Juvenile Justice, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee

Recommendations 26

• R1
  Child Support In the audit of the Child Support Collection Program mandated by the Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 10602.5, the contract auditor concluded that the Collection county's Child Support Collection Program is not operating efficiently in the Program following regard: There is significant room for improvement in increasing child support col- lection effectiveness A significant backlog of unprocessed case referrals exists Delinquent payments are not being identified and collected on a systematic and timely basis The lack of an integrated computer system contributes to the lack of collec- tion effectiveness Summary of Recommendations: Based upon his findings the Contract Auditor made the following recommendations, listed according to the department responsible for implementation and numbered as in the Contract Auditor's report. DPD, automate, as soon as possible, the preparation Auditor-Controller/Court Trustee of Demand Letters for Family Law Cases. (No. 1-12) Court Trustee continue to improve (No. 1-29) The Court Trustee, in conjunction with document processing procedures to eliminate un- DPD, automate, when feasible, the Order to Show processed document backlog. Cause Affidavit preparation after the missing data (No. 1-15) Court Trustee request DPD to modify are updated on the Court Trustee Data Base. computer programs to edit case dates for reason- (No. 1-32) Court Trustee and DPD establish con- ableness. trols and procedures to ensure that delinquent ac- (No. 1-18) All terminated cases be eliminated counts are not bypassed. from Court Trustee Master File and stored on hard copy, microfilm or other media. Auditor-Controller/Court Trustee, (No. 1-23) Court Trustee establish accounting Data Processing Department (DPD), controls over undeposited checks. And District Attorney (DA) (No. 1-25) Court Trustee segregate responsibility (No. 1-27) The DA, in conjunction with DPD and for custody and mailing of warrants from review and Court Trustee, implement automated delinquency authorization responsibilities. processing for Court Trustee payments, on U.R.E.S.A. (No. 1-31) Court Trustee investigate the status of cases and automate Delinquent Payment Notices. the August 1974 listing of delinquent cases. (No. 1-30) The DA, in conjunction with DPD and (No. 1-33) The Court Trustee establish control re- Court Trustee, implement automatic preparation of views of the delinquency listing to control the timely Delinquent Payment Notices for DA and DPSS issuance of Demand Letters to all delinquent ac- Agreement cases. counts. Auditor-Controller/Court Trustee, Data Processing Department (DPD), And Probation Department Auditor-Controller/Court Trustee (No. 1-26) The Probation Department, in conjunc- And Data Processing Department (DPD) tion with DPD and Court Trustee, implement auto- (No. 1-24) DPD and Court Trustee develop proce- mated delinquency processing for payments on pro- dures to provide a complete, detailed listing of un- bation cases and automate Delinquent Payment No- matched suspense payments. tices utilizing the Court Trustee computer. (No. 1-28) The Court Trustee, in conjunction with (No. 1-22) The DA evaluate use of sampling pro- Auditor-Controller/Court Trustee cedures for case quality control reviews. And District Attorney (DA) (No. 1-35) The DA update and distribute the Fami- (No. 1-14) The DA and Court Trustee, in conjunc- ly Law procedural manual. tion with DPSS, update cases with missing data using (No.1-36) The DA distribute procedures for the listing produced by data processing when com- U.R.E.S.A. cases to all staff responsible for processing puterization of Court Trustee cases is implemented. U.R.E.S.A. cases. Board of Supervisors (No. 1-37) Until it is possible to mechanize the (No. 1-10) The Board of Supervisors immediately delinquency identification of all welfare child sup- assign to the DA full responsibility and authority port payments the DA identify all case delinquen- over all aspects of all current and future CSCP com- cies. puterization system requirements, priorities, and District Attorney (DA) and Department user control procedures. of Public Social Services (DPSS) County Counsel (No. 1-1) DA and DPSS accelerate the transfer of child support functions from DPSS to the District (No. 1-7) If cost effective, the County Counsel file Attorney's Office. for civil judgment against absent parents for unreim- (No. 1-2) DA and DPSS to establish and agree bursed child support related welfare payments upon a formal plan and regular progress reporting under Section 11350 of the Welfare and Institutions to the CAO on the transfer of child support func- Code. tions from DPSS. District Attorney (DA) (No. 1-16) The DA and court system provide State (No. 1-3) DA accelerate use of civil remedies. number check digit input, DPSS include check digits (No. 1-8) The District Attorney should immedi- on all welfare cases referred to Court Trustee and ately develop a plan to organize all child support Court Trustee computer be programmed to verify all related activities under a single division with central welfare State case numbers by check digits. responsibility and authority. District Attorney and Superior Court (No. 1-9) The position of Child Support Investiga- (No. 1-4) DA and Superior Court coordinate antic- tor be reviewed by the DA and the Department of ipated courtroom requirements created by the ex- Personnel to determine if the present job descrip- panded pursuit of civil remedies. tion adequately meets the needs and qualifications for the position. Department Of Public Social Services (No. 1-11) The DA establish a Child Support Pro- (No. 1-5) The Department of Public Social Ser- gram EDP Steering Committee for the present system vices seek approval to allow a retroactive reimbur- as well as new system development, consisting of sement for Sheriff and Marshal services connected representatives from all County agencies involved with Child Support Collection Program. with the Program. The Committee to act solely in (No. 1-6) If cost effective, the Department of Pub- an advisory capactly to the DA. lic Social Services establish procedures for preparing (No. 1-13) The DA request data processing to pro- claims against absent parents for unreimbursed child duce the listing of cases with missing data fields, support payments made by the County. using the computer program developed for this pur- (No. 1-34) DPSS to develop procedures for fol- pose. low-up on all PA450s returned from the Court Trust- (No. 1-19) DA reinstitute U.R.E.S.A. follow-up pro- ee. cedures, requesting additional staff if necessary. Superior Court (No. 1-20) Cost effectiveness of additional staff (No. 1-17) The Superior Court make it mandatory should be tested and staffing adjusted accordingly. for court clerks to record State welfare numbers on (No. 1-21) DA take steps to reduce or eliminate all court cases where AFDC exists. processing backlog in preparation of Marshal tickets.
• R2
  Auditor- Penal Code Section 925 charges the Grand Jury with making an annual examina- Controller tion of the accounts and records of all county officers. Since the Accounting Accounting Division is the focal point of bookkeeping for all country officers, it was decided that this audit was the proper way of fulfilling the responsibility. Division The contract auditor, based upon the extent of his examination, concluded that: Procedures for safeguarding county assets and assets in trust are being properly followed Internal controls and accounting procedures are adequate and being fol- lowed County Administrative Code provisions, policies, and procedures are being substantially followed Quality and use of management information is adequate Areas of potential cost savings are identified and corrective procedures instituted. As a result of the examination the contract auditor made the following recom- mendations: Inventory Control and have the departments remove Summary of Recommendations: the tags from the equipment. (No. 2-10) The Accounting Division should take Auditor-Controller—Accounting Division steps to enforce preparation of property transfer ad- (No. 2-1) Review and revise existing systems to vices. take full advantage of computer hardware capabili- (No. 2-12) The Accounting Division should adopt ties. a plan for conversion of fixed asset records to other (No. 2-2) Data Processing Department review and equipment. revise current keypunching and verification proce- (No. 2-13) The Accounting Division should docu- dures to eliminate the decision requirements for op- ment the current data processing procedures if no erators. conversion is made in the near future. (No. 2-3) After input procedures are improved (No. 2-14) The Accounting Division computer sys- and existing systems revised, the Accounting Divi- tem documentation should be reviewed, updated, sion should eliminate all manual register which du- and completed. plicate computer runs. (No. 2-15) The Accounting Division should review (No. 2-4) Accounting Division should continue all input documents to determine the feasibility of the balancing of the equipment detail records to the rearranging data. appropriations transaction listing throughout the en- (No. 2-16) The Accounting Division should review tire year. data processing output reports to determine level (No. 2-5) Improve procedures in the warrant rec- of effort necessary to reformat. onciliation unit, Cash Control Section of the Ac- (No. 2-17) The Auditor-Controller should adopt a counting Division. plan for developing new and improved computer (No. 2-6) The land and structures records should accounting systems. be duplicated and stored in individual departments (No. 2-18) The Accounting Division should estab- or other off-premise storage area. lish and develop a procedure manual. (No. 2-7) Establish a back-up set of equipment (No. 2-19) The Accounting Division should review records to be maintained at a separate location. and evaluate its document retention, protection, and (No. 2-8) The Accounting Division should take retrieval policies. steps to insure that the physical inventory and re- Auditor-Controller-Audit Division quired certification are completed on a timely basis. (No. 2-11) The Audit Division should be responsi- (No. 2-9) The Accounting Division should notify ble for reviewing fixed asset procedures in County each department of those inventory tag numbers departments. that are no longer included within the Fixed Asset This is a relatively new department, and it was decided that an audit might
• R3
  Department of be helpful to the department in getting organized. Facilities The contract auditor came to the conclusion that the department has not yet achieved the degree of improved long-range planning and control over capital projects that it was formed to accomplish. Summary of Recommendations: responsibility for scheduling and coordinating for- mal construction progress reviews. Department of Facilities (No. 3-4) Establish the Facilities Project Manager (No. 3-1) Take steps to clarify and establish the responsibility to monitor construction supervision Facilities Project Manager role in administering and and inspection. coordinating in-house architectural projects. (No. 3-5) Establish procedure to require Facilities (No. 3-2) Take steps to clarify and establish the Project Manager approval of all change orders. Facilities Project Manager role in administering and (No. 3-6) The duties, responsibilities, and relation- coordinating construction contracts. ships of Facilities Project Managers, Architectural (No. 3-3) Establish the Facilities Project Manager (No. 3-16) A secured storeroom should be estab- Project Managers, and Construction Project Man- lished for supplies inventory. agers should be clearly defined and documented. (No. 3-17) The responsibility for payroll process- (No. 3-7) The job class specifications for the three ing should be shifted from the Personnel Section. Project Manager positions should be changed to re- (No. 3-18) All Department assets should be prop- flect their respective defined responsibilities. erly tagged. (No. 3-8) The Facilities Project Manager title (No. 3-19) The Department should maintain de- should be changed to reflect overall program re- tailed fixed asset records and reconcile to periodic sponsibility. physical inventory. (No. 3-9) Establish regular reporting procedures to (No. 3-20) Determine feasibility of implementing insure that Facilities Project Managers are promptly an automated procedure for lease payments. informed of potential problems. (No. 3-21) Establish batch controls over timecard (No. 3-11) Establish procedures to provide period- input processing. ic reporting on the status of all planned capital proj- (No. 3-22) Establish an edit routine to verify time- ects. card coding. (No. 3-12) Establish reporting to compare current estimated completion dates with approved schedule (No 3-23) Define and document criteria for charg- ing time to capital projects and other departments. dates. (No. 3-24) Capital project ledger cards should be (No. 3-13) Accumulate and maintain schedule reconciled to the Auditor-Controller reports monthly. changes and related documentation in individual project files. Board of Supervisors (No. 3-14) The responsibility for purchasing (No. 3-10) Project Program Plans should be re- should be shifted from the Accounting Unit. quired before funds are authorized for any Group I (No. 3-15) Receiving should be segregated from projects. the purchasing function. It was decided to conduct this audit because (a) the health services were being
• R4
  Coastal Health divided into five regions and this was one of the first to become operative, Services Region and (b) the size of the budget. The contract auditor's comments upon conclusion of the audit were: "that there is substantial need for improvement of procedures for patient billing and collection throughout the Coastal Health Services Region. Another major area requiring attention is the narcotic control procedures at Long Beach General Hospital and Harbor General Hospital". Summary of Recommendations: (No. 4-7) Patient liabilities should be determined using the State approved Uniform Method of Deter- Coastal Health Services Region mining Ability to Pay method. (No. 4-1) The Regional office prepare, distribute, (No. 4-8) The Hospital should bill the Short-Doyle and monitor implementation of unified regional ad- inpatient liability on a timely basis. ministrative policies. (No. 4-9) The Hospital should establish follow-up Long Beach General Hospital collection activity for patient liability accounts in- cluding referral to the BRC. (No. 4-2) The Hospital's Billing Office begin (No. 4-10) The Hospital should develop proce- monthly billing of all "bill patient" and "patient lia- dures to assure the timely billing of the State under bility" accounts. (No. 4-3) The Hospital establish and implement the Short-Doyle Program. (No. 4-11) The Hospital modify the Patient Finan- written procedures for monthly review and follow- cial Statement to include a space for indicating the up collection letters for bill patient and patient lia- balance due on the account. bility accounts. (No. 4-12) The Hospital determine the feasibility (No. 4-4) The Hospital establish and implement of using a computer system to bill patient accounts. procedures for turning delinquent accounts over to (No. 4-13) The Hospital complete and use an up- the Bureau of Resources and Collections (BRC). to-date policy and procedure manual for the Billing (No. 4-5) The Hospital verify patient's insurance Office. coverage as soon as possible after the patient is ad- (No. 4-14) The Hospital Billing Office establish a mitted. folder for each patient upon notification of admis- (No. 4-6) The Hospital bill the patients' insurance sion. companies promptly after discharge. (No. 4-15) The Hospital Billing Office date stamp Harbor General Hospital all documents entered into the patient's folder and (No. 4-37) The Hospital's Patient Billing Section establish control over any documents removed for make timely inquiries when billing instructions are transmittal to another department. late. (No. 4-16) The Hospital train billing clerks to bill (No. 4-38) The Hospital take steps to improve the all patients regardless of third-party program. timeliness of Medicare billings. (No. 4-17) The Hospital's Procurement Office ref- (No. 4-39) The Hospital's Collection Section ad- use to process Requests for Services and Supplies here to the 120-day policy regarding delinquent in- unless they are signed by an authorized employee. active accounts to be forwarded to BRC. (No. 4-18) The Hospital's Procurement Office per- (No. 4-40) The Hospital's Collection Section form a biweekly review of the open requisition file. should adhere to the procedure requiring follow-up (No. 4-19) The invoice processing function be action on late Medicare or Medi-Cal payments. transferred to the Accounting Section. (No. 4-41) The Hospital's clinic billing and collec- (No. 4-20) The Hospital develop a narcotic control tion system should be modified so patients are en- system which provides more stringent control fea- couraged to make payments for treatment at the tures. date of service. (No. 4-21) Limit access to the Hospital's general (No. 4-42) The Hospital determine the feasibility storeroom by locking the doors when the store- of using a computer system to bill outpatient ac- keeper is elsewhere. counts. (No. 4-22) The Hospital require that perpetual in- (No. 4-43) The Hospital's Accounts Receivable ventory cards be posted promptly. Section eliminate the Revenue Billed and Received (No. 4-23) The Hospital establish standard order Subsidiary Ledgers. quantities and minimum inventory levels for goods (No. 4-44) The Hospital periodically reconcile the held in stock. balances of the patient ledger cards to the general (No. 4-24) Cycle inventories should be conducted ledger control accounts. throughout the year at the Hospital's general (No. 4-45) The Hospital move the medical supplies storeroom. stored in the basement corridor to a more secure (No. 4-25) The Hospital establish and utilize writ- place. ten physical inventory instructions for the (No. 4-46 The Hospital Pharmacy install a perpetu- storeroom. al inventory records system. (No. 4-26) The Hospital adhere to the County pol- (No. 4-47) The Hospital Pharmacy establish mini- icy requiring the completion of a Property Transfer mum inventory levels and standard order sizes for Advice when capital assets are transferred. each item in the Pharmacy Supply Room. (No. 4-27) The Hospital eliminate the punched (No. 4-48) The Hospital conduct periodic physical card file presently maintained for capital assets. inventories at the Pharmacy. (No. 4-28) The Hospital's Cashiering Office de- (No. 4-49) The Hospital implement and strictly en- posit cash receipts daily. courage adherence to a policy requiring that the (No. 4-29) The Hospital require daily deposits of doors to the Medicine Rooms will be locked when cash when the cashier is on leave. not in use. (No. 4-30) The Hospital require a responsible em- (No. 4-50) The Hospital develop a narcotic control ployee to reconcile each day's listing of mail receipts system which provides more stringent control fea- to the daily deposits. tures. (No. 4-31) The Hospital request the Auditor-Con- troller to provide a report on the Patients' Cash and El Cerrito Health Services Center Key Funds more frequently. (No. 4-51) The Center's Billing Office should pre- (No. 4-32) The Hospital's Accounting Section pe- pare patients' bills as soon as sufficient billing data riodically reconcile the Patient Ledger Cards to the Auditor-Controller's report on Patients' Cash and is available. (No. 4-52) The Center should implement collec- Key Funds. (No. 4-33) The Hospital's Accounting Section tion follow-up procedures. (No. 4-53) The Center should implement proce- eliminate the preparation of the alphabetical Pa- dures for forwarding delinquent accounts to the tients' Cash and Key book. (No. 4-34) Hospital employee timecards should be BRC. reviewed on a current basis for employee signature, (No. 4-54) The Outpatient Billing Control Report should be used as a control to ensure that all pa- authorized approval signature and calculations. (No. 4-35) The Hospital enforce adherence to the tients are billed. administrative policy requiring authorization of (No. 4-55) The Center's Billing Office Supervisor should review the Billing Control Reports periodi- overtime before it is incurred. cally and follow up on all unbilled accounts. (No. 4-36) The Hospital develop a computerized (No. 4-56) The Center's Billing Office and Patient salary distribution system. Financial Services Department both should report (No. 4-61). The Center make arrangements to dis- administratively to the same hospital. pose of excess supplies. (No. 4-57) Steps should be taken to improve the (No. 4-62) Envelopes containing mail receipts flow of billing instructions from the Patient Financial should be opened and listed by someone other than Services Department. the cashier or a Billing Office employee. (No. 4-58) The Center install a system of accounts (No. 4-63) The Center's Accounting Section receivable control accounts. should reconcile the mail receipts listing to the cash- (No. 4-59) The Center periodically reconcile the ier's deposit slips. patient ledger cards to the control accounts (prefera- bly monthly). Santa Monica West Mental Health Services Center (No. 4-60) The Center's perpetual inventory cards indicate each supply item's reorder point and stan- (No. 4-64) The Center take steps to encourage dard order quantity. prompt patient financial screening. Aid to Families This audit was made because of the size of the budget and because there had not been a recent audit of this department. with Dependent Children Program The contract auditor concluded that "considerable further effort is required to reduce error rates to the federal target levels." Summary of Recommendations: quarterly basis the incapacity of individuals exempt- Aid To Families With Dependent Children Program ed from employment registration because their ill- (No. 5-1) Continue to encourage efforts to sim- ness was obvious. plify the administration of the AFDC Program. (No. 5-10) Take steps to emphasize the impor- (No. 5-2) DPSS continue to make every effort to tance of obtaining the client's signature on form achieve greater procedural standardization and uni- ABCDM-228. formity in the earned and nonearned income area. (No. 5-11) Explore the feasibility of a staggered monthly processing cycle to avoid present peak load (No. 5-3) DPSS work with the State to clarify pro- requirements. cedures and definitions related to the transportation (No. 5-12) Date stamp all incoming WR-7's. allowance. (No. 5-13) Improve supervisory effectiveness by (No. 5-4) DPSS should emphasize the importance devoting more of their time to on-the-job training, of documenting the viewing of pay-stubs. review of policy application and general supervision. (No. 5-5) Form PA 137 should be revised to pro- (No. 5-14) Further refine the caseload yardsticks vide a check-off to signify that the pay-stub has been viewed. to reflect type of case and activity. (No. 5-6) Establish monthly reporting to identify (No. 5-15) Implement the use of intake screeners when the youngest child in a family budget unit at all district offices. reaches six years of age. (No. 5-16) If cost justified, use microfilming of (No. 5-7) Implement the proposed school atten- certain case file material at all offices. dance monitoring system as quickly as possible. (No. 5-17) DPSS, in conjunction with the CAO's (No. 5-8) Clarify procedures to implement the office, pursue the possiblity of converting as many policy statement. "whose illness is obvious". of the present memo billings to direct charges as (No. 5-9) Establish procedures to reaffirm on a possible. Chief This division was audited because of the large amount of monies being handled Administrative and because there had not been a recent audit by the Grand Jury. The contract Office-Capital auditor in summarizing his remarks concludes "that the county's long-range Projects Division planning for capital projects is not effective." Summary of Recommendations: policies and ground rules for long-range capital pro- Board of Supervisors ject planning. (No. 6-1) Board of Supervisors establish a policy (No. 6-3) Board of Supervisors should require that requiring their formal approval and periodic updat- the CAO formally integrate long-range capital pro- ing of the long-range capital project plan. ject planning with budget recommendations. (No. 6-4) Board of Supervisors should establish (No. 6-2) Board of Supervisors should establish should be distributed to all affected analysts in the the practice of approving the long-range capital Capital Projects Division. project plan at the same time the current year capital (No. 6-9) The Capital Projects Division should re- project budget is approved. quest that the Department of Facilities provide a (No. 6-7) Board of Supervisors encourage legisla- reconciliation of the Facilities and Auditor-Con- tive action to establish consistent requirements for troller cost reports. all County long-term financing arrangements. (No. 6-10) Develop a routing procedure for input to the capital project files that assures the responsi- Capital Projects Division ble analyst has seen the documentation being filed. (No. 6-5) Capital Projects Division should com- (No. 6-11) Refine the format for capital project plete and refine procedures for long-range capital files to ensure easier access. project planning, obtaining Board approval, and pe- (No. 6-12) Cross reference documentation that pertains to more than one capital project file. riodic updating. (No. 6-13) Prepare and update summary cards for (No. 6-6) Define information required and report- ing frequency for Department of Facilities input to all capital projects. (No. 6-14) Establish a schedule for early comple- long-range capital project planning. (No. 6-8) Copies of appropriation adjustments tion of the initial Capital Projects Staff Manual. This division of the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Department was chosen for an
• R5
  The Grand Jury recommends that probation officers working in a juvenile institution or facility should have available to them a significant number of promotional opportunities without being forced to leave the institution. At the present time the Probation Department wears two hats. The deputy Dual role of probation probation officer appears with the juvenile at his pretrial hearing, sometimes officer presenting evidence against him and suggesting incarceration. If the juvenile is placed on probation, another probation officer is placed in the position of friend, counsellor and help-mate. These conflicting positions are confusing to the juvenile. Recommendation:
• R6
  The Grand Jury recommends that the probation officer be relieved of all duties and contact with the juvenile before trial except for the prepara- tion of the petition which would be turned over immediately to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution. At the present time a juvenile placed in a probation camp is supervised by Duplication of DPO Probation Department employees assigned to that facility. In addition a field Assignments deputy probation officer is assigned to each juvenile and must travel to the facility periodically. We feel this is a duplication of service. Recommendation:
• R7
  Treasurer-Tax audit because it has an approved 1974-75 budget of $101,791,208 and has not Collector- been audited by the Grand Jury for several years. Based upon the results of Retirement their review, Coopers & Lybrand report that "current contribution rates reflect Division a significant under-estimate of the pensions payable at retirement. In addition, numerous procedural, control, and reporting improvements need to be made in connection with the Retirement System." Summary of Recommendations: credit on the books of the Retirement System within the 90 days prescribed by law. Board Of Investment (No. 7-14) Make final determination on unpaid (No. 7-1) The salary scale used to determine con- balances of terminated employees on a timely basis. tribution rates should include a provision for average (No. 7-15) Evaluate feasibility of temporarily ex- expected increases due to inflationary pressures. panding staff to process military/federal buy-back (No. 7-2) The contribution rates for the cost-of- claims. living benefit should recognize the impact of infla- (No. 7-16) Study the feasibility of microfilming ac- tion over the full lifetime of the retired employees tive member's ledger cards and transferring all cards and their beneficiaries. to storage. Treasurer-Tax Collector (No. 7-17) Redesign Data Processing input docu- ments for new retirees into one form. (No. 7-3) Reconcile detail members' reserve ac- (No. 7-19) compare totals on computer print-out counts to the general ledger control accounts each of changes inputed for retired members to batch month. (No. 7-4) Log transaction dollar control totals on control log. the batch control log and compare to transaction (No. 7-20) Accounting reconcile the monthly total of payments to retirees to prior month's totals. register totals. (No. 7-21) Compare monthly insurance deduction (No. 7-5) Record error date, amount of any dif- register summary to the current month's Data Pro- ference, and correction date on the batch control cessing input. log. (No. 7-22) Reconcile the insurance deduction reg- (No. 7-7) Retirement Division should follow up all ister and the insurance company reports monthly. exceptions on the payroll exception list. (No. 7-23) Improve security over unissued war- (No. 7-8) Revise monthly transaction register to rants, checks and the signature plate. show dollar totals for each type of transaction. (No. 7-24) Independent warrant and check signer (No. 7-9) Eliminate producing the "members ad- should control their mailing and cancellation of sup- ding new other contributions" and the "members porting documentation. ending other contributions" computer runs unless (No. 7-25) Accounting should reflect failed-to- they are required by another department. deliver transactions in preparing financial reports. (No. 7-10) Cross-train another employee to con- (No. 7-26) Cancel returned warrants after reason- trol input of members' account transactions to Data able attempts to locate addressee have failed. Processing. (No. 7-27) Bank statements should be received (No. 7-13) Notify terminated employees of their unopened by person responsible for reconciling the (No. 7-35) Provide a listing of the investment port- folio in annual report disclosing name of security, bank accounts. interest rate, maturity, par value, unamortized pre- (No. 7-28) Provide for control by two indepen- dent individuals over bond access and transfer. mium or discount and carrying value. (No. 7-36) Obtain an actuarial determination of (No. 7-29) Submit bond purchases and sales to the balances currently required to cover the present Data Processing on a regular, timely schedule. value of future retirement and other benefits and (No. 7-30) Issue prenumbered cash receipt forms establish reserves based on such actuarial findings. at the time remittances are received at the counter. (No. 7-31) Prepare a list of mail remittances as the Auditor-Controller mail is opened. Accounting should compare this list (No. 7-6) Auditor-Controller should code changes to the cash receipts book. (No. 7-32) Follow the published guidelines on ac- in payroll status that affect retirement deductions. (No. 7-12) Update payroll master file and retir- counting and reporting for governmental agencies ement master file for new members from the same in preparing the annual financial statements on the Retirement System. input form. (No. 7-33) Include statement of changes in reserve (No. 7-18) Redesign the Data Processing input documents for retiree insurance deductions into one balances in financial statements. (No. 7-34) Consider including footnote disclosure form. of significant accounting policies, market value of Personnel Department securities held and other disclosures as may be re- (No. 7-11) Use an "Incoming Employee Report" quired to make the financial statements complete which includes member birth date. and not misleading. This Grand Jury has been very interested in the problem of people living in
• R8
  City of Compton— blighted neighborhoods. The Model Cities Program was designed to demon- Model Cities Program strate how the living environment and general welfare of the people can be improved. We decided that we should see if the programs were successful and if the sizable sums of money being allocated to the programs were ac- complishing the objectives. Since funds were not available to check all of the programs in the county, the Compton program was selected as representative. Nothing came to our attention during this limited examination, except as noted Conclusions of Contract Auditor in the report, that would lead us to believe that within the City of Compton Model Cities Program (a) the procedures for safeguarding Model Cities Program assets are not adequate and are not being maintained, (b) internal controls and accounting procedures are not adequate and are not being followed, and (c) statutory requirements and established administrative policies and proce- dures are not being substantially followed. However, based on the results of our review as summarized in the body of this report, we conclude that the Compton Model Cities Program has serious administrative deficiencies in the areas of: Defining project objectives Evaluation of projects, and Follow up and disposition of audit findings. (No. 8-4) Establish procedures to follow up on Summary of Recommendation:
• R9
  Public the Grand Jury to investigate sales, transfers and ownership of land which, Administrator- under the state laws, might or should escheat to the state. Nothing was discov- Public Guardian ered in the audit to indicate that statutory requirements were not being com- plied with. The contract auditor made the following recommendations: as that provided by a file index (Recommendation No. 9-5). Summary of Recommendations: (No. 9-7) Eliminate photocopies or other dupli- Public Administrator-Public Guardian cate copies of documents from estate files. (No. 9-1) Require the investigation and explana- (No. 9-8) Establish procedures to insure supervi- tion of discrepancies between initial examination sory review of the status of delinquencies on notes reports, property sheets and/or amounts deposited receivable. in the Public Administrator's vault or placed in the (No. 9-9) Take steps to decrease the amount of time required for processing requests for payment. warehouse. (No. 9-10) Adhere to established procedures to (No. 9-2) Establish written procedures and criteria insure that all check requests result either in the for the investigation and administration of estates. issuance of checks or notification to Property Mana- (No. 9-3) Develop control procedures and meth- gement as to the reasons for nonpayment. ods for the maintenance of estate files. (No. 9-4) Establish a central control listing of ac- (No. 9-11) Establish procedures to accelerate the processing and recording of rental receipts. tive estates that indicates the status and persons re- (No. 9-12) Send delinquency and eviction notices sponsible for their handling. on a timely basis. (No. 9-5) Design and implement a cover sheet list- ing required documentation or steps to be taken. (No. 9-13) Consider possible alternative methods Provide space for the date and name or initials of for rental of property to improve the occupancy rate. persons obtaining required documentation or per- (No. 9-14) Determine early in the administration forming required functions. of an estate whether real property should be sold (No. 9-6) File materials in a logical sequence, such or distributed in kind.
• R10
  Treasurer-Tax The last Grand Jury audit of this department occurred in 1970 which prompted Collector us to ask Coopers & Lybrand to conduct this review. They had the following recommendations designed to improve some of the functions of the office: all warrants in order to utilize automated equipment for processing. Summary of Recommendations: (No. 10-10) Study the cost effectiveness of sorting and depositing checks in the bank they are drawn Treasurer-Tax Collector upon. (No. 10-1) Evaluate the desirability of seeking leg- (No. 10-11) Document Banking Division proce- islation to remove the requirement for refund of dures. partial tax installment payments. (No. 10-12) Establish procedures to insure all (No. 10-2) Consolidate the preparation of refund County bank accounts are authorized and coordi- lists. nated by the Treasurer. (No. 10-3) Mail tax refund explanation with the (No. 10-13) Establish procedures to insure that refund warrants rather than separately. agencies normally make all deposits directly to ac- (No. 10-4) Encourage additional financial institu- counts under control of the Treasurer. tions to forward magnetic transaction tapes along (No. 10-14) Combine the Banking Division and with remittance. Cash Management. (No. 10-5) Study the feasibility of billing financial (No. 10-15) Work with Auditor-Controller to de- institutions by magnetic tape. velop and implement a system for allocating invest- (No. 10-6) Review the administrative costs of busi- ment income based on average daily balances. ness licensing and adjust fees accordingly. (No. 10-16) Eliminate department revolving ac- (No. 10-7) Update business license fee schedule counts and institute reimbursement accounts for more frequently in the future. such expenditures. (No. 10-8) Control installment payments to insure (No. 10-17) Continue to encourage legislation to that the system is working properly. expand types of investments available for County (No. 10-9) Study the feasibility of prenumbering use. This audit was prompted because of the large sums of money which this division 11, Auditor- Controller is responsible for handling. The auditor in summarizing his review stated that "there are significant weaknesses with respect to controls over the processing Disbursements Division of warrants" and made the following recommendations: Summary of Recommendations: (No. 11-14) Take steps to enforce existing County procedures for timely submission of payroll excep- General Claims Section tion reports. (No. 11-1) Use preprinted warrant numbers that (No. 11-15) Automate the determination of pre- can be processed by electronic sorting equipment. mium rates and the computation of overtime pay- (No. 11-2) Require proofreaders to be accounta- ments. ble by number for warrants handled by them. (No. 11-16) Special Claims request Data Process- (No. 11-3) Improve controls over warrant process- ing to upgrade the physical security over printed ing between the proofreading and final handling payroll warrants and blank stock held overnight. stages. (No. 11-17) Use protective paper for payroll war- (No. 11-4) Implement meter controls over the use rants. of the check signing machine. (No. 11-18) Segregate the duties of manual war- (No. 11-5) Implement improved control proce- rant preparation and issuance. dures over warrants returned to General Claims. (No. 11-19) Establish meter controls on the me- (No. 11-6) Implement an automated vendor pay- chanical check signer used for manually prepared ment system. payroll warrants. (Nol 11-7) Utilize protective paper for General (No. 11-20) Establish central control over the dis- Claims warrants. position of unclaimed payroll warrants. (No. 11-8) Coordinate mailing of letters of expla- (No. 11-21) Establish procedures to determine nation and refund warrants issued to taxpayers. that all warrants erroneously issued to terminated General Claims Section, Trust Unit employees have been canceled. (No. 11-9) Use prenumbered warrants exclusively (No. 11-22) Implement improved control proce- and eliminate the use of non-prenumbered stock. dures over payroll warrants returned to Special (No. 11-10) Establish meter controls over the trust Claims. unit's use of the mechanical check signer. Transportation Section (No. 11-11) Implement improved control proce- (No. 11-23) Maintain the credit card control log dures over warrants returned to the trust unit. in a format that facilitates the follow-up of outstand- Special Claims Section ing items. (No. 11-12) Retain W-4's or similar forms in accor- (No. 11-24) Follow up outstanding credit cards on dance with IRS regulations. a timely basis. (No. 11-13) Implement the six digit employee (No. 11-25) Mail warrants for transportation ser- numbering system as soon as possible. vices through regular channels.
• R11
  Submit to saline testing, skin checks, urinalysis or other testing to detect the use of narcotics or dangerous drugs as directed by the probation officer or any other peace officer.
• R12
  Purchasing and This department was audited because a full audit by the Grand Jury had not Stores Department been conducted for several years, and Mr. H. E. Davis, Jr., Purchasing Agent, requested an audit. The contract auditor had the following recommendations: Summary of Recommendations: Purchasing and Stores Department (No. 12-1) Review County-wide inventories and (No. 12-5) Establish the Standard Operating Pro- determine whether savings can be realized by con- cedures Manual as a loose-leaf document. solidating additional inventories or items under the (No. 12-6) Organize the additions and changes to control of Central Stores. the Standard Operating Procedures Manual so they are cross-referenced and distributed to the manual (No. 12-2) Develop a program to reverse the re- cent trend of declining inventory turnover. holders. (No. 12-3) Develop procedures to compile and re- (No. 12-7) Establish a standard format for the Stan- port additional operating data for the purchasing dard Operating Procedures Manual. activity. (No. 12-8) Develop formal training programs for (No. 12-4) Take steps to accelerate completion of deputy purchasing agents. project to update the Standard Operating Proce- (No. 12-9) Obtain formal vendor evaluations from dures Manual. user departments when renewing contracts. (No. 12-10) Strengthen procedures for review and determine the most effective way to meet present approval of POC's in payment of freight invoices. and future requirements. (No. 12-11) Enforce adherence to monetary limits (No. 12-18) Establish uniform guidelines for the indicated on the Purchase Order Checks. scope and frequency of internal reviews of purchas- (No. 12-12) Establish controls over the issuance ing personnel. and processing of Purchase Order Check forms. (No. 12-19) Develop uniform procedures and gui- (No. 12-13) Limit access to blank Purchase Order delines for circumstances in which Traffic Section Check forms. should prepare a shipping cost analysis. (No. 12-14) Establish more stringent controls over (No. 12-20) Develop additional data on freight the accessibility of the facsimile signature plate. costs by vendor and location. (No. 12-15) Establish high priority for early imple- (No. 12-21) Establish formal procedures for ob- mentation of corrective action to eliminate bottle- taining and documenting a Traffic review of trans- necks in typing purchasing documents. portation costs. (No. 12-22) Consider the use of an outside service (No. 12-16) Establish procedure requiring supervi- sory review of all large purchases over a predeter- to audit freight classifications and rates. mined amount. (No. 12-23) Review staffing of the Traffic Section in relation to duties performed. (No. 12-17) Review the record retention system to The very sizeable budget of this department prompted us to ask for a "scoping"
• R13
  Insurance of the department. The contract auditor reported after his initial review that "the major portion of budgeted expenditures for insurance relate to employee benefit plans," and that "the county is selfinsured for most property damage and liability risks with some exceptions." Upon receipt of this information it was decided against proceeding further with the audit. Summary of Committee Investigations A. Questionnaire Penal Code Section 928 requires the Grand Jury to investigate the needs of on Needs of all county officers. To accomplish this it was decided that a questionnaire be County Officers formulated and sent to all department heads. The replies received were com- plete, informative, and thoughtful, and the Grand Jury expresses appreciation to those who prepared them. After careful review of all the replies, pertinent information relating to needs, suggestions, etc., was extracted from the reports, compiled into booklets and forwarded to the Supervisors, Department Heads, or Officers who would be most interested in the information. B. Legislation At the start of our term it was pointed out in a County Counsel's opinion that the Grand Jury was not authorized by Penal Code Section 926 to contract with an independent auditor for management audits of county departments but was limited to the payment for a fiscal audit only. The committee agreed that the solution was to obtain a legislative change authorizing the payment to a contract auditor for management-type audits. Assemblyman Knox was contacted and agreed to amend AB 4424, a bill involv- ing Grand Juries, to include our proposed change. The bill was passed, signed by the Governor. It is now possible for all grand juries in California to pay for management as well as fiscal audits. C. Salaries of It is the responsibility of the Grand Jury impaneled in an even numbered year to investigate and report upon the salaries of the District Attorney and the Certain County Officers County Auditor. The Grand Jury may also investigate and report upon the sa- laries of the Board of Supervisors as often as may be required. It is the feeling of the Grand Jury that in view of their responsibilities the County Board of Supervisors should be the highest paid officers in the county. This would recognize their importance as the governing body of the county and at the same time eliminate the tendency towards a compaction of salaries of other officers of the county. The salary of the District Attorney was found to be inadequate because it is creating a salary compaction. The salary of the County Auditor-Controller was found to be adequate. Howev- er, we did note a disparity in salary levels of his Division Chiefs which should be reviewed. Recommendation:
• R14
  Seek and maintain training, schooling or employment as approved by the Probation Officer.
• R15
  Attend school regularly, abide by the rules and regulations of the school authorities and maintain satisfactory grades and citizenship. Not to be late, tardy, or truant nor cut, ditch or skip classes or be a disruptive force in the classroom. _____or anyone else of whom your parents or
• R16
  Not to associate with..... Probation Officer disapprove.
• R17
  Maintain residence as approved by the Probation Officer and/or parents and do not move or terminate such residence without permission of the Probation Officer or parents.
• R18
  Not drive a motor vehicle unless lawfully licensed and insured.
• R19
  Report in person to the Probation Officer at such times and places as he may designate and answer all reasonable inquires he may put to you regarding your activities.
• R20
  Notify the Probation Officer promptly whenever you change your home address; school or place of employment.
• R21
  Follow the rules and instructions of the Probation Officer and the persons with whom the Juvenile Court has ordered you placed.
• R22
  Upon declarations by any law enforcement agency that any area is a danger, riot or disaster area, you shall remain in your home if you are a resident of said area, and, in any case, you shall not enter or loiter near said area until it is officially declared safe.
• R23
  You are not to leave Los Angeles County for more than 24 hours unless you have received specific permission in advance from the Probation Officer, the Court, or your parents.
• R24
  Obey all rules of your parents or guardian.
• R25
  Obey all laws of the community including curfew and traffic.
• R26
  Obey all laws, orders, rules and regulations of the Probation Department, this court and of the city, county, state and country. These conditions of probation will remain in effect until further order of the Court. Your case may be reviewed by the Court and your program modified, depending on the progress you make. Failure to comply with any of the above instructions will be a violation of this Order and may result in a further Hearing before the Court. Referee of the Juvenile Court The foregoing Order has been read by me or read to me, and I fully understand its contents. Signature of Parent or Guardian Signature of Minor Current camp placements are for a minimum of six months and judges are Short-term camp program often reluctant to impose such a severe disposition. As a result the average minor now sent to camp has 11.2 petitions or petition requests before a camp placement is made. This leniency contributes to the widely held belief by the youngsters and the public that minors can repeatedly get into trouble and nothing happens. A short-term camp program would offer the court a more reasonable alternative. Recommendation: