Report 2009-103 Recommendations
When an audit is completed and a report is issued, auditees must provide the State Auditor with information regarding their progress in implementing recommendations from our reports at three intervals from the release of the report: 60 days, six months, and one year. Additionally, Senate Bill 1452 (Chapter 452, Statutes of 2006), requires auditees who have not implemented recommendations after one year, to report to us and to the Legislature why they have not implemented them or to state when they intend to implement them. Below, is a listing of each recommendation the State Auditor made in the report referenced and a link to the most recent response from the auditee addressing their progress in implementing the recommendation and the State Auditor's assessment of auditee's response based on our review of the supporting documentation.
Recommendations in Report 2009-103: Departments of Health Care Services and Public Health: Their Actions Reveal Flaws in the State's Oversight of the California Constitution's Implied Civil Service Mandate and in the Departments' Contracting for Information Technology Services (Release Date: September 2009)
Recommendations to Health Care Services, Department of | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
1 | To comply with requirements in the State Administrative Manual, Health Care Services should refrain from funding permanent full-time employees with the State's funding mechanism for temporary-help positions. |
Will Not Implement |
2 | To readily identify active IT and other contracts, Health Care Services should either revise its existing contract database or develop and implement a new contract database. |
Will Not Implement |
6 | To vet more thoroughly the California Government Code, Section 19130(b), justifications put forward by the departments' contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should review the Section 19130(b) justifications put forward by the contract managers for proposed personal services contracts deemed high risk, such as subsequent contracts for the same or similar services as those in contracts disapproved by the board. |
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8 | To vet more thoroughly the California Government Code, Section 19130(b), justifications put forward by the departments' contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should notify contract managers of the board's decisions in a timely manner and retain records in the case files showing when and how the notifications were made. |
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10 | To vet more thoroughly the California Government Code, Section 19130(b), justifications put forward by the departments' contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should require documentation from the contract managers demonstrating the termination of disapproved contracts and retain this documentation in the case files. |
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11 | To ensure that Finance and relevant legislative budget subcommittees are able to assess its need for additional IT positions, Health Care Services should prepare BCPs that provide more accurate depictions of the departments existing conditions. |
Fully Implemented |
14 | To ensure that reporting into General Services contracts database is accurate and complete, both departments should establish a review-and-approval process for entering their contract information into the database. |
Fully Implemented |
16 | To promote fairness and to obtain the best value for the State, the two departments should demonstrate their compliance with General Services’ policies and procedures. Specifically, in their requests for offer, they should provide potential suppliers with the criteria and points that they will use to evaluate their offers. |
Fully Implemented |
18 | To ensure that each contract receives the levels of approval required in state rules and in their policies and procedures, the departments should obtain approval by their agency secretary and directors on contracts over specified dollar thresholds. |
Fully Implemented |
22 | To make certain that it fairly evaluates offers and supplier responses, both departments should ensure that they obtain annual financial interest statements from all designated employees. |
Fully Implemented |
24 | To verify that its consultants comply with the knowledge-transfer provisions of its IT contracts, and to promote the development of its own IT staff, Health Care Services should require its contract managers to document the completion of knowledge-transfer activities specified in its IT contracts. |
Fully Implemented |
Recommendations to Personnel Board, State | ||
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Number | Recommendation | Status |
4 | To provide clarity to state agencies about the results of its decisions under California Government Code, Section 19130(b), the board should explicitly state at the end of its decisions if and when state agencies must terminate disapproved contracts. Additionally, the board should obtain documentation from the state agencies demonstrating the terminations of disapproved contracts. |
Recommendations to Public Health, Department of | ||
---|---|---|
Number | Recommendation | Status |
3 | To promote fairness and to obtain the best value for the State, Public Health should demonstrate its compliance with General Services' policies and procedures. Specifically, in its requests for offer, it should provide potential suppliers with the criteria and points that it will use to evaluate their offers. |
Fully Implemented |
5 | To vet more thoroughly the Section 19130(b) justifications put forward by the departments’ contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should review the Section 19130(b) justifications put forward by the contract managers for proposed personal services contracts deemed high risk, such as subsequent contracts for the same or similar services as those in contracts disapproved by the board. |
Fully Implemented |
7 | To vet more thoroughly the Section 19130(b) justifications put forward by the departments’ contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should notify contract managers of the board’s decisions in a timely manner and retain records in the case files showing when and how the notifications were made. |
Fully Implemented |
9 | To vet more thoroughly the Section 19130(b) justifications put forward by the departments’ contract managers, to ensure the timely communication of board decisions to the contract managers, and to make certain that disapproved contracts have been appropriately terminated, legal services in both departments should require documentation from the contract managers demonstrating the termination of disapproved contracts and retain this documentation in the case files. |
Fully Implemented |
12 | To readily identify active IT and other contracts, Public Health should continue its efforts to develop and implement a new contract database. |
Fully Implemented |
13 | To ensure that reporting into General Services contracts database is accurate and complete, both departments should establish a review-and-approval process for entering their contract information into the database. |
Fully Implemented |
15 | To make certain that it procures only maintenance services allowed in the State’s master agreement with Visara, Public Health should either make appropriate changes to its current Visara contract or have General Services and Visara make appropriate changes to Visara’s master agreement. |
Fully Implemented |
17 | To ensure that each contract receives the levels of approval required in state rules and in their policies and procedures, the departments should obtain approval by their agency secretary and directors on contracts over specified dollar thresholds. |
Fully Implemented |
19 | Public Health should obtain approval from its IT division on all IT contracts, as specified in departmental policy. |
Fully Implemented |
20 | To make certain that it fairly evaluates offers and supplier responses, Public Health should amend its procedures to include provisions to obtain and retain annual financial interest statements from its offer evaluators. |
Fully Implemented |
21 | To make certain that it fairly evaluates offers and supplier responses, both departments should ensure that they obtain annual financial interest statements from all designated employees. |
Fully Implemented |
23 | Public Health should ensure that its conflict-of-interest code is consistent with the requirements of the Political Reform Act. |
Fully Implemented |