 June ensure that it maximizes the effectiveness of 2021 its enforcement program, the commission should by January 2021 implement a permit compliance position to support the efforts of enforcement staff and the implementation of process changes. If necessary, it should seek additional funding for such a position. 20. To build on prior recommendations and 1 May ensure that it maximizes the effectiveness of 2020# its enforcement program, the commission should by January 2021 update its existing database or create a new database to ensure that it can identify and track individual violations within each case, including the date staff initiate the standardized fines process for each violation. As part of this process, the commission should review its database and update it as necessary to ensure that it includes all necessary and accurate information, specifically whether staff initiated the standardized fines process for open case files and for those case files closed within the past five years. 21. To ensure consistency in its enforcement 1 †  program, the commission should by January 2021 create and implement regulations that identify required milestones and time frames for enforcement. 22. To ensure consistency in its enforcement 1 May program, the commission should by January 2021 2021 create and implement regulations that define substantial harm, provide explicit criteria for calculating the number of violations present in individual enforcement cases, and specify a process to handle any necessary exceptions to the criteria. 23. To ensure consistency in its enforcement 1 †  program, the commission should by January 2021 create and implement regulations to allow it to use limited monetary fines to resolve selected minor violations that do not involve substantial harm to the Bay. 24. To ensure consistency in its enforcement 1 October program, the commission should by January 2021 2021 update its regulations on permit issuance to offer greater clarity on the types of projects for which staff may issue permits without commissioners’ hearings. continued on next page . . . 86 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION San Francisco Unified School District California Department 10. To help ensure that they consistently 3 November of Education: comply with the Buy American requirement, 2020# X It Has Not Ensured That San Francisco should establish written School Food Authorities policies and procedures related to the Buy Comply With the American requirement by October 1, 2017. At Federal Buy American a minimum, those policies and procedures Requirement should include the following: 2016-139 • An explanation of how it will ensure that it consistently includes language related to (July 2017) 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: 9. To strengthen its library programs and help 3 †  Vague State Laws and the State assess the condition of school W a Lack of Monitoring libraries statewide, San Juan Unified should Allow School Districts to use the model standards to assess the needs Provide a Minimal Level of its school library programs and address of Library Services any identified needs during its LCAP process. 2016-112 (November 2016) Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Hate Crimes 11. To ensure that they accurately identify and 2 †  in California: report hate crimes, SFSU Police and LA Police AA Law Enforcement should update their hate crime policies Has Not Adequately and procedures, and the Orange County Identified, Reported, Sheriff and Stanislaus County Sheriff should or Responded to implement supplemental hate crime reports Hate Crimes and require officers to use them. 2017-131 (May 2018) California State Auditor Report 2020-041 87 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Tulare Local Healthcare Tulare Local 1. To ensure that the district can demonstrate 2 June Healthcare District: that its decisions for selecting contractors 2021 Past Poor Decisions are justified and are in the best interest of Contributed to the the district’s residents, by April 2019 the Closure of the Medical district should establish formal procedures Center, and Licensing designed to ensure that it follows a rigorous Issues May Delay Its and appropriate evaluation and contract Reopening awarding process. 2018-102 2. To ensure that the district pays only 2 June (October 2018) reasonable and appropriate contract 2021 administrative costs, before the district signs any future management contract, it should prepare estimates of the costs for all proposed contract terms related to compensation. 8. To ensure that it uses bond proceeds 2 June for allowable purposes and improves its 2021 consistency and accountability in processing payments from bond proceeds, by April 2019 the district should formalize and document policies and procedures for verifying that it uses bond proceeds for allowable purposes and for approving expenditures paid from general obligation bond proceeds. Victorville Water District Apple Valley Area 2. To assist low‑income water customers, 5 Will Not Water Rates: Victorville should work with its governing Implement M Differences in Costs body to consider the feasibility of using Affect Water Utilities’ revenues from sources other than water rates Rates, and One Utility to implement a rate assistance program. May Have Spent Millions 6. To demonstrate to water customers how 5 Will Not of Ratepayer Funds they are working to keep rates reasonable, Implement Inappropriately the four water utilities should document 2014-132 their cost‑saving efforts and quantify, to the (April 2015) extent possible, any specific cost savings achieved from their respective efforts. 7. To ensure that it does not use revenues from 5 Will Not ratepayers for inappropriate purposes, by Implement 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. continued on next page . . . 88 California State Auditor Report 2020-041 January 2021 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION ESTIMATED DATE SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN OF COMPLETION ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To address the excess interest expense 5 Will Not resulting from loans to the city of Victorville Implement 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 audited agency believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. # In its latest response, the audited agency did not update its estimated date of completion.