Report I2011-0837 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041
Report I2011-0837: California Department of Veterans Affairs: Wastefulness, Failure to Comply With State Contracting Requirements, and Inexcusable Neglect of Duty
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Department of Veterans Affairs | 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Recommendation To: Veterans Affairs, Department of
For all contracts that involve recreation fund moneys or involve recreation fund enterprises, as a best practice, institute policies that require the contracts be awarded and administered in a manner consistent with the policies and procedures set forth in the State Administrative Manual and the State Contracting Manual.
Response
Veterans Affairs reported that due to unforeseen resource challenges, it experienced difficulty in fully implementing the draft procedures it developed last year. Regardless, Veterans Affairs stated that it is working with the Department of General Services regarding certain components of the procedures. Veterans Affairs stated that it expects to have the procedures in place by the end of 2015.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
- Estimated Completion Date: December 2015
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Veterans Affairs, Department of
For all contracts that involve recreation fund moneys or involve recreation fund enterprises, institute policies that require the contracts to be reviewed and approved by the secretary of Veterans Affairs, or upon delegation of the authority to do so, by a deputy secretary, prior to the contracts being executed.
Response
Veterans Affairs reported that it is working with the Department of General Services regarding this recommendation. Veterans Affairs also stated that it will ensure this recommendation is incorporated into its procedures explicitly or is substituted by steps outlined in the State Contracting Manual. Regardless, Veterans Affairs stated that it expects to have the procedures in place by the end of 2015.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
- Estimated Completion Date: December 2015
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Veterans Affairs, Department of
Institute a policy that requires all payments of recreation fund moneys to a person or business in the amount of $5,000 or more during a fiscal year and any contract involving recreation fund enterprises be presented to the recreation fund advisory board (now known as the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Committee) at a public meeting for an advisory vote prior to the payment being made.
Response
Veterans Affairs reported that it recently requested the Department of Finance (Finance) to review its recreation fund program. Veterans Affairs stated that it anticipated recommendations from Finance that pertain to the composition and high level of involvement of a recreation fund committee at each veterans home. Veterans Affairs stated that even though each home has a process that includes residents' input about recreation fund expenditures, it believes the processes should be as uniform as possible system-wide. Thus, it will ensure that any new procedures resulting from Finance's recommendations reasonably incorporate resident input into expenditure decisions of its recreation funds. Veterans Affairs did not provide us with an expected completion date for these actions.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
- Estimated Completion Date: Unknown
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Veterans Affairs, Department of
Institute a policy that requires any expenditure of recreation fund moneys to a person or business in the amount of $5,000 or more during a fiscal year be listed as a separate line item in the budget of the recreation fund as presented to the secretary for approval.
Response
Veterans Affairs stated that it is working with the veteran homes to establish a standardized budget format and a uniform level of detail for the budget documents, including the concepts mentioned in this recommendation. However, it did not provide us with an expected completion date for these actions.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending
- Estimated Completion Date: Unknown
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Legislature
Consider legislation to establish increased statutory controls over the management of the recreation fund maintained by each of the veterans homes to require that the funds be managed by the secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the administrator of each home, and be managed in a manner that is transparent to the public, takes into account the feelings of veterans, is consistent with the mission of the veterans homes, and is fiscally prudent.
Response
Veterans Affairs reported that a state senator developed legislation that proposes a new location of the recreation funds, a new distribution process, additional coordination between Veterans Affairs and the residents of its veterans homes, and additional management and oversight practices. Veterans Affairs stated that it will continue working with the state senator as the legislation progresses.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Legislation Proposed But Not Enacted
- Completion Date: Unknown
- Response Date: October 2015