Office of the Legislative Auditor - Financial Audit Division

Key Findings:

• The office did not follow proper procedures when awarding and paying one consultant’s contracts. The office had four contracts with the same consultant during the audit period.
• The office incorrectly coded some expenditures on the state’s accounting system.
• The Crime Victim Ombudsman incorrectly recorded payroll transactions in the payroll system, resulting in overpayments and underpayments to employees.

Audit Scope:

Audit Period:
July 1, 2000, through June 30, 2004

• Payroll Expenditures (through December 2004)
• Administrative Expenditures
• Crime Victim Ombudsman Payroll (fiscal year 2003 only)

The Legislature established the Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation in 1987 to “promote the highest attainable standards of treatment, competence, efficiency, and justice…for persons receiving services or treatment for mental illness, mental retardation or a related condition, chemical dependency, or emotional disturbance….” The office receives appropriations of approximately $1.4 million per year. Pursuant to Executive Reorganization Order Nos. 184 and 187, the activities of the Crime Victim Ombudsman were transferred to the office for the period from July 6, 2002, through April 15, 2003.