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Audit

Audit  Audit of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association

Our office conducted a performance audit of certain activities of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association (MDAA) for the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.

Organization: Office of the State Auditor
Date published: November 17, 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 Massachusetts District Attorneys Association (MDAA) for the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024. The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:

  • Did MDAA provide Commonwealth district attorneys (DA) offices with sufficient technical assistance that coordinated and standardized DA office organization, operations, and procedures in accordance with Section 20D of Chapter 12 of the General Laws?
  • Did MDAA comply with its annual reporting requirements regarding child abuse and neglect cases in accordance with Section 20D of Chapter 12 of the General Laws?

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

  
Finding 1
 		MDAA’s case management system (CMS) was outdated and did not meet the needs of the 11 DAs’ offices.
EffectIf MDAA is unable to secure funding to update its CMS, then the CMS may become inoperative, especially since MDAA shared with us that it is concerned that the software manufacturer may cease to support the software. DAs may be unable to meet their operational needs and may not be able to provide the JJPAD Board with the information it needs to comply with Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018.
Recommendation
 		MDAA should obtain funding to procure a new CMS that meets the needs of all 11 DA offices with regards to operations, tracking, and reporting.
Finding 2
 		MDAA included inaccurate and incomplete information in a report to the Governor, Legislature, and the Office of the Child Advocate.
EffectBecause the recipients of the Report on the Status of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases may use the information for research, debate, deliberations, and proposed legislation, inaccuracies or missing information in the report may hinder legislators’ and other policy makers’ efforts to sufficiently address child abuse and neglect issues.
Recommendations
 
  1.  MDAA should work with all DA offices, the Executive Office of the Trial Court, and any other pertinent agencies to ensure that each Report on the Status of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases is accurate and complete before MDAA submits the report to its recipients.
  2. MDAA should implement controls to identify and address inaccuracies when compiling the report before submitting it to its recipients.

In addition to the conclusions we reached regarding our audit objectives, we also identified issues not specifically addressed by our objectives. See Other Matters for more information.

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