YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2005-102

December 2005

The following was discovered as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Department of Mental Health, Springfield Regional Center � Management of Donations.

Our initial review of the Springfield Regional Center's (SRC) management and accountability over its donations program identified serious weaknesses.  As a result, we are issuing a separate report on the management of donations.

Donations of property with an estimated value of at least $222,313 were made to the SRC from July 1, 2003, to August 11, 2005, but were not accounted for properly.  Donated property included a variety of items such as computers, swimming pools, hot tubs, trampolines, bicycles, swing sets, furniture, gift cards, toys, clothing, medical equipment, and personal care items.  Monetary donations were also accepted by the community resource specialist, an employee of the SRC.  Further, because of the lack of controls over the donations received, it is unclear whether some employees of the SRC, who have children that are clients of the regional center, may have received preferential treatment when donations were distributed.

Numerous internal control weaknesses, lack of accountability over distribution of donated property, and ineffective management oversight have been identified.  We have made recommendations to improve the controls and accountability of the donations made to the regional center.

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