• This page, MCB Did Not Perform Biannual Performance Evaluations of All of Its Vendors and Their Facilities and Did Not Issue Warning Letters to Those Vendors That Did Not Pass., is   offered by
  • Office of the State Auditor

MCB Did Not Perform Biannual Performance Evaluations of All of Its Vendors and Their Facilities and Did Not Issue Warning Letters to Those Vendors That Did Not Pass.

As a result, MCB cannot ensure that these vendors’ facilities are maintained in accordance with MCB’s health and safety quality standards.

Table of Contents

Overview

During our test period (calendar years 2019, 2020, and 2021), MCB did not perform 51 (73%) of the required 70 biannual performance evaluations of its vendors and their facilities. In fact, MCB had not conducted a single performance evaluation of eight vendors and their facilities for the three calendar years under review. Further, MCB did not send warning letters to any of the three vendors that, during our test period, had not passed their performance evaluations, nor did MCB reinspect these three vendors’ facilities to determine whether the violations MCB identified had been corrected.

As a result, MCB cannot ensure that these vendors’ facilities are maintained in accordance with MCB’s health and safety quality standards.

Authoritative Guidance

According to 111 CMR 3.11(2), “Each facility shall be evaluated at least twice per calendar year, and on such occasions as the Commission may deem appropriate.”

A vendor without a passing score should be informed, according to 111 CMR 3.12(2), in the following way:

Without a passing score on his or her performance evaluation, [MCB] shall issue a letter of warning to the vendor specifying the violation and/or the performance score, setting a date by which same must be corrected or improved, and informing the vendor of his or her rights. . . . The Commission may suspend or revoke the vendor’s license if the violations have not been corrected and/or the performance evaluation score made adequate by the specified date, or if three or more warning letters are issued to the vendor during any 12 month period.

Reasons for Noncompliance

MCB senior management told us that performance evaluations and, if required, warning letters were not sent and reinspections were not conducted, during the audit period because of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, as our audit testing indicated, MCB did not complete these performance evaluations, or send these warning letters, before the COVID-19 pandemic. MCB did not have policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, to ensure that it completes performance evaluations of its vendors and their facilities and, when applicable, sends warning letters and conducts reinspections of the facilities, in accordance with state regulations.

Recommendations

  1. MCB should complete vendor facility performance evaluations, send warning letters, and conduct reinspections.
  2. MCB should develop written policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, regarding completing performance evaluations of its vendors’ facilities, sending warning letters, and conducting reinspections.

Auditee’s Response

MCB agrees with this recommendation. The MCB VFP Director joined MCB at the end of December 2021. He is in the process of updating and developing policies and procedures for the operation of the program to include vending facility evaluations. The VFP Director has updated and redesigned the facility performance evaluation form and has been conducting ongoing, onsite inspections. The 27 Vending facility stands in the program closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Three stands opened during 2020. Eight more stands have reopened since late 2021, most in the last couple of months. The program director and VFP staff member have conducted at least 8 inspections of open stands. All vendors passed inspection. Remaining stands will be inspected by the end of the year. The MCB VFP will determine [the] dates [on which] the second . . . inspections of those stands that have passed will be conducted to ensure biannual inspections occur per the regulation.

In the event that a facility receives a score below the accepted minimum on evaluation, the MCB VFP will send a warning letter per the regulations to the vendor describing the issues and identifying the required time period to make the corrections. A date will be set for the follow-up re-inspection and a written report will be added to the vendors file and copied to the vendor with adherence to the regulation until the issue is resolved or determinations regarding actions of suspension or revocation are examined. The MCB Director will alert his Manager and the Elected Committee of Blind Vendors.

The Manager of the VFP will monitor compliance with the VFP policies and procedures including evaluations and any actions taken as a result on a quarterly basis.

Auditor’s Reply

Based on its response, MCB is taking measures to address our concerns on this matter.

Date published: December 16, 2022

Help Us Improve Mass.gov  with your feedback

Please do not include personal or contact information.
Feedback