State & Local Reports

This report builds on prior analyses and the results of a body of work published since the beginning of the pandemic to assess the role of the COVID-19 mitigation policy in reducing the impacts of COVID-19 on different populations across the United States and, specifically, in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

The purpose of this audit was to provide information on Louisiana’s response to COVID19 in nursing facilities. We found that nursing facilities in Louisiana faced staffing challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic because of staff exposure to COVID-19, illness, or the need to care for family members

This special report provides information to assist Berkeley’s leaders in navigating the financial challenges ahead. We conducted interviews and reviewed data from government finance and budget officials to compile information on estimates of how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the local economy and Berkeley’s revenues and expenditures; and Considerations from government finance and budget officials for the City Manager and Council to inform decisions about how to manage resources as revenues decline and expenditures increase.

The primary objective of this report is to show Missouri's spending of federal assistance in the month of March 2021 for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency and the cumulative financial activity since the state began receiving funding in April 2020.

The Economic Recovery Bridge Grant program in H.315 uses 2020 federal tax loss to establish eligibility for grants. Focusing on tax loss may help target limited resources to businesses that need assistance to remain viable. However, federal tax loss could include some deductions that increase 2020 losses but overstate the businesses’ need for financial assistance.

The audit shows Massasoit Community College was ensuring students met the requirements of the state's MassTransfer program and received the benefits of participation. The audit examined the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.

Audit found that the breakdown that led to the transfer of $1.75 million by Westfield State University (WSU) to an unauthorized account resulted from a failure to follow a basic procedure. The audit examined the period of October 1, 2018 through March 31, 2020.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit assessing the Chicago Fire Department’s (CFD) policies and practices related to discrimination and sexual harassment. The objectives of the audit were to determine if CFD’s discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, reporting, and training policies and practices comply with relevant laws and regulations. The audit also sought to assess employees’ views on the Department’s workplace environment and culture related to discrimination and sexual harassment.OIG concluded that, while CFD’s policies comply with baseline federal, state, and local laws, the policies themselves, as well as the complaint process and training used to enforce and promote them, are insufficient to meet the environmental challenges posed by a command and control emergency service operation like CFD. Furthermore, the Department’s culture and workplace environment may make some members vulnerable to discrimination and/or sexual harassment. The Department is not alone in facing these issues; nationwide, fire department demographics are relatively homogenous and share historical cultural challenges related to discrimination and sexual harassment.The results of an OIG survey of CFD members indicate that concerns about discrimination and sexual harassment persist within the Department. The survey also revealed negative sentiments some CFD members hold regarding non-White, non-male members, and toward inclusive hiring practices. These attitudes may contribute to an environment that some members believe places them at significant risk of racial and gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Two hundred eighty-five CFD employees, or 6% of the Department’s roughly 5,000-person workforce, responded to the survey. While their responses may not represent the views of all CFD employees, they do provide valuable insights into the Department’s culture. OIG also found that the mandatory training the Department of Human Resources – Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Division (EEO Division) provides to CFD is high-quality, but that it is not adequately tailored to serve the needs of the Department’s command and control structure, unique aspects of its workplace, and the tension arising from its history of overt racial and gender discrimination.