YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

October 1, 2002

Report No. 2002-107

Minor improvements to Parents as Teachers program could increase current success

Auditors found the $30.3 million state-funded parent education program - Parents as Teachers - is run fairly by the education department in 522 school districts.  Changing procedures for allocating program funding and monitoring program expenditures would further improve the program.

Program participants called program successful

Eighty-nine percent of the participants surveyed by auditors (187 current and inactive parent educators and 64 program coordinators) said the program met its goal.  About 81 percent said the program successfully reached new parents.  (See page 3)

Program lost some funds which went unused

In fiscal year 2001, 85 schools returned more than $288,000 of the $30.3 million  program funds to the department after not serving enough families as set in quotas.  One school returned $66,000, while two schools returned all the money received.  These funds could not be reallocated to other schools in need because the funds went back to the state's General Revenue Fund at fiscal year end.  If the district required interim reporting of  progress toward the family served quotas,  the state could redistribute the "unused" funds to other programs.  (See page 8)

More monitoring needed of  program expenditures

Department officials do not require school districts to submit actual program expenditure reports for review and do not analyze expenditures during routine monitoring visits or evaluations.  Department officials only request expenditure information after complaints occur or an evaluation shows an accounting issue.  (See page 9)

Allocating funds off census data does not work

Department officials allocate program funds based on the census population of children from birth to age five in a district.  But census data often  misrepresents the area by the time the department uses it.  In fiscal year 2001, 39 districts served more than 100 percent of the district's families counted in the 2000 census data.   As a result, in the next fiscal year, department officials set quotas above 100 percent of the families.  (See page 7)

Parent educator pay and some unsupportive districts curbs recruitment

Fifty percent of the inactive parent educators surveyed said they left the program to become full-time teachers for increased pay and benefits.  Missouri parent educator pay ranged from approximately $20,000 to less than $1,500  per educator per year, according to 1999 state data.  The national average pay for a parent educator equaled $35,000 annually for a 40-hour work week and $17,500 for a 20-hour work week.  (See page 5)

Forty-three percent of the current educators surveyed wanted more support from the district.  Survey respondents said some administrators and school boards did not care about the program, did not provide office supplies or a work space.

Complete Audit Report