On April 26, 2023, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office released an audit report of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA), which reviewed the period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021. The current audit followed up on deficiencies found in a 2018 Audit Report, completed under the previous administration. The audit report included:
During the audit period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021, the audit found that EOEA did not establish monitoring controls to ensure that all applicable incidents of alleged elder abuse are reported to district attorneys’ (DA) offices. The audit recommends that while EOEA works to establish an automated method for monthly queries, it should establish manual monitoring controls to ensure that each person involved in the DA referral process complies with its policies and procedures for reporting incidents of alleged elder abuse.
The audit also found that EOEA did not monitor the use of the interview for decisional abilities tool to ensure that its protective services agency properly assessed whether a healthcare professional should medically evaluate the decisional capacity of elders. Additionally, EOEA’s internal control plan was not updated with a COVID-19 component, and EOEA did not always ensure that its employees who had access to COVID-19 funds completed cybersecurity awareness training.
Click here to read the full audit report.