| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
|---|---|
| Date published: | November 25, 2025 |
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 certain activities of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024. When designing the audit plan for employee settlement agreements entered into by FCSO, we extended the audit period to July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024.
The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:
- Did FCSO handle the deaths of inmates in its custody in accordance with its Death Protocol Directive and with Section 932.17(2) of Title 103 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR)?
- Did FCSO hold internal quarterly meetings and submit quarterly reports regarding healthcare services for inmates in accordance with FCSO Policy JA-02 “Responsible Health Authority” and with 103 CMR 932.01(3)?
- Did FCSO provide its inmates with medical screenings upon admission and initial health assessments within 7 to 14 days after admission in accordance with FCSO Policies J-E-02 “Receiving Screening” and J-E-04 “Initial Health Assessment” and with 103 CMR 932.06 and 932.07?
- Did FCSO provide its inmates with medical care within 24 hours after submission of a sick call request in accordance with FCSO Policy J-E-07 “Nonemergency Health Care Requests and Services” and with 103 CMR 932.09?
- Did FCSO provide initial mental health assessments to all inmates within its custody within 14 days of admission in accordance with FCSO Policy J-E-05 “Mental Health Screening and Evaluation” and with 103 CMR 932.13?
- Did FCSO have internal policies and procedures in place for (a) the review and approval of employee settlement agreements, including the language used, and (b) the reporting of employee settlement agreements to the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth (CTR)? For employee settlement agreements entered into from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2024, did FCSO follow these policies, and did it abstain from using non-disclosure, non-disparagement, or similarly restrictive clauses as part of employee settlement agreement language?
Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with hyperlinks to each page listed.
| Finding 1 | FCSO should ensure that all inmates receive initial health assessments on time. |
| Effect | Because FCSO did not ensure that all inmates’ initial health assessments were completed within the required timeframe, there is a higher-than-acceptable risk that inmates’ medical issues were not identified and treated, ultimately affecting the health and safety of all FCSO inmates and staff members. |
| Recommendations |
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| Finding 2 | FCSO should have documented internal policies or procedures regarding state employee settlement agreements and supporting records, as would be best practice. |
| Effect | A documented, written process to handle employee settlement agreements, especially for those containing non-disclosure, non-disparagement, or similarly restrictive clauses, can help ensure that employee settlement agreements are handled in an ethical, legal, and appropriate manner. |
| Recommendation | FCSO should develop, document, and implement a written policy related to employee settlement agreements, including prohibiting the use of non-disclosure, non-disparagement, or similarly restrictive clauses in its agreements, as recommended in the Governor’s “Executive Department Settlement Policy,” issued January 27, 2025. |
Table of Contents
Downloads
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Open PDF file, 407.08 KB, Audit Report - Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (English, PDF 407.08 KB)