Audit of the Office of Justice Programs Victim Assistance Grants Awarded to the Ohio Attorney General, Columbus, Ohio

• NCJ Number: 309328
• Date Published: March 2024
• Length: 40 pages
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This publication presents results of an audit of Office of Justice Programs Victim Assistance Grants Awarded to the Ohio Attorney General, Columbus, Ohio.

Abstract

This audit of Office of Justice Programs Victim Assistance Grants Awarded to the Ohio Attorney General, Columbus, Ohio, concluded that the Ohio AG used its victim assistance funds to enhance victim services in Ohio. However, due to the decrease in Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding, the Ohio AG focused on only funding current subrecipients and does not have an adequate funding strategy going forward. In addition, the Ohio AG lacked adequate policies and procedures associated with various aspects of grant management and did not complete subrecipient monitoring in a timely fashion. Auditors identified unsupported subrecipient personnel expenditures and concluded that the Ohio AG did not have an adequate funding strategy that anticipated VOCA funding fluctuations and new victim service providers throughout Ohio. Although the priority areas funding requirement was met, the Ohio AG has not defined an underserved victim category. The Ohio AG established adequate controls over certain financial activities; however, the auditors noted concerns with the Ohio AG’s drawdown process, and the Ohio AG had not updated it policies to include recent VOCA matching waiver requirements. The objective of the audit was to evaluate how the Ohio AG designed and implemented its crime victim assistance program. To accomplish this objective, auditors assessed performance in the following areas of grant management: (1) grant program planning and execution, (2) program requirements and performance reporting, (3) grant financial management, and (4) monitoring of subrecipients. The report contains recommendations to the OJP to assist the Ohio AG in improving its grant management and administration and to remedy questioned costs. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General completed an audit of four VOCA victim assistance formula grants awarded by the OJP, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to the Ohio AG in Columbus, Ohio.