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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
October 16, 2001
Report No. 2001-107
Missouri�s Caring Communities social services program fell short of its cornerstone: ensuring partnerships accounted for results and funds reached the right areas
This audit reviewed the
management of the state�s Caring Communities program, an innovative approach
started in 1993 to improve delivery of social services.� The program involves partnerships with
neighborhood, local businesses and state agency representatives and now
includes 21 community partnerships statewide with a $24.8 million budget in
fiscal year 2001.�
Auditors found program officials
have not ensured accountability for their performance by setting goals tied to
data-driven results or linked expenditures to specific outcomes.� The following highlights the audit�s
findings:
Results-based planning not
implemented
The majority of the 52 site plans
reviewed by auditors did not address results-based planning, a program
requirement.� For example, some
partnerships spent resources to correct a problem without data to prove a
problem existed.� Several plans included
immeasurable benchmarks, such as �improve childrens� self-esteem.�� In addition, program coordinators did not
critically review most partnership plans, but generally accepted them as
submitted.� (See page 5)
Lack of data impeded reporting
and planning
Partnership personnel did not always have access to data
needed to identify community problems worth targeting.� St. Louis and Jackson County partnership
personnel have both struggled to obtain state-level data, but have had limited
access due to privacy issues.� Data that
is provided is often only at zip-code level, which does not offer enough detail
to draw conclusions.� Program officials
have paid an outside consultant $234,000 to propose solutions to data and
confidentiality issues, but it is only a proposal.� Lack of data has resulted in partnership�s reporting results with
anecdotal descriptions and no data to prove true change.� (See page 9)
Statewide program evaluation of little use
Program officials paid an outside consultant $456,000 in
1997 to evaluate the program�s results statewide, but program officials called
the evaluation �soft� and of little use.�
In August 2000, program officials spent $280,000 for another statewide
evaluation, including a specific study of the program�s data weaknesses.� Program officials said this evaluation will
be more useful.� (See page 10)
Equitable funding needed
Program officials fund various partnerships by the
student population in the partnerships� largest school district and not by
community needs or partnership performance.�
This formula favors urban partnerships with large school districts over
rural areas and has caused over funding of at least one partnership.� The funding ranges from $50,000 for sites in
mostly rural areas to $5.8 million for the St. Louis partnership.� (See page 14)
Internal audits findings go uncorrected
Internal auditors have issued 14 reports on various
partnerships since fiscal year 1998 with half of these audits noting similar
findings about inadequate segregation of accounting duties.� But the findings have gone uncorrected and
it is still unclear which program officials are responsible for such
corrections.� In addition, four of the
21 partnerships have not had any state internal audit and three partnerships
have not had an internal audit for four years.�
(See page 19)
Questionable administrative expenditures
