State & Local Reports

Our audit sought to determine if unemployment claims filed I the name of Ulster County employees were handled in accordance with current law and Ulster County policy. Our audit revealed that the Personnel Department properly identified fraudulent unemployment claims and challenged those claims. In addition, the Personnel Department staff appropriately notified the Sheriff’s Department and the Information Systems Department about the potential unemployment insurance fraud. However, it appears that some employees may not have been notified by the Personnel Department that they were the victims of identity theft. The Personnel Department has since changed the process for addressing unemployment claims.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inquiry into two Chicago Police Department (CPD or the Department) strategies to support members’ mental health and wellbeing, here termed “officer wellness support strategies.”1 The two officer wellness support strategies evaluated here are (1) the Peer Support Program (PSP) and (2) CPD’s reliance on frontline supervisors to monitor their officers’ mental health and refer them to services as needed.Most of CPD’s existing officer wellness programs are run through its Professional Counseling Division (PCD). PCD’s services include the Employee Assistance Program, Traumatic Incident Stress Management (TISM) Program, Alcohol-use and Substance-use Services Program, and PSP. Additionally, the Department charges supervisors with identifying members who may be struggling with their mental health and referring them to professional services as needed, whether within or outside the programs offered through PCD.The objectives of this inquiry were to determine: (1) whether PSP is designed and implemented in accordance with best practices as defined by mental health experts and the policing profession; and (2) whether CPD adequately prepares its supervisors to identify members in need of mental health assistance. OIG opted to review just two of CPD’s officer wellness support strategies because the full universe of officer wellness strategies is too broad to review comprehensively in the space of a single report. Other CPD officer wellness strategies and PCD programs may be topics of future OIG inquiry.At the conclusion of this inquiry, OIG reached two findings:1. Several operational limitations prevent PSP from better meeting officer wellness needs. Specifically, there are deficiencies in recruitment and staffing, training, documentation and record-keeping, internal communications, and cultural competency.2. CPD does not adequately prepare its supervisors to identify members in need of wellness services, and does not ensure that supervisors remain up to date on supervisory responsibilities relating to officer wellness. a. Some supervisors expressed the opinion that they were not fully prepared for their wellness support roles.b. Some supervisors lacked knowledge of key aspects of their wellness support responsibilities.c. CPD has provided supervisors little in-service officer wellness training, and strategies for new directive rollouts have been insufficient to keep supervisors informed of directive changes.

Using supplemental federal funding, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) awarded $220.7 million through its We’re All In program to small businesses, restaurants, and similar entities and $375.2 million through its Wisconsin Tomorrow program to small businesses and lodging establishments. We performed a detailed review of 172 grants, and we found DOR did not follow written eligibility requirements when it awarded 45 of these grants. We recommend that DOR report to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on the results of its ongoing efforts to identify and recover program grants it made in error.

Since March 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and through September 2022, the federal government has allocated through various acts $77.8 billion to the State of Arizona and its local governments, businesses, and individuals for COVID-19 response and relief efforts. This special COVID-19 funding report presents information on the amounts, intended purposes, and recipients of those allocations. It also presents the results of our audit of the allocated monies Arizona State government directly spent and distributed during fiscal year 2021.

Since March 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and through September 2022, the federal government has allocated through various acts $77.8 billion to the State of Arizona and its local governments, businesses, and individuals for COVID-19 response and relief efforts. This special COVID-19 funding report presents information on the amounts, intended purposes, and recipients of those allocations. It also presents the results of our audit of the allocated monies Arizona State government directly spent and distributed during fiscal year 2021.

The Cuyahoga County Department of Internal Auditing (DIA) conducted an audit of Employee Leave Payroll for the period January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. During the performance of the external financial statement audit for Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2020, the Ohio Auditor of State issued a finding of recovery due to an erroneous overpayment to an employee on leave. The main objective of the audit was to determine the extent of any additional payment inaccuracies relative to employees on leave as well as assess the adequacy and effectives of the current leave payment process in mitigating the risk of errors or irregularities. The audit procedures of DIA disclosed internal control weaknesses related to payroll and recordkeeping. Internal control and compliance issues were discovered including: inaccurate pays and leave occurred due to clerical and system errors and lack of monitoring controls, pays were issued without appropriate support documentation of time worked or leave taken, employees were paid for time after the employees separated from County employment, manual pay adjustments and checks occurred without appropriate support or documented approval, leave donations and separation payouts lacked appropriate controls and oversight, and inadequate segregation of duties existed in the payroll system as IT employees were responsible at times for recording payroll transactions related to employee leave.

On February 8, 2022, Pinecrest Supports and Services Center Regional Administrator Shannon Thorn notified the Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA), in writing, of a possible misappropriation of public funds by then PSSC Police Captain David Patterson. LLA initiated this investigative audit to determine the extent to which Mr. Patterson recorded overtime hours he did not work. From July 2020 to December 2021, former Pinecrest Supports and Services Center (PSSC) Police Captain David Patterson recorded and was paid $15,099 for 391 hours of COVID-19 overtime on weekend days that he either did not work or failed to go through PSSC’s mandatory COVID-19 screening process.

What Was Performed? A performance audit of the design and operation of Brandywine School District’s internal controls over Local Funds and compliance with the requirements of the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of local school district tax funds budgets and expenditures. Delaware Code provides for school districts and vocationaltechnical school districts to levy and collect additional taxes for school purposes upon the assessed value of real estate in the district with some exceptions. For purposes of this report, real estate taxes levied for school purposes are referred to as “Local Funds.” The school districts’ authority to levy taxes is governed by 14 Del. C., c. 19 for nonvocational districts and by 14 Del. C., c. 26 for vocational districts.There were four objectives established for the performance audit of the school district:1. School district internal controls over the expenditure of Local Funds were designed and operated based on requirements in the Delaware Code, State of Delaware Administrative Code, State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual, School District Accounting Policies, and the School District Budget.2. The school district’s internal controls over the receipt of Local Funds were designed and operated in accordance with the requirements.3. The school district’s real estate taxes were approved and calculated in accordance with the requirements.4. The school district’s tuition tax funds were calculated and spent in accordance with the requirements.In March 2020, the Governor of the State of Delaware declared a state of emergency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus continued throughout 2021 and included temporary school district closures. In response to the challenges faced by school districts related to teaching, remote learning, nutrition and emotional support to students, State Auditor McGuiness honored requests from school districts to delay this engagement. This accommodation not only fulfilled the needs of school districts but ensured the integrity of the engagement.What Was Found? Based on the work performed, the following findings were identified:▪ Lack of Approved Purchase Orders for Vendors: Forty-nine (49) vendors did not have an approved purchase order and 104 vendors had purchase orders for only a portion of the purchases in the state accounting system out of 279 tested vendors with cumulative purchases greater than $5,000.▪ Non-Compliance with State Procurement Requirements: One purchase order for $346,844 did not have the required state procurement actions completed by the district out of five purchase orders tested. The district piggybacked on another School District’s expired contract.The Brandywine School District Local Funds Performance Audit for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021 can be found on our website: click here.

What Was Performed An examination of the Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center’s fiscal records of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, Medicaid Long-Term Care Facilities’ Statement of Reimbursement Costs for Skilled and Intermediate Care Nursing Facilities – Title XIX and Nursing Wage Survey (cost report and nursing wage survey, respectively) for fiscal year ended June 30, 2018. Why This Engagement? The State Auditor is authorized under 29 Del. C., §2906 to conduct post-audits of all financial transactions of all state agencies. This engagement was conducted in accordance with federal requirements (42 CFR 447.253 and 483 Subpart B) and state requirements (Title XIX Delaware Medicaid State Plan, Attachment 4.19D) (criteria), as applicable to the Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center’sfiscal records. The criteria were used to prepare the Schedule of Adjustments to the Trial Balance, Patient Days, and Nursing Wage Survey for fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 found in the report. The State of Delaware is required to ensure that the fiscal records at the nursing care facilities are retained and properly support the cost report, or the financial report showing the cost and charges related to Medicaid activities, submitted to the Medicaid Agency. These costs must be compliant with federal and state regulations.Under theDelaware Medicaid State Plan, the state is required to examine a sample of facilities located within the state to ensure the facilities’ cost reports and nursing wage surveys are compliant with federal and state requirements.What Was Found? The examination identified one finding, resulting in both a material weakness in internal control and a compliance finding. The examination was limited in that we were unable to obtain sufficient information to support facility costs incurred and patient census data to adequately test the underlying data used to prepare the cost report and survey. The facility did not provide sufficient supporting documentation for facility costs, including payroll, patient census data, and other costs for the period under examination. Not being able to support the costs recorded could result in a disallowance of those costs, which would affect the facility’s reimbursement rate. The Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center Long-Term Healthcare Facility Examination for Fiscal Year ended June 30, 2018, can be found on our website: click here. For any questions regarding the attached report, please contact State Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness atKathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov.