Audit of the Supreme Judicial Court (June 2, 2023)

This is a state performance audit of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court covering October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2021.

“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 Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) for the period October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2021.”

Auditors wanted to see whether the court had a required five-year plan, a statewide task force, and proper cost-sharing for a federal Court Improvement Program grant.

“In this performance audit, we determined whether SJC (1) established a five-year strategic plan, (2) established a statewide multidisciplinary task force, and (3) met the cost-sharing1 requirement of the federal Children’s Bureau’s “Program Instruction” guidance for the State Court Improvement Program grant.”

The program is meant to improve outcomes for children and families involved in child welfare court cases, so following grant rules helps ensure the money supports that purpose.

“The Massachusetts Court Improvement Program (MassCIP) encourages and supports systemic improvements, program initiatives, and ongoing training designed to lead to better outcomes for children involved in child welfare cases in Massachusetts.”

The auditors answered yes to all three audit questions and reported no significant noncompliance.

“Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.”

The report does not list corrective actions because it found no significant reportable problems; the program continues to be reviewed through annual reporting and federal oversight calls.

“The Children’s Bureau has calls at least annually with each state’s CIP to review the program’s progress in meeting grant requirements, identify outcomes, and provide guidance and support.”

The audit found that the Supreme Judicial Court had the required five-year plan, task force, and cost-sharing for the grant, which indicates compliance in the areas reviewed.

“Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer and the conclusion we reached regarding each objective.”

Cost-sharing means the federal government does not pay the whole program cost; the state must contribute some non-federal money too.

“Cost-sharing means that the program’s cost is not fully paid with federal funds but instead the federal government reimburses the state for funds expended on a pro-rata basis.”