Finding 1115521 (2024-001)

Department of Justice 2024-001 (repeat finding of 2023-001) Crime Victim Assistance, ALN #16.575 Criteria: Under the various grant agreements, Community Crisis Center, Inc. is required to have in place policies and procedures to ensure the confidentiality of client information, including a signed confidentiality form from the client. Condition: Out of the forty clients tested for eligibility, five of the files tested did not contain the signed confidentiality forms in the files. Additionally, one of the files did not contain a signed intake form or signed confidentiality form. Cause: Community Crisis Center, Inc. converted its files from paper to electronic and the confidentiality forms were erroneously excluded from the transfer for these files. Effect: There is potential that Community Crisis Center, Inc. was not following appropriate confidentiality and intake procedures. Auditor’s Recommendation: We recommend Community Crisis Center, Inc. continue to review its files to ensure that all client files contain the required confidentiality and intake forms. We also recommend Community Crisis Center, Inc. implement and enforce a policy to obtain the signed forms for all new clients and get any signed forms as soon as possible for any current clients. Additionally, Community Crisis Center, Inc. should conduct regular training and monitoring of employees to ensure confidentiality best practices are followed. Management response: Community Crisis Center, Inc. will review files to ensure that confidentiality forms and intakes are present on a daily, monthly, and quarterly basis for accuracy. In addition, training will be provided to all new staff upon hiring, with quarterly reviews thereafter.