| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
|---|---|
| Date published: | June 16, 2023 |
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 Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) for the period July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021. In this performance audit, we determined the following:
- whether MLAC awarded at least 80% of its grants to local legal aid organizations (LAOs) based on the number of eligible clients in the service area in accordance with Section 9 of Chapter 221A of the General Laws;
- whether MLAC conducted peer reviews in accordance with its monitoring process;
- whether MLAC awarded statewide funding in accordance with its grant awarding process; and
- whether MLAC updated its internal control plan (ICP) to address the impact of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), as required by Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s “COVID‑19 Pandemic Response Internal Control Guidance.”
Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.
| Finding 1 | MLAC conducted a peer review of only one of its LAOs per year. |
| Recommendation | We understand there may have been potential challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving forward, MLAC should perform several peer reviews of LAOs each year to help ensure accountability. |
| Finding 2 | MLAC’s ICP was not updated with a COVID-19 component. |
| Recommendation | MLAC should establish policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, to ensure that its ICP is updated when significant changes occur. |
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