Report 2013-103 Recommendation 29 Responses

Report 2013-103: Armed Persons With Mental Illness: Insufficient Outreach From the Department of Justice and Poor Reporting From Superior Courts Limit the Identification of Armed Persons With Mental Illness (Release Date: October 2013)

Recommendation #29 To: Justice, Department of

To ensure that it processes all reports it receives about persons with mental illness, by January 31, 2014, Justice's mental health unit should develop and implement quality control procedures over staff entry of reports into the mental health database. These procedures should include periodic supervisory review to ensure that all reports are entered correctly. Additionally, Justice should conduct a supervisory review of all staff decisions to delete records from the database before their deletion.

1-Year Agency Response

The Criminal Identification Specialist II to conduct quality control review was hired and started in May of 2014. MHU desk procedures were updated to include the quality review process, and supervisory review of decisions to delete records from the database.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The Department established an additional position within the Mental Health Unit (MHU) to conduct quality control review of mental health records in MHFPS. On January 28, 2014 the Department selected a Criminal Identification Specialist (CIS) II candidate to move forward in the background phase of the hiring process. The MHU manager updated the units processing procedures to include steps for reviewing documents prior to data entry along with the process for supervisory approval for deleting records from MHFPS. Unit staff was trained on the procedures and process for supervisory approval prior to deleting MHFPS records. Clearance to offer the CIS II position to the candidate was given on April 14, 2014. The candidate accepted and will start May 1, 2014. Beginning in May 2014, the new process will be refined and quality review procedures of MHFPS records will be fully implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The Department is working to establish an additional position within the Mental Health Unit to conduct the quality control review of mental health records entered into MHFPS by Department staff. As of December 16, 2013, the Department created one new Criminal Identification Specialist II position to conduct the quality control reviews. The position was advertised December 18, 2013. The unit manager has updated the unit's processing procedures to include steps for reviewing documents prior to data entry along with the process for obtaining supervisor approval for deleting records from MHFPS. Unit staff has been trained on the new procedures and process for requesting the unit's supervisor's approval prior to deleting any MHFPS records. Once the new CIS II is hired, global implementation of the new procedures and quality control review of mental health entries made by the unit staff will be fully implemented.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

The department provided evidence that it is seeking new staff to administer quality control procedures. Additionally, in subsequent conversations the department indicated that draft procedures for the mental health unit have been created and are currently in the review process. Accordingly, this recommendation has been partially implemented.

All Recommendations in 2013-103

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.