Finding 980139 (2023-001)

2023-001 - Alabama Administrative Code 305-4-4 Criteria: As a domestic violence shelter in the State of Alabama, in order to be certified and to receive certain state and federal funding , the organization must adhere to the Alabama Administrative Code 305-4-4. Condition: During site visits, the monitors from the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ACADV) sited, in the report dated December 7, 2023, several breaches in policy that led to not recommending recertification of the organization. Context/Cause: Per the report issued by ACADV, shelter staff was found to have breached policy involving client access to resources, confidentiality, privacy, and the creation of a hostile space within the emergency shelter. Effects: Lack of adherence to policy lead to a loss of certification. The organization is to be transitioned to a Referral and Resource Program during the active Correction Action Plan and funding is to be withheld until the organization is again in compliance. Failure to adhere to ACADV's Corrective Action Plan would result in losing membership in the organization and the related funding. Recommendation: We recommend the Board review its processes and work with ACADV to address the issues cited in the monitoring report by following the Corrective Action Plan Auditee's Response: We acknowledge the above finding. Steps have been taken to correct this find ing as outlined in the corrective action plan. The shelter was briefly closed. Some staff members were released. New staff members were hired. Onboarding training and staff training were updated and increased. All staff participated in training updates. The board reviewed and updated policies. All staff have been trained in new personnel and operational policies. And we have been working with ACADV to complete the corrective action plan and receive recertification.