This report details the results of an audit of the Office of Justice Programs Victim Compensation Grants Awarded to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs, Tallahassee, Florida.
This audit of the Office of Justice Programs Victim Compensation Grants Awarded to the Florida Department of Legal Affairs (DLA), Tallahassee, Florida, concluded that the Florida DLA established an adequate program to compensate victims and survivors of criminal violence. The audit did not identify significant concerns regarding performance reporting, drawdowns, state certification forms, or financial reporting. Auditors found that overall, the Florida DLA established an adequate program to compensate victims and survivors of criminal violence. The audit found the Florida DLA generally complied with federal grant requirements. Auditors did not identify any significant issues with efforts to bring awareness to the program, or the accuracy of the certification reports. Auditors identified a total of $11,250 associated with 10 compensation payments for which the claim files lacked necessary supporting documentation and identified as unallowable three paid claims totaling $2,700 where the Florida DLA later rescinded the claims because the claimant was determined to be ineligible. Moreover, the Florida DLA does not have adequate procedures in place for tracking and recovering such funds owed to the Florida DLA when claims are rescinded. The objective of the audit was to evaluate how the Florida Department of Legal Affairs (Florida DLA) designed and implemented its crime victim compensation program. Auditors assessed performance in the following areas of grant management: (1) grant program planning and execution, (2) program requirements and performance reporting, and (3) grant financial management. The report contains three recommendations to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to assist the Florida DLA in improving its grant management and administration and to remedy questioned costs.