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Source: The Hour, Norwalk, Conn.儲存倉Nov. 07--NORWALK -- On the day that Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now (NEON) acting CEO/President Chiquita Stephenson agreed to take an unpaid leave of absence, the state Department of Social Services released a critical assessment of the agency, stemming from a two-day, on-site inspection that the DSS conducted in mid-October.The DSS, which has labeled NEON an "agency in crisis," conducted a monitoring and review of NEON on Oct. 15 and 17 and found numerous financial, file-keeping and governance deficiencies, according to documents published Wednesday."The contractual deliverables are clear as they relate to the department's expectations for service delivery, and NEON's internal program oversight must improve," the report, titled "Summary of Monitoring Review Conducted on October 15, 2013 and October 17, 2013" states. "Based upon the review of the Board of Committee meetings, the department has concerns about the ability of NEON's board to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities."The report reveals that the DSS issued emergency funds so that NEON could cover its payroll and taxes for the pay period ending Sept. 27, and the DSS questioned why funding was needed for employees "whose salaries had been covered by the payment issued by the department in the July-September 2013 quarter in at least four DSS contracts.""The request for additional payroll funds strongly suggests that the contracted dollars did not go for their intended purpose because of other outstanding expenditures," the report states.The DSS expressed concern that NEON would be unable to pay off its $2.5 million debt without a solid plan of action. NEON had promised DSS that it would ask the Office of Policy and Management to have its debts forgiven and adv迷你倉最平sed the DSS that it "has an aggressive fundraising plan" and that it will "streamline its expenditures and operate within its means.""The department is concerned that these activities are unlikely to occur in the immediate future and that fiscal projections provided by NEON indicate negative spending through the end of the fiscal year," the report states.The report also takes swipes at the NEON board, criticizing it for having only 11 members when Connecticut State Statutes mandate that an agency of NEON's size have a board with at least 15 members. The DSS also took issue with the fact that the members of NEON's board who are Stamford residents outnumber the board members who are Norwalk residents. The DSS also advised the board that it needs to "improve its performance oversight.""The department believes that the board members are committed to the agency, but the department is seriously concerned that the board's overall inexperience and lack of training is leading it to fall short of fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities."In nearly every one of NEON's DSS-funded programs, the state agency found file documentation inconsistencies and in at least two of the programs, the DSS found that the income verification was incomplete or incorrect in many case files."NEON does not have a comprehensive case management policy that guides documentation of client services in client files," the report states. "As a result, inconsistent service is provided. In fact, when the department staff spoke to one of the case managers, she stated that she provides employment services only and does not refer to other programs."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Hour (Norwalk, Conn.) Visit The Hour (Norwalk, Conn.) at .thehour.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉