The Office of Children’s Affairs did not fully implement any recommendations made in the original audit report.
Children’s Affairs partially implemented two out of eight recommendations, but it has not taken steps to address the risks the other six had sought to resolve.
The recommendations Children’s Affairs did not fully implement present several lingering risks. Among them:
Until Children’s Affairs creates and implements a desk audit process — intended to address many of the audit recommendations including ensuring greater oversight and reviewing supporting documentation — errors may not be prevented, detected, or corrected. This could lead to Prosperity Denver reimbursing ineligible students for scholarship and support services.
Reimbursing ineligible students leaves less funding for students who are truly eligible. It could also harm the city’s reputation and undermine the public’s trust in this voter-initiated program.
Prosperity Denver has not created a data management plan that outlines how data will be properly documented and used. Until this plan is developed and implemented, the program risks unclear roles and responsibilities related to data management that could lead to inconsistent practices and inaccurate data going undetected and uncorrected.
Children’s Affairs has not established detailed requirements for retaining documents for scholarship and support services reimbursements. This risks inconsistent record keeping practices among the various supported organizations, and risks payments being made in error.
November 7, 2024 In keeping with generally accepted government auditing standards and Auditor’s Office policy, as authorized by city ordinance, we have a responsibility to monitor and follow up on audit recommendations to ensure city agencies address audit findings through appropriate corrective action and to aid us in planning future audits. In July 2023, we audited the Denver College Affordability Fund and found risks involving oversight, data management, and quality assurance. The Office of Children’s Affairs and Prosperity Denver Fund agreed to implement all eight of our recommendations. We recently followed up and found Children’s Affairs and Prosperity Denver did not implement almost all of the recommendations. I am disappointed that adequate oversight and information management practices have not yet been established for Denver’s College Affordability Fund program. Although Children’s Affairs and Prosperity Denver have made some progress with documenting procedures and training, it did not fully address all the risks associated with our original findings. Consequently, we may revisit these risk areas in future audits to ensure the city takes appropriate corrective action. We appreciate the leaders and team members at Children’s Affairs and Prosperity Denver who shared their time and knowledge with us throughout the audit and the follow-up process. Please contact me at 720-913-5000 with any questions. Denver Auditor's Office Timothy O'Brien, CPA
AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA Denver Auditor
Denver Auditor´s Office