Performance Audits in Progress

Several performance audits are under way at any given time, and more are being considered. The following projects are in the performance audit workplan for the current biennium. Once we have completed initial planning work for a performance audit, we add a one-page description of the project setting out key questions and our plans for conducting the audit. At that time, the listing shows a tentative publication date. As the report nears completion, the listing will show a proposed publication date and the JLARC meeting date where audit staff will present it publicly. Please note that the proposals and dates are subject to change.

Browse our topic areas by clicking on the headings to expand individual project summaries.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Community Engagement During Contaminated Site Cleanups (early spring 2025)

Experts have established a clear link between living near places contaminated with hazardous materials and enduring long-term mental and physical health problems. Cleaning up such sites plays an important role in safeguarding community health by reducing people’s exposure to hazardous materials. Nonetheless, cleanup activities may sometimes pose new risks as workers disturb contaminated soil or water. The people most likely to be affected often belong to marginalized populations whose health and livelihoods may already be compromised. In recent years, Washington’s civic leaders have taken steps to ensure those people directly affected by such sites are not only heard, but their views are also integrated before and during cleanups. This audit will examine the collection and incorporation of public feedback for cleanup programs managed by the state’s Department of Ecology; it specifically excludes nuclear waste cleanup programs. It will also consider the role of the Department of Health as it relates to Ecology’s cleanup activities. Read the one-page summary (PDF). 

Ensuring Climate-Resilient Infrastructure to Meet Washington’s Growing Energy Needs (spring 2025)

Earth’s changing climate will eventually affect nearly every aspect of life in Washington, from the natural and built environment to the people who live and work here. Washington is leading the way in adapting its approach to energy, having already enacted several laws to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing carbon-producing energy plants with renewable energy resources. However, new energy infrastructure projects should be sited and built with climate effects in mind. Already, many agencies and organizations play a critical role in Washington’s ongoing conversion to entirely renewable energy resources. This audit will look at how the state can ensure new energy infrastructure is sited and built considering the forecasted effects of climate change. Read the one-page summary (PDF).

Economic Development

Evaluating Opportunities to Promote Digital Equity Across Washington (summer 2025)

Digital equity can be defined as the ability for everyone to fully participate in an increasingly – indeed almost exclusively – digital society. For a society to achieve digital equity, all its people must have access to the infrastructure, technology and skills that allow them to engage equally in digital spaces, whether economic, educational, health, social or civic. Aspects of this topic under consideration for a new performance audit include how the state has organized its digital equity initiative, how broadband infrastructure projects are selected and overseen, and how well the state has identified unserved and underserved areas and communities. The audit might also examine projects that seek to increase the digital literacy of Washingtonians. Read the one-page summary (PDF).

Fiscal, Operations and General Government

Office of the Insurance Commissioner: Implementing the Child Support Insurance Intercept Law (spring 2025)

When noncustodial parents fall behind in paying child support, the state can intercept insurance claim payments payable to the noncustodial parent. However, the state can only do so if it is aware of the claim. In September 2020, our Office published a performance audit that recommended a new law to help increase collections for past-due child support. This law, which took effect on January 1, 2022, requires insurance companies doing business in Washington to participate in an insurance payment intercept program. This audit will consider what steps OIC could take to support efforts to inform insurance companies about the new law and how to comply with it. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Reducing the Risk of Unusual Dual Employment Payroll Payments
(planned publication: Dec. 23, 2024. JLARC meeting Jan. 9, 2025)

The COVID-19 pandemic brought upsetting – but also sometimes beneficial – changes to the way that people work. Remote work and flexible hours allowed more people to hold two or more jobs simultaneously. Workers can benefit from this growing trend, known as dual employment, by gaining additional income and skills. Nonetheless, dual employment can pose the risk of payroll fraud to unwary employers. The State Auditor’s Office has investigated multiple instances in which government employees inappropriately worked at two agencies during overlapping office hours. This audit will identify leading practices that agencies and the Office of Financial Management can use to monitor payroll payments from multiple state agencies. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Health and Human Services

Reducing Nonemergency Use of Emergency Systems (summer 2025)

Many of the 911 calls fire department EMTs respond to are not for medical emergencies, but to help people with health problems related to chronic illnesses, substance use disorders and mental health. These nonemergency callers also add pressure on already overburdened hospital emergency rooms. Community paramedicine and mobile integrated health programs aim to fill a gap in community health services, for example by providing home-based medical care to frequent users of emergency systems or transporting people directly to social service organizations. Such programs can lead to fewer nonemergency calls, lower costs for patient care and better health outcomes. This audit will identify and review community paramedicine and mobile integrated health programs across Washington state, as well as state and local efforts to develop and support these programs. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Higher Education

No topics currently in the 2023-25 workplan.

Information Technology

Safe Data Disposal in Higher Education (spring 2025)

Washington has 39 publicly funded institutions of higher education: two research and four comprehensive universities, and 33 community and technical colleges. Many of them have their own surplus programs, to help the schools reuse, repurpose and recycle as many items as possible, including IT equipment. Staff must first ensure that any surplus equipment that can store or process data has had that data completely erased. This audit will assess effectiveness of one school's practices to ensure discarded IT equipment has been properly prepared for disposal. It will include evaluating whether the school has adequate controls in place to ensure that surplused state-owned IT devices do not contain confidential data. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Opportunities to Improve IT Security at Critical Infrastructure Organizations (2024-2025)

The federal government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has advised state and local governments to be on the alert for cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure across America. The warnings urgently recommended that state and local governments improve cybersecurity defenses around infrastructure such as airports, dams, power stations and hospitals. In response to these threats, the State Auditor’s Office has begun a new series of cybersecurity performance audits for governments with critical infrastructure in Washington. These audits are not intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of a government’s security posture, but are instead narrowly scoped, looking for opportunities to improve those governments’ security against external threats. Read the one-page summary (PDF).

Opportunities to Improve IT Security at State Agencies and Local Governments (2024-2025)

People depend on Washington's state and local governments for many different services – such as public safety, tax collection, social services, and transportation systems. Governments depend on technology to provide these services. The security of these systems and related data are vital to public confidence, the continuity of government operations, and the safety and well-being of the state and its residents. Our cybersecurity audits examine IT systems used in government operations. They look for weaknesses in that technology and propose solutions to help strengthen those systems. Cybersecurity audits are a type of performance audit and are provided at no cost to state and local governments, thanks to 2005's voter-approved Initiative 900.  Read the one-page summary (PDF).

Improving Ransomware Resiliency at Local Governments (2024-2025)

Ransomware is a type of software designed to deny access to a computer system or the data it stores until the victim pays the demanded ransom. As attackers
continue to hone their tactics, local governments expected to keep systems secure and available struggle to keep pace.To help local governments prevent and respond to this increasing risk, the State Auditor’s Office off ers performance audits that specifically examine a government’s resiliency to ransomware. We examine five control areas that apply to distinct facets of ransomware prevention, detection and response. These audits can benefit governments large enough to employ cybersecurity staff as well as smaller governments that use contracted IT services. Read the one-page summary (PDF).

K-12 Education

Charter Schools: Identifying and supporting at-risk students (fall 2025)

Charter schools aim to serve marginalized students with innovative approaches; as of January 2025, 17 charter schools serve around 5,000 Washington students. Concerns remain, however, about how effectively they identify and support at-risk students such as English language learners, special education students and low-income children.  Proponents contend their flexibility fosters new educational models, while critics are concerned about the privatization of schools and accountability for unelected school boards. Each school establishes a unique agreement with its authorizing agency, setting out how it will support targeted, often at-risk students This audit will examine selected schools to see if they meet legal and contractual requirements and use leading practices to identify and support at-risk students. We will also consider whether any practices could offer models for improving education of at-risk students across all public schools.

Issues in Special Education (tentative) 

In 2024, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill intended to address funding for educational services for students with disabilities. One section of the new law requires the State Auditor’s Office to compare the prevalence of disabilities in student populations to the funding available to evaluate students and provide them with special education services. It also directs the State Auditor to determine whether any populations are underevaluated or underserved. The audit’s findings could help the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction determine budget requests to help support special education programs across the state.

School Nutrition: Following up on lunch scheduling guidance (early winter 2025)

Studies have found that students who have recess before lunch and more time for lunch eat more healthfully, waste less food and display better behavior. Our 2019 performance audit identified two leading practices: scheduling recess before lunch and giving students at least 20 minutes to eat lunch. However, most schools we surveyed or observed did not apply either practice. We also found that schools and students would benefit from additional guidance from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). This audit will follow up on the previous audit’s recommendations to OSPI to determine whether it has implemented leading practices for lunchtime scheduling. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Public Safety

Fines Used to Deter Human Trafficking and Support Survivors (spring 2025)

Washington state law imposes mandatory fines (called “fees” in statute) on those who commit human trafficking and related sexual exploitation crimes, such as commercial sexual abuse of a minor. While courts must assess and collect fines, some reports suggest this may not be occurring as required by law. Resulting revenues are then to be distributed to cities and counties, which must use these funds for prevention, enforcement and survivors’ services. However, it is not always clear how revenues are being used and whether the money is spent appropriately. This audit will examine whether fines for human trafficking and sexual exploitation crimes are being assessed, collected and used according to state law in a selection of local jurisdictions. If fines are not being assessed or used as required, the audit will make recommendations that could increase the amount of funding that is directed to addressing these crimes and supporting survivors. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Expanding Use of Pretrial Services (tentative)

Pretrial services offer an alternative to incarceration for people who have been arrested for criminal offenses and cannot afford to pay bail to await trial outside jail. Examples of pretrial services jurisdictions may offer include drug and alcohol testing, electronic home monitoring, or text reminders and transportation to attend a hearing. In 2023, the Legislature allocated about $5 million to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to help expand such services, but they remain inconsistently available across Washington’s decentralized court system. This audit will evaluate a selection of jurisdictions to asses multiple aspects of pretrial services, and will examine the progress AOC has made in its pilot program to encourage their use. 

Sexual Assault Kits: Following up on Washington State Patrol's testing backlog 
(planned publication: Dec. 17, 2024. JLARC meeting Jan. 9, 2025)

Forensic evidence collected after a sexual assault can be crucial to help resolve crimes and ensure justice is served. When sexual assault kits go untested, DNA results cannot be connected to other cases and offenders may commit more crimes. Our 2022 performance found that the State Patrol, which is responsible for testing all sexual assault kits statewide, had taken important steps to eliminate the kit-testing backlogs. However, only 74 percent of all kits had been tested as required. This audit will follow up on the previous audit’s findings and determine whether the State Patrol has eliminated the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. Read the one-page summary. (PDF)

Transportation

No topics currently in the 2023-25 workplan.