Gavin Newsoms pet volunteer project slapped by federal watchdog over $10.8M in questioned costs

Gov.Gavin Newsom’s pet volunteer project — a program that brought tears to his eyes in March — has been flagged by federal auditors as having weak oversight of millions of dollars in grant money.A federal audit found ineffective oversight at California Volunteers and questioned $10.8 million in a nonprofit’s grant costs, raising accountability questions for Newsom and Josh Fryday, the governor’s “Chief Service Officer” who unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor this year. The report — commissioned by the AmeriCorps Office of Inspector General — found California Volunteers and three of seven organizations examined failed to comply with federal grant requirements.

Auditors recommended recovering nearly $4.8 million in federal funding from CivicWell and disallowing another $6 million in matching contributions.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story “Inadequate monitoring creates significant risk that federal funds are misused, wasted, or subject to fraud without detection,” the report states.“California Volunteers cannot rely on subrecipient financial reports if underlying records and supporting documentation are inadequate.”Newsom, who is currently under federal investigation along with his wife, has made expanding public service programs a signature initiative of his administration, committing hundreds of millions of dollars to California Volunteers.Fryday, whom Newsom appointed chief service officer in 2019, oversees the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, which houses the agency.The audit report’s findings challenge the track record Newsom highlighted when endorsing Fryday in the spring, a couple months before he finished third in the primary election.“Seven years ago, I asked Josh Fryday to serve in my admini...