Few promises kept for protecting college scholarship program

Few promises kept for protecting college scholarship program

Published on November 07, 2024

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DENVER - Denver's college scholarship program, supported by a voter-approved tax, is still not being adequately protected to prevent reimbursements going to ineligible students. The entities responsible did not fully implement any of the recommendations they agreed to, according to a new follow-up audit from Denver Auditor Timothy M. O'Brien, CPA.

In our 2023 audit of the city's Office of Children's Affairs, we found weak oversight of the Denver College Affordability Fund program. The program is supposed to help students from households with lower incomes achieve a college education. Minimal city oversight and the lack of an adequate data management plan by the city's third-party contractor - a nonprofit called Prosperity Denver Fund - was connected to several issues related to missing documentation, insufficient data, and ineligible reimbursements.

"Recovering about $33,000 for improper reimbursements paid out to ineligible students is a step in the right direction. But it's a small step," Auditor O'Brien said. "I'm disappointed that adequate oversight and information management practices were not dealt with."

Of the eight recommendations made in the original audit, two were partially implemented. The other six recommendations were not implemented at all.

The Office of Children's Affairs did not create a data management plan, as leaders had committed to, and Prosperity Denver Fund did not follow up on quality assurance reports. This leaves data fragmented, inaccurate, and risks scholarship money continuing to go to ineligible students, which would leave less funding available for students who are eligible.

Children's Affairs also did not establish detailed requirements for retaining documents for scholarship and support services reimbursements. Not implementing this recommendation risks continuing inconsistent record keeping practices across the various supported organizations and adds to the risk of payments being made in error.

"With so little being done to address the root cause, there's a high likelihood these mistakes will be repeated," Auditor O'Brien said. "Denver residents deserve better."

AUDITOR TIMOTHY O'BRIEN, CPA
Denver Auditor

Denver Auditor´s Office

201 W. Colfax Ave. #705 Denver, CO 80202
Email: [email protected]
Call: 720-913-5000
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