Audit of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

An overview of the purpose and process of auditing the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council

Overview

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 Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022.

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Below is a list of our audit objectives, indicating each question we intended our audit to answer and the conclusion we reached regarding each objective.

Objective	Conclusion
Did MDDC develop a state plan as required by Section 124 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000?	Yes
Did MDDC review and monitor Objectives 1.1–1.4 of Goal 1 (Advocacy and Leadership), as stated in its Five-Year State Plan for 2017–2021, as required by Executive Order 512c?	Yes
Did MDDC review and monitor Objective 3.2 of Goal 3 (Inclusive Communities), as stated in its Five-Year State Plan for 2017–2021, as required by Executive Order 512c?	Yes
Did MDDC develop programs and trainings for individuals with limited English proficiency in accordance with Section 1385.3(1)(ii) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations?	Yes
Did MDDC update its internal control plan to address the 2019 coronavirus (COVID‑19), goals, objectives, and risks, as required by the Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth’s “COVID-19 Pandemic Response Internal Controls Guidance”?	Yes
Did MDDC ensure that MDDC employees who were responsible for the management of COVID-19 funds completed cybersecurity awareness training in accordance with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security’s (EOTSS’s) Information Security Risk Management Standard IS.010?	Yes

 

To achieve our audit objectives, we gained an understanding of MDDC’s internal control environment related to the objectives by both reviewing applicable policies and procedures and interviewing MDDC employees and management.

To obtain sufficient, appropriate audit evidence to address our audit objectives, we performed the following procedures.

State Plan

We inspected MDDC’s Five-Year State Plan for 2021–2026 to determine whether it included the following criteria, which are listed in Section 124 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000:

(3)  COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND ANALYSIS. . . .

(C) an analysis of the extent to which community services and opportunities related to the areas of emphasis directly benefit individuals with developmental disabilities, especially with regard to their ability to access and use services provided in their communities, to participate in opportunities, activities, and events offered in their communities, and to contribute to community life. . . .

(4)  PLAN GOALS. . . .

(A) specifying 5-year goals, as developed through data driven strategic planning, for advocacy, capacity building, and systemic change related to the areas of emphasis, to be undertaken by the Council, that— . . .

(ii)  include a goal, for each year of the grant, to—

1. establish or strengthen a program for the direct funding of a State self-advocacy organization led by individuals with developmental disabilities;
2. support opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities who are considered leaders to provide leadership training to individuals with developmental disabilities who may become leaders; and
3. support and expand participation of individuals with developmental disabilities in cross-disability and culturally diverse leadership coalitions; and

(B) for each year of the grant, describing—

(i)   the goals to be achieved through the grant, which, beginning in fiscal year 2002, shall be consistent with applicable indicators of progress described in section 104(a)(3);

(ii)  the strategies to be used in achieving each goal; and

(iii)  the method to be used to determine if each goal has been achieved. . . .

(5)  ASSURANCES. . . .

(D) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The plan shall provide an assurance that no member of such Council will cast a vote on any matter that would provide direct financial benefit to the member or otherwise give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

(E)  URBAN AND RURAL POVERTY AREAS.—The plan shall provide assurances that special financial and technical assistance will be given to organizations that provide community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance to individuals with developmental disabilities who live in areas designated as urban or rural poverty areas.

(F)  PROGRAM ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS.—The plan shall provide assurances that programs, projects, and activities funded under the plan, and the buildings in which such programs, projects, and activities are operated, will meet standards prescribed by the Secretary in regulations and all applicable Federal and State accessibility standards, including accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, . . . the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, . . . and the Fair Housing Act. . . .

(G) INDIVIDUALIZED SERVICES.—The plan shall provide assurances that any direct services provided to individuals with developmental disabilities and funded under the plan will be provided in an individualized manner, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of such individual.

(H) HUMAN RIGHTS.—The plan shall provide assurances that the human rights of the individuals with developmental disabilities . . . who are receiving services under programs assisted under this subtitle will be protected . . . .

(I)  MINORITY PARTICIPATION.—The plan shall provide assurances that the State has taken affirmative steps to assure that participation in programs funded under this subtitle is geographically representative of the State, and reflects the diversity of the State with respect to race and ethnicity.

Goals

We met with MDDC officials to learn how MDDC reviewed and monitored the progress on its goals in its Five-Year State Plan for 2017–2021. Specifically, we looked at Objectives 1.1–1.4 of Goal 1 (Advocacy and Leadership) and Objective 3.2 of Goal 3 (Inclusive Communities), listed below:

Goal #1: Advocacy and Leadership. . . .

Objective 1.    A minimum of 100 youth with developmental disabilities will develop advocacy skills and engage in disability advocacy by September 30, 2021.

Objective 2.    A minimum of 200 adults with developmental disabilities will develop advocacy skills and engage in disability advocacy by September 30, 2021.

Objective 3.    A minimum of 100 minority students with developmental disabilities and family members will develop advocacy skills and engage in disability advocacy by September 30, 2021.

Objective 4.    A minimum of 50 people with developmental disabilities and family members will become leaders in disability advocacy by September 30, 2021. . . .

Goal #3: Inclusive Communities. . . .

Objective 2.    A minimum of 100 people with developmental disabilities will develop the skills needed to obtain competitive, integrated employment by September 30, 2021.

We determined whether each grantee and/or council member submitted quarterly reports and verified that MDDC approved each report submitted by each grantee and/or council member.

Data Reliability Assessment

We performed validity and integrity tests on the list of MDDC employees who managed COVID-19 funds. These tests included checking for duplicates, checking for blank fields, and comparing the list’s data to information available in the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System.

In 2018 and 2022, the Office of the State Auditor performed a data reliability assessment of the Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System by testing selected information system general controls (access controls, application controls, configuration management, contingency planning, and segregation of duties). Based on the results of our data reliability procedures as described above, we determined the data to be sufficiently reliable for the purpose of this audit.

Conclusion

Our audit revealed no significant instances of noncompliance that must be reported under generally accepted government auditing standards.

Date published:	June 23, 2023