Audit of the Department of Early Education and Care

This page, Audit of the Department of Early Education and Care, is offered by
Office of the State Auditor

Organization:	Office of the State Auditor
Date published:	November 25, 2024

Executive Summary

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) for the period January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022.

The purpose of the audit was to determine the following:

whether EEC conducted annual site visits to residential care programs within the designated timeframes in accordance with Section VIII(b) of EEC’s “Differential Licensing Residential Handbook;
whether EEC investigated reported instances of abuse or neglect of a child in its residential care programs in accordance with Section 3.04(5)(c) of Title 606 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) and Section 9(c) of Chapter 15D of the General Laws;
whether EEC performed required background record checks for residential care program employees and interns in accordance with 606 CMR 14.05(1)(a) and Section 7(a)(i) of Chapter 15D of the General Laws;
whether EEC performed required background record checks for Family Child Care (FCC) program licensees and household members in accordance with 606 CMR 14.05(2);
whether EEC had a language access plan as required by the Office of Access and Opportunity’s Language Access Policy Implementation Guidelines;
to what extent EEC ensured that its licensees provided staff members with trainings to recognize the signs of and prevent abduction, sexual exploitation, or human trafficking;
whether EEC ensured that its licensees supported LGBTQ children and teenagers by adopting the recommendations made by the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth in its fiscal years 2021 and 2022 Report and Recommendations;
whether EEC ensured that noncompliant funded programs addressed deficiencies within 14 days in accordance with the EEC Essentials Training Requirements and Applicability policy; and
whether EEC investigated high-risk complaints of unlicensed care in accordance with its Internal Policy Handbook for EEC Childcare Operations Staff.

Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with links to each page listed.


Finding 1	EEC did not conduct licensing visits to residential programs within required timeframes.
Effect	EEC cannot ensure that its residential programs operate within safe and healthy environments if it does not complete licensing visits within the required timeframes.
Recommendations	EEC should conduct all licensing visits to residential programs within required timeframes. EEC should follow its self-imposed policies for the timelines of residential licensing visits.
Finding 2	EEC did not review or initiate investigations of all reports of suspected abuse and neglect of children in its licensed programs.
Effect	EEC cannot determine whether children are at risk of abuse or neglect or ensure that reported incidents are addressed if it does not investigate all 51A Reports.
Recommendation	EEC must perform its own investigations of all 51A Reports that it receives from the Department of Children and Families. Even if the residential program against which there was a report conducts an internal investigation, EEC must still perform an investigation of the residential program.
Finding 3	EEC compromised high-risk investigations by not assigning its investigators to investigations of high-risk complaints.
Effect	Assigning EEC licensors—instead of EEC investigators—to handle investigations of high-risk complaints compromises these investigations because EEC licensors may lack the specialized skills and training necessary to effectively address and resolve critical safety violations involving children.
Recommendations	EEC should ensure that its investigators are assigned to investigations of high-risk complaints. EEC should review the coding procedures with its employees to ensure that all investigations are coded correctly. When EEC must use licensors or interpretation services for investigations of high-risk complaints, it should still assign EEC investigators to conduct these investigations.
Finding 4	EEC did not conduct all required background record checks for all employees of its licensed residential programs.
Effect	EEC cannot ensure the safety of children in its residential programs if it does not complete background record checks for all employees from those programs in a timely manner or at all.
Recommendations	EEC should actively monitor the process to ensure that it completes and renews background record checks for all residential program employees as required. EEC should not rely solely on the residential programs to track and manage the renewal of background record checks for their employees but should instead implement its own oversight to ensure compliance.
Finding 5	EEC did not conduct background record checks on FCC program providers and their household members.
Effect	Individuals who no longer reside or work on a program’s premises may still be listed as household members in the Licensing Education Analytical Database in error, potentially leading to inaccurate background record check results. Without accurate background record checks for FCC program licensees, EEC cannot ensure the safety of the children in these programs.
Recommendations	EEC should require FCC programs to submit signed affidavits to EEC immediately upon any change to the program’s household members. EEC must ensure that all relevant individuals related to FCC programs receive background record checks and renewed background record checks every three years.
Finding 6	EEC did not update its language access plan every two years.
Effect	Failure to regularly update the language access plan limits EEC’s ability to effectively communicate with, and serve, non-English speaking populations. This noncompliance could hinder access to vital educational services for those who rely on language assistance.
Recommendation	EEC should update its language access plan as soon as possible and every two years thereafter.
Finding 7	EEC did not ensure that its programs provided staff members with trainings to recognize signs of and prevent abduction, sexual exploitation, or human trafficking.
Effect	If EEC does not ensure that its programs have comprehensive Runaway Policies in place, then there is a higher-than-acceptable risk that instances of sexual exploitation or human trafficking may go undetected for children in EEC’s care.
Recommendations	EEC should require residential programs to include trainings for staff members to recognize the signs of, and screen to prevent, sexual exploitation or human trafficking of children in their care. EEC should monitor residential program staff members to ensure that they are completing the recommended trainings.
Finding 8	EEC did not implement any of the inclusivity recommendations from the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth.
Effect	The incomplete implementation of these recommendations limits the effectiveness of EEC’s efforts to ensure a fully inclusive and supportive environment for LGBTQ youth and families in its programs.
Recommendation	EEC should implement the inclusivity recommendations from the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth.
Finding 9	EEC did not ensure that noncompliant funded programs submitted corrective action plans for trainings in a timely manner.
Effect	The absence of EEC enforcement in requiring corrective action plans in a timely manner, and EEC’s acceptance of corrected plans without evidence that the training had actually been completed, may compromise the effectiveness of EEC Essentials training. This may lead to ongoing noncompliance, potentially endangering children in EEC care.
Recommendations	EEC should develop policies for funded programs to follow during and after a state of emergency. Because individuals working in funded programs can complete the training online, EEC should ensure that programs follow the 14-day requirements during a state of emergency and under normal conditions.

In addition to the conclusions we reached regarding our audit objectives, we also identified an issue not specifically addressed by our objectives regarding EEC’s late submission of 51A Report investigations. For more information, see Other Matters.

Appendix

Downloads

Open PDF file, 1.16 MB, Audit Report - Department of Early Education and Care (English, PDF 1.16 MB)

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