Reports

In our Financial Statements and Federal Single Audit, we identified, among other things, that Douglas County did not have adequate internal controls to ensure it used Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program funds for allowable purposes and for costs incurred within the period of performance. Douglas County charged $276,530 in unallowable costs to the SLFRF program for road project costs that were incurred outside of the period of performance. As a result, we are questioning these costs.

In our Financial Statements and Federal Single Audit, we identified, among other things, that Island County spent $2,656,126 in CRF program funds during fiscal 2021, and passed $1,156,108 of these funds to two subrecipients who operated assistance programs. Island County also spent $2,681,211 in ERA funds during fiscal year 2021, and passed $2,638,164 of these funds to four subrecipients to provide emergency rental assistance to eligible households. Island County did not have adequate internal controls for ensuring it included all subaward information in two new subrecipient contracts for the...

In our Financial Statements and Federal Single Audit, we identified, among other things, that during fiscal year 2021, Kitsap County spent $8,109,337 and $4,695,965 in CRF and ERA program funds, respectively. To fulfill components of both programs’ objectives, the County passed $6,548,816 in CRF and $4,664,258 in ERA funds through to subrecipients to provide emergency rental assistance to eligible households. The subrecipients were responsible for determining which households were eligible to receive funds and then providing assistance to them. The County requested and obtained supporting...

Through this report, we identified several state departments, including the Washington State Office of Management, Department of Commerce, and Department of Social and Health Services, that did not have adequate internal controls, nor comply with certain requirements, for Coronavirus Relief Funds

On October 27, 2020, the Employment Security Department (ESD) notified our Office regarding a potential loss of public funds, as required by state law. Our investigation determined a misappropriation of unemployment insurance benefit funds occurred at ESD, totaling $315,282, and that ESD made an additional $121,503 in questionable payments related to this situation between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. ESD also referred the case to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigation.

The COVID-19 pandemic had wide-ranging impacts within King County. County leaders and staff worked hard to shift practices to meet the needs of the changing environment. Our analysis and survey results indicate that employee experience and confidence in safety measures varied across the county, potentially indicating increased exposure risk for some employees.

This report contains the results of our investigation of the illegitimate unemployment claims and payments at the Department from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The purpose of our investigation was to determine if a misappropriation had occurred and to provide the Department with recommendations to improve internal controls.

The novel coronavirus quickly became a global pandemic in 2020. In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act to help provide support for those affected by the pandemic. Washington’s Employment Security Department administers the state’s unemployment compensation program. From early in the pandemic, news organizations reported on customer service delays and fraud in Washington’s Unemployment Insurance program. Th is audit examines the scope of and reasons behind substantial fraud and customer service delays in the state’s unemployment benefits program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on our risk assessment for the years ended June 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the areas examined were those representing the highest risk of fraud, loss, abuse, or noncompliance. We examined the following areas during this audit period. Accounts payable – general disbursements and electronic funds transfers, Payroll – gross wages and overtime, Paid family and medical leave – billing and compliance with eligibility, Procurement – information technology contracts and change orders.

State management is responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining internal controls to ensure the financial statements are fairly presented, and to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and to prevent and detect fraud. We identified deficiencies in internal controls at the Employment Security Department (ESD) that adversely affected the State’s ability to prevent and detect fraud.