Press Release  Audit of Department of Youth Services Finds Educational Programming Compliant

Boston — State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump today released an audit of the Department of Youth Services (DYS) which found the juvenile justice agency was properly administering its educational services. The audit also identified some deficiencies with its central information systems.

DYS provides various educational, psychological, and health services to juvenile offenders detained or committed to its custody that are aimed at making positive changes to their behavior. During the time frame of the audit, DYS detained approximately 4,200 youths.

“We appreciate the attention DYS has paid to ensuring that educational services are properly provided to the youth it serves,” said Auditor Suzanne M. Bump. “It is imperative that youth are properly prepared to re-enter society and DYS plays a central role in that regard. Implementation of the recommendations we provided in today’s report will improve DYS’s oversight of this important work.”

Auditors found DYS had appropriately collaborated with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to design appropriate curriculum, ensured all its educators were licensed or held a waiver, and were monitoring educational outcomes.

The report also highlighted some areas where DYS can improve the integrity of its central information systems. For example, auditors found that some tested case files lacked mandatory information. The missing documentation included items such as clinical forms, drug and alcohol history, and property inventory sheets. The audit also noted that accounts used by employees and providers to access DYS’s case-management system were not deactivated timely when the users’ working relationships with DYS ended, that a business continuity plan had not been formalized to restore computer operations in the event of a system failure, and that an advisory committee had not been established within DYS even though DYS’s enabling statutes calls for one.

In response to the audit findings, DYS stated it has implemented new processes to detect and resolve incomplete data fields in its central systems.

Recently, Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, and Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants sent a letter to the US Department of Justice and the Pew Charitable Trusts, requesting an independent study of the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system.

“We hope our ongoing audits of courts, public safety, and the state’s correctional system will aid any potential study and move the Commonwealth along toward these shared goals of efficiency and performance,” said Auditor Bump.

The Office of the State Auditor conducts performance audits of state government’s programs, departments, agencies, authorities, contracts, and vendors. With its reports, the OSA issues recommendations to improve accountability, efficiency, and transparency.

The Department of Youth Services audit is available here.

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