Status of Recommendations

Recommendations Not Fully Implemented After One Year The Omnibus Audit Accountability Act of 2006 January 2023 REPORT 2022‑041 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 our Public Affairs Office 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 Michael S. Tilden Acting State Auditor January 10, 2023 2022‑041 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 (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 2015 through October 2021, our office issued 186 reports on audits and investigations of state agencies. Those reports included 1,417 recommendations, and state agencies had fully implemented 1,184, or 84 percent of them, as of November 2022. However, we identified 233 recommendations not completely addressed that were more than one year old. Similarly, we issued 84 reports to nonstate entities, such as counties or school districts. Those reports included 858 recommendations and as of November 2022, the nonstate entities had implemented 681, or 79 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 July 2020, our office released an audit regarding the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) inspection of mobile home parks. During the audit, we found that HCD had not inspected more than half of mobile home parks between 2010 and 2019. Mobile home parks that are not inspected are at risk because health and safety violations may not be identified. We also found that HCD was frequently not initiating complaint‑driven inspections as rapidly as required, and HCD needed more information to manage its inspection activities. As of August 2022, HCD had fully implemented all 28 of our recommendations, thereby adopting practices that will improve its oversight of mobile home parks in California. If you would like more information about any of the background or recommendations in this report, please contact our Public Affairs Office at (916) 445‑0255. Respectfully submitted, MICHAEL S. TILDEN, CPA Acting California State Auditor 621 Capitol Mall, Suite 1200 | Sacramento, CA 95814 | 916.445.0255 | 916.327.0019 fax | www.auditor.ca.gov California State Auditor Report 2022-041 v January 2023 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 11 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented 49 vi California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 1 January 2023 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 2022, 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. Subsequently, we reviewed agencies’ responses and corresponding evidence. The following report of the status of these recommendations is current as of November 2022. 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 2015 through October 2021, the State Auditor issued 186 reports that related to audits or investigations of state agencies. These reports were requested through the Joint Legislative Audit Committee or legislation, were initiated by the State Auditor through the state high‑risk program, or came about as the result of an investigation.1 The State Auditor made 1,417 recommendations to the audited state agencies in those reports, of which 1,184 have been fully implemented. However, the State Auditor identified 233 recommendations made to 40 agencies that had been outstanding at least one year and remain not fully implemented as of November 2022.2 Nonstate Entities From November 2015 through October 2021, the state auditor issued 84 reports that included nonstate entities, and made 858 recommendations to these entities. As of November 2022, the State Auditor identified 177 recommendations issued to 47 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 July 2020 we released an audit concerning the Department of Housing And Community Development’s (HCD) inspection of mobile home parks (parks). We found that HCD had not conducted inspections at more than half of the parks between 2010 and 2019, risking not identifying health and safety violations that could pose a serious danger to park residents. We found that HCD was frequently not initiating complaint‑driven safety inspections in a timely manner. In addition, the audit found that HCD 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 investigative reports. The State Auditor initiated the investigations in response to whistleblower complaints or other information suggesting improper governmental activities. 2 Excludes recommendations for legislative changes. Those recommendations are included in a separate report to the Legislature. 2 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 lacked the information it needed to manage its inspection activities and was not adequately overseeing its inspectors, allowing opportunities for undetected misconduct. To address these issues, we made recommendations that would result in HCD more effectively monitoring parks, better complying with mandatory complaint inspection timelines, and improve the efficiency of HCD’s use of resources. For example, in response to our recommendations, HCD adopted selection guidelines for park inspections that considered, among other items, whether the specific park had been inspected in the last seven years and whether HCD had found health and safety violations at the park. HCD also modified its database to record additional information regarding inspections, and provided direction on factors that should be considered for common types of violations. As of August 2022, HCD has fully implemented all 28 recommendations. By implementing our recommendations, HCD has adopted practices that will improve its oversight of mobile home parks throughout the State. In October 2022, 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 2015 through October 2021. The tables beginning on page 5 summarize and provide information on these recommendations. Table 1 shows recommendations more than five years old, issued to state entities between November 2015 and October 2016, 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 11, summarizes recommendations that have not been fully implemented for audits and investigations pertaining to state entities and issued between November 2016 and October 2021. As indicated on Table 2, the State Auditor did not always agree with agency assertions that certain recommendations were fully implemented. Two columns in Table 2 provide the State Auditor’s reason for disagreement. Table 3, beginning on page 49, summarizes recommendations more than one year old made to nonstate entities and their current implementation status. The symbol appears in the tables next to the audit number whenever an audit has recommendations to more than one agency appearing in this report. Please refer to the index on page 3. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 3 January 2023 Index Reference for Reports Featuring Recommendations to Multiple Entities REPORT ENTITIES WITH RECOMMENDATIONS State Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 2 A 2016‑126 California Department of Justice, California Department of Social Services B 2016‑130 University of California, University of California, Board of Regents C 2017‑109 California Department of Public Health, Department of Health Care Services, Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development D 2017‑117 Department of Health Care Services, Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission E 2018‑113 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Rehabilitation Oversight Board F 2019‑046 California Department of Education, California Department of Justice, Department of Health Care Services G 2019‑105 California Department of Public Health, Department of Health Care Services H I2021‑1 California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Social Services Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Table 3 I 2016‑141 Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified School District, Antelope Valley Union High School District J 2017‑032 Bakersfield College, Peralta Community College District K 2017‑101 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department L 2017‑104 Los Angeles County Office of Education, Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium, Montebello Unified School District M 2019‑108 Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento County Office of Education N 2019‑119 Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, San Francisco Department of Public Health County of Mendocino, County of Santa Barbara Housing and Community Development Division, County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing, O 2020‑112 Fresno Housing Authority State and Nonstate Entities With Recommendations—Included in Tables 2 and 3 P 2017‑102 Cerritos College, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, Foothill‑De Anza Community College District, Los Rios Community College District Q 2018‑106 Alameda County Sheriff's Office, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation R 2019‑103 Butte County, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, County of Sonoma, County of Ventura S 2019‑104 California Department of Education, San Bernardino City Unified School District T 2019‑116 Board of State and Community Corrections, Los Angeles County Probation Department California Department of Education, California Department of Public Health, Charter Academy of the Redwoods, Gateway Public Schools, Heartland U 2019‑125 Charter School, San Francisco Unified School District V 2020‑102 Board of State and Community Corrections, County of Alameda, County of Fresno, County of Los Angeles W 2020‑109 Butte County, California Department of Social Services, Kern County, Stanford University 4 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 5 January 2023 Table 1 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than Five Years Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2015 Through October 2016) NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION State Water Resources Control Board Investigations of Improper 1. Take appropriate corrective action against the district engineer and 6 Unknown Activities by State Agencies and the supervisors for their participation in or failure to address the 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) GENERAL GOVERNMENT California Public Utilities Commission California Public Utilities 4. To avoid the appearance of inappropriate relationships, the CPUC 6 Will Not Commission: It Should Reform should adopt a policy to prohibit commissioners from accepting gifts Implement Its Rules to Increase Transparency from regulated utilities and energy companies and free travel from and Accountability, and Its organizations with significant ties to regulated utilities and other Contracting Practices Do Not parties with financial interests in CPUC proceedings. Align With Requirements or Best 13. The CPUC should update its regulations to require parties joining 6 Will Not Practices a proceeding by filing a protest or response to an application Implement 2016‑104 or petition, or by filing comments in response to a rulemaking (September 2016) proceeding to fully disclose their interests in the proceeding. GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Department of General Services California Department of 2. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective delivery of projects, 6 August 2023 General Services’ Real Estate the division, in its planned implementation of its new project Services Division: To Better Serve management system in July 2017, should ensure that the project Its Client Agencies, It Needs to management system can centrally track and extract all data Track and Analyze Project Data regarding project status, including time delays, cost overages, and and Improve Its Management the reasons for each. Practices 3. To ensure long‑term efficient and effective delivery of projects, 6 August 2023 2015‑117 the division, in its planned implementation of its new project (March 2016) 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 delivery of projects, 6 August 2023 the division, in its planned implementation of its new project management system in July 2017, should, at least annually, use the centrally tracked data to identify common themes in the causes for project delays and cost overages and develop solutions to address these issues. Further, it should report the results of its review to General Services’ executive management. continued on next page . . . 6 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT 5. Until the division implements its planned project management 6 Will Not system, it should, by September 2016, develop a process to, at a Implement minimum, identify project status and reasons for project delays as well as cost overages. Using these data, the division should modify its project management processes to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects. 6. The division should develop and implement a process for preparing 6 Will Not reasonable time frames and cost estimates for its projects within the Implement building management branch. To better inform the development of this process, the division should evaluate the branch’s structure, which should include a staffing analysis, to determine whether it is effectively organized and whether it should add cost estimator positions. 7. To ensure that client agencies are paying equitable rates, by 6 Will Not December 2016 General Services should develop and implement a Implement 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 branch charges its client 6 Will Not agencies a competitive hourly rate, by December 2016 and every Implement 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 agencies, the division 6 August 2023 should develop a process for providing periodic detailed bills and invoices to client agencies clearly describing the work for which it is charging. 11. To effectively evaluate the performance of its branches in delivering 6 Will Not projects, the division should develop meaningful goals and Implement objectives and a method of measuring its success in achieving them as part of its strategic plan that is focused on ensuring that projects are delivered on time and within budgeted cost estimates. 12. To ensure that its project management staff are adequately 6 Will Not trained and have the information necessary to deliver projects as Implement 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. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES California Department of Social Services California’s Foster Care System: 30. To improve the oversight of psychotropic medications prescribed 6 Will Not The State and Counties Have to foster children, Social Services should collaborate with the Implement Failed to Adequately Oversee counties and other relevant stakeholders—including Health Care the Prescription of Psychotropic Services, as necessary—to develop and implement a reasonable Medications to Children in oversight structure that ensures the coordination of the State’s and Foster Care counties’ various oversight mechanisms as well as the accuracy and completeness of the information in Social Services’ data system. 2015‑131 This structure should include at least the items specified in the (August 2016) recommendation in the audit report. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 7 January 2023 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT Department of Developmental Services Department of Developmental 5. To ensure that in‑home respite vendors are providing quality 6 Will Not Services: It Cannot Verify That services and that vendors are adhering to state requirements, DDS Implement Vendor Rates for In‑Home Respite should issue regulations requiring regional centers to conduct Services Are Appropriate and That periodic and ongoing reviews of vendors’ programs, employees, and Regional Centers and Vendors consumer records. Meet Applicable Requirements 2016‑108 (October 2016) HIGHER EDUCATION University of California The University of California: 1. To meet its commitment to California residents, the university should 6 Will Not Its Admissions and Financial replace its “compare favorably” policy with a new admission standard Implement Decisions Have Disadvantaged for nonresident applicants that reflects the intent of the Master Plan. California Resident Students The admission standard should require campuses to admit only nonresidents with admissions credentials that place them in the 2015‑107 upper half of the residents it admits. (March 2016) 2. To meet its commitment to California residents, the university should 6 Will Not amend its referral process by taking steps to increase the likelihood Implement that referred residents ultimately enroll. 3. To ensure that campuses’ interpretations of admission standards do 6 Ongoing 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 compensation the university 6 To Be pays its executives, it should include—to the extent possible— Determined all items of compensation when setting or adjusting salaries and benefits, when conducting surveys and studies, and when comparing the compensation packages of its executives to those in similar positions outside the university. 10. To improve the transparency and timeliness of its annual 6 Will Not compensation report, the university should streamline the process it Implement uses to prepare the report so it can be issued by April of each year. 12. To maximize the savings and new revenue from the Working 6 Ongoing 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. continued on next page . . . 8 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT 13. To maximize the savings and new revenue from the Working 6 † Smarter initiative and ensure that the university uses them for its academic and research missions, the Office of the President should, by June 30, 2016, to the extent possible, implement a process to centrally direct these funds to ensure that campuses use them to support the core academic and research missions of the university. 14. To maximize the savings and new revenue from the Working Smarter 6 Ongoing 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 residents, the university 6 Will Not should prioritize recruiting residents over nonresidents. In particular, Implement the university should focus its recruiting efforts broadly to ensure that it effectively recruits resident underrepresented minorities. For example, the university could establish a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting. Further, it should develop a process to better track its nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures. 16. To determine if the campuses are using funds to further the goals of 6 Will Not the University of California system and the Legislature, the Office of Implement the President should begin regularly monitoring and analyzing how campuses are using both state funds and nonresident supplemental tuition. If, after the close of the fiscal year, the Office of the President determines that campuses are not using state funds and/or nonresident supplemental tuition in accordance with those goals, the Office of the President should take steps to correct the campuses’ spending decisions as soon as possible. 17. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for programs that 6 Will Not do not directly relate to educating students, the university should Implement track spending from state funds for programs that do not relate to educating students. 18. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for programs that 6 Will Not do not directly relate to educating students, the university should Implement reevaluate these programs each year to determine whether they continue to be necessary to fulfill the university’s mission. 19. To ensure that it spends state funds prudently for programs that 6 June 2023 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 equalized per‑student 6 June 2023 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 equalized per‑student 6 Will Not funding among the campuses, the university should exclude from Implement 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 9 January 2023 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT K–12 EDUCATION California Department of Education Student Mental Health Services: 3. To ensure that all LEAs comply with federal special education 6 Will Not Some Students’ Services Were requirements, Education should require them to include directly Implement Affected by a New State Law, in a student’s IEP document reasons for any changes to student and the State Needs to Analyze placement or services. Student Outcomes and Track 8. To enable it to review additional areas of its special education 6 Will Not Service Costs program for quality assurance, Education should collect information Implement 2015‑112 about the frequency of the provision of each service contained in (January 2016) 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 and state requirements, 6 Will Not Education should require all LEAs to use the IEP document to Implement communicate the rationale for residential treatment and any potential harmful effects of such placement. 18. Education should analyze and report to the Legislature, by 6 Will Not May 30, 2016, on the outcomes for students receiving mental health Implement services statewide, including outcomes across the six performance indicators we identified, in order to demonstrate whether those services are effective. Once it has reported this statewide information, Education should provide each LEA throughout the State a report regarding the outcomes for the students the LEA served. 20. To ensure that the State knows the amount LEAs spend to provide 6 Will Not mental health services for student IEPs, before the start of the 2017–18 Implement fiscal year, Education should develop, and require all LEAs to follow, an accounting methodology to track and report expenditures related to special education mental health services. 29. To ensure that the State provides special education and related 6 Will Not services to all eligible students, Education should investigate the Implement 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. LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Department of Justice The CalGang Criminal 11. As the Legislature considers creating a public program for shared 6 † Intelligence System: As the gang database oversight and accountability, Justice should guide the Result of Its Weak Oversight board and the committee to identify and address the shortcomings Structure, It Contains that exist in CalGang’s current operations and oversight. The Questionable Information That guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should May Violate Individuals’ Privacy address, but not be limited to, instructing user agencies that use Rights CalGang to complete a comprehensive review of all the gangs documented in CalGang to determine if they meet the necessary 2015‑130 requirements for inclusion and to purge from CalGang any groups (August 2016) 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. continued on next page . . . 10 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION DATE OF AND ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN COMPLETION THIS REPORT 12. As the Legislature considers creating a public program for shared 6 † gang database oversight and accountability, Justice should guide the board and the committee to identify and address the shortcomings that exist in CalGang’s current operations and oversight. The guidance Justice provides to the board and the committee should address, but not be limited to, instructing all user agencies to complete a comprehensive review of the records in CalGang to determine if the user agencies have adequate support for the criteria associated with all the individuals they have entered as gang members. If the user agencies do not have adequate support, they should immediately purge the criteria—and, if necessary, the individuals—from CalGang. In addition, the user agencies should ensure that all the fields in each CalGang record are accurate. Justice should guide the board and the committee to ensure that user agencies complete this review in phases, with the final phase to be completed by September 30, 2019. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration‡ State Board of Equalization: 2. Unless the Legislature directs the board to eliminate the compliance 6 † Its Tobacco Tax Enforcement fund’s excess fund balance within a time frame of more than a year, Efforts Are Effective and Properly the board should eliminate the excess fund balance by June 30, 2017 Funded, but Other Funding by using it to offset the licensing program’s annual funding shortfall. Options and Cost Savings The board should also limit the fund’s future balance to no more Are Possible than two months’ worth of licensing program expenditures. 2015‑119 (March 2016) † Contrary to the State Auditor’s determination, the audited agency believes it has fully implemented the recommendation. ‡ In July 2017, the State Board of Equalization was restructured and transferred duties to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 11 January 2023 Table 2 Recommendations Made to State Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2016 Through October 2021) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES, HOUSING Board of Registered Nursing Board of 6. To ensure that BRN is using up‑to‑date, accurate, 2 June 2023 Registered Nursing: and objective information to inform the governing It Has Failed to Use board's enrollment decisions and to assess clinical Sufficient Information capacity for student placements, by April 1, 2021, When Considering BRN should do the following: Enrollment Decisions • Compile and aggregate the information from for New and Existing the facility approval forms into a database Nursing Programs and take reasonable steps to ensure that the 2019‑120 information is accurate and current. (July 2020) 7. To ensure that BRN is using up‑to‑date, accurate, 2 June 2023 and objective information to inform the governing board's enrollment decisions and to assess clinical capacity for student placements, by April 1, 2021, BRN should do the following: • Annually publish clinical capacity information on its website for public use. 9. To identify additional facilities that might offer 2 June 2023 clinical placement slots, by October 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, BRN should compare its nursing program database with OSHPD's list of health care facilities. BRN should share the results of its comparison with nursing programs by publishing this information on its website. Board of 7. To ensure that BRN resolves complaints regarding 5 † • Registered Nursing: nurses in a timely manner, by March 1, 2017, it Significant Delays should establish a plan to eliminate its backlog of and Inadequate complaints awaiting assignment to an investigator. Oversight of the 10. To increase its pool of expert witnesses, by 5 Will Not Complaint Resolution June 2017, BRN should take the steps necessary to Implement Process Have Allowed increase the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses. Some Nurses Who May Pose a Risk to Patient Safety to Continue Practicing 2016‑046 (December 2016) continued on next page . . . 12 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department of Housing and Community Development California 16. To ensure that it is able to meet its administrative 4 † • Department of monitoring obligations and that it uses housing Housing and bond funds in compliance with state law, Community regulations, and program guidelines, HCD should Development: develop a long‑term plan by January 1, 2019, for Its Oversight of how it will avoid exceeding the administrative Housing Bond Funds cost limits of those programs in the most Remains Inconsistent immediate danger of overage and for how it will address instances when it has exceeded 2018‑037 administrative cost limits. The plan should identify (September 2018) 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. 18. To ensure that it complies with state law, prudently 4 † • uses administrative funding, 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 administrative 4 † • • cost restrictions and that it 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. California 3. To ensure its ability to more quickly provide 1 † • • Department of CoCs with access to emergency funding that the Housing and federal government allocates to the State in the Community future, such as additional ESG‑CV funding, the Development: department should, by December 2021, develop a It Failed to Expedite strategy that it can use in emergency situations to Access to Federal more efficiently complete or amend contracts and Funding to Address make funding available to recipients. the Impact of the 5. To ensure that it has the data necessary to 1 March 2023 COVID Pandemic on measure the effect the ESG‑CV program has in California’s Homeless addressing homelessness, the department should Population immediately develop and implement a plan to 2020‑611 collect outcome information either independently (August 2021) or through HDIS. Also, by March 2022, the department should begin reporting annually the outcome information it collects so that it can demonstrate the effectiveness of its programs and so that decision makers can use the reported data to inform budget and policy decisions. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 13 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation California 1. To increase public safety and reduce the likelihood 2 July 2023 Department of of recidivism, Corrections should establish a Corrections and separate category in the appropriate data system Rehabilitation: to track the individuals who would have qualified It Has Poorly for the integrated services program. It should Administered the also ensure that staff in the institutions, including Integrated Services mental health clinicians and staff involved in for Mentally Ill prerelease planning, coordinate with parole to Parolees Program, assign these individuals to parole agents with and With Current specialized caseloads who have the training and Funding Cuts, It experience to serve this population. Corrections Must Find Ways to should focus its efforts on at least the eight Transition Parolees to counties that are losing the integrated services County Services program and complete the steps noted in this recommendation by February 2021. 2020‑103 (August 2020) 2. To increase public safety and reduce the likelihood 2 July 2023 of recidivism, Corrections should continue to meet with the appropriate staff in the behavioral health departments of the eight counties where the integrated services program currently operates to facilitate coordination among Corrections' staff, the providers, and the counties. The coordination should focus on smoothly transitioning current program participants to the county services they need and on developing processes for future parolees with mental illness and issues with homelessness who will transition to county services. Corrections should begin holding these meetings by October 2020 and continue them until all necessary processes are in place. 4. To determine whether parolees with mental 2 July 2023 illness who have housing needs are receiving necessary services and support during their parole terms, Corrections should review its processes for connecting these individuals to county services by determining the appropriate metrics to evaluate its processes and setting goals related to those metrics. 5. To determine whether parolees with mental 2 July 2023 illness who have housing needs are receiving necessary services and support during their parole terms, Corrections should review its processes for connecting these individuals to county services by ensuring that it is collecting sufficient, consistent data to review those metrics. 6. To determine whether parolees with mental 2 July 2023 illness who have housing needs are receiving necessary services and support during their parole terms, Corrections should review its processes for connecting these individuals to county services by establishing a timeline for conducting reviews regularly, but at least every three years. Corrections should develop its plan by July 2021 and include at least the eight counties formerly served by the integrated services program. Corrections should complete its first review by December 2021. continued on next page . . . 14 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To determine whether parolees with mental 2 † • • illness who have housing needs are receiving necessary services and support during their parole terms, Corrections should review its processes for connecting these individuals to county services by reporting on its success in meeting its goals to the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health and the public. Corrections should develop its plan by July 2021 and include at least the eight counties formerly served by the integrated services program. Corrections should complete its first review by December 2021. 8. To determine whether parolees with mental 2 July 2023 illness who have housing needs are receiving necessary services and support during their parole terms, Corrections should review its processes for connecting these individuals to county services by using the reviews to identify changes to improve its processes for connecting parolees to resources, including improving training for Corrections' staff. Corrections should develop its plan by July 2021 and include at least the eight counties formerly served by the integrated services program. Corrections should complete its first review by December 2021. California 2. Corrections should immediately require mental 5 Will Not Department of health staff to score 100 percent on risk evaluation Implement Corrections and audits in order to pass. If a staff member does Rehabilitation: not pass, Corrections should require the prison to It Must Increase Its follow its current policies by reviewing additional Efforts to Prevent and risk evaluations to determine whether the staff Respond to Inmate member needs to undergo additional mentoring. Suicides 16. To ensure that prisons comply with its policies 5 October 2023 2016‑131 related to suicide prevention and response, (August 2017) 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. California 1. To ensure that Corrections has reliable tools for 3 July 2023 Department of assessing the needs of its inmate population, Corrections and it should validate COMPAS and CSRA by E Rehabilitation: January 2020 and revalidate all of its assessment Several Poor tools at least every five years. Administrative 8. To increase the space available for rehabilitation 3 October 2023 Practices Have programs, by January 2020 Corrections should Hindered Reductions analyze and report on its current infrastructure in Recidivism and capacity compared to its needs for the programs. Denied Inmates The report should include the current space Access to In‑Prison available and the square footage needed. If the Rehabilitation report indicates that additional space is necessary, Programs Corrections should work with the Legislature to 2018‑113 address those needs. (January 2019) California State Auditor Report 2022-041 15 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To ensure that Corrections effectively and 3 September efficiently allocates resources and reduces 2023 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. Correctional Officer 21. To ensure the health and safety of its officers when 4 † • • Health and Safety: interacting with inmates, CIM should provide Some State and annual training that is specific to preventing and Q County Correctional responding to gassing attacks. Facilities Could Better Protect Their Officers From the Health Risks of Certain Inmate Attacks 2018‑106 (September 2018) Investigations of 17. CDCR should enforce its current procedure to 5 December Improper Activities retain Institutional Worker Supervision Pay (IWSP) 2022 by State Agencies documentation. and Employees: 19. CDCR should train all employees, supervisors, and 5 December Misuse of Resources, personnel staff who receive, approve, or issue the 2022 Inaccurate extra pay to ensure that they are familiar with Attendance the requirements of the IWSP procedure and Pay Records, Disclosure Differential 67. of Confidential Information, and Improper Payments I2017‑1 (March 2017)‡ Investigations of 20. Fully implement and continue to follow 4 December Improper Activities recommendations from prior investigative 2022 by State Agencies reports involving similar inappropriate inmate and Employees: supervision pay at other CDCR facilities, including Misuse of State the recommendation to train all employees Time, Economically who receive, approve, or issue the inmate Wasteful Activities, supervision pay. and Misuse of State Property I2018‑1 (July 2018)‡ California Prison Industry Authority California Prison 9. CalPIA should, in consultation with the Personnel 1 Unknown Industry Authority: Board, consider voiding appointments and It Gave Nearly requiring employees who acted in bad faith to $1.3 Million in return all compensation as the Table on page 22. Unlawful Gifts to Other State Agencies and Repeatedly Violated Merit Based Employment Principles I2019‑0559 (July 2021) ‡ continued on next page . . . 16 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Rehabilitation Oversight Board California 16. To ensure that Corrections is taking steps to 3 Will Not Department of reduce recidivism, C‑ROB should monitor Implement Corrections and whether Corrections is developing appropriate E Rehabilitation: recidivism targets and, in its annual report, should Several Poor evaluate Corrections' progress toward meeting Administrative those targets. Practices Have Hindered 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 4 † • • Rehabilitation: Its and help ensure that staff involved in making Inadequate Guidance governmental decisions during the grant process and Oversight of the are impartial, Rehabilitation should ensure that Grant Process Led they receive ethics training, which includes to Inconsistencies conflict‑of‑interest training, at least every and Perceived Bias two years. in Its Evaluations 13. To ensure that it provides sufficient oversight of 4 † • • and Awards of Some the grant process, Rehabilitation should ensure Grants that the technical review teams it assigns to 2017‑129 grants provide the director and chief deputy with (July 2018) 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. 14. If it finds errors in an evaluation that merit 4 June 2023 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 4 December evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish 2022 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 17 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To ensure that Rehabilitation has appropriate 4 † • • 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 requirements, 4 December and to ensure consistency and fairness in its grant 2022 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 4 December evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish 2022 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. 19. To ensure that it consistently and thoroughly 4 December evaluates appeals, Rehabilitation should establish 2022 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 Air Resources Board California Air 1. To improve its ability to isolate each of its 1 December Resources Board: incentive programs’ additional GHG reductions, 2023 Improved Program by February 2022 CARB should establish a process Measurement Would to formally identify its incentive programs’ Help California Work overlap with other programs that share the same More Strategically objectives. As part of that process, CARB should to Meet Its Climate document how it will account for the overlap to Change Goals allow the most accurate program measurement possible. 2020‑114 (February 2021) continued on next page . . . 18 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 3. To improve its ability to identify the effectiveness 1 December of each of its incentive programs in reducing 2023 GHG emissions, by August 2021 CARB should develop a process to define, collect, and evaluate data on the behavioral changes that result from each of its incentive programs. Having done so, by February 2022 CARB should collect and analyze relevant survey information for all consumer‑focused incentive programs, as well as information about the behavioral effects of programs that other entities offer, such as the federal tax credit. 4. To better assist the State in achieving its GHG 1 2024 goals, CARB should use the information we describe to refine its GHG emissions estimates for its incentive programs in its annual reports to the Legislature, the funding plans approved by its board, and any longer‑term planning documents or reports. 11. To better demonstrate the socioeconomic 1 Fall 2023 benefits that its incentive programs achieve, by February 2022 CARB should do the following: • Identify clear and measurable metrics it will use to assess each of the socioeconomic benefits it intends its programs to achieve. • Develop a process to collect data, or use existing data, to measure and report on each metric. • In its funding plans and annual reports, CARB should report to the Legislature and its board on the metrics. 12. To provide transparency to the Legislature 1 Fall 2025 and other stakeholders, beginning in 2022 and using the metrics and data described above, CARB should make funding and design recommendations in its funding plans and annual reports based on which programs are effective in producing socioeconomic benefits and at what cost. 13. To ensure that the State has reliable information 1 March 2023 about the extent to which cap‑and‑trade‑funded programs create and support jobs, by August 2021 CARB should begin collecting data on the jobs produced by each of its incentive programs. Where needed, CARB should pursue amendments to its agreements with its program administrators to make reporting this information mandatory. CARB should include an analysis of these jobs data in its annual reports to the Legislature beginning in 2022. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 19 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To ensure that its incentive programs promote 1 Fall 2024 effective and equitable job training, by August 2021 CARB should develop a process to assess which programs should include a job training element. For those programs it identifies, by February 2022 CARB should direct its staff or its external program administrators to collect and report on the quality of job trainings and outcomes experienced by participants, including who received training, the credentials participants received as a result, any actual or expected wages they received as a result of participating in the training or for developing the relevant expertise, and the number of participants from disadvantaged communities or low‑income communities and households. Department of Toxic Substances Control California 3. To ensure that the public and policy makers have 2 March 2025 Department of Toxic the information they need to make informed Substances Control: decisions, DTSC should, by no later than April 2021, The State’s Poor identify and publicize a date by which it expects Management of the to complete cleanup for all properties that meet Exide Cleanup Project or exceed the standard for lead contamination of Has Left Californians 80 ppm identified in DTSC’s cleanup plan. It should at Continued Risk of post this information on its website and, at least Lead Poisoning every six months, publish an update that indicates whether it is on track to meet that expected 2020‑107 completion date based on its rate of progress. (October 2020) 4. To ensure that it has sufficient funding to clean up 2 March 2025 all lead‑contaminated properties in the cleanup site, DTSC should do the following: • Identify the full amount of funding it needs to complete the cleanup of the 3,200 most contaminated properties and the remaining 4,600 contaminated properties. It should submit a request for funding in time for spring 2021 budget discussions that includes a range of funding options that spans from funding for the full cleanup to funding for only a portion of the remaining contaminated properties. • Immediately revise its cost estimation methods to encompass the factors that it now knows will affect its overall costs. If needed, it should contract for expertise in determining accurate and complete estimates of the remaining cleanup cost. continued on next page . . . 20 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION State Water Resources Control Board State and Regional 7. If the State Water Board believes regulations are 4 Unknown Water Boards: They necessary to ensure that the regional boards and Must Do More to local jurisdictions follow its guidance regarding Ensure That Local adequate and consistent information pertaining to Jurisdictions’ Costs their costs for storm water management, the State to Reduce Storm Water Board should adopt such regulations. Water Pollution 11. The State Water Board should revise its trash policy 4 Will Not Are Necessary and to focus it on local jurisdictions that have water Implement Appropriate bodies that are harmed by trash, as identified 2017‑118 by the polluted waters list. In addition, the State (March 2018) 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 Board of State and Community Corrections Juvenile Justice 20. To ensure that counties include accurate 2 † • Crime Prevention information in their comprehensive plans and T Act: Weak Oversight year‑end reports, Community Corrections should Has Hindered review the information counties submit to it and Its Meaningful follow up with them to obtain missing information Implementation or to clarify information that seems incorrect. 2019‑116 21. To better promote effective local efforts related to 2 Will Not (May 2020) the JJCPA, Community Corrections should include Implement on its website the capability for stakeholders, counties, and other interested parties to review and easily compare the JJCPA information of multiple counties. Specifically, its website should allow users to be able to select a specific type of JJCPA‑funded program and easily review information the counties submitted for all programs associated with that program type. Community Corrections should determine the cost of providing this additional service and, if necessary, request additional resources. Board of State 1. To ensure that it efficiently and effectively 1 † • • and Community administers state and federal grants, including Corrections: any future emergency funds it might receive, Its Administration Community Corrections should improve its of Coronavirus standard grant policies and procedures by Emergency December 2021 to address the justification for Supplemental the allocation formula it chooses, including an Funds Has Been assessment of the recipients’ need for the funds. Marred by Delays, 2. To ensure that it efficiently and effectively 1 † • • Unfair Awards, administers state and federal grants, including and Insufficient any future emergency funds it might receive, Monitoring Community Corrections should improve its 2021‑616 standard grant policies and procedures by (October 2021) December 2021 to address how its allocation of emergency funds, such as federal COVID‑19 funding, will reflect the effect of the emergency on potential applicants. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 21 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 3. To ensure that it efficiently and effectively 1 † • • administers state and federal grants, including any future emergency funds it might receive, Community Corrections should improve its standard grant policies and procedures by December 2021 to address the promptness of is grant process, including specific timelines for how quickly it must obtain board approval, develop its grant solicitation, evaluate applications, make awards, and disburse the funds. 4. To ensure that it efficiently and effectively 1 † • • administers state and federal grants, including any future emergency funds it might receive, Community Corrections should improve its standard grant policies and procedures by December 2021 to address the circumstances under which it will deviate from its solicitation requirements and the steps it will take to ensure that it informs all applicants—and potential applicants—of the deviations, such as by including this information in its grant solicitation or in subsequent communications made available to all potential applicants. 5. To ensure that it efficiently and effectively 1 † • • administers state and federal grants, including any future emergency funds it might receive, Community Corrections should improve its standard grant policies and procedures by December 2021 to address a thorough and documented evaluation of grant applications, including the justification for awards and an explanation of how it will solve instances in which an application does not comply with the solicitation’s requirements, so that its decision to approve each application is justified. 6. To maximize the number of applicants that apply 1 † • • for grant funding, Community Corrections should ensure that its grant requirements are not overly burdensome and that they are achievable within the grant period. 8. To comply with federal and state requirements, 1 † • • and to ensure transparency, consistency, and fairness in its grant process, Community Corrections should post its grant procedures publicly on its website once it has improved its standard grant procedures. 9. To ensure that CDCR and the counties spend 1 January 2023 CESF funds appropriately and in a timely manner, Community Corrections should immediately develop and implement a plan to begin monitoring the use of CESF funds. This plan should include steps to ensure that it obtains and reviews required reports on time, takes action based on what it finds, and employs a strategy to identify potential instances of counties using CESF funds to supplant other funding. 10. To comply with federal reporting requirements, 1 January 2023 Community Corrections should submit all required fiscal and progress reports to the U.S. DOJ by the reporting deadlines. continued on next page . . . 22 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Public Safety 19. To ensure that the county Partnership 1 Will Not Realignment: Committees report consistent and complete, and Implement V Weak State and comparable information regarding their public County Oversight safety realignment funding and activities, by Does Not Ensure September 2021 the Corrections Board should That Funds Are Spent develop and distribute guidance to counties of its Effectively expectations for reporting financial information related to all public safety realignment accounts. 2020‑102 (March 2021) 20. To ensure that the county Partnership 1 † • • Committees report consistent and complete, and comparable information regarding their public safety realignment funding and activities, by September 2021 the Corrections Board should develop and implement a process to review and analyze the information that counties provide about their realignment activities and expenditures each year. 21. To ensure that the county Partnership Committees 1 Unknown report consistent and complete, and comparable information regarding their public safety realignment funding and activities, by September 2021 the Corrections Board should develop definitions for terms its asks counties to report on, including assault on staff and inmate risk level. 22. To comply with state law, the Corrections Board 1 December should include the cost of bringing jail facilities up 2022 to state standards in its biennial jail facility reports to the Governor and the Legislature, beginning with its 2018–2020 biennial report. 23. To ensure that the counties’ detention facilities 1 December address health, fire, and life safety deficiencies 2022 in a timely manner and that the Governor and the Legislature are aware of these deficiencies, beginning with its next biennial report, the Corrections Board should incorporate inspection information that the state fire marshal and county departments of public health provide to counties into its corrective action process and its reports to the Governor and the Legislature. 24. To ensure that it provides state leadership and 1 Unknown promotes best practices for counties to use, by March 2022 the Corrections Board should conduct an independent analysis of best practices, such as effective practices for restitution or rehabilitative programs, related to public safety realignment and publish the results. 25. To ensure that it provides state leadership and 1 June 2023 promotes best practices for counties to use, by March 2022 the Corrections Board should categorize the best practices it lists on its website for ease of reference to the counties. 26. To ensure that it provides state leadership and 1 December promotes best practices for counties to use, 2022 by March 2022 the Corrections Board should determine common county needs stemming from realignment and promote specific best practices that meet the common needs of counties, including best practices developed and adopted by California counties. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 23 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Food and Agriculture Investigations of 23. To remedy the effects of the improper 1 Unknown Improper Activities governmental activities this investigation by State Agencies identified and to prevent those activities from H and Employees recurring, Food and Agriculture should require the DAA to establish a housing policy that outlines I2021‑1 expectations for employees who stay overnight (May 2021)‡ and includes a section on adequate recordkeeping to ensure that it charges applicable employees each time they stay overnight. 24. To remedy the effects of the improper 1 Unknown governmental activities this investigation identified and to prevent those activities from recurring, Food and Agriculture should require the DAA to submit annual housing surveys to CalHR and to validate fair market value to determine the daily rate employees must pay each time they stay overnight and to subsequently charge employees that appropriate daily rate. 25. To remedy the effects of the improper 1 Unknown governmental activities this investigation identified and to prevent those activities from recurring, Food and Agriculture should review other DAAs that provide state‑owned housing to ensure that they have housing policies and that they charge employees appropriate daily rates for any overnight stays. California 6. To improve the effectiveness of marketing of 2 Will Not Department of Food the Pet Lover’s program, by August 2020 Food Implement and Agriculture: and Agriculture should contract with an eligible Poor Management nonprofit organization, as state law allows, to Threatens the carry out additional marketing and promotional Success of the Pet activities for the program. Lover’s Specialized License Plate Program 2019‑121 (March 2020) Gross 5. Association: Take appropriate disciplinary action 3 Unknown Mismanagement against the CEO, the maintenance supervisor, and Led to the Misuse of all other permanent and temporary employees State Resources and who engaged in the improper governmental Multiple Violations activities that we identified. of State Laws I2019‑4 (August 2019)‡ continued on next page . . . 24 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Veterans Affairs California 10. To ensure that the veterans homes receive all of 3 Will Not Department of the funding to which they are entitled, by the Implement Veterans Affairs May 2019 budget revision, CalVet should seek an and Department of augmentation to its appropriation for the homes General Services: equal to the lease revenues it generated from The Departments’ July 2015 through June 2018. If CalVet believes the Mismanagement of state law requiring lease proceeds to augment its the Veterans Home appropriation is outdated, it should seek a change Properties Has Not to state law. Served the Veterans’ Best Interests and Has Been Detrimental to the State 2018‑112 (January 2019) Department of Finance State High 4. To follow up on any concerns Finance may have 1 February 2023 Risk—Federal identified during its readiness reviews, it should COVID‑19 Funding: ensure that affected state departments have taken Coronavirus Relief appropriate steps to resolve those issues. Fund 2020‑610 (January 2021) GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS Department of General Services Department of 3. To improve its oversight of the State’s 5 Will Not General Services noncompetitive contracts, General Services Implement and California should, within 90 days, create plans for regularly Department of performing statewide analyses to identify potential Technology: Neither abuse or overuse of noncompetitive contracts. Entity Has Provided These analyses should include, but not be limited the Oversight to, calculating the proportional value and number Necessary to Ensure of the State’s competitive and noncompetitive That State Agencies contracts and amendments, examining trends in Consistently Use the agencies’ use of noncompetitive contracts and Competitive Bidding amendments, and identifying unusual patterns Process among vendors receiving state contracts through noncompetitive means. 2016‑124 (June 2017) HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES California Department of Public Health Childhood Lead 11. To better ensure that children with lead poisoning 2 January 2023 Levels: Millions of are identified and treated, CDPH should prioritize Children in Medi‑Cal meeting legislative requirements related to G Have Not Received these issues, including doing the following by Required Testing for March 2020: Finish developing the lead risk Lead Poisoning evaluation regulations and include in them multiple risk factors, such as those used in lead risk 2019‑105 evaluation questionnaires in other states. It should (January 2020) also commence the formal rulemaking process. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 25 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Skilled Nursing 8. As the Legislature considers changes to state law, 4 † • Facilities: Public Health should take the steps necessary C Absent Effective to ensure that its oversight results in nursing State Oversight, facilities improving their quality of care by Substandard amending its application licensing reviews by Quality of Care Has developing a defined process that specifies how Continued an analyst will determine whether an applicant has demonstrated its ability to comply with state 2017‑109 and federal requirements. This process also needs (May 2018) 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 law, 4 July 2024 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 4 December of information, Public Health should upload all 2022 inspection findings to Cal Health Find and review ownership data by May 2019. Youth Suicide 6. To support LEAs’ efforts to provide mental 2 Unknown Prevention: health services, Public Health should establish U Local Educational the support program for school health centers Agencies Lack the as state law requires. If Public Health lacks the Resources and funding to do so, it should request additional Policies Necessary to funds as needed. The support program should Effectively Address assist LEAs in establishing school health centers Rising Rates of and in identifying and applying for available Youth Suicide and funding as authorized by law, such as Medi‑Cal Self‑Harm reimbursement and MHSA funds. 2019‑125 (September 2020) continued on next page . . . 26 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION California Department of Social Services California 10. To ensure that Social Services evaluates the risk 5 † • • Department of individuals may pose to vulnerable populations A Social Services: in its licensed care facilities as quickly as possible, Its Caregiver by July 2017 Social Services should establish time Background Check frames for staff to evaluate individuals who are Bureau Lacks present in their facilities and who have received Criminal History administrative actions from other departments. Information It Needs In addition, it should monitor and follow up with to Protect Vulnerable the appropriate staff regarding the status of Populations in their assessments of these individuals and their Licensed Care final decisions. Facilities 13. To comply with state law and better protect 5 Will Not 2016‑126 vulnerable populations in California’s licensed Implement (March 2017) 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. 26. To ensure that regional offices pursue legal actions 5 † • in a timely manner, by July 2017 Social Services’ headquarters should identify a resource—such as a unit—to monitor and follow up with the regional offices regarding the status of their legal actions related to substantiated address matches of registered sex offenders at licensed facilities. In‑Home Supportive 4. To help ensure that all recipients throughout the 1 Will Not Services Program: State receive prompt approval for services and Implement It Is Not Providing receive all approved services, by August 2021 and W Needed Services annually thereafter, Social Services should require to All Californians counties to submit required annual plans. These Approved for plans should include, at a minimum, a description the Program, Is of how each county will ensure that services are Unprepared for promptly approved and that recipients promptly Future Challenges, receive the approved services. and Offers Low Pay to 5. To help counties prepare to meet future needs 1 Will Not Caregivers for IHSS services, Social Services should revise Implement 2020‑109 its regulations to require counties to include (February 2021) long‑range projections and strategies in their annual plans. 6. To help ensure that recipients receive timely 1 Will Not care, Social Services should, by August 2021, Implement begin monitoring counties’ compliance with the following: Approval of IHSS applications within 30 days, unless an extension for obtaining a medical certification applies. Prompt approval of IHSS applications for which the 45‑day extension for a medical certification applies. Provision of services within 15 days of application approval. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 27 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. For counties that struggle to comply with its 1 Will Not regulations regarding providing timely services, Implement Social Services should require—and regularly follow up on—corrective action plans from these counties. Investigations of 26. To remedy the effects of the improper 1 January 2023 Improper Activities governmental activities this investigation by State Agencies identified and to prevent those activities from H and Employees recurring, Social Services should determine the extent of underreported leave during the past I2021‑1 three years by conducting a survey of all salaried (May 2021)‡ employees who work nonstandard schedules and reduce leave balances accordingly or recover any overpayments as state law requires. Pandemic Food 4 In implementing our recommendations, CDSS 1 September Assistance should ensure that it does not unduly slow 2022§ Programs: the delivery of P‑EBT payments and that its The California notifications allow families sufficient time to use Department of P‑EBT payments before the payments expire. Social Services Has Struggled to Deliver Timely Food Assistance Because of Unclear Federal Expectations and Other Factors Beyond Its Control 2021‑613 (October 2021) Department of Health Care Services Childhood Lead 1. Because of the severe and potentially permanent 2 January 2022§ Levels: Millions of damage that lead poisoning can cause in children, G Children in Medi‑Cal DHCS should ensure that all children in Medi‑Cal Have Not Received receive lead tests by finalizing, by December 2020, Required Testing for its performance standard for lead testing of one‑ Lead Poisoning and two‑year‑olds. DHCS should use its existing data to assess the progress of managed care 2019‑105 plans in meeting that performance standard and (January 2020) impose sanctions or provide incentive payments as appropriate to improve performance. 2. To ensure that families know about the lead 2 December testing services that their children are entitled to 2021§ receive, DHCS should send a reminder to get a lead test for children who missed required tests. It should send this reminder in the required annual notification it is developing to send to families of children who have not used preventive services over the course of a year. 3. To increase California’s lead testing rates and 2 Will Not improve lead test reporting, DHCS should, by no Implement later than June 2020, incorporate into its contracts with managed care plans a requirement for the plans to identify each month all children with no record of receiving a required test and remind the responsible health care providers of the requirement to test the children. DHCS should also develop and implement a procedure to hold plans accountable for meeting this requirement. continued on next page . . . 28 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Department 4. By September 2019, and periodically thereafter, 3 † • • of Health Care DHCS should conduct another risk assessment and Services: Although ensure that it includes a comprehensive evaluation Its Oversight of of which contract areas—including conflicts Managed Care Health of interest—it should focus on in its annual Plans Is Generally medical audits. Sufficient, It Needs 5. Going forward, DHCS should conduct a 3 † • to Ensure That Their comprehensive risk assessment and ensure that it Administrative reviews health plans’ conflict‑of‑interest controls at Expenses Are least once every three years. Reasonable and Necessary 6. DHCS should develop and issue an All‑Plan 3 † • letter or other binding guidance by March 2020 2018‑115 to the health plans that specifically defines (April 2019) what constitutes reasonable and necessary administrative expenses. 7. DHCS should provide guidance to health plans on 3 Will Not what is a reasonable bonus program. In doing so, Implement DHCS should perform the necessary oversight to ensure health plans comply with this direction. Department 1. To reduce inappropriate payments made to 1 November of Health Care medical providers and ensure eligible individuals’ 2023 Services: Despite access to care, Health Care Services should, by the COVID‑19 Public August 2021, begin monitoring statewide alerts Health Emergency, related to individuals identified as eligible for the Department Can Medi‑Cal in a county eligibility data system but not Do More to Address identified as eligible in the state eligibility system. Chronic Medi‑Cal 3. To reduce inappropriate payments made to 1 September Eligibility Problems medical providers and ensure eligible individuals’ 2023 2020‑613 access to care, Health Care Services should, by (July 2021) August 2021, expand its workgroup planning efforts to address all high‑risk eligibility alerts included in the pilot program. 4. To reduce inappropriate payments made to 1 November medical providers and ensure eligible individuals’ 2023 access to care, Health Care Services should, by August 2021, resume monitoring pilot program counties’ progress in resolving high‑risk eligibility alerts. 6. To ensure that it is addressing weaknesses in 1 November the counties’ processes for making eligibility 2023 redeterminations, Health Care Services should resume county monitoring via focus reviews within four months of the end of the public health emergency. Department 1. To ensure that beneficiaries in Regional Model 3 Will Not of Health Care counties have adequate access to care, DHCS Implement Services: It Has should identify by August 2020 the locations Not Ensured requiring additional providers and the types That Medi‑Cal of providers required. It should also develop Beneficiaries in Some strategies for recruiting and retaining providers in Rural Counties Have those locations. If it requires additional funding to Reasonable Access complete this assessment or to implement actions to Care to address its findings, DHCS should determine the amounts it needs and request that funding from 2018‑122 the Legislature. (August 2019) California State Auditor Report 2022-041 29 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 11. To ensure that it makes informed decisions 3 Will Not regarding the extension or renewal of its contracts Implement 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 3 Will Not Model counties have reasonable access to care, Implement 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 3 Will Not Model counties have reasonable access to care, Implement 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. Department 2. To recover inappropriately spent funds, prevent 4 March 2024 of Health Care future erroneous payments, and ensure eligible Services: It individuals’ access to care, Health Care Services Paid Billions in should resolve the discrepancies we identified and Questionable recover erroneous payments where allowable by Medi‑Cal Premiums June 30, 2019. and Claims Because 3. To prevent future erroneous payments, Health 4 March 2024 It Failed to Follow Care Services should implement procedures Up on Eligibility by December 31, 2018, to ensure the timely Discrepancies resolution of system discrepancies. These 2018‑603 procedures should include Health Care Services (October 2018) regularly following up on recurring, unresolved system discrepancies with the responsible county. 4. To prevent future erroneous payments, Health Care 4 March 2024 Services should establish procedures by 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, 4 March 2024 Health Care Services should reevaluate and update its guidance to the counties related to prioritizing MEDS alerts by December 31, 2018. continued on next page . . . 30 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Mental Health 6. To ensure that local mental health agencies 4 December Services Act: The appropriately spend MHSA funds, Health Care 2021§ D State Could Better Services should publish its proposed regulations Ensure the Effective in the California Regulatory Notice Register Use of Mental Health by September 2018. It should then develop Services Act Funding and implement an MHSA fiscal audit process, independent of the Medi‑Cal reviews, to review 2017‑117 revenues and expenditures for the most recent (February 2018) fiscal year. Proposition 56 12. To ensure that it awards funds to applicants 1 Will Not Tobacco Tax: State who address the need for providers in health Implement Agencies’ Weak professional shortage areas, Health Care Services F Administration should amend its application selection process to Reduced Revenue require by June 2021 that all participants practice by Millions of in geographic areas that have shortages of such Dollars and Led to health care professionals, and annually verify that the Improper Use participants continue to practice in such areas. and Inadequate Disclosure of Funds 2019‑046 (January 2021) Skilled Nursing 12. Health Care Services should use current data to 4 † • • Facilities: revise and update the peer groups it uses to set Absent Effective Medi‑Cal rates. In doing so, it should take into C State Oversight, consideration the consolidation of the nursing Substandard facility industry. Quality of Care Has Continued 2017‑109 (May 2018) Department of State Hospitals# Investigations of 1. Within 30 days, the Department of State Hospitals 2 Unknown Improper Activities (State Hospitals) should consult with the California by State Agencies Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to obtain and Employees: its determination about whether telepsychiatrists Wasteful and meet the criteria for safety retirement benefits. Improper Personnel If CalHR determines that telepsychiatrists do Decisions, Improper not meet the criteria for safety retirement Contracting, Conflict benefits, take immediate action to reclassify of Interest, Misuse of telepsychiatrists to the appropriate retirement State Resources, and category and notify all affected employees. Dishonesty 2. Within 30 days, State Hospitals should consult with 2 Unknown I2020‑2 CalHR, the California Public Employees’ Retirement (October 2020)‡ System, and the State Controller’s Office (SCO) to retroactively correct any errors made to affected employees’ retirement contributions, including Social Security deductions. 3. Within 60 days, State Hospitals should distribute 2 Unknown CalHR’s policy on the safety retirement benefits designation to HR staff at each state hospital facility and instruct staff to consult with CalHR as the law requires. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 31 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission Mental Health 10. To ensure that the MHSA‑funded triage grants are 4 † • Services Act: The effective, the Oversight Commission should require State Could Better that local mental health agencies uniformly report D Ensure the Effective data on their uses of triage grants. It should also Use of Mental Health establish statewide metrics to evaluate the impact Services Act Funding 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 4 October 2023 Facilities: nursing facility information that is accurate and C Absent Effective comprehensible, Health Planning should update State Oversight, its regulations to do the following: Substandard • Append additional schedules to the template Quality of Care Has for the annual cost report to enable nursing Continued facilities to fully disclose related‑party 2017‑109 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. HIGHER EDUCATION Chancellor of the California Community Colleges California 4. To ensure that students with disabilities have equal 4 † • Community access to instructional materials, by June 2018, Colleges: The the Chancellor’s Office should develop guidance P Colleges Reviewed for the community colleges on periodically Are Not Adequately monitoring the accessibility of instructional Monitoring Services materials and on providing training to all for Technology instructors in making their materials accessible to Accessibility, students with disabilities. and Districts and 7. To assist all community colleges in increasing 4 Will Not Colleges Should transparency of their shared governance Implement Formalize Procedures decision‑making processes, by September 2018, for Upgrading the Chancellor’s Office should issue guidance Technology to the community colleges on establishing 2017‑102 procedures to document the attendees, input (December 2017) received, and agreements reached during department meetings, including those to consider technology equipment requests. continued on next page . . . 32 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION The California State University California State 3. To improve CSU’s financial transparency with 3 † • University: It Failed students and other stakeholders, the Chancellor’s to Fully Disclose Its Office, with the approval of the trustees, should $1.5 Billion Surplus, revise CSU policy by October 2019 to require that and It Has Not it publish information about CSU’s discretionary Adequately Invested surplus. At a minimum, the Chancellor’s Office in Alternatives should revise its reserve policy to establish and to Costly Parking justify a minimum sufficient level of reserve for Facilities economic uncertainty and require the Chancellor’s Office to provide additional oversight to ensure 2018‑127 that CSU maintains that level. This oversight (June 2019) 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, by 3 March 2020§ October 2019, the campuses publish 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 3. To improve the oversight of CSU’s management 5 January 2023 University: Stronger personnel, the Chancellor’s Office should work Oversight Is Needed with campuses, bargaining unit representatives, for Hiring and the Public Employment Relations Board, and Compensating others as necessary to come to an agreement Management on the appropriate classification of coaches. The Personnel and for Chancellor’s Office should take into account the Monitoring Campus concerns that San Diego State has raised about the Budgets labor market for these employees. 2016‑122 10. The Chancellor’s Office should finish developing 5 December (April 2017) the Common Human Resources System and 2027 implement it as scheduled by December 2019. California State 3. To ensure that CSU campuses adequately identify 2 † • • University: the need for their proposed mandatory fee The Mandatory amounts, the Chancellor’s Office should revise its Fees Its Campuses fee policy to require campuses to justify amounts Charge Receive for new or increasing fees by providing supporting Little Oversight Yet documentation demonstrating the need for the They Represent an fees, how they calculated the fee amounts, and Increasing Financial how they determined that no other source of Burden to Students funding could pay for the needed services. 2019‑114 4. To ensure that CSU campuses adequately identify 2 † • • (May 2020) the need for their proposed mandatory fee amounts, the Chancellor’s Office should extend its review responsibilities to include increases to existing mandatory fees. 5. To ensure that CSU campuses adequately identify 2 † • • the need for their proposed mandatory fee amounts, the Chancellor’s Office should increase the rigor of its fee proposal review and approval process to better ensure that it detects campuses’ violations of the fee policy. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 33 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION University of California The University of 5. To determine the amount of money that it can 5 † • California Office reallocate to campuses and to ensure that it of the President: publicly presents comprehensive and accurate B It Failed to Disclose budget information, by April 2018 the Office of the Tens of Millions in President should implement our recommended Surplus Funds, and Its budget presentation shown in Figure 11 on Budget Practices Are page 40. Specifically, the Office of the President’s Misleading budget presentation to the regents should include a comparison of its proposed budget to its actual 2016‑130 expenditures for the previous year. It should also (April 2017) 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 can 5 † • 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 5 † • 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 can 5 † • 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 5 † • 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 5 † • 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. 39. To ensure that its staffing costs align with the 5 † • 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. continued on next page . . . 34 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION The University of 8. To ensure that the university achieves its goals 5 † • • California Office of of obtaining services at the lowest cost or best the President: value and of providing vendors with fair access It Has Not Adequately to contracting opportunities, the Office of the Ensured Compliance President should revise the university’s contract With Its Employee manual to incorporate the best practices found Displacement and in the State Contracting Manual for limiting Services Contract the use of amendments to repeatedly extend Policies existing contracts. 2016‑125.1 9. To ensure that the university achieves its goals 5 † • • (August 2017) 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. 14. To maximize benefits from the systemwide 5 Will Not procurement initiative and to ensure that the Implement university uses those benefits for its teaching, research, and public service missions, the Office of the President should implement a process to centrally direct these benefits to ensure that university locations use them to support the university’s core missions. The University of 1. To protect the fairness and integrity of its 2 † • • California: Qualified admissions processes, the Office of the President Students Face an should establish systemwide protocols for Inconsistent and admissions processes by the fall 2021 admissions Unfair Admissions cycle that prohibit the following: System That Has • Giving authority to any one person to make a Been Improperly final admissions decision. Influenced by Relationships and • Consideration of an applicant’s familial or other Monetary Donations personal relationships to university staff or faculty in an admissions decision. 2019‑113 • Communication between a campus’s (September 2020) development office and its admissions office about applicants and prospective applicants. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 35 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 2. To protect the campuses’ athletics admissions 2 † • • process from abuse, the Office of the President should require each campus to do the following by the fall 2021 admissions cycle: • Have at least two reviewers verify the athletic talent of all prospective student athletes before their admittance. At least one of these reviewers should be from a department other than the athletics department. Each campus should develop standards for the level of talent that prospective student athletes for each of its teams must possess and then use those standards to verify the talent. • Track student athletes’ participation in the sport for which they were recruited. If a student does not participate in the sport for longer than one year, the campus should determine the reason why the athlete stopped participating and, if necessary, conduct a review of the circumstances that led to the student’s admission to identify signs of inappropriate admissions activity. • Review donations to athletic programs to determine whether those donations made before or after an athlete’s admission may have influenced the athletic department’s decision to request the athlete’s admission. 4. Beginning with the fall 2021 admissions cycle, 2 Will Not the Office of the President should oversee UC Implement Berkeley’s admissions process for at least three years. The Office of the President should ensure that all admissions decisions are merit‑based and conform to the university’s policies on admissions. Further, the Office of the President should facilitate the establishment of a culture of ethical conduct in admissions by providing regular training to admissions and development staff, conducting reviews of admissions decisions, and monitoring the admissions office’s communications about applicants to ensure no inappropriate factors influence admissions activities. continued on next page . . . 36 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure that the university maintains a fair and 2 † • • consistent admissions process, the Office of the President should require each campus to take the following actions: • By March 2021, document and implement a selection methodology that describes how it will choose applicants for admission, particularly when the applicants have received similar ratings from application readers. Further, the selection strategy should specify the reasons why a campus may choose an applicant with a low or uncompetitive rating instead of an applicant with a higher rating. • Develop and implement processes to use when selecting applicants for admission for identifying applicants whom it has selected for admission and who are not eligible for admission to the university, and record their rationale for admitting those applicants despite their ineligibility. 7. To ensure that the university maintains a fair and 2 † • • unbiased admissions process, the Office of the President should require each campus to take the following actions: • By March 2021, establish acceptable levels of application reader proficiency and maintain training and monitoring programs that ensure that its readers attain and sustain those levels. In addition, it should report annually to BOARS on those efforts and on reader consistency levels, including the frequency with which reader ratings align with campus guidelines for rating applications. • Beginning with the academic year 2021–22 admissions cycle, require each campus that does not admit all eligible transfer applicants to ensure that two readers review all transfer applications. • Beginning with the academic year 2021–22 admissions cycle, ensure that the second readers cannot see the ratings of first readers for both freshman and transfer applications. 8. To better ensure that implicit bias in the evaluation 2 Will Not of applications does not affect applicants’ chances Implement at admission, the Office of the President should remove potentially biasing information from the application information that campuses can access. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 37 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. To ensure that it properly protects all admissions 2 † • activity against improper influence, the Office of the President should require each campus’s undergraduate admissions office to do the following: • Identify all other campus departments that participate in or provide information that affects admissions decision making. • Obtain, evaluate, and approve a description of the criteria and processes that these departments use in rating and selecting applicants to recommend for admission. • Annually obtain a roster from each of these departments of the individuals who will participate in admissions decision making and their roles and ensure that no single individual is responsible for such decisions in any given department. • Ensure that each individual whom a department includes on the roster it submits has received training on appropriate and inappropriate factors on which to base admissions decisions and has agreed to abide by the campus’s conflict‑of‑interest policies with respect to admissions. 10. To better safeguard the integrity of the university’s 2 † • admissions processes, the Office of the President should, by July 2021, begin conducting regular audits of the admissions processes at each of its undergraduate campuses, ensuring that it reviews each campus at least once every three years. These audits should be conducted by systemwide audit staff and include, but not be limited to, verification of special talents, communication between admissions staff and external parties regarding applicants, and other avenues for inappropriate influence on admissions discussed in this report. The audits should also endeavor to identify inappropriate admissions activity and deficiencies in the admissions process. The Office of the President should make the results of the audits public. University of California, Board of Regents The University of 7. To ensure the ongoing accountability of the Office 5 † • California Office of the President, the regents should require it B of the President: to implement our recommendations and report It Failed to Disclose periodically on its progress. Tens of Millions in Surplus Funds, and Its Budget Practices Are Misleading 2016‑130 (April 2017) continued on next page . . . 38 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To ensure that the Office of the President’s staffing 5 † • levels are justified and that costs are reasonable and align with the needs of campuses and other stakeholders, the regents should require the Office of the President to implement our recommendations and report periodically on its progress. K–12 EDUCATION California Department of Education California 1. To strengthen its administrative reviews and 5 Will Not Department of help ensure that school food authorities comply Implement Education: It Has Not with the Buy American requirement, Education Ensured That School should update its written procedures to include Food Authorities a requirement that reviewers collect and retain Comply With the evidence for all items they evaluate for compliance Federal Buy American with the Buy American requirement. This update Requirement should occur no later than October 1, 2017. 2016‑139 (July 2017) California 3. To ensure that LEAs effectively use their ESSER 1 † • Department of and GEER funds before the spending deadlines to Education: It mitigate the effects of the pandemic on students, Needs to Provide Education should develop a robust process for Better Oversight tracking LEAs’ spending of these funds. As part to Ensure That of this process, Education should regularly assess Local Educational LEAs’ spending data to identify those that may be Agencies Promptly in jeopardy of not spending all of their allocations and Effectively Use before the deadlines. This assessment should Federal COVID‑19 include projecting LEAs’ future spending based on Funds their spending patterns. 2021‑614 4. To ensure that LEAs effectively use their ESSER 1 † • (October 2021) and GEER funds before the spending deadlines to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on students, Education should develop a robust process for tracking LEAs’ spending of these funds. As part of this process, Education should follow up with identified LEAs to determine whether they have plans for spending all of their funds before the deadlines and whether these plans are reasonable. Proposition 56 16. To obtain its full share of the fiscal year 2017–18 1 December Tobacco Tax: Proposition 56 revenues, Education should 2023 State Agencies’ negotiate with Finance and Public Health to ensure F Weak Administration that it receives the full amount of its proportional Reduced Revenue share of the fiscal year 2017–18 Proposition 56 by Millions of funds. Dollars and Led to the Improper Use and Inadequate Disclosure of Funds 2019‑046 (January 2021) California State Auditor Report 2022-041 39 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION School Library 23. To better understand the condition of school 5 Will Not Services: Vague libraries statewide and to raise stakeholders’ Implement State Laws and a Lack awareness of the State Education Board’s adopted of Monitoring Allow model standards, Education should identify school School Districts to districts that reported employing significantly Provide a Minimal fewer teacher librarians in fiscal year 2015–16 than Level of Library in previous years and verify the accuracy of their Services fiscal year 2015–16 reports. 2016‑112 (November 2016) Uniform Complaint 3. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 5 † • • Procedures: and appeals in a timely manner and that it The California investigates and reviews all UCP complaints Department and appeals in compliance with state law and of Education’s regulations, by July 2017 Education should Inadequate Oversight designate a central office to receive all complaints Has Led to a Lack and appeals. This central office should distribute of Uniformity and complaints and appeals to the correct divisions for Compliance in investigation or review. the Processing of 4. To ensure that it consistently processes 5 † • • Complaints and complaints and appeals in a timely manner Appeals and that it investigates and reviews all UCP 2016‑109 complaints and appeals in compliance with state (January 2017) law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should establish a single database to record and track all investigations of complaints and reviews of appeals. This database should capture all data necessary for Education to effectively make informed decisions related to UCP complaints or appeals. At a minimum, the database should capture the date on which Education received each complaint or appeal, the date on which it forwarded the complaint or appeal to the appropriate division for investigation or review, and the date on which it sent the decision to the complainant. The database should also include the type of complaint or appeal, the LEA involved, and the decision. 5. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 5 † • • and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should track the divisions’ progress in processing complaints and appeals to ensure the divisions meet all UCP requirements, including documenting exceptional circumstances that constitute good cause for extending investigations beyond 60 days. continued on next page . . . 40 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 5 † • • and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should work with divisions to establish policies and procedures for the divisions to follow when investigating UCP complaints and reviewing appeals. The procedures should identify the individuals or units responsible for investigating complaints and reviewing appeals, the steps and time frames for conducting investigations and reviews, the requirements for issuing decisions, and the documentation that should be retained in the files. 7. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 5 † • • and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should establish and distribute a standard investigation report format that includes the required elements for the divisions to use when processing UCP complaints. 8. To ensure that it consistently processes complaints 5 † • • and appeals in a timely manner and that it investigates and reviews all UCP complaints and appeals in compliance with state law and regulations, by July 2017 Education should designate a central office to receive all complaints and appeals. This central office should monitor the divisions’ decisions and reports on complaints and appeals to ensure that they comply with requirements. 16. To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of 5 Will Not LEAs’ UCP processes, Education should work Implement with those LEAs throughout the State that receive a disproportionately high number of non‑UCP complaints through the UCP process to assess the potential benefits of establishing similar mechanisms. 22. To ensure that its regulations are consistent 5 Will Not and align with state and federal requirements, Implement Education should revise its regulations to allow LEAs to extend investigations under exceptional circumstances that constitute good cause if the LEAs document and support with evidence the reasons for the extensions. 23. After it makes the recommended regulatory 5 Will Not changes to allow extensions under exceptional Implement 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 41 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Youth Experiencing 34. To ensure that it has the resources necessary to 2 Unknown Homelessness: effectively meet its responsibilities under federal S California’s Education law, Education should complete a staffing analysis System for K‑12 by May 2020 to determine the resources needed Inadequately to meet its responsibilities for homeless education. Identifies and This analysis should consider the resources needed Supports These Youth to implement all of the recommendations in this report. 2019‑104 (November 2019) 35. If Education determines that it needs additional 2 Unknown resources, it should take the necessary steps, including reallocating existing resources within the department, to secure the needed resources. Youth Suicide 2. To promote the adoption of the best practices 2 December Prevention: that it has identified, Education should remind 2022 Local Educational LEAs of the elements in its model policy. To do so, U Agencies Lack the it should annually send a notice to all LEAs that Resources and describes suicide prevention resources, such as the Policies Necessary to model policy, and encourages their use. Education Effectively Address should also work with external organizations that Rising Rates of maintain model policies, including the School Youth Suicide and Boards Association, to encourage the development Self‑Harm of policies that are consistent with state law and best practices by no later than September 2021. 2019‑125 (September 2020) 3. To encourage LEAs to incorporate elements of 2 December suicide prevention training that provide teachers 2022 and staff with the knowledge necessary to assist students at risk of self‑harm and suicide, Education should remind all LEAs of the statutorily required elements for suicide prevention training. 4. To support the provision of suicide prevention 2 December education to students at LEAs operating through 2022 distance learning, Education should complete and issue to LEAs the resources and guidance it is developing on how to conduct suicide prevention education remotely. LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Department of Industrial Relations Department 4. To ensure consistency and transparency in 2 † • • of Industrial overseeing QMEs, DWC should, by April 2020, Relations: Its Failure develop and implement written policies and to Adequately procedures that define and specify its internal Administer the processes for disciplining QMEs, including Qualified Medical timelines for taking disciplinary action and Evaluator Process for scheduling hearings or responding to May Delay Injured settlement proposals. Workers’ Access to 5. To ensure consistency and transparency in 2 † • • Benefits overseeing QMEs, DWC should, by April 2020, 2019‑102 develop and implement written policies and (November 2019) procedures that define its internal process for reappointing QMEs and how that process should proceed if any disciplinary investigations are pending. continued on next page . . . 42 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Employment Development Department Employment 11. To continue providing timely payment of benefits 1 April 2023 Development to Californians in need while also effectively Department: EDD’s responding to the Department of Labor’s directive Poor Planning regarding immediately resuming all eligibility and Ineffective determinations and resolving all suspended Management Left determinations, EDD should do the following: It Unprepared to • Using the workload plan, EDD should process Assist Californians the deferred work in alignment with the Unemployed by following: the need to pay timely benefits COVID‑19 Shutdowns to new or continued claimants, federal 2020‑128 and 628.1 expectations about the urgency of the deferred (January 2021) work, and any deadlines by which EDD may no longer be allowed to recoup inappropriately paid benefits. 12. To ensure that it is able to take informed steps to 1 January 2023 provide better customer service through improved call center performance, EDD should implement a formal policy by no later than May 2021 that establishes a process for tracking and periodically analyzing the reasons why UI claimants call for assistance. By no later than October 2021, and every six months thereafter, EDD should analyze these data to improve its call center by doing the following: • Identifying and resolving weaknesses or problems with the ways in which it provides assistance to UI claimants through self‑service and noncall‑center options. Employment 2. To reduce the risk of identity theft for its claimants 3 † • Development before it completes its modernization project, Department: EDD should, by December 2021, implement one Its Practice of or more of our proposed solutions or another Mailing Documents viable solution to discontinue its use of full SSNs as Containing Social unique identifiers on all documents that it mails to Security Numbers claimants. Further, it should prioritize addressing Puts Californians at documents with the highest mail volumes, and Risk of Identity Theft it should make changes to these documents by March 2020. When providing us with the status of 2018‑129 its implementation of this recommendation at 60 (March 2019) 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 43 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION LEGISLATIVE, JUDICIAL, AND EXECUTIVE California Department of Justice Bureau of 7. To minimize the degree to which its process to 3 Fall 2023 Gambling Control change its regulations may result in the disparate and California treatment of card room owners, the bureau should Gambling Control temporarily approve or deny its backlogged games Commission: Their applications by July 2019. Licensing Processes 12. To better align the revenue in the Gambling 3 Fall 2023 Are Inefficient and Fund with the costs of the activities that the fund Foster Unequal supports, the bureau and the commission should Treatment of conduct cost analyses of those activities by July Applicants 2020. At a minimum, these cost analyses should 2018‑132 include the following: (May 2019) • 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 accurate 3 Dependent on data on the locations where enforcement Funding 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 20. To ensure that it is receiving all arrest information 5 Will Not Department of from law enforcement agencies, at a minimum, Implement Social Services: Justice should consider trends in the number of A Its Caregiver arrest reports each law enforcement agency sends Background Check it and the number of reports that it might expect Bureau Lacks to receive from an agency given the agency’s Criminal History size, location, and reporting history. Whenever Information It Needs Justice identifies a law enforcement agency that to Protect Vulnerable it determines may not be reporting all required Populations in information, it should request that the agency Licensed Care forward all required arrest information. Facilities 2016‑126 (March 2017) continued on next page . . . 44 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Hate Crimes 4. To increase the effectiveness of hate crime 4 July 2022§ in California: prevention and response efforts, DOJ should Law Enforcement provide additional guidance to law enforcement Has Not Adequately agencies by analyzing reported hate crimes in Identified, Reported, various regions in the State and sending advisory or Responded to notices when it detects hate crimes happening Hate Crimes across multiple jurisdictions. It should also seek the resources to implement these efforts, if necessary. 2017‑131 (May 2018) Proposition 56 14. To ensure that it awards Proposition 56 funding 1 Will Not Tobacco Tax: in accordance with the requirements in state Implement F State Agencies’ law, Justice should implement a formal grant Weak Administration application review process by June 2021 that Reduced Revenue ensures that it does not award Proposition 56 by Millions of funds for purposes—such as education and Dollars and Led to outreach—that are not described in the law the Improper Use governing its use of funds. and Inadequate Disclosure of Funds 2019‑046 (January 2021) California Department of Tax and Fee AdministrationII The Bradley‑Burns 6. To help address California’s e‑commerce tax 4 Will Not Tax and Local gap and further ensure out‑of‑state retailers’ Implement Transportation compliance with state law regarding nexus, Tax Funds: Changing the Administration should implement a two‑year pilot Allocation Structure of its authorized reward program for information for the Bradley‑Burns resulting in the identification of unreported sales Tax Would Result and use taxes. in a More Equitable Distribution of Local Transportation Funding 2017‑106 (November 2017) California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services California Is Not 12. To ensure that it fulfills its responsibilities 2 April 2023 Adequately Prepared under state law, Cal OES should, by no later to Protect Its Most than June 2020, issue the guidance that state R Vulnerable Residents law requires it to produce related to access From Natural and functional needs, including guidance Disasters related to establishing disaster registries and guidance on evacuating people with access and 2019‑103 functional needs. (December 2019) California State Auditor Report 2022-041 45 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To ensure that it adequately equips local 2 April 2023 jurisdictions to send alert and warning messages in languages that their residents will easily understand, Cal OES should do the following: • Provide clear direction to individuals who speak English so that they know which of the translated messages they should use in what specific circumstances; revise the messages it has provided so that local jurisdictions can more easily adapt them for use in a variety of disaster situations; expand its style guide to include terminology that emergency managers are likely to need to effectively modify their local messages and also to include translations for the other commonly spoken languages in the State. California State Lottery Commission California State 4. To adhere to the Lottery Act’s education funding 2 Will Not Lottery: The Lottery requirements, beginning with fiscal year 2020–21, Implement Has Not Ensured That the Lottery Commission should require its staff to It Maximizes Funding demonstrate that they have planned for education for Education funding to be maximized and aligned with the proportionality requirement of the Lottery Act, 2019‑112 and approve only those budgets that plan for (February 2020) such funding. It should then monitor actual education funding and ensure that it complies with the requirement. 7. To ensure that it receives value for the funding it 2 Undetermined spends on its fairs program, by January 2021, the Lottery should determine whether the program has increased its brand strength, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, ticket sales, and profits. If the analysis determines that the Lottery has not achieved these benefits, it should terminate the program. California Tax Credit Allocation Committee California’s Housing 5. To ensure that the allocation of bonds aligns 1 Undetermined Agencies: The State with the State’s housing priorities and that its Must Overhaul awards process is sufficiently transparent, the Its Approach to Tax Committee should, by May 2021, establish Affordable Housing regulations to do the following: Development to • Consistently allocate bonds based on factors Help Relieve Millions including demand for bond resources, use of Californians’ of previously allocated bonds, documented Burdensome Housing legislative priorities, and risk of allocated bonds Costs being lost. 2020‑108 • Document and disclose annually in its public (November 2020) meetings and on its website the extent of any bonds lost, the purpose for which the bonds were allocated, and the rationale for the allocation. continued on next page . . . 46 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Judicial Performance Commission 14. To maximize the resources available for its core 3 Unknown on Judicial functions, CJP should immediately begin exploring Performance: options for relocating its office to a less expensive Weaknesses in location and relocate as soon as possible. Its Oversight Have Created Opportunities for Judicial Misconduct to Persist 2016‑137 (April 2019) Secretary of State’s Office Santa Clara County 11. The Secretary of State should adopt regulations 5 2024 Registrar of Voters: establishing clear criteria for mistakes in Insufficient Policies election‑related materials that constitute and Procedures Have reportable errors and require counties to report Led to Errors That these errors to it after each election. May Have Reduced 12. Beginning in December 2018, the Secretary of 5 2024 Voters’ Confidence in State should implement annual risk‑based reviews the Registrar’s Office of a selection of county election officials’ offices to 2017‑107 ensure their compliance with state election laws (October 2017) and regulations. 13. To inform and enhance the guidance it provides 5 2024 to county election officials, the Secretary of State should analyze error reports and its risk‑based review results to focus its guidance on topics most relevant to improving elections throughout the State. State Bar of California The State Bar of 5. To ensure that it is operating efficiently, the 1 January 2023 California: It Is State Bar should assess the impact of its discipline Not Effectively system reorganization, including determining Managing Its System how the changes have affected its ability to for Investigating efficiently resolve cases and fulfill its mandate and Disciplining to protect the public. Based on the assessment’s Attorneys Who Abuse results, the State Bar should determine whether the Public Trust additional changes to its organizational structure are warranted. 2020‑030 (April 2021) 6. To determine if the changes to its discipline 1 January 2023 process have been effective and to help it identify problems in specific phases of its process before they affect the backlog, the State Bar should implement methods to monitor its enforcement process performance, including comparing the trial counsel staff ‘s performance against its benchmarks. 8. To reduce its backlog of discipline cases and 1 December ensure that it has appropriately allocated resources 2023 to all phases of its discipline process, the State Bar should determine the staffing level necessary to achieve the goal it develops and recommends, as required by state law. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 47 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. To reduce its backlog of discipline cases and 1 June 2023 ensure that it has appropriately allocated resources to all phases of its discipline process, the State Bar should work with the Legislature to establish the backlog measure and goal it develops and recommends, and to revise its reporting requirements accordingly. If necessary, the State Bar should also request the additional resources required to meet the goal. The State Bar of 7. To assign purchasing cards only to appropriate 5 † • • California: It Needs staff, ensure that the State Bar’s records of Additional Revisions employees’ credit limits reflect those established to Its Expense Policies with the bank, and to verify that staff use to Ensure That It Uses purchasing cards only for allowable and necessary Funds Prudently expenses, the State Bar should immediately restrict the use of purchasing cards to its original purpose, 2017‑030 which was for low‑dollar and frequently occurring (June 2017) 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 5 † • • 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. Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Judicial Branch 13. To ensure that it properly authorizes payments and 5 Will Not Procurement: The purchases only allowable items, the San Mateo Implement Five Superior Courts court should process payments in accordance with We Reviewed Mostly the requirements and recommended practices of Adhered to Required the Judicial Council and the State. Specifically, the and Recommended San Mateo court should amend its bottled water Practices, but Some service contract to ensure that water is purchased Improvements Are for use by jurors and court room staff only. Needed 2016‑301 (November 2016) NATURAL RESOURCES Department of Water Resources Department of 7. To ensure that DWR manages WaterFix in an 5 June 2024 Water Resources: effective manner, DWR should complete both The Unexpected the economic analysis and financial analysis for Complexity of the WaterFix and make the analyses publicly available California WaterFix as soon as possible. Project Has Resulted in Significant Cost Increases and Delays 2016‑132 (October 2017) continued on next page . . . 48 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT REPORT TITLE, NUMBER OF YEARS ESTIMATED AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL NUMBER, AND ISSUE RECOMMENDATION DATE OF HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE DATE THIS REPORT COMPLETION IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION TRANSPORTATION California High‑Speed Rail Authority California 4. To enable policymakers and the public to track the 3 November High‑Speed Rail Authority’s progress toward meeting the federal 2022§ Authority: Its Flawed grant deadline of December 2022, the Authority Decision Making should, by January 2019, begin providing quarterly and Poor Contract updates to the Legislature detailing the progress of Management the three Central Valley construction projects using Have Contributed an earned value model that compares construction to Billions in Cost progress to the projected total completion cost Overruns and Delays and date. The Authority should base these updates in the System’s on the most current estimates available. Construction 5. To ensure that it is adequately prepared if it 3 November 2018‑108 is unable to meet the federal grant deadline 2022§ (November 2018) 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 department or agency involved with a copy of the investigative report, including any recommendations. Therefore, in calculating how long a recommendation has been outstanding, the State Auditor uses the date the investigative report was provided to the department or agency, not the date the report was published. § In its latest response, the audited agency did not update its estimated date of completion. # As of July 2012, the California Department of Mental Health became the Department of State Hospitals. II In July 2017, the State Board of Equalization was restructured and transferred duties to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 49 January 2023 Table 3 Recommendations Made to Nonstate Entities That Are More Than One Year Old and Are Still Not Fully Implemented (Reports Issued From November 2016 Through October 2021) STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION NONSTATE ENTITIES Acton‑Agua Dulce Unified School District Charter Schools: Some 18. To better ensure effective oversight of its 5 † • School Districts Improperly charter schools’ finances, Acton‑Agua Dulce Authorized and Inadequately Unified should place a district representative I Monitored Out‑of‑District as a nonvoting member on each charter Charter Schools school’s governing board. 2016‑141 (October 2017) Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officer Health 27. To ensure that it is able to identify high 4 † • • and Safety: Some State and risk situations and deter repeat offenders, County Correctional Facilities Santa Rita should specifically track all gassing Q Could Better Protect Their attacks and use the tracking data as a tool to Officers From the Health prevent future gassing attacks. Risks of Certain Inmate Attacks 2018‑106 (September 2018) Alum Rock Union School District Alum Rock Union 3. To strengthen its ability to oversee district 3 November Elementary School District: expenditures, the board should require the 2021# The District and Its Board district by August 2019 to prepare monthly Must Improve Governance summaries that report the total amounts and Operations to Effectively it paid to each of its contractors, along Serve the Community with descriptions of the purpose of those payments, and to include the summaries 2018‑131 with the monthly warrant lists it provides to (May 2019) the board. 5. By November 2019, the district should 3 † • • 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 3 June 2021# develop procedures specifying a designated 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 work 3 † • • with the county office to ensure that its new financial system includes unique identifiers for contract payment authorization documents. continued on next page . . . 50 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To identify its contracted personnel’s 3 † • • 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 3 † • • conflict‑of‑interest code to ensure that all required individuals file Forms 700. 12. To ensure compliance with government 3 † • 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. 19. To increase the board’s accountability and 3 † • • 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 3 † • • 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, 3 † • • 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 3 † • includes representatives from all required constituencies, the district should verify and document representation of the committee members that the board appoints. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 51 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 28. To ensure that district staff have appropriate 3 † • • 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. Antelope Valley Union High School District Charter Schools: Some 30. To better ensure effective oversight of its 5 Will Not School Districts Improperly charter schools’ finances, Antelope Valley Implement I Authorized and Inadequately Union should place a district representative Monitored Out‑of‑District as a nonvoting member on each charter Charter Schools school’s governing board. 2016‑141 (October 2017) Bakersfield College Clery Act Requirements 19. To ensure Bakersfield requests and reports 4 June 2023 and Crime Reporting: Clery Act crimes from local law enforcement, J Compliance Continues the institution should by August 2018 to Challenge California’s create and begin following a procedure, Colleges and Universities in conjunction with a written agreement with local law enforcement, to obtain crime 2017‑032 statistics for the annual security report. (May 2018) Butte County California Is Not Adequately 2. To best prepare to protect and care for 2 † • Prepared to Protect Its Most people with access and functional needs, Vulnerable Residents From the county should revise its emergency R Natural Disasters plans by following the best practices that we included in our report. The county should 2019‑103 begin implementing these practices as soon (December 2019) as possible. By no later than March 2020, the county should develop a schedule for completing updates to its emergency plans. 5. To ensure that the county maintains updated 2 Will Not emergency plans that are consistent with Implement current best practices, the county should adopt ordinances establishing requirements for the frequency with which the county must update its emergency plans and should set that frequency at no greater than five years. continued on next page . . . 52 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure that the county’s emergency 2 Will Not planning efforts more fully account for Implement people with access and functional needs in the future, the county should adopt county ordinances that require the county’s emergency managers to do the following during each update to the county’s emergency plans: when planning to protect people with access and functional needs, adhere to the best practices and guidance that FEMA, Cal OES, and other relevant authorities have issued; report publicly to the boards of supervisors during emergency planning about the steps they have taken to address access and functional needs; consult periodically with a committee of community groups that represent people with a variety of access and functional needs; require that representatives of the community group committees present to the board of supervisors their review of the adequacy of the emergency plans. In‑Home Supportive 8. To help ensure that recipients receive prompt 1 Will Not Services Program: It Is approval for services and also receive all Implement Not Providing Needed approved services, Butte County should, W Services to All Californians by August 2021 and annually thereafter, Approved for the Program, complete required plans that include, at Is Unprepared for Future a minimum, specific provisions for how it Challenges, and Offers Low will ensure prompt approval of services Pay to Caregivers and that recipients promptly receive the approved services. 2020‑109 (February 2021) Calbright College Calbright College: It Must 2. To provide greater accountability 1 March 2023 Take Immediate Corrective regarding its spending and to ensure that it Action to Accomplish effectively uses the public funds it receives Its Mission to Provide to accomplish the goals for which it was Underserved Californians created, Calbright should do the following: With Access to Higher 1. By November 2021, incorporate into its Education implementation plan a spending plan 2020‑104 that details how and when it expects to (May 2021) spend the funds the Legislature allocates to it. At a minimum, the spending plan should identify the estimated costs to accomplish the tasks set forth in its implementation plan and a timeline for when it expects to incur those costs. The spending plan should also describe Calbright’s strategy for staying within its budget while completing necessary start‑up activities and achieving its milestones. 2. Calbright should annually review the spending plan and make adjustments as necessary. It should also annually report to the Board of Governors on its spending to date and explain how its spending has furthered its progress in achieving its mission. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 53 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 5. To ensure that the compensation it provides 1 March 2023 its employees is reasonable, Calbright should establish a pay schedule for all employees by November 2021 that does the following: 1. Includes salary, benefits, and all other forms of compensation. 2. Establishes compensation packages that are comparable to those for similar positions within the community college system. 6. To adequately address its foundational 1 March 2023 purpose for existing, Calbright should immediately develop a robust implementation plan that aligns with best practices and translates its mission into actionable goals and strategies. It should complete that plan and begin implementing it by November 2021. At a minimum, Calbright should include in its implementation plan all of the following: 1. Its goals, which should include both its goals for completing the setup of the college and its student outcome goals. It should develop its student outcome goals based, at a minimum, on a comparison of the student outcomes for multiple other reasonably comparable educational programs. 2. The major steps necessary to achieve its goals. 3. The estimated resources and specific deliverables that each step will require. 4. The due dates and assigned staff for each deliverable or major step. 5. The criteria it will use for measuring its success and monitoring its progress. 6. A strategy and timeline for ending its reliance on the Foundation. After completing its implementation plan, Calbright should review the plan at least every six months, and revise and update it as needed to account for major changes relevant to the college’s implementation. By July 2022, Calbright should demonstrate that it has made consistent progress in implementing its plan. To improve its accountability for its actions toward fulfilling its mission, Calbright should annually report to the Legislature its progress related to each step in its implementation plan. continued on next page . . . 54 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure that it adequately prepares its 1 † • target student population to obtain positive employment outcomes after graduation, Calbright should, by November 2021, develop and implement a process for selecting and expanding educational programs that will provide value to that population; that process should include the following: 1. Collaboration with employers and industry groups to inform the content of the programs. 2. Consideration of market demand for graduates of such programs. 3. Determination of whether the programs can help its target student population obtain positive employment outcomes including jobs, earning gains, and upward mobility. 4. Available resources for program implementation. 5. An evaluation of student demand for the programs. 9. To ensure that it is fulfilling its mission to 1 June 2023 help students obtain positive employment outcomes, including jobs in their field of study, earning gains, and upward mobility, Calbright should do the following: 1. By November 2021, develop and implement a specific plan that describes how it will assist its students in acquiring jobs, earning more income, or being upwardly mobile after graduation; the plan should include a path toward securing job placements for its students. 2. By the same date, also establish a method to collect and review data on student use of its career services, employment outcomes following graduation, and employer satisfaction with Calbright’s preparation of its students. 3. By July 2022, Calbright should begin demonstrating that it has been successful at assisting its graduates in obtaining positive employment outcomes, including jobs in their field of study, earning gains, and upward mobility. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 55 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. To ensure that it is providing students 1 † • • with the assistance they need to graduate, Calbright should, by November 2021, establish systems to monitor the effectiveness of its student support efforts. Specifically, it should take the following actions: 1. Establish a monitoring system to ensure that it provides each student with the supports it has identified in its student support plan. 2. Conduct an annual survey of enrolled students to assess their satisfaction with its support services and instruction and with their own progress toward their educational goals. 3. Every six months, evaluate the effectiveness of the student support plan, including reviewing data on its provision of support to its students, student progress, and its annual student survey. Following its review, it should adjust the plan as necessary. 4. Include in its annual report to the Board of Governors and the public the results of its annual student survey and the steps it has taken to address student feedback. 11. To assist its students in completing its 1 December programs, Calbright should immediately 2023 establish an efficient process to recognize previous training and experience and allow students to bypass areas of curriculum in which they have demonstrated competence. Cerritos College California Community 11. To ensure that all instructors are aware of 4 † • • Colleges: The Colleges the accessibility standards for instructional Reviewed Are Not materials, Cerritos should include in its P Adequately Monitoring next collective bargaining negotiations a Services for Technology requirement for instructors to periodically Accessibility, and Districts attend accessibility trainings. and Colleges Should 13. To ensure that its technology master plan 4 † • Formalize Procedures for supports the strategic goals of the district, Upgrading Technology Cerritos should update its master plan by 2017‑102 June 2018, and should ensure that the (December 2017) plan includes detailed steps to accomplish its goals. 14. To increase the transparency of its annual 4 † • 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. continued on next page . . . 56 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Charter Academy of the Redwoods Youth Suicide Prevention: 7. To ensure that their teachers and staff 2 † • Local Educational Agencies have the information necessary to respond U Lack the Resources and consistently, promptly, and appropriately to Policies Necessary to reduce suicide risk, the six LEAs we reviewed Effectively Address Rising should revise their policies by March 2021 to Rates of Youth Suicide and comply with state law and incorporate the Self‑Harm best practices in Education’s model policy. 2019‑125 19. To improve their students’ access to mental 2 † • (September 2020) health professionals, Kern High School District, Ukiah Unified, Gateway Charter, Redwoods Charter, and Heartland Charter should coordinate with their respective counties to request MHSA funding to employ additional school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists. City of Irwindale City of Irwindale: 1. To address the structural deficit in 5 † • It Must Exercise More Fiscal its general fund, the city should seek Responsibility Over Its long‑term solutions to balance its budget Spending So That It Can so that its expenditures do not exceed its Continue to Provide Core revenues. These solutions should include Services to Residents eliminating the reliance on one‑time gains to fund ongoing expenses and identifying 2016‑111 opportunities to further reduce spending. (November 2016) The city should document its approach in a long‑term financial plan that should account for the following: a forecast of at least five to 10 years into the future, updates to long‑term planning activities as needed to provide direction to the budget process, and an analysis of its financial status; revenue and expenditure forecasts; and plan‑monitoring mechanisms, such as a scorecard of key indicators of financial health. 3. Considering that the city’s retirement 5 Unknown benefits are more generous than those of most comparable cities, and in light of its financial situation, the city should reduce its employee benefits costs by negotiating with employee bargaining groups and key management employees for the elimination of further city contributions to the 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 5 Unknown long‑term liabilities, the city should annually determine whether it has sufficient funding to cash out employee leave balances. Additionally, in future labor negotiations, the city should explore the possibility of eliminating or reducing voluntary leave balance cash‑outs by employees, and eliminate sick leave cash‑outs altogether. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 57 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 6. To reduce costs, the city should consider 5 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. 7. If the city chooses not to participate in the 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 5 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 . . . 58 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. The Housing Authority should consider 5 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 5 June 2025 chance to participate in the Housing Authority’s housing programs, the city should remove the long‑term residency priorities from any future housing programs. City of Lincoln City of Lincoln: Financial 1. To ensure that it complies with state law, 3 June 2023 Mismanagement, Insufficient Lincoln should immediately review all of its Accountability, and Lax outstanding interfund loans to determine Oversight Threaten the City’s whether the borrowing funds can repay Stability the loans according to the terms. For any loan that is from a restricted fund and that 2018‑110 does not have the capacity to be repaid, (March 2019) Lincoln should develop a plan that ensures repayment within a reasonable time frame, 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 3 June 2023 credits to developers, Lincoln should develop 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. County of Alameda Public Safety Realignment: 4. To ensure that county jails identify inmates 1 † • • Weak State and County with mental illnesses and provide them V Oversight Does Not Ensure with adequate mental health care, Alameda That Funds Are Spent should immediately begin conducting Effectively mental health screening of all inmates upon admission to the county’s jails. 2020‑102 (March 2021) 5. To ensure that county jails have sufficient 1 June 2022# information to determine appropriates housing and supervision of inmates with mental illness, by June 2021 Alameda should develop a process requiring mental health providers to share with jails the mental health status of all inmates, such as whether they have a mild, moderate, or serious mental illness. 7. To ensure that it appropriately follows up on 1 † • • inmate deaths and works to prevent similar deaths from occurring in the future, Alameda should implement its updated inmate death follow‑up process by June 2021. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 59 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 9. Unless the Legislature clarifies its intent 1 Will Not otherwise, to ensure that the counties Implement prudently and appropriately spend realignment funds, the Partnership Committee at Alameda should, starting with its next annual budget, review and make budget recommendations to its board of supervisors for all realignment accounts, including the accounts that fund non‑law enforcement departments and community‑based organizations. Further, Alameda should ensure that it budgets all realignment funds to eliminate excessive surpluses in realignment accounts and prevent future surpluses beyond a reasonable reserve. 12. To ensure that the programs and services 1 October funded by public safety realignment funds 2023 are effective, beginning immediately, Alameda should conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of its programs and services at least every three years. 15. To ensure that the county reports accurate 1 Will Not and consistent information to the Corrections Implement Board, beginning with its next annual report, Alameda should consistently report all law enforcement and non‑law enforcement expenditures funded through the accounts that constitute public safety realignment. County of Fresno Public Safety Realignment: 3. To comply with the State’s jail capacity 1 † • Weak State and County standards, Fresno should take steps to V Oversight Does Not Ensure address overcrowding in its jails, while That Funds Are Spent ensuring public safety. Effectively 6. To ensure that county jails have sufficient 1 Unknown 2020‑102 information to determine appropriates (March 2021) housing and supervision of inmates with mental illness, by June 2021 Fresno should develop a process requiring mental health providers to share with jails the mental health status of all inmates, such as whether they have a mild, moderate, or serious mental illness. 10. Unless the Legislature clarifies its intent 1 June 2027 otherwise, to ensure that the counties prudently and appropriately spend realignment funds, the Partnership Committee at Fresno should, starting with its next annual budget, review and make budget recommendations to its board of supervisors for all realignment accounts, including the accounts that fund non‑law enforcement departments and community‑based organizations. Further, Fresno should ensure that it budgets all realignment funds to eliminate excessive surpluses in realignment accounts and prevent future surpluses beyond a reasonable reserve. continued on next page . . . 60 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To ensure that the programs and services 1 November funded by public safety realignment funds 2023 are effective, beginning immediately, Fresno should conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of its programs and services at least every three years. 16. To ensure that the county reports accurate 1 Will Not and consistent information to the Corrections Implement Board, beginning with its next annual report, Fresno should consistently report all law enforcement and non‑law enforcement expenditures funded through the accounts that constitute public safety realignment. County of Los Angeles Public Safety Realignment: 11. Unless the Legislature clarifies its intent 1 Will Not Weak State and County otherwise, to ensure that the counties Implement Oversight Does Not Ensure prudently and appropriately spend V That Funds Are Spent realignment funds, the Partnership Effectively Committee at Los Angeles should, starting with its next annual budget, review and 2020‑102 make budget recommendations to its (March 2021) board of supervisors for all realignment accounts, including the accounts that fund non‑law enforcement departments and community‑based organizations. Further, Los Angeles should ensure that it budgets all realignment funds to eliminate excessive surpluses in realignment accounts and prevent future surpluses beyond a reasonable reserve. 14. To ensure that the programs and services 1 2023 funded by public safety realignment funds are effective, beginning immediately, Los Angeles should conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of its programs and services at least every three years. 17. To ensure that the county reports accurate 1 Will Not and consistent information to the Corrections Implement Board, beginning with its next annual report, Los Angeles should consistently report all law enforcement and non‑law enforcement expenditures funded through the accounts that constitute public safety realignment. County of Mendocino Homelessness in California: 6. To help ensure that it has adequate levels 1 Unknown The State’s Uncoordinated of services and service providers in its O Approach to Addressing area to meet the needs of people who are Homelessness Has experiencing homelessness, the County of Hampered the Effectiveness Mendocino should coordinate with its CoC of Its Efforts to ensure that the CoC annually conducts a comprehensive gaps analysis in accordance 2020‑112 with the plan it has developed under federal (February 2021) regulations. To be effective, the gaps analysis should consider whether adequate services are available in the areas where individuals are experiencing homelessness and should contain strategies to address any deficiencies. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 61 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To ensure that it uses the most effective 1 January 2023 method of identifying individuals in its county who are experiencing homelessness, by August 2021, the County of Mendocino should also coordinate with its CoC to formalize and implement the CoC’s process for collecting and responding to volunteer feedback after its PIT count. 16. To comply with federal regulations and 1 December ensure that its CoC’s decisions reflect 2022 a variety of perspectives, the County of Mendocino should, by August 2021, coordinate with its CoC to ensure that the CoC’s board is representative of all relevant organizations. 21. To ensure that individuals experiencing 1 June 2023 homelessness have adequate access to the coordinated entry process, the County of Mendocino should, by August 2021, coordinate with its CoC to assess the feasibility of establishing a dedicated telephone hotline for providing information about available services, assessing individuals’ needs, and referring those individuals to appropriate housing or homeless service providers. 23. To increase the efficiency of the coordinated 1 March 2023 entry process, the County of Mendocino should coordinate with its CoC to determine how long it takes to locate individuals after they have been matched with a service provider. Specifically, it should use the referral data that HUD required CoCs to collect as of October 2020 to determine whether locating individuals after they have been matched with a service provider is a cause of delay in providing them with services. If it finds that excessive delays exist, it should coordinate with its CoC to implement processes such as deploying a dedicated team to locate these individuals when appropriate housing and services become available. County of Santa Barbara Housing and Community Development Division Homelessness in California: 25. To increase the efficiency of the coordinated 1 † • The State’s Uncoordinated entry process, the County of Santa Barbara Approach to Addressing should coordinate with its CoC to determine O Homelessness Has how long it takes to locate individuals after Hampered the Effectiveness they have been matched with a service of Its Efforts provider. Specifically, it should use the referral data that HUD required CoCs to collect as of 2020‑112 October 2020 to determine whether locating (February 2021) individuals after they have been matched with a service provider is a cause of delay in providing them with services. If it finds that excessive delays exist, it should coordinate with its CoC to implement processes such as deploying a dedicated team to locate these individuals when appropriate housing and services become available. continued on next page . . . 62 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION County of Santa Clara Office of Supportive Housing Homelessness in California: 9. To help ensure that it has adequate levels 1 † • • The State’s Uncoordinated of services and service providers in its O Approach to Addressing area to meet the needs of people who are Homelessness Has experiencing homelessness, the County of Hampered the Effectiveness Santa Clara should coordinate with its CoC of Its Efforts to ensure that the CoC annually conducts a comprehensive gaps analysis in accordance 2020‑112 with the plan it has developed under federal (February 2021) regulations. To be effective, the gaps analysis should consider whether adequate services are available in the areas where individuals are experiencing homelessness and should contain strategies to address any deficiencies. County of Sonoma California Is Not Adequately 9. To ensure that the county’s emergency 2 † • Prepared to Protect Its Most planning efforts more fully account for Vulnerable Residents From people with access and functional needs R Natural Disasters in the future, the county should adopt county ordinances that require the county’s 2019‑103 emergency managers to do the following (December 2019) during each update to the county’s emergency plans: when planning to protect people with access and functional needs, adhere to the best practices and guidance that FEMA, Cal OES, and other relevant authorities have issued; report publicly to the boards of supervisors during emergency planning about the steps they have taken to address access and functional needs; consult periodically with a committee of community groups that represent people with a variety of access and functional needs; require that representatives of the community group committees present to the board of supervisors their review of the adequacy of the emergency plans. County of Ventura California Is Not Adequately 4. To best prepare to protect and care for 2 † • • Prepared to Protect Its Most people with access and functional needs, Vulnerable Residents From the county should revise its emergency R Natural Disasters plans by following the best practices that we included in our report. The county should 2019‑103 begin implementing these practices as soon (December 2019) as possible. By no later than March 2020, the county should develop a schedule for completing updates to its emergency plans. 7. To ensure that the county maintains updated 2 Will Not emergency plans that are consistent with Implement current best practices, the county should adopt ordinances establishing requirements for the frequency with which the county must update its emergency plans and should set that frequency at no greater than five years. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 63 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. To ensure that the county’s emergency 2 Unknown planning efforts more fully account for people with access and functional needs in the future, the county should adopt county ordinances that require the county’s emergency managers to do the following during each update to the county’s emergency plans: when planning to protect people with access and functional needs, adhere to the best practices and guidance that FEMA, Cal OES, and other relevant authorities have issued; report publicly to the boards of supervisors during emergency planning about the steps they have taken to address access and functional needs; consult periodically with a committee of community groups that represent people with a variety of access and functional needs; require that representatives of the community group committees present to the board of supervisors their review of the adequacy of the emergency plans. Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District Fallen Leaf Lake 7. To rectify the excessive reimbursement 3 † • • Community Services amounts it received for strike team District: Its Billing Practices assignments, the district should, by and Small Electorate December 31, 2019, develop and implement Jeopardize Its Ability to a plan for returning to the paying agencies Provide Services the excessive reimbursements it received for 2016 through 2018. 2018‑133 (July 2019) 8. To rectify the excessive reimbursement 3 June 2021# amounts it received for strike team 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 3 June 2021# safeguard its ability to continue providing 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 3 June 2021# safeguard its ability to continue providing 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. continued on next page . . . 64 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 13. To improve its financial viability and 3 September safeguard its ability to continue providing 2020# services to 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 Community 15. To ensure that it is fulfilling requests for 4 † • Colleges: The Colleges alternate media services from students with P Reviewed Are Not disabilities in a timely manner, by June 2018, Adequately Monitoring De Anza should establish procedures for Services for Technology monitoring its timeliness in responding Accessibility, and Districts to such requests so that it can periodically and Colleges Should review its performance in completing the Formalize Procedures for requests. Specifically, it should record and Upgrading Technology track sufficient information to be able to review how long it takes to complete 2017‑102 requests. Additionally, De Anza should (December 2017) calculate the number of days it takes to 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. 16. To ensure that it promptly addresses any 4 † • 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 4 † • • 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 4 † • 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 65 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 19. To ensure that all instructors are aware of 4 † • • the accessibility standards for instructional 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 4 † • • 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. Fresno City Housing Authority Homelessness in California: 10. To help ensure that it has adequate levels 1 Will Not The State’s Uncoordinated of services and service providers in its Implement O Approach to Addressing area to meet the needs of people who are Homelessness Has experiencing homelessness, the Fresno City Hampered the Effectiveness Housing Authority should coordinate with its of Its Efforts CoC to ensure that the CoC annually conducts a comprehensive gaps analysis in accordance 2020‑112 with the plan it has developed under federal (February 2021) regulations. To be effective, the gaps analysis should consider whether adequate services are available in the areas where individuals are experiencing homelessness and should contain strategies to address any deficiencies. 12. To ensure that it adequately identifies 1 August its long‑term strategies to address 2022# homelessness, the Fresno City Housing Authority should coordinate with its CoC to implement a planning process and develop a comprehensive plan that meets all federal requirements by August 2021. The planning process should ensure that the CoC updates its comprehensive plan at least every five years. 18. To comply with federal regulations and 1 November ensure that its CoC’s decisions reflect a 2022# variety of perspectives, the Fresno City Housing Authority should, by August 2021, coordinate with its CoC to ensure that the CoC’s board is representative of all relevant organizations. 19. To reduce barriers to CoC membership and 1 Will Not to encourage participation, the Fresno City Implement Housing Authority should coordinate with its CoC to conduct an analysis of whether its membership fee is necessary and, if it is not, to eliminate it by August 2021. continued on next page . . . 66 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 22. To ensure that individuals experiencing 1 Will Not homelessness have adequate access Implement to the coordinated entry process, the Fresno City Housing Authority should, by August 2021, coordinate with its CoC to assess the feasibility of establishing a dedicated telephone hotline for providing information about available services, assessing individuals’ needs, and referring those individuals to appropriate housing or homeless service providers. 26. To increase the efficiency of the coordinated 1 Will Not entry process, the County of Fresno City Implement Housing Authority should coordinate with its CoC to determine how long it takes to locate individuals after they have been matched with a service provider. Specifically, it should use the referral data that HUD required CoCs to collect as of October 2020 to determine whether locating individuals after they have been matched with a service provider is a cause of delay in providing them with services. If it finds that excessive delays exist, it should coordinate with its CoC to implement processes such as deploying a dedicated team to locate these individuals when appropriate housing and services become available. Gateway Public Schools Youth Suicide Prevention: 8. To ensure that their teachers and staff 2 † • Local Educational Agencies have the information necessary to respond Lack the Resources and consistently, promptly, and appropriately to U Policies Necessary to reduce suicide risk, the six LEAs we reviewed Effectively Address Rising should revise their policies by March 2021 to Rates of Youth Suicide and comply with state law and incorporate the Self‑Harm best practices in Education’s model policy. 2019‑125 20. To improve their students’ access to mental 2 Unknown (September 2020) health professionals, Kern High School District, Ukiah Unified, Gateway Charter, Redwoods Charter, and Heartland Charter should coordinate with their respective counties to request MHSA funding to employ additional school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists. Heartland Charter School Youth Suicide Prevention: 15. To ensure that their teachers and staff have 2 † • Local Educational Agencies the knowledge necessary to identify and Lack the Resources and assist students at risk of self‑harm and U Policies Necessary to suicide, the six LEAs we reviewed should do Effectively Address Rising the following: Rates of Youth Suicide and • Revise their suicide prevention training Self‑Harm materials by June 2021 to align with state 2019‑125 law and incorporate the best practices in (September 2020) Education’s model policy. • LEAs that provide suicide prevention training should conduct it at the beginning of the school year. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 67 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 21. To improve their students’ access to mental 2 † • health professionals, Kern High School District, Ukiah Unified, Gateway Charter, Redwoods Charter, and Heartland Charter should coordinate with their respective counties to request MHSA funding to employ additional school counselors, school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists. Kern County Probation In‑Home Supportive 9. To help ensure that recipients receive prompt 1 † • • Services Program: It Is approval for services and also receive all W Not Providing Needed approved services, Kern County should, Services to All Californians by August 2021 and annually thereafter, Approved for the Program, complete required plans that include, at Is Unprepared for Future a minimum, specific provisions for how it Challenges, and Offers Low will ensure prompt approval of services Pay to Caregivers and that recipients promptly receive the approved services. 2020‑109 (February 2021) Los Angeles Community College District Los Angeles Community 1. To increase the objectivity and transparency 1 Unknown College District Personnel of its minimum qualification requirements, Commission: Its Inconsistent when possible the Commission should create Practices and Inadequate qualification requirements based on time Policies Adversely Affect spent working in District job classifications District Employees and or equivalent experience, rather than using Job Candidates, Leading to ambiguous terms such as “professional‑level.” Concerns About the Fairness 2. To increase transparency and ensure that it 1 † • • of Its Decisions makes consistent decisions when assessing 2020‑111 applicants’ minimum qualifications, the (May 2021) Commission should establish a rule for its examiners by October 2021 that defines the key terms it uses when reviewing applications for minimum qualifications, such as “professional‑level” and “recent.” 4. To ensure that its examination process is fair 1 † • and evaluates all candidates consistently, the Commission should establish a rule by October 2021 to require examiners to create detailed scoring benchmarks that provide raters guidance on how to rate individual evaluation factors. 5. To ensure that its examination process is fair 1 † • and evaluates all candidates consistently, the Commission should establish a rule by October 2021 requiring that when it creates examinations it establish a method for determining candidates’ overall scores based on the ratings of the individual evaluation factors. 6. To ensure that its examination process is fair 1 † • and evaluates all candidates consistently, the Commission should establish a rule by October 2021 to require raters to provide written comments on rating sheets for each candidate, explaining the basis for the score they awarded. continued on next page . . . 68 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that its examination process is fair 1 † • and evaluates all candidates consistently, the Commission should establish a rule by October 2021 to require examiners to review scoring sheets to determine if raters have followed the Commission’s candidate evaluation guidance, and if the raters have failed to follow the guidance request that the raters review their evaluation of the candidate. 9. To ensure that employees are aware that they 1 Unknown can request intermittent payments while performing out‑of‑class work assignments, the Commission should immediately revise its claim form to include this option. 10. To ensure that employees receive prompt 1 † • • compensation for the higher‑level duties they perform, the Commission should revise its rules by October 2021 to process employees’ compensation for out‑of‑class work each month. 12. To ensure that employees are fairly 1 Unknown compensated for the entirety of the out‑of‑class work they perform, the Commission should amend its rules by October 2021 to require employees to submit a copy of their out‑of‑class claim form to the Commission at the same time as they submit it to their supervisors, and use the date the Commission receives this copy of the form as the date of submission. 13. To ensure that it consistently identifies and 1 † • responds to all complaints and to reduce the risk of retaliation against complainants, by October 2021 the Commission should amend its rules to clearly define complaints and create a formal process for addressing all complaints, including a process to elevate to the commissioners those complaints that are not resolved at lower levels. 14. To ensure that it consistently identifies and 1 Unknown responds to all complaints and to reduce the risk of retaliation against complainants, by October 2021 the Commission should amend its rules to include a provision for submitting whistleblower complaints directly to the District’s Office of the General Counsel and assign it the responsibility of designating an appropriate party to respond. 15. To ensure that it consistently identifies and 1 Unknown responds to all complaints and to reduce the risk of retaliation against complainants, by October 2021 the Commission should amend its rules to establish that complainant information may not be shared with the subject of a whistleblower complaint. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 69 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 16. To ensure that it treats applicants consistently 1 † • • when considering whether to debar them in the case of false statements or deception, the Commission should establish rules to require that examiners independently verify the reason for inconsistencies between applications. 17. To ensure that it treats applicants consistently 1 † • when considering whether to debar them in the case of false statements or deception, the Commission should establish rules to require that examiners provide applicants with an opportunity to address the inconsistencies. 18. To ensure that it treats applicants consistently 1 † • • when considering whether to debar them in the case of false statements or deception, the Commission should establish rules to require that examiners document the steps taken to verify the disputed information and retain relevant supporting documentation. 19. To ensure that the Commission’s practices 1 † • • align with the mission of the merit system, the Commissioners should establish rules that require staff to periodically report to them on how its practices compare to those of other entities with merit systems, along with any recommendations for improving the Commission’s practices. Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Lanterman‑Petris‑Short 6. To ensure that it connects patients who have 2 January Act: California Has Not been placed on multiple short‑term holds to 2022# Ensured That Individuals appropriate ongoing treatment, Los Angeles N With Serious Mental should, by no later than August 2021, adopt Illnesses Receive Adequate a systematic approach to identifying such Ongoing Care individuals, obtaining available mental health history information about these individuals, 2019‑119 and connecting these individuals to services (July 2020) that support their ongoing mental health. 8. To ensure that conservatorships do not 2 Will Not terminate because of the absence of Implement testimony from doctors, Los Angeles should immediately implement a comprehensive solution to this problem, such as using its own staff as expert witnesses when individuals’ treating physicians are unable to testify. In addition, by no later than August 2021, it should develop a revised approach to scheduling conservatorship hearings and trials so that it significantly reduces the rate at which doctors’ failures to testify result in terminated conservatorships. continued on next page . . . 70 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles County of Department of Children and Family Services Los Angeles County 6. To ensure that its staff appropriately 3 December Department of Children use SDM assessments to identify safety 2022 and Family Services: It Has threats and risks, the department should Not Adequately Ensured incorporate SDM instructions into its the Health and Safety of All policies and procedures by July 2019 and Children in Its Care provide mandatory annual SDM training for applicable staff, supervisors, and other 2018‑126 members of management by May 2020. (May 2019) Los Angeles County Office of Education Montebello Unified 1. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 5 Unknown School District: County necessary to prevent state intervention and Superintendent Intervention regain its positive financial certification, L Is Necessary to Address Its the county superintendent should direct Weak Financial Management Montebello to submit a corrective action plan and Governance to address the issues identified in this report including balancing its budget, amending 2017‑104 and adhering to its hiring procedures, and (November 2017) establishing adequate safeguards to ensure that policies related to bond proceeds, conflicts of interest, and the approval of expenditures are implemented and followed. 2. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 5 Unknown 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. 3. To ensure that Montebello takes the steps 5 Unknown 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 5 Unknown 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 Probation Department Juvenile Justice Crime 11. To adequately assess the effectiveness of 2 Fall 2022# Prevention Act: Weak its programs at reducing juvenile crime and Oversight Has Hindered Its delinquency, Los Angeles should collect data T Meaningful Implementation on all participants in each JJCPA program and for each service it provides. 2019‑116 (May 2020) 15. To accurately assess the effectiveness of its 2 Fall 2022# programs, Los Angeles should determine how to accurately identify in its case management system the JJCPA programs and services in which each individual participates or should enhance its system to provide this capability. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 71 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry Weapon 1. To ensure that its CCW licensing decisions 4 Will Not Licenses: Sheriffs Have align with its CCW policy, Los Angeles Implement K Implemented Their Local should only issue licenses to applicants Programs Inconsistently and after collecting documentation of specific, Sometimes Inadequately personal threats against the applicants so as to satisfy its definition of good cause. If 2017‑101 Los Angeles believes that its public licensing (December 2017) policy does not include all acceptable good causes for a CCW license, then by March 2018 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 4 March 2018# individuals after receiving evidence of 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 4 † • • 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. Los Angeles Regional Adult Education Consortium Montebello Unified 32. To ensure that state adult education funds 5 † • School District: County are used in the most efficient and effective Superintendent Intervention manner, the consortium should, within L Is Necessary to Address Its one year, develop policies and procedures to Weak Financial Management ensure the proper collection and reporting and Governance of enrollment, attendance, and expenditure data by consortium members. Periodically 2017‑104 review enrollment, attendance, and (November 2017) expenditure data to ensure their accuracy. continued on next page . . . 72 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Los Rios Community College District California Community 24. To ensure that students with disabilities have 4 † • Colleges: The Colleges equal access to instructional materials, by P Reviewed Are Not June 2018, American River should develop Adequately Monitoring procedures to monitor and periodically Services for Technology review the accessibility of instructional Accessibility, and Districts materials. For example, American River and Colleges Should could develop an accessibility checklist for Formalize Procedures for instructors to complete when developing Upgrading Technology or selecting instructional materials, from which the college could periodically review 2017‑102 a sample of course content to ensure that (December 2017) instructors completed the checklist and that the instructional materials comply with accessibility standards. 25. To ensure that its website complies with 4 June 2023 accessibility standards, by June 2018, 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 4 Will Not the accessibility standards for instructional Implement 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 4 June 2023 technology master plan, by June 2018, 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. 29. To increase the transparency of its annual 4 † • 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 73 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Marin County Sheriff’s Department Automated License Plate 27. To ensure that its ALPR policy contains all of 2 March 2021# Readers: To Better Protect the required elements as specified in state Individuals’ Privacy, Law law, by August 2020, Marin should review Enforcement Must Increase its policy and draft or revise it as necessary. Its Safeguards for the Data It Also by August 2020, Marin should post its Collects revised policy on its website in accordance with state law. 2019‑118 (February 2020) 37. To ensure that ALPR system access is limited 2 † • • to agency staff who have a need and a right to use ALPR data, by August 2020, Marin should develop and implement procedures for granting and managing user accounts that include, but are not limited to, requiring that supervisors must approve accounts for users, providing training to users before granting accounts, suspending users after defined periods of inactivity, and requiring regular refresher training for active users and training for users before reactivating previously inactive accounts. Marin should also ensure that it has procedures in place to deactivate an account immediately for an account holder who separates from the agency or who no longer needs a user account. 39. To enable auditing of user access to and 2 † • • user queries of ALPR images, Marin should ensure that its ALPR policy makes clear how frequently Marin will audit its ALPR system, who will perform that audit, who will review and approve the audit results, and how long Marin will retain the audit documents. Marin should have in place by February 2021 an audit plan that describes its audit methodology, including, but not limited to, risk areas that will be audited, sampling, documentation, and resolution of findings. 40. To enable auditing of user access to and 2 † • • user queries of ALPR images, by June 2021, Marin should implement its audit plan and complete its first audit. Montebello Unified School District Montebello Unified 5. To improve its current financial condition and 5 † • • School District: County ensure future viability, Montebello should, Superintendent Intervention within 60 days, revise its fiscal stabilization L Is Necessary to Address Its plan and make the necessary cuts to fund its Weak Financial Management ongoing commitments. and Governance 6. To improve its current financial condition 5 † • • 2017‑104 and ensure future viability, Montebello (November 2017) should create a robust budgeting process within 90 days using best practices of the 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. continued on next page . . . 74 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To improve its current financial condition and 5 † • • 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 5 † • • 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 5 † • • 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. 10. To ensure that it does not violate state law, 5 † • • 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, 5 † • • 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 5 † • • 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 75 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 14. To ensure that Montebello hires qualified 5 † • • certificated and classified employees, within 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 5 † • • 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. 24. To ensure that Montebello spends its funds 5 † • • for allowable and reasonable purposes, it should 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. Peralta Community College District Clery Act Requirements 32. To ensure that its campuses provide the 4 Will Not and Crime Reporting: necessary resources and information to Implement J 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) continued on next page . . . 76 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION Sacramento City Unified School District Sacramento City Unified 6. To address its current financial problems, 2 † • School District: Because Sacramento Unified should do the following: M It Has Failed to Proactively • By March 2020, adopt a detailed plan to Address Its Financial resolve its fiscal crisis. The plan should Challenges, It May Soon Face estimate savings under multiple scenarios Insolvency and include an analysis that quantifies 2019‑108 the impact of reductions the district (December 2019) can make to ongoing expenditures. Specifically, Sacramento Unified should consider the impact of possible salary adjustments for employees in different bargaining units and include the impact those salary adjustments would have on postemployment benefits, such as pensions. It should also use the most recently available data to estimate net savings from modifying the health care benefits it provides to employees, as well as the impact those modifications would have on the total compensation of the employees. Finally, it should calculate the impact of possible changes to district and employee contributions to fund future retiree health benefits. The district should use the plan it develops as the basis for its discussions of potential solutions with its teachers union. 8. To address its current financial problems, 2 † • Sacramento Unified should do the following: • The district should adopt and disclose publicly a multiyear projection methodology. This methodology should disclose the assumptions and rationale used to estimate changes in salaries, benefits, contributions, and LCFF revenue—including changes in enrollment and the source and reliability of the data used to make these projections. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 77 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 10. To prevent a similar fiscal crisis in the future, 2 † • Sacramento Unified should do the following by July 2020: • Have the board adopt a budget methodology, including guidance on the use of one‑time funds, the use and maintenance of district reserves, and the maintenance of a balanced budget. The methodology should use the Government Finance Officers Association’s best practices as a guide and should address at least the following areas: ‑ Including administrators from different divisions of Sacramento Unified into the budget development process to help ensure the accuracy of projections. ‑ Establishing criteria and measures for success in the budget process, such as whether budget decisions were made with adequate input and deliberation and whether the budget was balanced without using reserves or one‑time revenues for ongoing expenditures. ‑ Developing and adhering to a multiyear funding budget plan, with the goal of realigning resources where necessary to fund ongoing expenses with ongoing revenue. ‑ Conducting an analysis of variances in budgeted and actual revenues and expenditures at each interim reporting period. Sacramento Unified should then use this information to inform its estimates for the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. 11. To prevent a similar fiscal crisis in the future, 2 † • Sacramento Unified should do the following by July 2020: • Develop a long‑term funding plan to address its retiree health benefits liability. The plan should include appropriate action necessary to ensure the district will be able to meet its obligations to its employees and retirees. 14. To prevent a similar fiscal crisis in the future, 2 † • Sacramento Unified should do the following by July 2020: • Develop and adopt a succession plan that ensures that it has staff who have the training and knowledge necessary to assume critical roles in the case of turnover. continued on next page . . . 78 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 15. To prevent a similar fiscal crisis in the future, 2 † • Sacramento Unified should do the following by July 2020: • Develop effective employee orientation programs, including mentorship, to allow incoming leaders to better adapt to the organization’s structure and culture. Sacramento County Office of Education Sacramento City Unified 3. To ensure that Sacramento Unified takes the 2 June 2023 School District: Because steps necessary to address its fiscal crisis, M It Has Failed to Proactively the county office superintendent should do Address Its Financial the following: Challenges, It May Soon Face • Direct Sacramento Unified to submit a Insolvency corrective action plan by March 2020 that 2019‑108 consolidates the district’s plans to resolve (December 2019) its fiscal crisis. 4. To ensure that Sacramento Unified takes the 2 June 2023 steps necessary to address its fiscal crisis, the county office superintendent should do the following: • Ensure that Sacramento Unified addresses the issues identified in this report, including its executive management turnover and lack of policies guiding its budget process. 5. To ensure that Sacramento Unified takes the 2 June 2023 steps necessary to address its fiscal crisis, the county office superintendent should do the following: • Ensure that Sacramento Unified implements all of the recommendations detailed below. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry Weapon 3. To ensure that staff are gathering consistent 4 Unknown Licenses: Sheriffs Have evidence from applicants to demonstrate K Implemented Their Local residency, good moral character, and firearms Programs Inconsistently and training and are including which requirement Sometimes Inadequately applicants did not meet in its denial letters, by March 2018 Sacramento should create 2017‑101 formal CCW processing procedures and train (December 2017) its staff to follow these procedures. These procedures should require staff to gather and evaluate the information the department believes 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. 4. To ensure that staff are following its newly 4 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 79 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 7. To ensure that it provides all required 4 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 4 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 Bernardino City Unified School District Youth Experiencing 16. To comply with federal law and best 2 † • Homelessness: California’s practices, San Bernardino should, before Education System for K‑12 academic year 2020–21, distribute S Inadequately Identifies and information about the educational rights of Supports These Youth youth experiencing homelessness in public places, including schools, shelters, public 2019‑104 libraries, and food pantries frequented by (November 2019) families of such youth, as federal law requires. Further, to mitigate families’ and youth’s hesitance to disclosing their living situation the LEA should include the protections set forth in federal and state laws in the information it distributes. San Diego County Air Pollution Control District San Diego County 5. To ensure that the permit fees it charges are 2 † • Air Pollution Control sufficient to pay for its permitting program, District: It Has Used the San Diego Air District should, by Vehicle Registration Fees December 2020, monitor the impact of the to Subsidize Its Permitting COVID‑19 pandemic on San Diego County’s Process, Reducing the economy and, when economic conditions Amount of Funds Available allow, propose to the district board that to Address Air Pollution it increase fees annually by the maximum percentage allowed until the district’s 2019‑127 revenue from permit fees is equal to the full (July 2020) cost of the permitting program. 12. To ensure that it effectively manages its 2 † • • complaint investigation process and provides accurate information to the public regarding the complaints it receives, the San Diego Air District should, by June 2021, establish a process for validating the accuracy of the data it previously entered into its database. San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Concealed Carry Weapon 5. To ensure that its staff appropriately renew 4 Unknown Licenses: Sheriffs Have CCW licenses, by March 2018 San Diego Implemented Their Local should establish a routine supervisory review K Programs Inconsistently and of a selection of renewed licenses. Sometimes Inadequately 6. To ensure that it consistently obtains 4 Unknown 2017‑101 sufficient evidence to demonstrate that an (December 2017) applicant satisfies its requirements for a license, by March 2018 San Diego should develop guidance and train its staff on what good cause documentation staff should request from applicants. Further, it should train its staff regarding the expected documents for residency and training. continued on next page . . . 80 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 8. To ensure that it follows state law’s 4 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 4 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. San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission San Francisco Bay 10. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 3 † • • Conservation and and effectiveness of its enforcement and Development Commission: permitting programs, the commission Its Failure to Perform Key should by January 2020 develop guidance Responsibilities Has Allowed that enumerates the violation types that Ongoing Harm to the San the commissioners deem worthy of swift Francisco Bay enforcement action, those that staff can defer for a specified amount of time, and those that 2018‑120 do not warrant enforcement action or that (May 2019) can be resolved through fines. 16. To ensure that it maximizes the efficiency 3 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 3 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. 18. To build on prior recommendations and 3 2023 ensure that it maximizes the effectiveness of 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. California State Auditor Report 2022-041 81 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION 20. To build on prior recommendations and 3 July 2023 ensure that it maximizes the effectiveness of 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. 22. To ensure consistency in its enforcement 3 † • • program, the commission should by January 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 3 † • 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 3 † • program, the commission should by January 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. San Francisco Department of Public Health Lanterman‑Petris‑Short 7. To ensure that it connects patients who 2 June 2022# Act: California Has Not have been placed on multiple short‑term Ensured That Individuals holds to appropriate ongoing treatment, N With Serious Mental San Francisco should, by no later than Illnesses Receive Adequate August 2021, adopt a systematic approach Ongoing Care to identifying such individuals, obtaining available mental health history information 2019‑119 about these individuals, and connecting (July 2020) these individuals to services that support their ongoing mental health. continued on next page . . . 82 California State Auditor Report 2022-041 January 2023 STATE AUDITOR’S ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF YEARS AUDITEE DID NOT AUDITEE DID NOT ESTIMATED REPORT TITLE, NUMBER, AND RECOMMENDATION SUBSTANTIATE ADDRESS ALL RECOMMENDATION DATE OF ISSUE DATE HAS APPEARED IN ITS CLAIM OF FULL ASPECTS OF THE COMPLETION THIS REPORT IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATION San Francisco Unified School District Youth Suicide Prevention: 17. To ensure that their teachers and staff have 2 Unknown Local Educational Agencies the knowledge necessary to identify and Lack the Resources and assist students at risk of self‑harm and U Policies Necessary to suicide, the six LEAs we reviewed should do Effectively Address Rising the following: Rates of Youth Suicide and • Revise their suicide prevention training Self‑Harm materials by June 2021 to align with state 2019‑125 law and incorporate the best practices in (September 2020) Education’s model policy. • LEAs that provide suicide prevention training should conduct it at the beginning of the school year. Stanford University In‑Home Supportive 11. To help ensure that recipients receive prompt 1 Will Not Services Program: It Is approval for services and also receive all Implement Not Providing Needed approved services, Stanislaus County should, W Services to All Californians by August 2021 and annually thereafter, Approved for the Program, complete required plans that include, at Is Unprepared for Future a minimum, specific provisions for how it Challenges, and Offers Low will ensure prompt approval of services Pay to Caregivers and that recipients promptly receive the approved services. 2020‑109 (February 2021) Tulare Local Healthcare District Tulare Local Healthcare 1. To ensure that the district can demonstrate 4 June 2022# District: Past Poor Decisions that its decisions for selecting contractors Contributed to the Closure are justified and are in the best interest of of the Medical Center, and the district’s residents, by April 2019 the Licensing Issues May Delay district should establish formal procedures Its Reopening designed to ensure that it follows a rigorous and appropriate evaluation and contract 2018‑102 awarding process. (October 2018) 2. To ensure that the district pays only 4 June 2022# reasonable and appropriate contract 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 4 June 2022# for allowable purposes and improves its 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. † 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.