I would appreciate your including this letter in the Journal for the information of the membership. Additional copies of this report are available in the Legislative Council Staff offices, One East Main, Suite 401, or from our web page at
www.legis.state.wi.us/lc
Sincerely,
Terry C. Anderson
Director
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Sentencing Commission
Madison
January 30, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Please accept the enclosed annual report from the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission. The document details the Commission's activities for 2005 as well as its membership and functions. The report is also online at
http://wsc.wi.gov for additional reference. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at your convenience. We will be glad to supply more hard copies if needed.
Sincerely,
michael connelly
Executive Director
Referred to committee on Criminal Justice and Homeland Security.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Administration
Madison
February 2, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
In compliance with Wisconsin statute 16.548, please find the Wisconsin Office of Federal/State Relations quarterly report to be submitted to the Legislature for the fourth quarter of 2005. This report provides information on the activities of the office and the status of federal legislation of concern to the state of Wisconsin.
Please contact me if you have any questions about this material.
Sincerely,
Stephen e. Bablitch
Secretary
Referred to committee on State Affairs.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
Madison
February 3, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is the report required under Act 280, to study the costs and benefits of integrating the computer linkup between the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), the Department of Public instruction (DPI), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to automate the searches of sex offender and caregiver abuse registry databases prior to issuing a school bus license.
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This report contains the options available for integration of the databases and estimated costs associated with each option. Please forward this report, as you feel appropriate to any interested parties.
If you have any questions regarding this report, please contact Karen Schwartz, Chief of the Qualifications and Issuance Section, Bureau of Driver Services, at (608) 266-0054, or Jill Reeve, Supervisor of the Medical Review Unit at (608) 264-7393.
Sincerely,
frank j. Busalacchi
Secretary
Referred to committee on Transportation.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Revenue
Madison
February 6, 2006
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
I am submitting the quarterly report of the Wisconsin Lottery for the quarter ending December 31, 2005. As required by s.
565.37(3), Wis. Stats., the attached materials contain unaudited Wisconsin Lottery year to date Revenue and Expenditure information.
This past quarter had the second highest quarterly sales ever for the Wisconsin Lottery and puts us on track to exceed last year's contributions toward property tax relief.
The information reported here is a summary and is not intended to be a complete financial accounting of Wisconsin Lottery operations.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this report, please feel free to contact me at (608) 266-6466.
Sincerely,
michael l. Morgan
Secretary of Revenue
Referred to committee on State Affairs.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
February 8, 2006
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an evaluation of the Milwaukee County child welfare program, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The program, which protects children from abuse and neglect, is administered by the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare in the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS), which contracts for most services. In June 2005, the program served 3,188 children who had been removed from their homes to ensure their safety. An additional 266 families received services without having a child removed from the home. From January 2001 through June 2005, program expenditures totaled $493.7 million. Our review of program expenditure and staffing issues is report 06-2.
DHFS has taken important steps in recent years to improve the welfare of children in Milwaukee County, including significantly reducing the number of children in out-of-home care. However, we identified concerns with the timeliness of investigations of child abuse and neglect, as well as the timeliness with which court-ordered services are provided. Collaboration and coordination among child welfare staff is limited, and problems related to establishing permanent placements were documented in 25 of 48 cases we reviewed. We make a number of recommendations for the Bureau to improve program management.
To assess whether the Bureau adequately ensured the safety of children, we reviewed 73 highrisk cases that were most likely to involve child abuse or neglect. The Bureau and its contractors took reasonable and appropriate action in 69 of these cases, but we believe more could have been done to protect children in the remaining 4 cases.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DHFS and the child welfare contractors. A response from DHFS follows the appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
February 8, 2006
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an evaluation of the Milwaukee County child welfare program, as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The program, which protects children from abuse and neglect, is administered by the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare in the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS). This review is part of a comprehensive evaluation that also addresses program management and performance (report 06-1).
Program expenditures totaled $493.7 million from January 2001 through June 2005, when the Bureau had 153 full-time equivalent employees, including 90 certified social workers. The Bureau provides some program services, but most services are provided through contractors with an estimated 500 full-time equivalent employees in 2004.
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We identified concerns with the Bureau's oversight of these contractors. For example, contractors have not reported on the services they provided to families, as required by their contracts. We also reviewed the appropriateness and reasonableness of costs that contractors charged to the program in 2004. We found $677,694 in unallowable and questioned costs charged by six contractors, including payment of a $541,604 duplicate reimbursement request submitted by one contractor.
A significant problem hampering effective program management is staff turnover. In 2004, turnover was 10.9 percent among the Bureau's social workers. Among contract staff, turnover was significantly higher and ranged from 25.5 percent for those serving families whose children remained in the home to 38.6 percent for those serving families whose children were removed from the home. We include a number of recommendations related to improving oversight of contractors and program funds, staff retention, and staff training.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by DHFS and the child welfare contractors. DHFS's response follows the appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
janice mueller
State Auditor
