Summary of Report 02-060

July 2002

Report Number 02-060

The Juvenile Probation Commission (Commission) lacks an effective enforcement and monitoring system to ensure that the 168 local juvenile probation departments (departments) comply with state standards. The Commission has not sanctioned departments for continued noncompliance with standards, including key standards related to the health and safety of juveniles and minimum standards for detention and correction officers. Many of the weaknesses identified in this report have been brought to the Commission's attention in previous State Auditor's Office reports in 1996 and 1998 (see Appendix 2). These weaknesses could put at risk the health and safety of juveniles under the departments' supervision.

Biennial appropriations for locally administered juvenile probation services have grown from $83 million in the 1994-1995 biennium to $238 million in the 2002-2003 biennium, an increase of 186 percent. Departments that accept state funds for locally administered probation services are required to comply with state standards for providing those services.

• Weaknesses in the Commission's monitoring function allow noncompliance with juvenile probation standards to persist.
  
  
• The Commission does not adequately identify, report, or track the results of its monitoring efforts at departments.
  
  
• Weaknesses in its administration of contract funds hinder the Commission's ability to ensure that juvenile probation funds are allocated and used in compliance with state requirements.
  
  
• Coordination gaps within the Commission hinder identification and correction of standards violations.
  
  
• The Commission does not adequately ensure that juvenile correction officers and detention officers meet minimum qualifications for state certification.
  
  
• The Commission has identified high error rates in the data that departments submit and that the Commission uses to report more than half of its key performance measures.
  
  
• The Commission's Management Information Systems division lacks adequate documentation for systems and procedures and assigns its programmers excessive access to data.

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