The Connecticut Department on Aging lacks procedures to regularly monitor whether contractors working in the homes of the elderly conduct required background checks on their employees and volunteers, a state audit of the agency found.
In the audit, John C. Geragosian, auditor of public accounts, and Ann Marie Brown, principal auditor, said that while employers contracting with the department can obtain forms online to request a background check of job applicants, the department doesn’t routinely track whether they are complying.
The department “did not have established internal controls to help ensure that contractors or contractor parties conducted criminal background checks as required of all employees and volunteers providing in-home services,” auditors said.
Safety of elderly clients could be compromised as a result, they wrote.
The agency agreed in the report with the auditor’s recommendation to establish monitoring procedures. It said it would review statutory requirements, develop internal policies and procedures, communicate the process to contractors, modify contract language and then monitor those contractors.
The agency did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Other recommendations from auditors included collecting sufficient documentation for compensatory time and crafting an annual state ombudsman, as required by law.
The agency said it has taken necessary steps to follow up on the most current ombudsman report and is now in compliance with the law. It also agreed with the compensatory time recommendation and said it will document requested comp time in writing in advance.
