Report 2017-129 Recommendation 10 Responses
Report 2017-129: Department of Rehabilitation: Its Inadequate Guidance and Oversight of the Grant Process Led to Inconsistencies and Perceived Bias in Its Evaluations and Awards of Some Grants (Release Date: July 2018)
Recommendation #10 To: Rehabilitation, Department of
To help ensure that evaluators adequately protect confidential information and that the evaluation process is fair, Rehabilitation should develop standardized evaluator training for confidentiality procedures and conflicts of interest, including a discussion of bias or the appearance of bias. Rehabilitation should also ensure that the candidates receive this training and sign conflict-of-interest and confidentiality forms before it selects evaluators. Further, it should prohibit program staff who participate in the development of an RFA from acting as evaluators for the applications Rehabilitation receives in response to that RFA.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020
The Department revised the GSM in October 2018 to include these recommendations and implemented these practices during the Department's first RFA solicitation process after Report 2017-129 was published. These changes are contained in the GSM Interim Guidance: October 2018.
- Completion Date: February 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
For its most recent grant, Rehabilitation demonstrated that it provided its evaluators with training regarding its confidentiality procedures and conflicts of interest, including a discussion of bias or the appearance of bias. Additionally, Rehabilitation had each evaluator sign a conflict-of-interest and confidentiality form certifying that they were free from conflicts or biases. None of the evaluators were program staff who participated in the development of the RFA. Based on this information, we have assessed the recommendation as fully implemented.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019
The Department is in the process of developing confidentiality procedures applicable to the grant solicitation process and will carry out these practices in future grant solicitations.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
1-Year Agency Response
The Department has revised the GSM to include these recommendations and will carry out these practices in future grant solicitations.
- Estimated Completion Date: August 2019
- Response Date: July 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending
6-Month Agency Response
The Department has revised the GSM to include these recommendations and will carry out these practices in future grant solicitations.
- Estimated Completion Date: GSM Interim Guidance - October 2018: Final GSM - After regulatory process has concluded
- Response Date: January 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
The Department has revised the GSM to include these recommendations and will carry out these practices in future grant solicitations.
- Estimated Completion Date: October 2018 for Interim GSM; Final GSM after regulatory process has concluded
- Response Date: September 2018
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2017-129
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.