Office of Justice Programs
National Institute of Justice
Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Cooperative Agreement Awarded to the University of Central Florida to Continue the National Center for Forensic Science Project, Cooperative Agreement Number 1998-IJ-CX-K003
Report No. GR-40-04-007
August 2004
Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of the Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project cooperative agreement, including supplements, awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to the University of Central Florida (UCF) located in Orlando, Florida. The purpose of this cooperative agreement was to continue the operations of the National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) project established at the UCF under NIJ grant 97-DN-VX-0001. The NCFS was created as a unique laboratory facility designed to provide technical assistance to the forensic science and law enforcement communities in the area of fire and explosion debris. As of September 30, 2003, the UCF was awarded a total of $7,865,535. We tested the UCF's accounting records to determine if reimbursements claimed for costs under the cooperative agreement were allowable, supported, and in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, guidelines, and terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement. As of November 6, 2003, the UCF had been reimbursed $5,958,843 of the $7,865,535 cooperative agreement amount. Our audit revealed deficiencies in the areas of reporting, budget management and control, and expenditures. As a result, we questioned $909,534 in cooperative agreement funds received.1 In brief, we found that the UCF:
These items are discussed in detail in the Findings and Recommendations section of the report. Our audit objectives, scope, and methodology appear in Appendix I. Footnotes |