Arizona Drug and Gang Policy Council

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.