State & Local Reports

The objective of our audit was to assess the city’s financial controls related to the initial federal aid Denver received for its pandemic response efforts. This audit specifically focused on the $126.9 million the city received from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. The audit found that, in 2020, the Department of Finance sufficiently managed the city’s progress in spending federal coronavirus relief funds on pandemic-related expenses, but the city should also better document individual transactions. Additionally, we found problems related to how the city accounted for the interest it earned on the relief dollars.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit to determine whether the ward superintendent position within the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) is appropriately classified as Shakman Exempt. More specifically, our objective was to determine whether the ward superintendent position meets the legal standard to qualify for Shakman Exempt status it currently possesses. The City of Chicago is legally bound to comply with court-ordered Hiring Plans when undertaking employment actions, including among others, hiring, promotions, and terminations. Chapter VIII of the City’s General Hiring Plan excludes so-called “Shakman Exempt” positions from certain aspects of the otherwise applicable and legally mandated selection processes and standards; most notably, for present purposes in their allowance for consideration of political reasons or factors when making hiring or termination decisions. Outside of these specified Exempt positions, taking political affiliation into account in government hiring decisions generally is not permissible because it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, which guarantee citizens the right to political association and expression. Courts, however, have carved out an exception for government positions where political affiliation is a relevant qualification to job performance.OIG concluded that the ward superintendent title does not meet the legal requirements for a Shakman Exempt designation and therefore should be subject to the standards and procedures, as well as political factor prohibitions, generally applicable under the City’s Hiring Plan.OIG found that the ward superintendent job description, the primary focus for analysis based on binding legal precedent, does not include inherent powers and responsibilities that support a determination that the position is Shakman Exempt. In addition, the ward superintendent’s placement within the organizational structure of DSS undermines any assertion that the position involves policymaking or discretion for politically sensitive matters, as is required for Shakman Exempt status. We also found the actual day-to-day functions and responsibilities of the position––as described by a cross-section of ward superintendents assigned across the City––confirm the reliability and accuracy of the job description and do not involve political or policymaking duties or authority. Accordingly, the position lacks characteristics necessary to justify its inclusion on the City’s list of Shakman Exempt positions for which political considerations may be considered and factored in the selection process.

What Was Performed? An examination of Jeanne Jugan Residence Long-Term Healthcare Facility as of June 30, 2016. Why This Report? The State of Delaware is required to ensure that the fiscal records at nursing care facilities are retained and properly support the cost report – which is the financial report showing the cost and charges related to Medicaid activities – submitted to the Medicaid Agency. These costs must comply with federal and state regulations. Under the Delaware Medicaid State Plan, the state is required to examine a sample of facilities around the state each year. These examinations are to ensure facilities’ cost reports and wage surveys comply with federal and state requirements. What Was Found? This examination could not be completed because of a severe lack of documentation. Administration at the Jeanne Jugan Residence was unable to produce sufficient data showing how many patients were served each day. Without accurate patient census data, it was impossible to determine whether the facility costs billed to state government were correct. The Jeanne Jugan Residence Long-Term Healthcare Facility Examination as of June 30, 2016, can be found on our website.

The audit found the college’s use of federal assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has been consistent with federal guidelines. The audit examined the period of March 1, 2020 through September 30, 2020.

What Was Performed? An examination of the Cape Henlopen School District’s Schedule of Construction Projects for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019. Why This Engagement? School construction examination engagements, which are mandated, are performed to determine compliance with Delaware Code, the State of Delaware Department of Education School Construction Technical Assistance Manual, and the State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual. This engagement was performed in accordance with 29 Del. C. §7526 and examines Bond Bill construction project expenditures incurred by the school district. What Was Found? It is my pleasure to report this engagement contained an unmodified opinion.1 In addition, there were no findings required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019 Statewide School Districts’ Construction Projects Examination Engagements for Cape Henlopen School District can be found on our website.

As authorized by state law, our office conducted a state high risk audit of the Department of Health Care Services’ (Health Care Services) management of federal funds related to the COVID-19 public health emergency that began in 2020. Health Care Services administers the Medi-Cal program, which received a significant increase in federal support to respond to the emergency. The following report details our conclusion that Health Care Services is not doing enough—notwithstanding the emergency—to resolve eligibility questions about Medi-Cal beneficiaries and avoid federal financial penalties associated with individuals who should not be enrolled in Medi-Cal.

The Public Safety section of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG), including its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director and together with OIG’s Compliance Unit, conducted an evaluation of the demographic impacts of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) multi-stage hiring process. Those wishing to become a Police Officer (PO) must complete an application with the City and successfully navigate numerous stages designed to evaluate a candidate’s cognitive ability, physical fitness, personal background, physical and mental health, and other predictors of job performance. By the end of this year-and-a-half long process, a narrowed pool of individuals are invited to CPD’s Academy as recruits. After successfully completing the Academy in six months, new CPD members spend twelve months as Probationary Police Officers, to complete an 18-month total probationary period. The objectives of this evaluation were to determine whether there are patterns in attrition rates for different demographic groups in the hiring process and which specific stages of the hiring process most impact the demographic composition of the candidate pool. Additionally, OIG assessed whether CPD’s applicant data allowed for unique applicants to be tracked throughout the hiring process; the time it took applicants to complete the hiring process; and the race, gender, preference status, and neighborhood of residence for candidates whose applications succeed through the entire hiring process and were therefore invited to enroll in CPD’s Academy.OIG found that Black candidates, while comprising 37% of the initial applicant pool, comprised just 18% of the pool of candidates invited to the Academy. Conversely, Asian, Hispanic, and White candidates increased in their proportion of the applicant pool by the end of the hiring process. In addition, OIG found that female candidates submitted fewer applications than male candidates at the start of the hiring process, comprising 34% of the initial pool. The proportion of female applicants decreased throughout the process, such that female candidates comprised just 27% of those invited to the Academy.OIG determined that the standardized test (Chicago Police Officer Exam), the physical fitness test (Peace Officer Wellness Evaluation Report), and the background investigation were the stages in the process that most decreased the representation of Black candidates in the candidate pool. Black male candidates experienced the highest attrition rate in the background investigation stage relative to all other candidates, while Black female candidates experienced the highest attrition rate in the physical fitness test stage relative to all other candidates. Additionally, the attrition rate in the physical fitness test was higher for female candidates of all races compared to their male counterparts.In examining the reasons for candidate attrition evident from available applicant data, OIG concluded that higher no-show rates and higher failure rates for Black candidates compared to other racial/ethnic groups drove the disproportionately high attrition rates in the standardized test and physical fitness test stages for Black candidates. In addition, in the physical fitness test, female applicants had higher no-show rates than their male counterparts, and Black female, Hispanic female, and White female candidates had higher failure rates than their male counterparts, contributing to the high female attrition at this stage. OIG further found that CPD’s elimination of its standardized test payment requirement in 2016 reduced, but did not entirely eliminate, the disproportionate attrition of Black candidates at this stage by increasing test turnout.OIG reviewed the employee data for candidates who successfully completed the hiring process and entered the Academy. The available evidence suggests that CPD’s process preferences for applicants who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and graduates of Chicago Public Schools high schools seemed to benefit non-White applicants, potentially improving the racial/ethnic diversity of the pool of recruits; the veterans status seemed to benefit male candidates, potentially worsening the gender imbalance in the Academy. Moreover, OIG found that Academy recruits were clustered by neighborhood. Poorly represented geographic areas of the city may warrant the targeting and tailoring of future CPD recruitment efforts.In the course of this evaluation, OIG used data from multiple sources including City of Chicago Department of Human Resources (DHR) and CPD Human Resources (CPD HR), and found that individual applicants are not assigned unique individual ID numbers. This means, for example, that DHR and CPD HR cannot identify when a single individual has submitted multiple applications and cannot track patterns in candidate attrition by education level or neighborhood of residence through each stage of the hiring process. This limits the scope of this analysis as well as any analysis CPD or DHR may wish to undertake. Additionally, OIG identified inconsistent labels and categories for demographic characteristics across data sources.

The primary objective of this report is to summarize the unemployment benefits and relief received by Missouri citizens, government entities, and nonprofit organizations related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency from declaration of the emergency through April 2021. Through April 30, 2021, more than 600,000 Missouri citizens have received assistance totaling more than $4.9 billion from at least one of the unemployment benefit programs.

The Office of the Inspector General recently concluded an investigation to determine if an applicant for County restaurant relief grants provided false or misleading information on grant applicants to secure pandemic-related grant funds. We found that the applicant received $10,000 from the County's Public Health Emergency Grant Program, $3,094.96 from the County's Reopen Montgomery program, and $10,000 from phase one of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation Restaurant Relief program.