State & Local Reports

Pursuant to Paragraph 444 of the consent decree entered in Illinois v. Chicago, the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Public Safety section is required to “review and analyze” closed sexual misconduct investigations involving complaints “against a [Chicago Police Department (CPD)] member alleging conduct against a non-CPD member.” The consent decree requires OIG to publish an annual report “assessing the quality of sexual misconduct administrative investigations reviewed,” “recommending changes in policies and practices to better prevent, detect, or investigate sexual misconduct,” and “providing aggregate data on the administrative investigations reviewed” by OIG.Paragraph 444 of the consent decree requires “the City” to provide OIG with the complete administrative file for each complaint of sexual misconduct against a CPD member alleging conduct against a non-CPD member within ten days of a final disciplinary decision. Neither CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA) nor the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) complied with this provision by directly providing investigative files for sexual misconduct investigations to OIG within ten days of their closure in either 2019 or 2020. The Independent Monitoring Team (IMT) overseeing compliance with the consent decree found that BIA and COPA were not in compliance with their obligations under this paragraph in Independent Monitoring Report 3, issued in April 2020. In the interest of complying with its own obligations under the consent decree, OIG has undertaken to identify any cases which are reportable under Paragraph 444 in the course of its regular, ordinance-mandated review of closed disciplinary investigations.This report contains statistics on and analysis of all of the cases reportable under Paragraph 444 identified by OIG.

We performed procedures at the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) to provide assurances on financial information that was significant to the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report; evaluate the effectiveness of LWC’s internal controls over financial reporting and compliance; and determine whether LWC complied with applicable laws and regulations. We found that LWC did not have adequate internal controls and did not comply with requirements of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) federal program.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to the growth of the construction industry nationwide which, prior to the pandemic, had been growing strongly. This was especially true in New York State and New York City. Before 2020, the nation’s construction employment increased for nine consecutive years, though it never met the peak reached before the Great Recession. However, in the State and the City, jobs reached a record high by 2015. Construction employment in the City grew especially robustly, rising by 43.5 percent from 2011 to 2019, the City’s fastest-growing sector during this period.

We conducted this survey in the fall of 2020 to inform our audit of the county’s response to the pandemic. This report summarizes the results of the Survey of Employee Experiences During the Pandemic, issued by the Auditor’s Office in September 2020. Responses overall were generally positive. However, in analyzing the data and reading over 8,000 written comments, it is clear that employees have had very different experiences.

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) and the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) are reminding New Mexicans to be aware as fraudsters perpetuate numerous schemes related Unemployment Insurance Claims. New Mexicans are urged to follow the guidance provided below and take immediate action as recommended to protect themselves.

The objective of this audit was to determine if the Office of Mental Health is adequately monitoring the delivery and performance of telemental health services and ensuring that related telemental health activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bronx was on a trajectory of growth. It attracted new residents, particularly immigrants, at a higher rate than any other borough, and experienced solid improvement in employment and new businesses. In spite of these trends, most Bronx neighborhoods faced higher risks for negative health and economic outcomes from the pandemic. Characteristics that reflect economic and social inequities, such as lower household incomes, higher poverty rates, jobs less conducive to remote work and a higher share of minority residents, made the Bronx particularly vulnerable.

BAMSI was found to have charged more than $11,000 in non-reimbursable expenses to its state contracts and did not properly maintain an accurate inventory of assets. The audit examined the period of July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019.

Representative John Barker requested this limited-scope audit, which was authorized by the Legislative Post Audit Committee at its February 24, 2021 meeting. Our audit objective was to answer the following question: How did causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic compare to those before the pandemic? To answer this question, we reviewed death record data from 2019 and 2020 for the last third of each year (September 1 – December 31)