Report 2012-105 Recommendation 21 Responses

Report 2012-105: Departments of Public Health and Social Services: Weaknesses in the Administration of the Child Health and Safety Fund and the State Children's Trust Fund Limit Their Effectiveness (Release Date: November 2012)

Recommendation #21 To: Social Services, Department of

To improve the presentation of the information it publishes for the trust fund, Social Services should establish a link that separately provides descriptions of the types of programs and services it funds using the trust fund and the target populations that benefit from the programs.

6-Month Agency Response

The information requested has already been updated and included on the CDSS Web page. The CDSS has included an additional print out of the Web page which identifies the hyperlinks available to the user which will take the user to a full description of the programs funded. (See Attachment E.)

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

60-Day Agency Response

Social Services stated that the office updated its Web site to provide information on all the types of programs and services financed with all the fund sources it administers, including those financed wholly or in part by the trust fund, and to include target populations served.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

Our review of the office's Web site (www.childsworld.ca.gov/PG2287.htm) on May 6, 2013, found that the office did not include a description of the programs and services and the target populations that benefit from the programs and services, as state law requires. Specifically, on its Web site, the office has a category titled Annual Expenditures that has a link to "SCTF". This link leads the user to a "Fund Fact Sheet" for the trust fund. The fact sheet has the categories of pilot and demonstration projects, dissemination, training and technical assistance, public education and outreach, and conference sponsorship. However, the office did not include a description of the programs and services provided by the Supporting Father Involvement Study, Evidence-Based Clearinghouse, Parent Leadership-Parents Anonymous, Parent Leadership-Conferences, and Strategies. Instead, the office provided a link to its March 2009 report on the trust fund's legal requirements. Further, for all of the programs and services listed in the previous sentence and the Mandated Reporter Research and Training program, the office did not identify the target populations that benefitted from the programs and services.

All Recommendations in 2012-105

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.