Department of Correction Mental Health Services Contract

This is an official Massachusetts State Auditor report about the Department of Correction’s contract for mental health services for inmates from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012.

“In accordance with Chapter 11, Section 12, of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted an audit of certain oversight activities of the Department of Correction (DOC) for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012.”

The audit was done to check whether DOC properly oversaw MHM’s mental health services contract and whether payments to MHM were complete, accurate, and reasonable.

“The objectives of our audit were to review and examine the DOC’s monitoring and oversight of its contractual agreement with MHM Correctional Services, Inc., (MHM) for providing a comprehensive program of mental health services for all inmates residing in DOC facilities or in the care and custody of the DOC and to review expenditures to determine whether payments made to MHM were complete, accurate, and reasonable.”

DOC is responsible for public safety and for providing care and programming to people in its custody, so oversight of inmate mental health care affects both incarcerated people and the public.

“The DOC is authorized by Chapter 27, Section 1, of the Massachusetts General Laws to promote public safety by managing offenders while providing care and appropriate programming in preparation for successful reentry into the community.”

For taxpayers and residents, the report says the state checked a large prison mental health contract and found DOC’s oversight controls were adequate during the audit period.

“The DOC expended $194,480,520 under its contract with MHM for the five-year period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2012, of which $116,896,118 was expended during our audit period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012.”

The auditor did not report major problems with DOC’s contract oversight; the conclusion was that DOC had adequate internal controls.

“Based on our review, we have concluded that, for the audit period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2012, DOC had adequate internal controls over its monitoring and oversight of its contract with MHM.”

The source does not list corrective actions or recommendations; because the audit found adequate controls, it does not describe a required follow-up plan.

“We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.”

This audit is significant because it examined oversight of mental health services across DOC facilities, including care for more than 11,500 offenders and services tied to a contract costing over $116 million during the audit period.

“The DOC employs approximately 5,000 staff, with the majority representing positions dedicated to the security of the prisons, the safety of the facilities, and the oversight of over 11,500 offenders.”

“Internal controls” means the systems, checks, and procedures DOC used to monitor the contractor, review services, and authorize payments.

“To achieve our audit objectives, we assessed internal controls over the areas of oversight and payments made to MHM.”