Immigration and Naturalization Service
Intergovernmental Service Agreement
For Detention Services With
The Jefferson County Detention Center
Waurika, Oklahoma

GR-80-01-011
April 26, 2001
Office of the Inspector General

For our audit period January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000, the INS paid the detention center $1,691,348 for detention and transportation services. On February 9, 2001, the detention center requested that INS increase the rate for long-term detainees to $65 per jail day, although the cost statement submitted with the request only supported a rate of $57.99 per jail day. Our audit disclosed that the cost statement included with the detention center's increased jail day rate request was based on estimated costs rather than actual costs incurred in operating the facility. As a result, we determined allowable costs of operating the detention center for the period of January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000.

Our audit also disclosed that during the last 6 months of our audit period, the detention center incurred costs that were significantly higher than the costs incurred during the first 6 months of the year. The increased costs resulted primarily from the fact that the detention center increased its guard staff by 75 percent between January 2000 and December 2000, from 12 detention officers to 21 detention officers. Detention center officials stated that the increase was necessary because the prior sheriff's administration was operating at a dangerously low staff to inmate ratio, which we calculated to be 1 guard per shift for every 23 inmates. Accordingly, after the new administration took over the detention center in April 2000, the staff to inmate ratio was increased, per our calculations, to 1 guard per shift for every 15 inmates, which they believed necessary for the safety of both the staff and detainees. As a result, we calculated a jail day rate based on the 12 month audit period and a jail day rate based on the 6 month period ending December 31, 2000. In our judgment, the jail day rate based on the 6 month period ending December 31, 2000, more accurately reflects the detention center's current operation costs.

Jail Day Rates

During the 12 month audit period the detention center incurred costs totaling $1,485,803, of which $874,628 of the total costs were incurred during the last 6 months of our audit period. We identified cost exceptions totaling $10,572 related to costs that were unsupported or not allocable to the federal award, of which $2,417 of the total cost exceptions were incurred during the last 6 months of our audit period.

Based on allowable costs incurred by the detention facility and the average total jail days at the detention center, we calculated an audited rate of $44.91 per jail day for the 12 month period of January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000, and an audited rate of $56.22 per jail day for the 6 month period of July 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000, as shown in the following table.

Audited Jail Day Rates
	12 Months	6 Months
Total Incurred Costs	$1,485,803	$874,628
Audit Exceptions	( 10,572)	( 2,417)
Net Allowable Costs Divided by:	$1,475,231	$872,211
Total Inmate Days Equals:	32,850	15,513
Audited Jail Day Rate	$ 44.91	$ 56.22

The Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87, Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments, was used as criteria in evaluating costs. Considering these principles and the conditions of the IGA, we took exception to $10,572 of the incurred costs, of which $2,417 were incurred in the last 6 months of the audit period, as shown in the following section.

Analysis of Incurred Costs

The table on the following page, presents our analysis of the costs incurred by the detention center for the period January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000. Audit exceptions are explained in the notes following the table.

Jefferson County Detention Center
Operating Expenditures
January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000

Cost Category	Incurred Costs	Audit Exceptions	Total Allowable	Allowable		Notes
				12 Months	6 Months
Personnel:
Employee Salary Employee Benefits	$ 957,017 78,216	- -	$ 957,017 78,216	$ 957,017 78,216	$ 551,656 45,479	1 2
Direct Operating Costs:
Accounting & Legal Auto Expense - Mileage Auto Expense - Other Bank Charges Contract Services Detainee Expense Employee Expense Food Costs Gas, Fuel & Oil Insurance Travel Expense Office Supplies Permits & Licenses Rent Rent - Equipment Repairs & Maintenance Supplies Telephone Utilities Miscellaneous	15,949 5,348 (11) 15 7,739 3,914 15,195 111,823 2,206 149,701 3,784 34,186 55 34,533 (678) 10,094 (745) 15,739 41,010 713	- ($2,150) - - - - (1,969) (1,230) - (168) - (1,630) - (1,969) - (1,456) - - - -	15,949 3,198 (11) - 7,739 3,914 13,226 110,593 2,206 149,533 3,784 32,556 55 32,564 (678) 8,638 (745) 15,739 41,010 713	15,949 3,198 (11) 15 7,739 3,914 13,226 110,593 2,206 149,533 3,784 32,556 55 32,564 (678) 8,638 (745) 15,739 41,010 713	5,475 844 1,813 5 5,992 14,344 10,888 69,461 635 82,515 959 21,168 50 18,250 196 11,643 316 7,428 22,790 304	3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
TOTAL	$1,485,803	($10,572)	$1,475,231	$1,475,231	$872,211

Source: The detention center's general ledger for the period January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2000.

Notes:

1. We reviewed a sample of Employee Salaries incurred by the detention center during two nonconsecutive pay periods. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

2. Employee Benefits included FICA and Unemployment Insurance. We calculated FICA at 7.65 percent. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

3. We reviewed a sample totaling $8,500 of Accounting and Legal costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

4. We reviewed a sample totaling $3,448 of Auto Expense - Mileage costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to one transaction totaling $2,150 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditure.

5. We reviewed a sample totaling $4,078 of Auto Expense - Other costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

6. We reviewed the $15 of Bank Charges costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

7. We reviewed a sample totaling $3,219 of Contract Services costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

8. We reviewed a sample totaling $13,791 of Detainee Expense costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

9. We reviewed a sample totaling $7,008 of Employee Expense costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to two transactions totaling $1,969 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditures. The unsupported transactions included one transaction totaling $1,644 that occurred during the 6 month period ending December 31, 2000.

10. We reviewed a sample totaling $45,584 of Food Costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to $1,230 of the Food Costs incurred related to meals provided to the detention center staff that were not allocable to the federal award. Of this amount, we attributed $773 to the 6 month period ending December 31, 2000.

11. We reviewed a sample totaling $610 of Gas, Fuel & Oil Costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

12. We reviewed a sample totaling $24,100 of Insurance costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to one transaction totaling $168 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditure.

13. We reviewed a sample totaling $2,496 of Travel Expense costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

14. We reviewed a sample totaling $17,520 of Office Supplies costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to two transactions totaling $1,630 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditures.

15. We reviewed the $55 of Permits & Licenses costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

16. We reviewed a sample totaling $3,969 of Rent costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to one transaction totaling $1,969 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditure.

17. We reviewed a sample totaling $378 of Rent - Equipment costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

18. We reviewed a sample totaling $9,520 of Repairs & Maintenance costs incurred by the detention center. We took exception to one transaction totaling $1,456 because the detention center was unable to provide documentation supporting the expenditure.

19. We reviewed a sample totaling $188 of Supplies costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

20. We reviewed a sample totaling $13,724 of Telephone costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

21. We reviewed a sample totaling $7,731 of Utilities costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

22. We reviewed a sample totaling $361 of Miscellaneous costs incurred by the detention center. We did not identify any cost exceptions related to this cost category.

Recommendation

We recommend that the INS:

1. Negotiate a revised jail day rate with the detention center based on the information in this report.

Auditee Comments

We conducted an exit briefing with representatives from the detention center. We discussed how we determined the audited jail day rates for the 12 month and 6 month periods, including any cost exceptions related to unsupported costs and costs not allocable to the federal award. Detention officials stated that the unsupported costs, of which all but one transaction occurred in the first 6 months of our audit period, resulted from the poor procurement procedures in place under the prior sheriff's administration. After the new sheriff's administration took over the detention center in April 2000, the prior procurement officer was replaced and improvements were made to the procurement procedures.