Report 2021-101 Recommendation 20 Responses

Report 2021-101: K-12 Strong Workforce Program: State and Regional Administrative Shortcomings Limit the Program's Effectiveness in Supporting Grant Applicants (Release Date: February 2022)

Recommendation #20 To: Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium

To allow the Elite Academic Academy—Lucerne an opportunity to have its inappropriately denied fiscal year 2020-21 application reconsidered, the Inland Empire/Desert regional consortium should encourage the charter school to reapply for a workforce grant and should apply its selection criteria consistently and correctly when making its award decision.

1-Year Agency Response

The Inland Empire/Desert Regional Consortium (IEDRC) held three trainings after the release of the K12 Strong Workforce RFA for Round 5: 1) "Deep Dive into Round 5" on 8/30/22; 2) "Looking for the Life Preserver: Navigating the Challenges of K12 SWP" on 9/6/22; and "IEDRC Quarterly Meeting and K12 SWP Engagement" on 9/19/22.

Elite Academic Academy was invited to all of these events, however, they did not attend. Elite did not submit an application for Round 5 funding.

Additionally, the IEDRC's K12 Selection Committee publicized its selection criteria on the region's website (https://desertcolleges.org/strong-workforce/k12/k12-strong-workforce-2022-2023-round5-rfa-resources/). A link to the website was included in the RFA and it was shared during all K12 SWP trainings. During the selection process, the K12 Selection Committee co-chairs ensured that the criteria was consistently and correctly applied during funding decisions for the 2022-23 (Round 5) awards.

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

The consortium provided documentation of its efforts to fulfill our recommendation, which consisted of including the Elite Academic Academy (the academy) in announcements sent to groups of stakeholders about upcoming grant opportunities and training events. Although these minimal efforts may have fulfilled the letter of our recommendation, which we have therefore assessed as fully implemented, we do not believe that they have reduced the consequences of the consortium's previous error.

Specifically, we questioned whether the academy understood that its previous grant application was inappropriately denied and considered that information when deciding whether to reapply for a grant. Because of our concern, we reached out to an academy employee the consortium asserted it had contacted. She shared that the consortium had not informed her of the results of the audit or specifically encouraged the academy to reapply for a grant despite its prior experience. To address the harm done to the academy and ensure it is fully informed about its future grant opportunities, we encourage the consortium to communicate with the academy specifically about the issue we described in our report.

6-Month Agency Response

In response to the auditor's recommendation, in March 2022 the Inland Empire Desert Region's K12 Pathway Coordinator reached out to the Chief Student Development Officer/CTE Program Lead of Elite Academic Academy to provide specific information about the region's K12 Strong Workforce Program as well as provide information and offer assistance in connecting Elite Academic Academy to regional CTE resources. The region has also ensured that Elite Academic Academy is on regional K12 distributions lists and is invited to engagement meetings and training events. Although the K12 Pathway Coordinator will continue to be in contact with Elite over the next few months, as is appropriate to provide resources, etc., the State Auditor's recommendation cannot be fully implemented until the Chancellor's Office releases the K12 SWP Request for Applications for 2022-23 (which is anticipated to be in August 2022) and the region's K12 Selection Committee meets to make 2022-23 award decisions. At that time, the region's K12 Pathway Coordinator will again reach out to Elite Academic Academy and encourage them to apply for funding. The Inland Empire Desert Region's K12 Selection Committee met on 4/1/2022 to discuss the audit report and the selection criteria to be used for the 2022-23 RFA. Once the Committee agrees on the selection criteria, the committee's co-chairs will ensure it is applied consistently and correctly when making 2022-23 award decisions.

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

60-Day Agency Response

In response to the auditor's recommendation, in March 2022 the Inland Empire Desert Region's K12 Pathway Coordinator reached out to the Chief Student Development Officer/CTE Program Lead of Elite Academic Academy to provide specific information about the region's K12 Strong Workforce Program as well as provide information and offer assistance in connecting Elite Academic Academy to regional CTE resources. The region has also ensured that Elite Academic Academy is on regional K12 distributions lists and is invited to engagement meetings and training events. Although the K12 Pathway Coordinator will continue to be in contact with Elite over the next few months, as is appropriate to provide resources, etc., the State Auditor's recommendation cannot be fully implemented until the Chancellor's Office releases the K12 SWP Request for Applications for 2022-23 (which is anticipated to be in August 2022) and the region's K12 Selection Committee meets to make 2022-23 award decisions. At that time, the region's K12 Pathway Coordinator will again reach out to Elite Academic Academy and encourage them to apply for funding. The Inland Empire Desert Region's K12 Selection Committee met on 4/1/2022 to discuss the audit report and the selection criteria to be used for the 2022-23 RFA. Once the Committee agrees on the selection criteria, the committee's co-chairs will ensure it is applied consistently and correctly when making 2022-23 award decisions.

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

All Recommendations in 2021-101

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.