Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities

The report addresses the council’s ability to effectively oversee the district councils it contracts with to help plan and advocate on behalf of Arizona’s developmentally disabled citizens. The Council annually contracts with six regional district councils to serve their local developmentally disabled citizens in a number of ways including informing the Council of local issues facing developmentally disabled citizens, providing information regarding local service providers and services offered, and referring developmentally disabled citizens and their families to needed services. This audit found that historically, the Council’s process for contracting with its district councils has resulted in contracts that do not correspond with the Council’s stated goals. Additionally, insufficient monitoring of district council activities has resulted in some district councils not performing in accordance with contract requirements. However, the Council’s recently appointed Executive Director has already taken steps to enhance contract oversight by revising the contracting process and increasing contract monitoring activities. In addition to these recent efforts, the Council should also consider other methods of ensuring contract requirements are met such as withholding district council funding when necessary, developing outcome-based contracts, and implementing a competitive bidding process.