Generally, I would give the Auditors office high marks. Sometimes a specific auditor will try to "make a name for themselves" for finding problems were problems don't exist.
There are some real confidentiality issues that do need to be handled carefully. However, I would like to know more about the specifics of this complaint. Actually, I kind of wonder if perhaps the Auditor wasn't auditing our democratic hack Attorney General's office and told to go elsewhere that it was all protected by attorney client priveledge. Our Attorney General is running for Governor and she has had some really horible problems associated with running the Attorney General's office. There was one DSHS case where they failed to file paperwork in time and lost a multi-million dollar legal case on a default judgement because the failed to file any paperwork. One local newspaper dug and found out that she tried to cover it up by re-writing parts of the "independent outside investigation."
Brian Sonntag is an excellent State Auditor - we would be hard pressed to find someone to take the flak he has had to endure while doing his job. The two most resistant agencies to audits are the Attorney General's office and DSHS. Their stonewalling tactics and outright obstruction of any investigations by Sonntag's office are legendary in Olympia - particularly in the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee (chared by Senator Val Stevens of the 39th District). I have sat through countless committee hearings where DSHS and the Attorney General's office were characterized as completely uncooperative with any efforts to obtain information. Complaints of abuse and mismanagement abound. The Senate tries to get to the bottom of these, but the two largest and most powerful agencies in the state just refuse to answer. Time for a clean sweep - let's get Governor Rossi in there. He'll take action.