Department of Administrative Hearings Adjudication Timeliness Audit Follow-Up Inquiry

Executive Summary

The purpose of the 2016 audit was to determine if DOAH used nationally recognized performance measures—namely, clearance rate and time to disposition—to assess the flow and timeliness of cases under its purview. Clearance rate is the ratio of cases closed to cases open in a given reporting period. A clearance rate under 100% means that a case backlog will grow because more cases are opened than closed. Time to disposition measures the number of days it took to close a case. Our audit found that DOAH did not measure or set standards for clearance rates or time to disposition, and that the Department’s lack of monitoring impeded its ability to identify potentially problematic backlogs and cases of unusually long duration.

Based upon the results of the audit, OIG recommended that DOAH use clearance rates and time to disposition to evaluate its own performance on an ongoing basis. We further recommended that when DOAH management identifies changing trends, it should work with ticketing departments to identify underlying causes and, where necessary, create plans to address them.

In its response to the audit, DOAH committed to adopting clearance-rate and time-to-disposition standards. The Department also committed to monitoring its performance through quarterly reports and taking appropriate action to reduce backlogs.