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This report focuses on the Council’s progress in evaluating and
coordinating publicly funded drug and gang prevention and treatment programs
in Arizona since the 1996 Auditor General Report (Report No. 96-11). The
1996 report found the Council to be ineffective in fulfilling these mandates
due to poor member attendance and lack of program evaluations and monetary
support. As such, the Council was not able to make recommendations to the
Governor and the Legislature for redirecting expenditures to achieve better
use of public resources. Since the last audit, the Council has made
significant progress in improving its attendance and developing an
accountability system to measure the State’s effectiveness in preventing
and treating drug abuse and gang participation. For example, the Council has
developed statewide indicators that will allow it to generally assess the
State’s efforts in reducing substance abuse and gangs; and identified best
practices that it will require services providers to use in their prevention
and treatment programs. However, the Council’s continued progress is
dependent on future funding. Because the Council receives no dedicated
funding, it has had to rely on external grants to finance its activities.
These grants expire by the year 2001, leaving funding for future activities
uncertain. As such, the Council needs to pursue all potential funding
sources including seeking external grants, member agency contributions, and
a general fund appropriation. In addition, the Council should seek formal
commitments from member agencies to identify and redirect all permissible
monies to effective programs.
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