One vendor told the city that it would bill individuals for a complimentary service, which was discovered to be a problem.

By Everton Bailey Jr.

According to a city report, two community court programs in southern Dallas meant to assist and educate residents accused of minor crimes have such bad record keeping and supervision that it’s difficult to determine if they’re functioning as intended.

According to the city auditor’s office, a random sampling of South Dallas Drug Court and South Oak Cliff Veterans’ Treatment Court files revealed incomplete participant records, improperly vetted vendors, and former city employees listed as still having access to sensitive information, among other issues.

One therapy provider, for example, informed the city that participants would be charged extra costs despite the fact that they were not required to pay anything. According to the audit, it’s uncertain whether users were charged for the complimentary service because the papers connected to the bills were “incomplete and inconsistent.”

The city attorney’s office oversees both grant-funded initiatives through Dallas’ community courts system. The city received more than $375,000 from the US Department of Health and Human Services for the drug court in 2022, as well as $50,000 from the Texas Veterans Commission for the veterans’ treatment court.

“In the absence of clearly defined monitoring controls over the treatment courts, the city attorney’s office cannot attest that the treatment courts’ financial and operational activities comply with applicable city of Dallas procedures as well as federal and state grant requirements,” according to the audit, which was released on December 29. The investigation examined documents from October 2017 to September 2020.

The community court programs are less than ten years old and take individuals accused of Class C offenses who are addicted to booze or drugs or have mental health issues. Treatment and other services, such as employment training and money planning, can be recommended to veterans and others. Following effective conclusion of the programs, a judge may waive fines, legal costs, and potential jail time. The deal could also include community work.

The drug court hopes to recruit about 75 individuals per year, while the veterans’ recovery court hopes to enroll about 60. The problems were ascribed to a dearth of written rules and protocols that would have guaranteed appropriate oversight, according to the report. In a reaction statement, City Attorney Chris Caso stated that his office already has processes in place to handle tracking, record keeping, and payment issues. He stated that they intend to go over them and “make any necessary revisions.”

“While the audit observed low risk ratings in its review of the specialty courts,” Caso wrote to City Auditor Mark Swann, “we recognized that there are always opportunities for improvement.”
In the investigation, an examination of 26 contracts revealed that eight lacked paperwork demonstrating that their insurance had been evaluated and authorized by the city, four lacked insurance documentation, and one lacked proof of insurance coverage. There were also no documents indicating that city workers witnessed the services given to program participants.

A examination of 35 invoices revealed that all of them either did not include the total amount sought to date or showed a number that differed from what the city agreed to in the contract. Other problems included 25 invoices that lacked accompanying paperwork, nine invoices that used billing rates that differed from the contract, and five invoices that did not specify when services were given.
There were also several instances where merchants were not reimbursed by the city for months. In one instance, the city was billed more than $1,000 by a vendor in September 2018, but the seller was not reimbursed until November. In another instance, a vendor billed the city $3,800 in September 2018 but did not receive payment until February 2019.

The audit stated that “the city’s attorney’s office does not have written procedures and work instructions on what supporting documentation should accompany an invoice or on how to review, verify, approve and document invoices to ensure that the city of Dallas pays for eligible services provided to eligible individuals in a timely manner.”

The evaluation discovered that paper and computer records on case folders documenting people’s therapy, community service hours, and other accomplishments were not full or correct. As a result, there was no trustworthy record to determine whether all treatment participants met with program requirements before their charges were dropped, according to the report. “In addition, management at the South Dallas Drug Court and the South Oak Cliff Veterans’ Treatment Court were unable to provide a reliable list of current and past participants,” according to the report.

In addition, the city does not keep track of who has access to the program that serves as a computerized database for cases. The investigation discovered that ten departed municipal workers were still identified as active users with access to the file database. According to the report, “as a result, sensitive client information is vulnerable to tampering and unauthorized disclosure.” The evaluation did not state whether any proof of information tampering or improper disclosure was discovered.

The auditor’s office made a number of suggestions to the city attorney’s office in order to enact rules requiring checks to ensure contractors are properly certified and delivering the agreed-upon services. Other suggestions include developing written policies and procedures that encourage properly gathered and kept records, completely educated municipal employees, and timely paid vendors.

The auditor’s office set a June 9 deadline to check in on the status of their suggestions.