The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice (ACJJ) faces staffing challenges that compensation incentive plans may help mitigate. The Program Evaluation Division identified areas of acute concern within ACJJ and constructed three step pay plans for Correctional Officers, outlined two ways in which Juvenile Justice could increase pay for Youth Counselor Technicians, and generated a broad compensation plan for all other ACJJ staff. This report does not contain recommendations but provides summaries of each plan and cost estimates.

Final Report

Report Highlights

Presentation

Report Video Brief

The Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee’s 2019–20 Work Plan directed the Program Evaluation Division to examine the effectiveness of North Carolina's current efforts to increase diversity in the teacher workforce. The directive required the Program Evaluation Division to explore whether other states are engaging in effective efforts and to report on any promising practices applicable to North Carolina. Although there is no dedicated state-level effort to promote the recruitment and retention of teachers of color, many local education agencies (LEAs), charter schools, and educator preparation programs (EPPs) within the state have developed and implemented initiatives to promote diversity in their teacher workforce.

Final Report

Report Highlights

Recommendations

Report Video Brief

Despite its internal audit unit being the second largest among state agencies, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has not maintained a robust and viable internal audit effort. DOT’s Office of Inspector General (DOT OIG) has not produced a performance audit since 2016. Performance audits could have detected and preempted severe DOT budget and cash control problems recently confirmed by the State Auditor. Further, the Council of Internal Auditing is not conducting compliance examinations of agency internal audit work products. Such an examination of DOT OIG by the Council could have identified problems and recognized omissions and deficiencies by comparing OIG work products to standards established by the Internal Audit Act of 2007.

Final Report

Report Highlights

Recommendations

Presentation

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) is a public agency governed by a 13-member board. NCHFA’s independence from certain state government policies and controls over expenditures increases the risk of wasteful or unnecessary expenditures. In addition, several NCHFA statutory funds have limited oversight, which led to an improper use of funds in one instance. The largest fund, the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund is overseen by the North Carolina Housing Partnership, but oversight activity is limited. Further, in violation of its own procurement policy, NCHFA did not have a contract with the private attorney that it pays to serve as general counsel to its board. The General Assembly should clarify that NCHFA is subject to the State Budget Act, direct that statutory funds be transferred to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, and improve oversight of the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund.

Final Report

Report Presentation with Audio (YouTube)

Session Law 2019-240 directed the Program Evaluation Division (PED) to examine the functionality of Project 4 (P4), the child welfare module of NC FAST. The Program Evaluation Division found that P4 is functional but scores poorly on usability. Implementation of P4 by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been challenged by a host of issues including the absence of a state practice model, resource disparities, insufficient training, and issues surrounding appropriations.

Final Report (Updated June 12, 2020)

Recommendations

Presentation

Handout

The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission sets and enforces administrative penalties for alcohol-related violations to reduce potentially dangerous behavior and ensure compliance with state regulations. Recent changes to the administrative penalty structure and the severity of penalties provides an opportunity to examine how well the Commission is accomplishing these goals. The Program Evaluation Division found that administrative penalties are not proportional, lacking policies, procedures, and guidelines that would limit variance and subjectivity. The General Assembly should consider requiring the Commission to set guidelines that ensure penalties are proportional to offenses, increase transparency for permittees, and establish performance management criteria.

Final Report

Report Highlights

Recommendations

Presentation

Handout

County social services workers receive referrals of potential child maltreatment at the community level. Workers screen each allegation to decide if a more in-depth assessment should be conducted. County offices vary substantially in the rates of initial referrals that are screened in or out. County Division of Social Services (DSS) directors surveyed by PED attributed this variation to differing local policies, lack of staff familiarity with intake screening procedures, and an absence of consistent and timely central guidance by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). PED found that the current structured intake tool makes the reporting process lengthy and redundant and may also contribute to screening inconsistency.

Final Report

Report Highlights

Recommendations

Presentation

North Carolina provides state-supported educational financial aid to students seeking a postsecondary education through scholarships, grants, and educational loans. Through the State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA), aid programs and aid funds are administered and disbursed to students demonstrating financial need. The Program Evaluation Division found that state-supported educational financial aid promotes access and reduces costs but need still exists. Further, the effectiveness of educational loan programs intended to fill critical employment shortages is unclear and improvements could be made to assist the State in improving its ability to assess the outcomes of students who receive state support and attend private institutions. PED also found that SEAA faces long-term sustainability challenges in administering the UNC Need Based Grant. The General Assembly should modify state law to fully expend state-supported educational financial aid, direct increased reporting from private institutions, direct SEAA to improve internal practices, and consider appropriating program administration funds for the UNC Need Based Grant.

Final Report

Executive Summary

Recommendations

Presentation

In May 2019, as directed by Session Law 2018-5, Section 5.6(n), the Program Evaluation Division issued a report entitled Administrative Missteps and Lack of Expertise Led to Delays and $3.7 Million in Unnecessary State Spending for Hurricane Matthew Recovery. At its May 20, 2019 meeting, the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee directed staff to conduct further research into Hurricane Matthew disaster recovery funds administered by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Together, the 2016 and 2017 Disaster Recovery Acts placed responsibility for administering five funding streams with DPS. PED’s report showed that the only source of funds administered by DPS that was not reliant on another governmental entity and did not have available timeliness data was “$9,000,000…to develop, implement, and fund disaster assistance programs to meet the emergency sheltering and short-term housing needs of individuals affected by Hurricane Matthew, the western wildfires, and Tropical Storms Julia and Hermine.” DPS selected local governments and not-for-profits to receive this emergency sheltering and short-term housing funding. PED's review identified one recipient, the North Carolina Community Development Initiative (the Initiative), whose disbursement raises concerns about DPS’s administration and oversight of state funds awarded for disaster recovery efforts. This concern merited a followup review into DPS’s administration and the Initiative’s implementation of these funds. This review led to the identification of several issues, involving alignment of the use of funds with the legislative directive, initial selection and distribution of funds to the Initiative, enforcement of provisions with the contractual agreement, and maximizing assistance to hurricane survivors.

Memo

Memo Presentation

Using a national dataset of average test scores for school districts from 2009–2015, the Program Evaluation Division (PED) identified characteristics of predominantly disadvantaged districts that demonstrate average or better performance on standardized state tests; PED subsequently completed case studies of 12 such districts. PED found that the gap in achievement between predominantly disadvantaged districts and more advantaged districts is already present by third grade and that the small group of high-performing predominantly disadvantaged districts are already achieving these average or better test results in third grade. Thereafter, these districts maintain similar rates of student growth compared to other disadvantaged districts. PED found that high-achieving predominantly disadvantaged districts share several characteristics including focusing on early education; increasing or maximizing student learning time; attracting, developing, and retaining high-quality teachers; using data and coaching to improve instruction; seeking additional outside resources; and promoting a local school board focus on policy and academic achievement. The General Assembly should require districts that the State Board of Education identifies as low-performing to create an early childhood learning improvement plan as a component of their required plans for improvement, and should require an assessment of early childhood learning as part of the Department of Public Instruction’s comprehensive needs assessment process for certain low-performing districts.

Final Report

Executive Summary

Recommendations

Presentation

The Program Evaluation Division (PED) evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of the grant application process for stream restorations administered by the Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ’s) Division of Water Resources under the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (NRCS-EQIP).The Western Stream Initiative (WSI) is the source of federal NRCS-EQIP funds used for stream restoration projects within 31 of the western counties in North Carolina. PED found that state funding for WSI projects has been duplicative, which occurred when two state sources—the Water Resources Development Grant (WRDG) program and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF)—provided funding for identical work activities within a single project. Additionally, PED found that data necessary to demonstrate the grant program’s efficiency and effectiveness are not being tracked or reported, and of the data that are tracked, performance trends show diminishing returns. Lastly, WRDG-EQIP grant award calculations do not rely on historical project cost data, which results in imprecise awards and potential overawarding of funding. The General Assembly should consolidate grant resources with either WRDG-EQIP or the CWMTF; direct the WSI grant administrator to improve performance management; and direct the State Auditor to perform an audit of state funds for WSI projects managed by Resource Institute.

Final Report

Executive Summary

Recommendations

Presentation

Handouts

The Department of Commerce created the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (the EDPNC) in 2014 to serve as North Carolina’s sales and marketing arm. The EDPNC is one variation of a public-private partnership, which involves a government entity contracting with a non-government entity to provide a public good or service. The Program Evaluation Division (PED) found that the EDPNC’s ability to allocate resources to vital activities is limited by restricted state appropriations and by private fundraising totals that are lower than those of comparable organizations in other states. Further, the EDPNC and the Department of Commerce lack effective coordination. Other issues noted by PED include the tourism division having minimal synergy with the rest of the EDPNC and the EDPNC operating without a strategic plan. To address these findings, the General Assembly should direct the EDPNC to increase private funding to $2 million per year and provide a matching incentive; charge the EDPNC and the Department of Commerce with engaging a facilitator; create a legislative commission to consider the best way to organize and manage the tourism division; and modify existing state law to specify that the EDPNC Board of Directors is responsible for creating an organizational strategic plan.

Final Report

Executive Summary

Recommendations