11/17/2016
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway has released a new report on operations and improvements to the Marion County Disability Services Board. The review was conducted as a follow-up to an audit released in April that identified concerns in the county's board for services for individuals with disabilities, which operates a day program and four supported living homes in Hannibal.
Although the initial audit covered operations and finances throughout county-level government in Marion County, the follow-up review focused solely on the disability services board due to the number of concerning practices identified.
"Missouri's many developmental disability boards play an important role for citizens in communities across the state, and it's critical that they are well managed and operating transparently and with full accountability to the public," Auditor Galloway said. "The Marion County Disability Services Board has taken our recommendations and made improvements to benefit the individuals who depend on these services, and the community as a whole."
Missouri counties may create Developmental Disability Boards, sometimes referred to as Senate Bill 40 Boards, which collect taxes to operate residential facilities and provide services and assistance to individuals with developmental disabilities. As of April 2016 there were 85 Developmental Disability Boards in operation across the state. In Marion County the board employed approximately 70 people with an annual operating budget of about $3 million. That money comes from property taxes, state reimbursements and donations. The board's supported living homes housed 11 residents and the day program served 35 individuals, with an additional 250 clients depending on the board for transportation, case management and other support services.
The audit raised concerns with the board's processes and procedures for expenses, and made recommendations to the board for establishing policies and oversight for credit card use, and for improving bidding procedures for equipment purchases. Those recommendations have been implemented by the board. The board has also ended inappropriate practices that were not in compliance with the law for county government operations, including providing gifts as staff incentives and offering employee pay advances.
In preparing the follow-up report, auditors reviewed 14 items recommended for improvement. Six of those recommendations were implemented, and the board had made at least some progress on the remaining eight.
A complete copy of the newly-released report is available online here.
