The count and balance of cash was initiated on July 2, 1979 at 216 locations throughout the Commonwealth. All cash and cash items on hand and included in open mail, as well as all cash items on hand pending further processing and petty cash on hand, were counted, listed, and reconciled, where possible, to source documents. All bank accounts were listed, and postage stamps were inventoried. The report includes general observations based on survey data collected during the count and balance of cash and specific observations related to each court where the count and balance of cash took place. Tables give the total cash on hand and in banks by court department and present an analysis by categories for each court and an analysis of the balances for the following court departments: Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County, appeals court, superior court department, probate and family court department, housing court department, district court department, Boston Municipal Court Department, and juvenile court department.