Audit of the Office of the Child Advocate (October 7, 2024)

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Office of the Child Advocate, covering mostly July 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) for the period July 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022.”

Auditors checked whether the office informed the public and state leaders, had procedures for cost-sharing decisions, and met requirements tied to its agreements and budget responsibilities.

“The purpose of this audit was to determine the following:”

The office’s work affects services for children, especially children involved with state systems like child welfare and juvenile justice.

“The office shall act to investigate and ensure that the highest quality of services and supports are provided to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of all children receiving services.”

For residents, this is about whether taxpayer-funded child-services work is documented, transparent, completed, and useful to decision-makers.

“If OCA does not receive all deliverables outlined in the ISAs that it funds, then there is a potential waste of taxpayer dollars that could be used to provide other OCA services or fund other ISA projects.”

Auditors found five main problems: missing written procedures, missing meeting minutes, a late report to lawmakers, missing proof that some contract work was done, and verbal instead of written contract changes.

“OCA was unable to provide evidence that 11 out of the 39 deliverables outlined in its ISAs with the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Chan Medical School and the UMass Boston Behavioral Health Integrated Resources for Children (BIRCh) Project were completed.”

The report recommends that OCA write down procedures, publish meeting minutes, meet deadlines, document contract changes, and better coordinate on high-risk issues such as human trafficking.

“OCA should develop, document, and implement policies and procedures to monitor the progress of ISA deliverables.”

The audit matters because delays, missing documentation, and weak oversight can make it harder for the public, lawmakers, and agencies to know whether children’s services are working as intended.

“By not having documented policies and procedures for the creation of its annual reports, OCA risks not providing timely, relevant information to stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public, who must make decisions about the services provided to children and the issues affecting them.”

An ISA is an interdepartmental service agreement, basically a formal agreement between state entities about work, payments, and deliverables.

“The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s standard ISA form, which OCA used for these three ISAs with UMass Chan Medical School and the UMass Boston BIRCh Project, states,”