New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits have been issued.

Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS): Oversight of Residential Domestic Violence Programs (Follow-Up) (2019-F-40)

An audit released in April 2018 determined, based on the amount and quality of information provided by OCFS, that the agency did not maintain adequate oversight of domestic violence residences. In a follow-up, auditors found OCFS made progress addressing the issues identified in the initial audit.

Office of Children and Family Services: Oversight of Critical Foster Care Program Requirements (Follow-Up) (2019-F-52)

An audit issued in July 2017 found foster home records lacked evidence that counties or voluntary agencies met certain critical foster home certification/approval and recertification requirements, thus increasing the risk of placing children in an unacceptable environment. In a follow-up, auditors found OCFS made progress in addressing the issues identified in the initial audit.

Department of Corrections and Community Supervision: Compliance With Executive Order 88: Energy Efficiency of State Buildings (2019-S-33)

Executive Order 88 is the centerpiece of BuildSmart NY — the Executive’s program for pursuing energy efficiency in certain state government buildings while advancing economic growth, environmental protection and energy security. Auditors found DOCCS has generally developed targets and plans to contribute toward the order and has complied with its guidelines. However, due to project delays, DOCCS will not accomplish its projected 23 percent energy reduction until well after the April 1, 2020 deadline.

Office of Court Administration: Court Facilities Aid and Assistance Programs (2019-S-4)

While OCA has processes for ensuring its facility aid and assistance programs are used for only eligible expenses, review and approval processes are not standardized across district offices. For the Court Facilities Incentive Aid Fund, auditors identified a total of $301,000 in questionable expenses over a three-year period. For the Justice Court Assistance Program auditors identified about $21,000 in questionable expenses.

Department of Health (DOH): Inappropriate Premium Payments for Recipients No Longer Enrolled in Mainstream Managed Care and Family Health Plus (Follow-Up) (2019-F-20)

An audit released in July 2017 found DOH made improper and questionable premium payments totaling $122.4 million for 171,936 recipients who were retroactively disenrolled from a plan. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH made progress addressing the problems identified in the initial audit but $84 million still needed to be reviewed and recovered from the plans.

New York State Health Insurance Program: Empire BlueCross BlueShield: Controls Over Payments for Special Items (Follow-Up) (2019-F-39)

An audit issued in June 2017 concluded that Empire needed to strengthen certain internal controls and hospital contract language to help ensure payments for special items are accurate. In a follow-up, auditors found Empire made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit. In particular, Empire recovered $11.5 million on behalf of the Empire Plan.

New York State Health Insurance Program: Empire BlueCross: Improper Payments for Intraocular Lens Claims Billed by Hospitals (2019-S-31)

Auditors reviewed the 3,169 special item intraocular lens claims paid during the audit period and found Empire paid $162,887 for 164 claims that included a specific service code that contradicted the general service code and indicated a lens had not been implanted.

New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD): Vacancies at the Clinton Towers Mitchell-Lama Housing Development (Follow-Up) (2019-F-55)

An audit issued in December 2017 found that HPD was not adequately monitoring vacancies at Clinton Towers, and apartments were often not rented in a timely manner. In a follow-up, auditors found HPD officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial report.

New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS): Health and Safety of Children in Foster Care (Follow-Up) (2019-F-23)

A report issued in March 2018, concluded that ACS lacked the tools to ensure that agencies performed many of the critical functions required to protect the health and safety of foster children. In a follow up, auditors determined that some progress was made in addressing the issues identified in the initial report.

New York City Police Department (NYPD), New York State Liquor Authority (SLA): Responsiveness to Noise Complaints Related to New York City Nightlife Establishments (Follow-Up) (2019-F-36)

An audit issued in June 2017 found that the NYPD’s and the SLA’s efforts to communicate and coordinate noise mitigation strategies and tactics with each other were limited. In addition, the SLA did not access and analyze pertinent data from NYC’s 311 system and, as a result, certain establishments with numerous noise complaints lodged against them continued to operate with little or no notice from public oversight authorities to address such complaints. In a follow-up, auditors determined the NYPD made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit, but SLA officials did not address the problems.

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), New York City Department of Buildings (DOB): Responsiveness to Noise Complaints Related to Construction Projects (Follow-Up) (2019-F-37)

An audit issued in August 2017, found a need for improvements in the communication and coordination between DEP and DOB as well as an overhaul of the process used by DOB for issuing and renewing after-hours variances to more effectively address persistent noise problems. In a follow-up, auditors determined DEP officials made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit and DOB officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority: Long Island Rail Road: Utilization of the Arch Street Yard and Shop Facility (Follow-Up) (2019-F-19)

An audit issued in December 2017 found that the facility was constructed before it was needed for East Side Access and was never used as intended: for the initial acceptance and inspection of M-7 cars. Since its completion, the facility was vacant for over 3½ years, leased to the M-7 vendor to make warranty repairs, and licensed twice. In a follow-up, auditors found LIRR officials did not address the problems identified in the initial audit.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority: New York City Transit - Selected Aspects of Subway Station Safety (Follow-Up) (2019-F-15)

An audit issued in June 2017 found that the MTA often did not take sufficient and/or timely actions to identify and address safety-related defects. Auditors identified 66 defects, including 21 defects classified as the most serious (Priority A), at 12 of the 25 subway stations they inspected. However, 20 of the 21 Priority A defects were not identified by supervisors during required station inspections within three days before and after the auditors’ site visits. In a follow-up, auditors found that the MTA-Transit made progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report.

Department of State: Do Not Call Enforcement Efforts (Follow-Up) (2019-F-48)

An audit issued in September 2018, showed that while complaints by state residents had more than doubled since 2014, the number of cases referred to counsel for further action decreased in each of the two subsequent years, possibly, in part, due to turnover and vacancies in key positions. In a follow-up, auditors found the department has made significant progress in addressing the issues identified in the initial report.

State Education Department (SED): Behavior Analysts of New York LLC (BANY): Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2019-S-35)

BANY is a for-profit provider of preschool special education services to children with disabilities who are between three and five years of age. BANY is reimbursed for these services through rates set by SED, which are based on financial information BANY reports to SED. For the reporting period ended June 30, 2015, auditors identified $2,082 in reported costs that did not comply with SED requirements and are therefore not eligible for reimbursement.

State University of New York (SUNY): Oversight of Hazardous Materials and Waste (Follow-Up) (2019-F-47)

An audit issued in December 2018 found, based on visits to two University Centers and five campuses, there was a significant variation in the adequacy of controls over hazardous materials within the SUNY system. In a follow-up, auditors found SUNY officials and campuses have made significant progress in correcting the problems identified in the initial report.

Workers' Compensation Board: 2018 Annual Audit

The board processed nearly 431,000 claims totaling nearly $829 million from its four special funds in 2018 — the Uninsured Employers Fund, the Special Fund for Disability Benefits, the Second Injury Fund, and the Fund for Reopened Cases. Auditors identified 7,500 errors totaling more than $6.3 million.

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