The objectives of a local audit were to assess whether the local employment services agency had developed and implemented sufficient internal controls to provide efficient and effective management of the District's 12 employment programs. The audit found that the employment agency did not establish written performance criteria for its employment programs or provide adequate oversight of its programs and that, without performance criteria, the agency could not accurately measure the quality and effectiveness of training services or gauge whether programs were effective or whether program objectives had been met. Further, from 2009-2017, the employment agency experienced sustained performance issues resulting in an “at-risk” designation by Department of Labor. Negative audit reports from both local and federal auditors suggested that CSOSA clients referred to the District's employment programs would have been unlikely to have received employment services.
TopAn Assessment Of The Dc Department Of Employment Services Program Fidelity
The Office of the District of Columbia Auditor performed an audit for fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011.
The objectives of the audit were to assess whether DOES developed and implemented sufficient internal controls to provide efficient and effective management of these programs. The auditor found that the District employment services agency:
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Did not establish written performance criteria for CTE Programs or provide adequate Oversight of the Terms and Conditions Contained in the MOU.
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Without detailed performance criteria, (DOES could not) accurately measure the quality and effectiveness of training services of each CTE program or gauge whether CTE programs were effective or whether program objectives had been met.
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Did not establish written policies and procedures for monitoring the CTE programs.
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Could not provide dates of site visits or a report that documented the training that was provided.
Additionally, the local auditor found that subcontractors did not provide DOES with final reports and did not retain program and financial information. The local auditor recommended that the Director of Employment Services establish sufficient internal controls to effectively manage programs and the agency established subcontractor monitoring and reporting requirements (Branche, 2013).
An Executive Order (13520) was issued on November 23, 2009, which articulated the Obama Administration’s focus on reducing improper payments government-wide. Under the criteria established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program was considered a high-priority program. For the FY 2013 reporting period, UI was one of the top five Federal programs based on the dollar amount of improper payments. In addition, the Department’s Office of Inspector General determined that the UI program was out of compliance with the Improper Payment Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA) of 2010, because the improper payment rates for the years 2011–2013 did not meet IPERA reduction targets or the criterion in IPERA that requires federal agencies to report an improper payment rate of less than 10%.