Report 2011-119 Recommendation 3 Responses

Report 2011-119: Physical Therapy Board of California: Although It Can Make Improvements, It Generally Processes Complaints and Monitors Conflict-of-Interest Requirements Appropriately (Release Date: June 2012)

Recommendation #3 To: Physical Therapy Board

Consumer Affairs should establish procedures for ensuring that board members attend board member orientation and that those individuals and other designated employees receive all required ethics training. In addition, Consumer Affairs should adhere to the record retention period of five years specified by law for the certificates documenting that designated employees received ethics training.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2015

The Department has established procedures and an internal Board Member database to record and track the trainings and forms Board Members are required by law to complete, including Board Member Orientation Training, Ethics Training, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training and the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests. The Department has always tracked Board Member training, however, the data was housed in multiple divisions within the Department. The Board Member database is now the single repository for this data, allowing the Department to proactively audit and notify Board Members when training is due, as well as adhere to the record retention requirement of five years.

Board Members are required to take an ethics training course within the first six months of their appointment and repeat the training every two years throughout their term. The Board Member database was completed in July 2014. Department staff have initiated outreach to Board Members out of compliance, as well as those coming due for training.

The Deputy Director for Board and Bureau Relations continues to regularly communicate with Bureau Chiefs, Executive Officers and Board Members about the mandatory training requirements and when the trainings/webcasts are available. The Department also has an attorney designated as the Ethics Officer available to Board Members and designated employees when they have questions.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Consumer Affairs has established a database to track board members attendance at board member orientation training and to track those individuals and other designated employees participation in required ethics training. It also regularly informs these individuals of their obligation to attend required training. These procedures have resulted in improved compliance with these training requirements.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2014

The Department has established procedures and an internal Board Member database to record and track the trainings and forms Board Members are required by law to complete, including Board Member Orientation Training, Ethics Training, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training and the Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests. The Department has always tracked Board Member training, however, the data was housed in multiple divisions within the Department. The Board Member database is now the single repository for this data, allowing the Department to proactively audit and notify Board Members when training is due, as well as adhere to the record retention requirement of five years.

Board Members are required to take an ethics training course within the first six months of their appointment and repeat the training every two years throughout their term. The Board Member database was completed in July 2014. Department staff have initiated outreach to Board Members out of compliance, as well as those coming due for training.

The Deputy Director for Board and Bureau Relations continues to regularly communicate with Bureau Chiefs, Executive Officers and Board Members about the mandatory training requirements and when the trainings/webcasts are available. The Department also has an attorney designated as the Ethics Officer available to Board Members and designated employees when they have questions.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Although the Department of Consumer Affairs provided a training report from its board member database, the report indicates that numerous board members have not yet attended board member orientation and/or have not received all required ethics training. In addition, the report does not indicate whether other designated employees (e.g., executive officers, etc.) have received all required ethics training.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2013

In September 2013, DCA executive management held a conference call with all executive officers and Board Chairs to remind them of the mandatory training requirements. The DCA Deputy Director reminds members of required training at all board meetings. In addition, the board and bureau relations database is currently being revamped and updated. Once these database enhancements are completed, monitoring of training courses completed and pending will be more easily accomplished. DCA will be able to run reports and follow up on training requirements on a regular basis, as well as adhere to record retention requirements for completed training.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

The Department of Consumer Affairs fully agrees. As such, the Executive Office is continually updating board member files by gathering the following information:

Confirmation of the member's Oath of Office

Confirmation of the member's Form 700 filing

Confirmation of the member's participation in sexual harassment prevention and ethics training

Confirmation of the member's participation in the Department's Board Member Orientation Training

The designated staff people that are not a board member, an advisory member, an executive officer or bureau chief are tracked by the Department's Human Resource Department and our SOLID Training Solutions Department.

As previously reported, no end date is noted as board members are appointed, re-appointed, and termed-out on an on-going basis. The board relations deputy director and the board analysts within the Executive Office have completed updating the existing board member hard copy files.

Additionally, a spreadsheet has been created to assist in the tracking of the mandatory trainings and filings for board members. The deputy director and board analysts within the Executive Office are continuing to work with the Department's human resources and training office in obtaining any necessary information that is missing from the files. The data base for the electronic tracking of necessary information on mandatory training and filings, as well as appointment terms and oaths of office continues to move forward.

If a board member or designated employee within a board has not completed their mandatory training or our Department has not received notification that their Form 700 or sexual harassment prevention and ethics training has been completed, the Board and Bureau Relations deputy within the Executive Office will work with human resources to send out notification to those employees that they need to comply with the mandatory training.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

Consumer Affairs has created a spreadsheet to track the status of mandatory trainings for members of its boards and other designated employees. However, based on our review of this spreadsheet, numerous members of its boards have not attended the required board member orientation. In addition, numerous board members and other designated employees have not received all required ethics training.

6-Month Agency Response

Consumer Affairs agrees with this recommendation and reported that it is currently implementing an ongoing process of reviewing its files to confirm that its board members attend board member orientation and that those individuals and other designated employees receive all required ethics training. If Consumer Affairs does not have documentation that board members and other designated employees completed all applicable training, it will notify those individuals that they need to comply with the mandatory training requirements or provide evidence that they have already attended all applicable training. Consumer Affairs also reported that it will retain documentation that designated employees received all mandatory training, including ethics training, for five years. (See 2013-406, p. 50)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2011-119

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.