Audit calls out DCFS cell phone abuse

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services dialed up at least $514,000 in “potentially unnecessary and inappropriate” cell phone service charges in 2009—part of a pattern of loose oversight and lax management of the phones uncovered in a new county audit.

The report, released today by Auditor-Controller Wendy L. Watanabe, found that the department, which spends $2.2 million a year on cell phone services, had at least 250 phones for which it could not identify the users. It also paid monthly service fees for more than 1,400 cell phones and 220 broadband cards that were sitting idle in 2009.

Moreover, the department footed the bill for employees’ personal international long distance charges as well as other potentially inappropriate charges for roaming, directory assistance and call forwarding.

“Our review disclosed significant weaknesses in DCFS’ controls over its cell phones,” Watanabe said in a summary of the audit’s findings filed with the Board of Supervisors.

Watanabe’s report to supervisors said that the department’s management already is beginning to take corrective action by updating their cell phone inventory, cancelling service for unused phones and changing the ways in which they review monthly bills.

Among the questionable cell phone use cited in the audit:

–One employee racked up more than $2,000 in personal international long distance bills between December, 2008, and November, 2009, and did not reimburse the department.

–Another claimed to have lost her phone but didn’t report it missing. Over the course of 14 months, the department paid $8,000 in service charges on the phone, including roaming charges from Mexico.

–An employee ran up $2,827 in texting charges from December, 2008 through November, 2009. In all, the department paid $21,000 for employee texting in 2009.

–Employees dialing directory assistance from their cell phones cost the department more than $54,000 in 2009, and $9,000 for call forwarding charges between December, 2008 and November, 2009. A single employee accounted for $2,533 of the call forwarding charges during that period.

The audit recommends that DCFS management begin keeping an accurate cell phone inventory, including up-to-date records on who’s using the phones. It also urges the department to deactivate unassigned and unused phones and broadband cards and to institute monthly reviews of cell phone and broadband bills.

And it recommends tighter controls to ensure that extras such as directory assistance and texting are needed—and that employees who use those services for non-business purposes reimburse the county.

Posted 12/21/10