New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Grant Funds from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Follow-Up Report)

The United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program grant funds to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In audit 2006-N-6, we audited the Department’s grant expenditures and identified certain internal control weaknesses. For example, we noted that equipment costing $625,391, which was purchased for the express purpose of facilitating a response to an incident of bioterrorism or a similar such emergency, was sitting in storage for extended periods of time, and as a result, would not have been available had such an emergency arose. We recommended that certain improvements be made in the Department’s emergency response practices, and when we followed up on these matters with Department officials, we found that the improvements had been made.

For a complete copy of Report 2009-F-3 click here.