Denver Audit Finds Office of Social Equity and Innovation Still Falling Short on Financial Oversight

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette

Denver’s Office of Social Equity and Innovation has yet to implement half of the 14 recommendations made by auditors in 2024, leaving the city and the Colorado Youth Detention Continuum Program at risk of misusing small-dollar funds.

A follow-up report released by City Auditor Tim O’Brien on Thursday noted that, while the office has made progress, gaps involving policies and procedures, inconsistent financial records and insufficient monitoring of grant-related expenses remain.

Denver’s Chief Equity Officer Ben Sanders told The Denver Gazette that much of what is in the auditor’s report about the youth detention program is “fair.”

“The auditor is auditing a program that transitioned, starting in the summer of 2024, from the Department of Safety over to the Office of Social Equity and Innovation,” Sanders said. “The audit itself shows that many of the concerns highlighted in the document are, in fact, addressed in practice and in documentation provided by our office, but that there are a few places where official policy has not been developed and implemented.”

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