Objective

To determine if the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is adequately overseeing runaway and homeless youth and facilities to ensure they meet State standards and regulations. The audit covered the period January 1, 2018 through February 21, 2020.

About the Program

Homelessness can make youth vulnerable to violence, crime, and sexual exploitation. OCFS oversees a system of supports designed to meet the needs of runaway and homeless youth (RHY), including residential assistance through OCFS-certified crisis services programs; transitional independent living support programs; and non-residential services that address needs such as food, clothing, emergency housing, behavioral/medical health, and educational/vocational support. Counties that operate certified RHY programs can opt in to receive RHY funding from OCFS. Every county – regardless of whether it receives OCFS funding – is required to complete and submit a Child and Family Services Plan (Services Plan) outlining the provision of services and the allocation of resources. OCFS is responsible for reviewing and approving all county Services Plans, and approval of the RHY portion of these plans is equivalent to OCFS endorsement. OCFS staff reviews of these plans should determine if they support positive local programming within the county, and plans that do not warrant approval should be returned for revision.

OCFS is also required to perform program and fire safety inspections annually for all certified RHY programs and facilities. OCFS staff issue inspection reports and performance improvement plans (Improvement Plans) addressing any deficiencies identified.

Key Findings

• OCFS has generally established controls to ensure it is conducting program and fire safety inspections for certified RHY programs and facilities. However, we found OCFS did not always conduct inspections within established time frames. We found 57 of 186 program inspections (31 percent) and 23 of 184 fire safety inspections (13 percent) were late.
• While the overall conditions of the RHY programs generally meet program and fire safety requirements, we identified 32 deficiencies across many of the 20 programs we visited. These included missing smoke detectors, dirty bathroom vents, a loaded power strip plugged into another loaded power strip, missing outlet covers, and water-damaged ceilings with possible mold.
• We reviewed 15 Services Plans for counties that do not receive RHY funding and found they were not always sufficiently detailed to determine whether they support positive local programming within the county. Eleven counties (73 percent) failed to identify any residential resources specifically available to RHY; nine (60 percent) identified available residential services, but not specifically for RHY. Additionally, one county’s plan stated it has no programs specifically for RHY and provided no details regarding any services available.

Key Recommendations

• Develop written standards for conducting inspections as well as recording and reconciling deficiencies found during inspections on the written report and Improvement Plans.
• Work with RHY programs to ensure the deficiencies identified during our site visits are corrected.
• Revise the Services Plan internal guidance to include additional information detailing what is expected/sufficient information to provide assurance that counties are supporting positive local programming.