Comptroller reveals deficiencies in the monitoring of the entities that receive PARE funds by the Department of Justice
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued a qualified opinion of the fiscal operations of the Department of Justice. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or in the aggregate, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the analysts of the Department of Justice, who performed the evaluation and monitoring of the funds of the Committee for the Prevention, Support, Rescue, and Education on Gender Violence (PARE Committee), did not verify the compliance of the recipient entities with the Guidelines established for the disbursement and supervision of the funds. From a sample of the $2 million allocated to support nonprofit entities, it is evidenced that the analysts did not ensure that the files were complete, validated the evidence of four professionals without a formalized contract, or accepted attendance reports without a signature or certification by the entity, among other findings.
In addition, the analysts accepted the payment evidence of one entity for ineligible expenses such as: services covered by another grant, psychology services billed twice and paid with PARE funds and with another grant, or the double payment to a cook. The analysts also did not notice that one of the entities that provides services to victims of gender violence did not have a bank account exclusively for the PARE funds. These situations make it difficult to oversee the use of the funds and foster their use for a purpose other than their intended one.
The four-finding audit notes that, as of June 30, 2024, the Forfeiture Board attached to the Department was governed by regulations that have been up to 30 years without updating. In addition, the Board does not have an electronic system that allows it to manage forfeited property. This situation prevents it from having reliable information to make decisions and fosters the commission of errors or irregularities.
The Department of Justice submitted, with delays of up to four months, 140 copies of contracts for $18.5 million in federal funds to the OCPR's Contracts registry. These public documents were not accessible to the public as provided by the current regulations. In addition, the Department also did not send to the Office of the Comptroller the Certification of Compliance with Act 273-2003 for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. This act addresses the contractual standards on independence in the audits of government entities.
The Department of Justice had a budget of $804.6 million for fiscal years 2020 to 2024 and made disbursements of $596.5 million.
The audit recommends that the Secretary of Justice order a review of the regulations of the Forfeiture Board and implement a system to record the inventory of forfeited property, among others.
This second and final Report covers the period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024.
Audit Report OC-25-53 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.
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