An exhaustive audit of the Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) was released today, revealing a concerning pattern of high employee turnover and ineffective communication. According to Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, this requires immediate attention for the sake of the many seniors relying on ODA's services. The audit report, conducted by the Auditor of State’s Ohio Performance Team, laid out these concerns in stark detail.
The figures are telling, a mere third of the ODA's workforce from fiscal year 2019 stuck it out till 2024. This trend of rapid staff turnover has overshadowed other state offices for the majority of the past eight years, exit interview data, a critical component in understanding and redressing employee dissatisfaction, is practically nonexistent, the agency recorded only two such interviews between 2017 and 2024, a fact which the report suggests contributed to the ODA's operational struggles.
These internal issues have spilled over, impacting the ODA's ability to communicate with external bodies, such as the twelve Area Agencies on Aging that rely on them. Representatives from these local bodies expressed their frustrations during the audit about delayed responses and murky policy changes, finding the level of communication unsatisfactory. According to a survey from the audit, seven out of twelve local agencies reported dissatisfaction with ODA's timeliness, and 11 rated the communication on rule changes poorly.
The auditors themselves encountered roadblocks, occasionally struggling with information delays due to personnel lacking the necessary institutional knowledge, and sometimes having difficulty obtaining information in a timely manner. In part, this was due to individuals lacking the institutional knowledge to answer questions. Further, we encountered instances where we were told information did not exist, only to have it provided to us later in the audit. These gaps caused not only frustration but also additional expenses and delays in the audit process, an issue that the report highlighted as critical.
To rectify these deep-seated problems, the audit extended nine recommendations aimed at ODA's processes and communication strategies, including the necessity of a more efficient State Plan on Aging, the publication of an overdue annual report by the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, and the development of a more robust data analytics approach to inform decision-making.
