New York agencies have completed some reforms recommended by state auditors, but fixes involving preschool special education and dam safety remain unfinished, according to a batch of audits released Friday by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The follow-up reports reviewed earlier findings across state technology, education, emergency communications and environmental oversight. They measure agencies' responses to prior recommendations; they are not fresh audits of every service or proof that all underlying problems have been eliminated.
Preschool services and dam oversight
The State Education Department implemented three of seven recommendations from a December 2024 audit of preschool special education services and partially implemented the other four, the comptroller's office said. The earlier review found that provider shortages and district waitlists could leave children without required services or cause delays.
The new follow-up does not say that every child on a waitlist has received services. It reports progress against the seven recommendations, with four still only partly addressed.
The findings matter to families because preschool programs are intended to provide required support before children enter school. The initial audit described shortages of available service providers; Friday's summary does not quantify how many children are still waiting or how long current delays last.
The Department of Environmental Conservation also partially implemented the one recommendation in a follow-up review of its dam safety program. The earlier audit identified gaps in oversight and enforcement involving emergency plans, engineering assessments and annual certifications. The department's program covers about 6,500 dams statewide.
Technology and emergency communications
Other follow-ups reported completed recommendations. The Office of Information Technology Services implemented all eight recommendations from a February 2025 audit of hardware inventory controls. That original review had found inaccurate inventory records, missing devices and security weaknesses at stockrooms. The office supports state entities and operates 117 stockrooms, according to the comptroller.
State agencies also implemented all three recommendations from a June 2025 audit of the transition to Next Generation 911. The earlier review faulted the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' oversight of the transition and found technical-control weaknesses in an address-maintenance system managed by the technology office. The digital 911 upgrade is intended to replace older analog infrastructure.
The State University of New York implemented both recommendations from a prior audit of its Educational Opportunity Program, which supports students facing educational and economic disadvantage. The earlier audit found some transactions that were unallowable or inadequately supported and incomplete documentation for certain counseling services.
Completion of audit recommendations is a measure of agency action, not a new determination about the outcomes of every student or emergency call. The follow-up summaries also do not provide a county-by-county breakdown of the statewide programs.
Provider cost reviews
The same release included three separate reviews of costs reported by special education providers. Auditors identified $271,842 in costs that did not comply with reimbursement rules at The Starting Place in Hudson, $670,549 at The Children's Home of Kingston and $258,712 at The Guild for Exceptional Children in New York City.
Those figures are audit findings about reported reimbursable costs, not findings of criminal wrongdoing. The first two providers are outside the Finger Lakes region, and the third is in New York City; the statewide agency follow-ups, rather than those local provider reviews, are the focus of this report.
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