JJCPA - Fiscal Recordkeeping Guidelines

  Fiscal and Recordkeeping Guidelines(PDF File)

Expenditures

The SCO is designated in the Government Code as the fiduciary agent for oversight of fiscal matters related to both the COPS and JJCPA monies. The Board of Corrections (BOC) is responsible for review, modification, and approval of county plans, reporting of total program expenditures, and providing technical assistance on program activities. Beginning in 2003, the BOC must provide expenditure and outcome reports to the Legislature and Governor. Expenditure data is also required annually and must be provided by the county auditor to the SCO. The SCO is responsible for summarizing the information and reporting to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Encumbrances

Definition: Commitments related to unperformed (executory) contracts for goods and services. An encumbrance requires a commitment by the recipient entity prior to the end of the fiscal year and that the commitment or transaction be completed within an encumbrance liquidation period.

Annual Progress Report: For the purpose of the BOC's online reporting system encumbrances should be included as expenditures for the fiscal year during which they were encumbered.

Process For Returning Unspent Monies

The State Controller's Office, as the fiduciary agent for JJCPA, has outlined in its correspondence to counties on May 1, 2002, a detailed reporting, encumbrance, and return of State funds process and has provided that information to County Auditor/Controllers and Chief Probation Officers. This information is available by contacting the SCO directly or reviewing their website regarding these processes at:

http://www.sco.ca.gov/ard/local/locrep/slesf/legislation/slesfremitform.pdf

Interest

Counties report interest spent on JJCPA programs in the same manner they report fund expenditures. Interest can be distributed between programs and/or line items or it can be assigned to one specific program or line item. The decision regarding the allocation of interest should be based on specific county program needs, however allocation to one specific program and/or line item may provide a convenient way to track interest expenditures.