Overview
The Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (SOC) should develop written policies and procedures for administering the Domestic Violence Service Provider (DVSP) Grant program. As of fiscal year 2024, the DVSP Grant program has been operating without written guidance governing key aspects of grant management, including eligibility determination, proposal evaluation, fund allocation, applicant communication, and grant recipient monitoring.
Documented policies and procedures can help ensure that SOC is administering DVSP Grant program funds in a fair, consistent, and equitable manner. Documented guidance reduces the risk or appearance of unequal treatment of applicants, unclear decision-making, and an inability to meet key program objectives. This would enhance SOC’s ability to demonstrate that public funds are being used in alignment with legislative intent and program commitments.
SOC officials stated that the DVSP Grant program is newly implemented, having begun in fiscal year 2024. As a result, written policies and procedures have not yet been developed for administering the grant.
SOC should develop and implement written policies and procedures to guide all aspects of the DVSP Grant program process. These should include eligibility determination, proposal evaluation, fund allocation, communication with applicants, defined methods for ensuring geographic equity in fund distribution, and grant recipient monitoring.
Auditee’s Response
While not in the scope of the noticed audit objectives, the Auditor’s Office later inquired about the administration of the Domestic Violence Service Provider (DVSP) Grant. The [draft audit report (DAR)] found that the SOC did not have written policies or procedures in place for administering the DVSP Grant program for fiscal year 2024. It is the SOC’s position that the DAR unfairly mischaracterizes a lack of process or procedures with respect to the [Address Confidentiality Program’s (ACP’s)] administering of the DVSP Grant program in its inaugural year.
As requested by the Secretary, the DVSP Grant was created by the Legislature as part of chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023, which was enacted on August 9, 2023 and was limited to fiscal year 2024. Upon launch of the DVSP Grant program, ACP created an application and received bids from four qualifying organizations. These entities were awarded with grant money totaling $100,000 to carry out programs in line with the stated goal of reducing the effects of, as well as preventing, domestic violence. As stated in ACP’s report to the Legislature, these grantees used the funds for outreach into new communities; to provide free legal consultation to survivors; increase staff hours; upgrade their technology; offer workshops, seminars, panel events and much more.
The finding in the DAR relies on the assumption that the ACP Manual available at the time of the Grant did not contain appropriate information about administering the Grant. We disagree. On February 10, 2025, the SOC provided a copy of the ACP Manual to the Auditor’s Office, but explained that the ACP Manual is a dynamic document which is continuously being updated by ACP staff. While the version of the ACP Manual provided to the Auditor’s Office had an “Updated 2025” notation, information contained in the Manual relative to the DVSP Grant was in effect in fiscal year 2024. This information included the statutory language of the grant, grantee eligibility and the obligations of the SOC with respect to awarding the grants.
Further, it should be noted that while Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2023 appropriated funds to the ACP for the DVSP Grant, that was the first and only time an appropriation has occurred for a specified DVSP Grant. Nonetheless, on July 15, 2025 the SOC provided the Auditor’s Office with a document detailing further the process and procedures the ACP followed for administering the DVSP Grant, to the extent it is authorized in future budgets.
Auditor’s Reply
We acknowledge that SOC provided us with a version of its ACP Program Operations and Information Manual, which was dated outside the audit period and may have been in effect during the administration of the DVSP Grant program in fiscal year 2024. However, our concern is not with the timing of the ACP manual, but with its content. Specifically, the ACP manual should include formal guidance for staff members on key aspects of grant administration, including eligibility determination, proposal evaluation, fund allocation, applicant communication, and recipient monitoring. The ACP manual only included statutory language and a list of awardees, without internal procedures to ensure consistent and transparent implementation of these activities. Documented procedures are essential to ensure proper internal controls, transparency in decision-making, and effective management of public funds. Our recommendation for formal guidance and additional documentation could reduce the chance of impropriety in the future and provide a defense against such allegations.
After we raised this issue during the audit, SOC created a process checklist detailing the procedures the ACP followed to administer the DVSP Grant. We appreciate = SOC’s commitment to addressing this issue and its prompt action to implement our recommendation.
We will be following up in approximately six months to determine the progress made regarding the implementation of our recommendations.
| Date published: | November 10, 2025 |
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