Reform implication · 11 cases

Audit the nonprofits that spend public money

Public agencies are required to monitor a defined share of subrecipient nonprofit spending each year. Several cases in this group document instances where that share was not met or where monitoring was performed on paper only. The reform calls for verified, sampled, on-the-ground monitoring with published results.

  1. KC-2026-008 · May 19, 2026 · Documented · $12M
    This case is the public-facing escalation of the August 2025 DCHS systemic audit (KC-2025-001). The sequence of events:
    Structural failureMisuse of public resourcesRule gaming
  2. KC-2026-001 · Apr 22, 2026 · Documented · $13M
    The City of Seattle and King County jointly commissioned an outside forensic review of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) in August 2025. The accounting firm Clark Nuber P.S. conducted the review, which was released…
    Structural failureMisuse of public resources
  3. WA-2026-DCYF · Mar 30, 2026 · Documented · $413M
    The Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO) FY2024 Single Audit, released in March 2025, issued a disclaimer opinion on DCYF's Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) program — meaning auditors could not form any opinion whatsoever on…
    Structural failure
  4. KC-2026-007 · Mar 25, 2026 · Documented
    On March 25, 2026, King County Councilmembers Reagan Dunn (R), Rod Dembowski (D), and Sarah Perry (D) issued a joint letter to the King County Executive announcing their intent to draft legislation creating a King County Office of…
    Structural failure
  5. SEA-2026-005 · Mar 23, 2026 · Documented
    The Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO) published its Accountability Audit Report on the City of Seattle on March 23, 2026, covering the fiscal year July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Auditors reviewed areas with the highest risk of…
    Structural failure
  6. WA-2026-COMMERCE-DIGITAL-NAV · Jan 27, 2026 · Documented · $92.5M
    The Digital Navigator Program was established by the Washington State Department of Commerce to expand equitable access to online services, primarily for populations including recent immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, seniors,…
    Misuse of public resourcesStructural failure
  7. SEA-2025-003 · Dec 1, 2025 · Reported · $5.5M
    PubliCola published an internal Seattle Police Department (SPD) memo dated November 18, 2025, on December 1, 2025. The memo projected that SPD would exceed its 2025 overtime budget by approximately $5.5 million if typical overtime…
    Structural failureMisuse of public resources
  8. KC-2025-003 · Oct 31, 2025 · Documented
    Following the King County Auditor's 2025 review of DCHS contracting, 19 contractor organizations were flagged for financial irregularities described as "dubious expenses."
    Structural failureMisuse of public resources
  9. KC-2025-001 · Aug 26, 2025 · Documented · $1.80B
    The King County Auditor published a review of King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) contracting program in August 2025. The findings:
    Structural failureMisuse of public resources
  10. SEA-2025-005 · Mar 25, 2025 · Documented · $6M
    In 2024, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Council President Sara Nelson jointly asked the Seattle Office of City Auditor to examine current gun violence patterns. The auditor, David G. Jones, published the report on March 25, 2025. It identified…
    Structural failureMisuse of public resources
  11. WA-2024-COMMERCE-COVID · Jun 6, 2024 · Documented · $75M
    The Washington State Auditor's Office released its FY2023 Statewide Single Audit on June 6, 2024. The audit covered Washington State's use of federal funds across multiple programs and produced 86 findings — the highest number in recent…
    Structural failure