Where does the buck stop?
The Montana Department of
Corrections under Governor Steve Bullock has been caught violating the law by
the Legislative Audit Division.
"The Montana Department of Corrections
is breaking the law by housing youth and adult offenders in the same facility
and by contracting to send girl offenders to a youth prison in Idaho, a
recently released audit found."
-Associated
Press 10/4/2016
Auditors note that the Department of
Corrections has been housing adult inmates at the Pine Hills Facility near
Miles City and the Riverside Prison for girls near Boulder. However, Montana
law prohibits adults and juveniles from being housed in the same facility.
"However, state law prohibits
the department from placing youths in facilities where adult offenders are
carrying out their sentences, the auditors wrote.
In the case of Pine Hills,
department officials followed federal regulations that require youth offenders
to be separated from adult offenders by sight and sound. But Montana law states
explicitly that youth and adult offenders can't be housed in the same facility
at all, the auditors wrote." -Associated
Press 10/4/2016
Auditors also point out that the
Dept. of Corrections' decision to move juvenile female inmates from the
Riverside facility in Boulder to Idaho in order to allow the facility to hold
adult inmates violates state law.
"The auditors found the
contract is in violation of state law. The department may only sign a contract
for the placement and care of delinquent youth when the youth prison population
is over capacity, or when the state doesn't have an adequate facility, the
report said." --Associated Press 10/4/2016
The findings are the latest in a
string of problems with oversight by the Bullock Administration.
Montanans were treated to the
shocking news that all of the emails on state accounts from Governor Steve
Bullock's 2009-2013 term as Attorney General have been destroyed. This is
despite emails clearly being considered "public record" in state law
and guidance from the Secretary of State's office that public officials turn
over their emails to the state archives when they leave office.
“Note the email accounts for former
Attorney General Steve Bullock and his appointed staff members no longer exist,
so neither the accounts nor their archives are available to search,’ he wrote.
Blixseth has asked state officials for a copy of the minutes of the meeting in which
they followed proper protocols and requested destruction of emails." -Great Falls Tribune, 8/31/2016
Last year, a state audit
found 125 accounting errors and
a $1 billion
overstatement of accumulated depreciation that occurred on Bullock’s watch. It was a “billion dollar mistake.”
“This wasn't
just a single accidental oversight. Instead, the problems are deep -- 125
errors and lack of internal controls. Sadly, those controls, had they been in
place, according to the audit division, could have caught these problems
earlier. In other words, there weren't even controls in place to catch
problems.” -Billings Gazette, 7/3/2015
Arguably
one of the state’s most vital functions is Child Protective Services. However,
Montana CPS continues to struggle performing its basic functions as kids fall
through the cracks. This issue only appears to be worsening under Bullock.
“The audit report found extensive weakness in Montana
Child Protective Service’s documentation, with many intake reports incomplete,
and investigations taking much longer than the law allows” -Montana
Public Radio, 1/12/2016
“The audit report
found more problems with how the cases were handled rather than the number of
cases swamping workers. The audit said, as a result of poor documentation, the
department is frequently unable to justify the decision it makes when assessing
investigation reports of child abuse or neglect.” -Montana
Public Radio, 1/12/2016
Auditors
who are tasked with holding state agencies accountable have accused
administration officials of retaliating against them for doing their job.
"Former
Montana auditors have accused state officials of discouraging Department of
Health and Human Services staffers from investigating a variety of questioned
payments dating back to 2005." -Helena IR, 9/11/2016
"Emails from
current and former DPHHS staffers, along with court filings and whistleblower
complaints obtained by the Independent Record, identified at least seven
long-tenured state employees who raised red flags before they were demoted or
fired. At least three staffers who raised questions were accused of
insubordination before being fired.
Two of
those staffers claim high-level administrators, acting on orders from Bullock,
pushed through “questionable” welfare payments to important Democratic voting
blocs on Indian reservations and ignored DPHHS auditors’ questions about hefty
checks cut to major welfare program contractors. Bullock, through a
spokeswoman, flatly denied those claims."
-Helena IR, 9/11/2016
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