Riverside County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
County of Riverside Department of Public Social Services - Children's Services Division National Youth in Transition
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
The NYTD Gift Card logs examined by the Grand Jury were not in accordance with DPSS policy. DPSS Policy 23-41 (dated 11-15-2002) Gift Certificates and Gift Cards (GC) states in part: The log must provide appropriate space to record the customer’s name, case #, ID#, GC#, and amount, etc., or whatever is used to establish the recipient of the GC as a customer and not an employee or friend of the requester. There must be a space for the signature of the person that unlocks the safe or file cabinet, because the same person will witness the acquiring of the Gift Card by the requester. In many cases, the gift card logs did not contain customer ID numbers, gift card numbers, case numbers, gift card amounts, date gift card issued, date gift card received, or signature of the issuing authority. 2
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Rewrite and enforce current department policy on the distribution of gift cards to ensure safeguards are in place to eliminate the risk of theft, fraudulent use and/or misuse. The revised policy to include a standardized template for the tracking of gift cards that encompasses all elements identified in DPSS Policy 23-41. Revise department policy to include monthly management oversight of the distribution of gift cards and subsequent documentation (logs) to ensure department policies are adhered to and required information is complete and accurately documented.
F2
DPSS lacks a clear and concise process for tracking undeliverable gift cards. Gift card logs from 2015 indicate some gift cards were “undeliverable” due to the inability to locate the recipient. In other cases, the logs indicated the cards were “pending delivery.” In either case, no further information of the final disposition of the card was provided. The final disposition of several cards was unclear.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Revise DPSS Policy 23-41 to include a clear and concise process for tracking gift cards from receipt to final disposition. The revised policy to provide direction for the tracking and disposition of gift cards including those identified as undeliverable or pending delivery.
F3
The process of purchasing gift cards for the NYTD Program is not cost effective. NYTD gift cards are purchased through a third party broker. As a result, unnecessary sales tax, mailing, handling and processing fees are incurred by DPSS.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Establish or revise department policy to eliminate the use of third party brokers to procure gift cards, thereby incurring unnecessary taxes and shipping and processing fees. Procure gift cards directly from vendors or retailers to minimize costs and manage quantities that would prevent acquiring excess cards. Report Issued: 06/21/2016 Report Public: 06/23/2016 Response Due: 09/19/2016 3