NCJ Number
250218
Date Published
September 2016
Length
48 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General reports on the methodology and findings of its audit of the cooperative agreement 2012-VF-GX-K020 awarded to the Minnesota Council on Crime and Justice (Minneapolis, MN) by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) for the planning, development, and implementation of a statewide victim legal assistance network under the Office for Victims of Crime's (OVC's) FY 2012 Wraparound Victim Legal Assistance Network Demonstration Project.
Abstract
As of January 31, 2016, the end of the audit period, the Council on Crime and Justice (CCJ) had expended $491,672 of the grant's $1,094,031. This audit's objective was to determine whether costs claimed under this grant were allowable, supported, and in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and terms and conditions of the award. At the outset of the audit, it was determined that CCJ was in a critical financial situation, and the audit identified significant performance deficiencies, material weaknesses in internal controls, noncompliance with grant requirements, and unallowable and unsupported grant-related expenditures. In February 2016, the Office of the Inspector General briefed OJP on its preliminary audit findings, and OJP subsequently designated CCJ as a high-risk grantee, froze the disbursement of all remaining grant funds to CCJ, and required CCJ to take corrective actions. On May 20, 2016, members of CCJ's Board of Directors informed the Office of the Inspector General and OJP that the Board of Directors laid off all CCJ staff members and was in the process of dissolving CCJ. As of June 2016, CCJ filed dissolution paperwork with the court, and all assets and debts were transferred to a court-appointed receiver. The audit concluded that the grant-related work that CCJ performed prior to its closure was not fully consistent with the stated goals and objectives of the award.