State & Local Reports

Based on our audit of the State’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Financial Report), we reported internal control weaknesses and instances of noncompliance over financial reporting that are included in our Report on Internal Control and on Compliance. For example, the Department of Economic Security did not put all critical identity-verification or other anti-fraud measures in place before paying federal CARES Act unemployment insurance benefits and reported it paid over $4 billion in fraudulent identity theft unemployment insurance benefits claims through September 4, 2021, when the benefits ended

Based on our audit of the State’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Financial Report), we reported internal control weaknesses and instances of noncompliance over financial reporting that are included in our Report on Internal Control and on Compliance. For example, the Department of Economic Security did not put all critical identity-verification or other anti-fraud measures in place before paying federal CARES Act unemployment insurance benefits and reported it paid over $4 billion in fraudulent identity theft unemployment insurance benefits claims through September 4, 2021, when the benefits ended

What Was Performed? An Examination of Delmar School District’s Schedule of Construction Projects for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019. Why This Engagement? School construction examination engagements, which are mandated, are performed to determine compliance with Delaware Code, the State of Delaware Department of Education School Construction Technical Assistance Manual and the State of Delaware Budget and Accounting Policy Manual. This engagement was performed in accordance with 29 Del. C. § 7526 and examines Bond Bill construction project expenditures incurred by the school district. What Was Found? It is my pleasure to report this engagement contained an unmodified opinion.1 In addition, our examination disclosed no findings required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards. The Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019, Statewide School Districts’ Construction Projects Examination Engagement for Delmar School District can be found on our website.

This interim report is being issued as part of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the New York City Comptroller (Comptroller’s Office) into the City’s planning and preparation for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this investigation is to identify the problems encountered by the City preparing for and combatting the pandemic and to recommend actions to prevent similar fiscal and operational challenges from arising in future public health emergencies.

Millions of Americans still face housing insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 15 percent behind on rent payments at the end of June.1 Households in New York State (22 percent) and the New York City metropolitan area (26 percent), excluding counties outside the State, have an even greater share of residents behind on rent. New York City not only houses the majority of the State’s renters (63 percent), but also had relatively high rates of rent-burdened tenants prior to the pandemic.

We found that the Department failed to implement general Information Technology controls over the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance System, The Department failed to ensure Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants met eligibility requirements, The Department did not have sufficient internal control over the determination of accruals for payments related to both the Unemployment Insurance program and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.

What Was Performed? A special report that reviewed information from Delaware’s COVID-19 pandemic dashboard involving vaccines administered to residents and staff of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Why This Engagement? Under the Delaware Code, it is the state auditor’s job to offer suggestions to improve efficiency and effectiveness in state government. This special report evaluates the information contained in the state dashboard pertaining to LTCF vaccines and shows how the dashboard compares to neighboring states in providing key vaccine metrics. This special report is intended to help the public and state health officials identify additional COVID-19/vaccination data that could be helpful if provided. What Was Found? Delaware’s dashboard does not contain key vaccine metrics involving LTCFs, which have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The inclusion of this information would be in the public interest and would allow the state to be more transparent to Delawareans. The report highlights one observation: 1. LTCF Vaccine information: The state dashboard would benefit from including six additional LTCF vaccine metrics. These metrics provide transparency and allow the government to identify additional trends in data used to address the pandemic from a policy standpoint. The special report offers one recommendation for improvement. The new special report, “How’d We Do? Families Deserve More Details on Vaccination Rates at Delaware Long-Term Care Facilities” can be found on our website.

Audit showed some of CES' active and former educators did not have proper state licensing or complete required annual teacher evaluations. The audit examined July 1, 2017 through March 31, 2019.