Report 2019-046 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2019-046: Proposition 56 Tobacco Tax: State Agencies' Weak Administration Reduced Revenue by Millions of Dollars and Led to the Improper Use and Inadequate Disclosure of Funds (Release Date: January 2021)

Recommendation #10 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that it applies sufficient funding to address tobacco-related health disparities, by June 2021, Education should establish a formal procedure for meeting the requirement that it spend at least 15 percent of the Proposition 56 revenues funding its TUPE program to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related health disparities.

1-Year Agency Response

Education previously provided documentation on how the 15 percent of funds will be awarded and used to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related disparities in California, which was added to the CDE's TUPE procedure manual. The manual has been approved by the Division Director and shared and discussed with all relevant staff members via emails and staff meetings. The TUPE manual is also on a shared drive that is accessible to all relevant staff members. Additionally, the terms and conditions of Education's tobacco-related disparities grant have been added to the existing TUPE manual (pages 35 through 47).

Information regarding terms and conditions of the tobacco-related disparities grant have also been published on Education's web site, along with the release of the Youth Engagement to Address Tobacco-Related Disparities Request for Application, which can be found at the following locations:

rfadisparities.docx (live.com)

RFA: Youth Engagement to Address Tobacco-Related Disparities (CA Dept of Education).

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

Education provided the additional information it has added to its procedure manual. This procedure directs its staff to appropriate 15 percent of the Proposition 56 funds to applications that address priority subgroups it has defined as having tobacco-related health disparities.

6-Month Agency Response

Education strengthened its existing process by documenting how the 15 percent of funds will be awarded and used to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related disparities in California.

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

Education did not provide a copy of the documentation it describes in its response. We will review such documentation when Education provides it, and will assess whether it has established a procedure that fully implements the recommendation.

60-Day Agency Response

Education strengthened existing processes by: 1) creating and finalizing a Proposition 56 Funding Tree, which is incorporated into the TUPE Office Manual; and 2) establishing and implementing the "Youth Engagement to Address Tobacco Related Health Disparities Grant 2019-2022," to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related disparities in California in accordance with Proposition 56.

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

Education provided an excerpt from its 2019 office manual stating that not less than 15 percent of Proposition 56 funds will be awarded to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related disparities. However, full implementation of this recommendation will require Education to establish a formal documented procedure describing how it defines and calculates the percentage of funds related to reducing tobacco related disparities. If Education proposes to meet the 15 percent requirement through use of the grant it refers to in its response, it should define how the grant will be used to accelerate and monitor the rate of decline in tobacco-related health disparities.

All Recommendations in 2019-046

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.