USDOJ inspector general’s audit report on J Bar J crime victims grant recommends management improvements
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- US Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced Tuesday the release of an audit report on a grant totaling $590,390 awarded in October 2020 by the Oregon Department of Justice to J Bar J Youth Services in Bend.
The Office of Justice Programs awarded grants to the Oregon DOJ, as the state administering agency, to make subawards for the purpose of enhancing crime victim services in the state. As of March 2023, the Oregon DOJ had reimbursed J Bar J a total of $462,866.
The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that J Bar J provided services to human trafficking victims of crime throughout central Oregon. However, they determined that J Bar J could improve certain areas of its grant management.
Specifically, J Bar J did not include any performance achievements from its subgrantee on performance reports and it commingled its federal funds with state funds.
They also found that J Bar J used subaward funds to pay $6,601 in employee bonuses without Oregon DOJ’s approval and did not validate its subgrantee’s invoices to ensure they were supported by timekeeping records. Finally, they found that J Bar J had included the hours worked by grant-funded employees also as volunteer match hours on a match report.
The DOJ OIG made six recommendations to OJP and Oregon DOJ to improve J Bar J’s management of award performance and to remedy $6,601 in dollar-related findings. OJP agreed with the recommendations, Oregon DOJ concurred with all six recommendations, and J Bar J agreed with all six recommendations.
Report: Tuesday’s report can be found on the OIG’s website at the following link: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/audit-office-justice-programs-victim-assistance-funds-subawarded-oregon-department-justice
