Juvenile Probation Commission
An Audit Report on Management Controls at the Juvenile Probation Commission
November 1998
Report Number 99-014
Overall Conclusion
The Juvenile Probation Commission (Commission) cannot ensure that the 168 local juvenile probation departments (local departments) perform the tasks that the Legislature expects. The Commission should improve the way it manages its contracts with the local departments and ensure it provides the Legislature and others with accurate information. In fiscal year 1998, the Commission provided $80 million in state funds to the local departments. The Commission reports that the local departments provided services to over 85,000 children ages 10 through 16 in 1997.
The Commission has worked hard to develop and maintain a good working partnership with the local departments. However, maintaining this partnership has meant that the Commission does not oversee programming decisions or expenditures associated with local funding.
Key Facts and Findings
The Commission has not addressed persistent problems in its monitoring of contracts with the local departments. The Sunset Advisory Commission and the State Auditor's Office identified these problems in earlier reports. The Commission does not use risk assessment when planning the level of monitoring at each local department. As a result, the monitors have not focused their resources to ensure that each local department meets performance goals and spends its money on the best and most efficient contractors.
The information that the Commission reports to the Legislature and others may be inaccurate. The Commission does not test data for 8 of its 12 key performance measures, nor does it reconcile the data on a regular basis. Without reliable information, it is difficult to make good decisions.
The Commission cannot control delays in the construction of post-adjudication centers. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that $37.5 million in construction bonds are spent to provide post-adjudication facilities around the State. As of August 31, 1998, six of the projects were complete, eight were in construction, and five had not yet started.
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