BishopAccountability.org
	Church Sex Abuse Audit Advances By Daniel Barrick Concord Monitor [New Hampshire] May 17, 2005 Two months after a judge dismissed objections by the Diocese of Manchester, state officials are about to begin long-delayed annual audits of the church's sexual abuse prevention policies. The attorney general's office is close to signing a contract with KPMG, a Boston-based auditor, to review whether the church has improved the way it prevents and reports sexual abuse. The contract goes before the Executive Council for approval tomorrow. The audits are a central piece of the landmark 2002 settlement between the state attorney general's office and the diocese. But the audits have been delayed for more than two years, as state and church officials sparred over the details. Church officials challenged the state's proposal to review the effectiveness of its new policies. The diocese also wanted the state to pay the entire cost of the audits, estimated at $550,000 over four years. In March, Hillsborough County Superior Court Justice Carol Ann Conboy dismissed nearly all of the diocese's objections. In the absence of an appeal by the diocese, state officials are taking Conboy's ruling as the final word on the audits. "We intend to go forward, and it will go forward as KPMG and the state want it to," said Senior Assistant Attorney General Will Delker. "Time will tell whether all the diocese's problems (with the audits) are resolved." Diane Quindlan, a spokeswoman for the diocese, would only say that the diocese "is proceeding with the compliance audit." Quindlan would not say whether the diocese agreed with all of Conboy's rulings or whether the diocese planned any further legal challenges. She did say that the diocese intends to pay half the audit's cost, as ordered by Conboy. But Quindlan's use of the term "compliance audit" points to one of the key differences between state and church officials. In negotiations, the diocese said it would only submit to a "compliance audit," in which outside investigators could verify whether the diocese had complied with the terms of the 2002 settlement. But state officials insisted on a "performance audit,"which would also allow them to assess the effectiveness of the church's new policies. In her ruling, Conboy agreed with the state's interpretation, writing: "The court cannot accept the diocese's contention that the audit may assess only whether the programs, training, etc., required under the agreement have been developed and/or provided." State attorneys have already met with KPMG auditors to hammer out details about the scope of their investigations. Delker said KPMG's auditors will likely consult with state authorities throughout the audit, but that the actual investigation and interviews will be conducted by KPMG. The contract before the Executive Council tomorrow would carry the audits through 2009. "We're cautiously optimistic that this is moving in the right direction," Delker said. In the 2002 settlement, the church avoided prosecution on child endangerment charges in exchange for submitting to annual audits of its abuse prevention policies.