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s 353.5365 L72MYC 2005 Legislative Audit Division State ofMontana Report to the Legislature Performance Audit March 2005 Montana Youth Challenge Program Department ofMilitary Affairs This report provides findings and recommendations developed as a result ofa performance audit ofthe Montana Youth Challenge Program. Findings and recommendations address the following areas: Administration ofthe educational component ofthe program. Cadet and mentor eligibility documentation requirements. Analysis ofAmerican Indian attrition rates. Analysis oflong-term outcome data. DOCUMENTS COLLECTION STATf Legislation to provide operational guidance. 2005 ,JUL 1 :^ 5^62^ HELENA ^^f^-^"^*"' Direct comments/inquiries to: Legislative Audit Division Room 160, State Capitol PO Box 201705 MT 04P-14 Helena 59620-1705 Help eUminate fraud, waste, and abuse in state government. Call the Fraud Hotline at 1-800-222-4446 statewide or 444-4446 in Helena. MontanaStaleUbrary 3 0864 1003 4197 6 PERFORMANCE AUDITS Performance audits conducted by the Legislative Audit Division are designed to assess state government operations. Fromthe audit work, a determination is made as to whetheragencies and programs are accomplishing their purposes, and whether they can do so with greater efficiency and economy. The audit work is conducted in accordance with audit standards set forth by the United States GovernmentAccountability Office. Members of the performance audit staff hold degrees in disciplines appropriate to the audit process. Areas of expertise include business and public administration, mathematics, statistics, economics, political science, criminaljustice, computer science, education, andbiology. Performance audits are performed at the request ofthe Legislative Audit Committee which is a bicameral and bipartisan standing committee ofthe Montana Legislature. The committee consists ofsix members ofthe Senate and six members ofthe House ofRepresentatives. MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE AUDIT COMMITTEE SenatorJohnCobb Representative Dee Brown SenatorMike Cooney Representative Tim Callahan SenatorJim Elliott, Acting Chair Representative Hal Jacobson SenatorJohn Esp Representative Scott Mendenhall SenatorDan Harrington RepresentativeJohn Musgrove SenatorCorey Stapleton Representative Rick Ripley LEGISLATIVE AUDIT DIVISION Scott A. Seacat, Legislative Auditor Deputy Legislative Auditors: John W. Northey, Legal Counsel Jim Pellegrini, Performance Audit & Tori Hunthausen, IS Audit Operations James Gillett, Financial-Compliance Audit March 2005 The Legislative Audit Committee ofthe Montana State Legislature: This is ourperformance audit ofthe Montana Youth Challenge Program (MYCP), a program administered by the Department ofMilitary Affairs. This report provides informationto the MYCP legislature on operations, including administration, recruitment and program outcomes. This report also addresses the need for legislative authorization and guidance forMYCP. A written response from the Department ofMilitary Affairs is included at the end ofthe report. We wish to express ourappreciation to MYCP and Department ofMilitary Affairs stafffortheir cooperationand assistance during the audit. Respectfully submitted. A Scott A. Seacat Legislative Auditor Room 160, StateCapitol BuildingPO Box201705 Helena, MT 59620-1705 Phone(406)444-3122 FAX (406)444-9784 E-Mail [email protected] Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from IVIontana State Library http://www.archive.org/details/montanayouthchal2005mont Legislative Audit Division Performance Audit Montana Youth Challenge Program Department ofMilitarj' Affairs Members ofthe audit staffinvolved in this audit were Lisa Blanford, Bridget Butler, and Angus K. Maciver. 9 Table of Contents List ofFigures and Tables iii Appointed and Administrative Officials iv Report Summary S-1 Chapter I - Introduction and Background 1 Introduction 1 Background Information 1 Program Participation 1 Program Facilities and Resources 2 Federal Govenunent Administration ofChallenge 2 State Government Resources for At-Risk Youth 4 Audit Objectives 6 Audit Approach 6 Chapter II- Program Administration 7 Introduction 7 Funding 7 Changes in Funding 9 Analysis ofProgram Cost Per Day 10 MYCP StaffResources 11 Federal Governments Sets Staffing Levels 12 Student/Teacher Ratio 12 Educational Program 13 Curriculum 14 Accreditation 15 GED Test Scores 15 Service to the Community 16 TABE Test Scores 17 Educational Components Reflect Federal Requirements 17 Effectiveness ofProgram Elements 17 Chapter III - Recruitment 1 Introduction 19 Recruitment and Selection Procedures 19 Description ofRecruitment Process 19 MYCP Recruitment Procedures Reflect Prescribed Standards 20 Compliance with Program Eligibility Requirements 20 Applicant File Review 21 Problems Exist Enforcing Eligibility Requirements 22 MYCP Should Improve Documentation ofEligibility Review 22 Representation ofMontana's At-Risk Youth 23 MYCP Socio-economic Characteristics of Recruits 23 MYCP Genderof Recruits 25 MYCP Racial Ethnicity of Recruits 26 Analysis ofHigh School District Drop Out Data 26 MYCP Disparities Exist in Geographic Distribution of Applicants 28 Improvements in Analysis ofRecruitment Data Needed 28 Page i Table of Contents Chapter IV - Outcomes 29 Introduction 29 Program Participation and Graduation 29 Analysis ofMYCP Attrition Rates 29 MYCP Comparing Attntion Rates with Other States 31 American Indian Attrition Rates 33 MYCP Should Investigate American Indian Attrition Rates 34 Post-Residential and Mentoring Phase 34 Improvements Needed in Documentation ofMentor Screening Requirements 36 Mentor Reporting 37 Post-Residential Outcomes 38 MYCP Placement Data 38 Long-Term Outcome Data 40 Quarterly Wage and Unemployment Data 40 Criminal Conviction History 41 MYCP Could Improve Outcome Data Collection and Analysis 43 Chapter V - Legislative Guidance For MYCP 45 Introduction 45 No Statutory Guidance Exists forMYCP 45 Program was Established Through Budgetary Appropriation 45 Similar Programs have Basis in State Statute 45 MYCP Could Benefit From Statutory Guidance 46 Legislature Should Provide Statutory Guidance forMYCP 47 Appendix A - Audit Approach A-1 Audit Scope A-1 Audit Methodologies A-1 Audit Planning A-1 Program Administration A-2 Recruitment A-2 Outcomes A-3 Department Response B-1 Department ofMilitary Affairs B-3 Page ii 31 List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1 States Administering Challenge Programs 3 Figure 2 Programs and Resources for At-Risk Youth 5 Figure 3 Service to the Community - Hours per Cadet 16 Figure 4 Variance in Program Representation by High School District 27 Figure 5 Program Attrition by Challenge Participation Level 30 Figure 6 Participation Rates for Ethnic Groups by Program Phase 33 Tables Table 1 Annual Target Enrollments for Challenge Programs 8 Table 2 Montana Youth Challenge Program Expenditures 9 Table 3 Per-student Per-day Costs for Selected Programs 11 Table 4 Student/Teacher Ratio for Selected Programs for At-Risk Youth 13 Table 5 Challenge Program Eligibility Requirements 21 MYCP Table 6 Selected Socio-Economic Characteristics of Applicants 24 Table 7 GenderRepresentation for MYCP and Comparative Populations 25 MYCP Table 8 Racial Ethnicity Representation for and Comparative Populations 26 Table 9 Graduation Rates for Challenge Programs in Other States 32 Table 10 Compliance With Mentor Program Requirements 36 Table 1 Post-Residential Placement Data for MYCP Graduates 39 Table 12 Quarterly Wage and Unemployment Claim Data forMYCP Participants 41 MYCP Table 1 Criminal Conviction Rates for Applicants 42 Page iii Appointed and Administrative Officials Department ofMilitary Randall Mosley, Adjutant General Karen Revious. Administrator, Centralized Services Division y^ffairs Montana Youth Challenge Reid Lund, Director Program Jan Rouse, Deputy Director Page iv