How We Work Timely Evaluations of California's Biggest Challenges

We follow the highest standards to provide legislators and other stakeholders with reliable answers to complex policy questions in California government. We gather evidence to understand what an agency or program is meant to achieve, if it is falling short, and what that means for the people it serves. We go through a rigorous review process to ensure that we draw accurate conclusions and propose effective solutions. Everything we do is confidential until we publish our final report.


The Legislature

Our work is a first step to developing solutions to difficult problems. When legislators have concerns about a program or agency, they can request a performance/policy evaluation through the bipartisan Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC). We are involved from the beginning of this process. We review a legislator's request for an audit and are available to answer questions when the request is formally made to JLAC. If JLAC approves the request, the second part of our work begins. In this phase of the process, we gather the facts and dive into the details. Once we have analyzed all the evidence, we issue a public report and present our findings to the Legislature. But we don't stop there. As the Legislature crafts bills to make government work better, we remain a valuable resource to inform and advise them and their staff.

Have a Question?

Contact Us: (916) 445-0255

Agencies Being Evaluated

Our work is hands-on. State law gives us the authority to access information that allows us to effectively evaluate an agency's performance. After we initially meet with the agency and introduce ourselves and our process, we typically spend several weeks or months 'on location' obtaining data, accessing records, and interviewing staff. With all of this information in hand, we return to our Sacramento office to put all the pieces together and develop a confidential draft report. Once the draft is complete, the agency has a chance to review and respond to our findings and recommendations. We publish the agency's response at the end of each report.

After we publish the final report, agencies keep us updated on how they have implemented our recommendations and we monitor their progress. In some cases, we may conduct a follow-up audit to ensure that they've addressed the problems we originally identified.

Have a Question?

Contact Us: (916) 445-0255