Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Criteria
Title 2: Grant and Agreements, Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”), Subpart F Audit Requirements,
specifically §200.510 (b) Schedule of expenditures of Federal Awards:
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined
in accordance with §200.502 - Basis for determining Federal awards expended. While not required,
the auditee may choose to provide information requested by Federal awarding agencies and passthrough
entities to make the schedule easier to use. For example, when a Federal program has
multiple Federal award years, the auditee may list the amount of Federal awards expended for each
Federal award year separately. At a minimum, the schedule must include:
List of individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster of programs, provide the
cluster name, list individual Federal programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name.
Total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listing
Number (ALN) or other identifying number when the ALN information is not available. For a
cluster of programs, the total award expended for the cluster must also be provided.
For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and the
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included.
Condition
In performing procedures over the completeness and accuracy of El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.’s
(El Proyecto) schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) for the year ended September 30,
2023, we noted that the SEFA prepared by El Proyecto contained an incorrect ALN related to the
California State Preschool Program (CSPP). The ALN was initially presented as 93.975 instead of
93.575.
Cause
During the review of the SEFA, Finance Staff reviewed over 1,700 data fields for accuracy and
completeness. Unfortunately, one (1) data field had an undetected transposition error in the ALN
number causing inaccurate SEFA information.
Effect
An incorrect SEFA may result in an inefficient audit approach and incorrect program risk assessment
process which could lead to incorrect determination of major programs that should be included in the
audit testing. Also, failure to properly allocate costs to correct federal programs can lead to federal
funding being withdrawn or expenditures being paid with the incorrect funding source.
Questioned Costs
None.
Recommendation
The SEFA, which is prepared by the auditee and considered supplementary information to the financial
statements, is a key part of the reporting package required by the Uniform Guidance. The SEFA also
serves as the primary basis that auditors use to determine which programs will be audited as part of
the single audit. Therefore, the auditee’s responsibility for preparing an accurate and complete SEFA
is critical. We recommend that El Proyecto reviews its existing process for preparation and review
of the SEFA and incorporate additional procedures as necessary to the current review checklist,
including inquiry with the Federal granting agency or pass-through entity, when necessary, and other
research procedures to help ensure the accuracy and completeness of the SEFA and that errors are
identified and corrected before submission. In addition, we recommend that the grant tracking sheets
are appropriately reconciled to the accounting records to ensure payments do not exceed budgeted
amounts, especially for contracts that include multiple federal fiscal years of funding.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action
Ricardo Ornelas, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed the processes for preparation of the SEFA and
incorporated additional procedures to ensure errors are identified and corrected prior to submission,
including multiple levels of review for the prepared SEFA to ensure the information reported in the
SEFA agrees to the contract, amendment(s), payment confirmation, and underlying accounting
records.
In addition, management will adopt the recommendations above.
Criteria
Title 2: Grant and Agreements, Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”), Subpart F Audit Requirements,
specifically §200.510 (b) Schedule of expenditures of Federal Awards:
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined
in accordance with §200.502 - Basis for determining Federal awards expended. While not required,
the auditee may choose to provide information requested by Federal awarding agencies and passthrough
entities to make the schedule easier to use. For example, when a Federal program has
multiple Federal award years, the auditee may list the amount of Federal awards expended for each
Federal award year separately. At a minimum, the schedule must include:
List of individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster of programs, provide the
cluster name, list individual Federal programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name.
Total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listing
Number (ALN) or other identifying number when the ALN information is not available. For a
cluster of programs, the total award expended for the cluster must also be provided.
For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and the
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included.
Condition
In performing procedures over the completeness and accuracy of El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.’s
(El Proyecto) schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) for the year ended September 30,
2023, we noted that the SEFA prepared by El Proyecto contained an incorrect ALN related to the
California State Preschool Program (CSPP). The ALN was initially presented as 93.975 instead of
93.575.
Cause
During the review of the SEFA, Finance Staff reviewed over 1,700 data fields for accuracy and
completeness. Unfortunately, one (1) data field had an undetected transposition error in the ALN
number causing inaccurate SEFA information.
Effect
An incorrect SEFA may result in an inefficient audit approach and incorrect program risk assessment
process which could lead to incorrect determination of major programs that should be included in the
audit testing. Also, failure to properly allocate costs to correct federal programs can lead to federal
funding being withdrawn or expenditures being paid with the incorrect funding source.
Questioned Costs
None.
Recommendation
The SEFA, which is prepared by the auditee and considered supplementary information to the financial
statements, is a key part of the reporting package required by the Uniform Guidance. The SEFA also
serves as the primary basis that auditors use to determine which programs will be audited as part of
the single audit. Therefore, the auditee’s responsibility for preparing an accurate and complete SEFA
is critical. We recommend that El Proyecto reviews its existing process for preparation and review
of the SEFA and incorporate additional procedures as necessary to the current review checklist,
including inquiry with the Federal granting agency or pass-through entity, when necessary, and other
research procedures to help ensure the accuracy and completeness of the SEFA and that errors are
identified and corrected before submission. In addition, we recommend that the grant tracking sheets
are appropriately reconciled to the accounting records to ensure payments do not exceed budgeted
amounts, especially for contracts that include multiple federal fiscal years of funding.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action
Ricardo Ornelas, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed the processes for preparation of the SEFA and
incorporated additional procedures to ensure errors are identified and corrected prior to submission,
including multiple levels of review for the prepared SEFA to ensure the information reported in the
SEFA agrees to the contract, amendment(s), payment confirmation, and underlying accounting
records.
In addition, management will adopt the recommendations above.
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Criteria
Title 2: Grant and Agreements, Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”), Subpart F Audit Requirements,
specifically §200.510 (b) Schedule of expenditures of Federal Awards:
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined
in accordance with §200.502 - Basis for determining Federal awards expended. While not required,
the auditee may choose to provide information requested by Federal awarding agencies and passthrough
entities to make the schedule easier to use. For example, when a Federal program has
multiple Federal award years, the auditee may list the amount of Federal awards expended for each
Federal award year separately. At a minimum, the schedule must include:
List of individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster of programs, provide the
cluster name, list individual Federal programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name.
Total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listing
Number (ALN) or other identifying number when the ALN information is not available. For a
cluster of programs, the total award expended for the cluster must also be provided.
For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and the
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included.
Condition
In performing procedures over the completeness and accuracy of El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.’s
(El Proyecto) schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) for the year ended September 30,
2023, we noted that the SEFA prepared by El Proyecto contained an incorrect ALN related to the
California State Preschool Program (CSPP). The ALN was initially presented as 93.975 instead of
93.575.
Cause
During the review of the SEFA, Finance Staff reviewed over 1,700 data fields for accuracy and
completeness. Unfortunately, one (1) data field had an undetected transposition error in the ALN
number causing inaccurate SEFA information.
Effect
An incorrect SEFA may result in an inefficient audit approach and incorrect program risk assessment
process which could lead to incorrect determination of major programs that should be included in the
audit testing. Also, failure to properly allocate costs to correct federal programs can lead to federal
funding being withdrawn or expenditures being paid with the incorrect funding source.
Questioned Costs
None.
Recommendation
The SEFA, which is prepared by the auditee and considered supplementary information to the financial
statements, is a key part of the reporting package required by the Uniform Guidance. The SEFA also
serves as the primary basis that auditors use to determine which programs will be audited as part of
the single audit. Therefore, the auditee’s responsibility for preparing an accurate and complete SEFA
is critical. We recommend that El Proyecto reviews its existing process for preparation and review
of the SEFA and incorporate additional procedures as necessary to the current review checklist,
including inquiry with the Federal granting agency or pass-through entity, when necessary, and other
research procedures to help ensure the accuracy and completeness of the SEFA and that errors are
identified and corrected before submission. In addition, we recommend that the grant tracking sheets
are appropriately reconciled to the accounting records to ensure payments do not exceed budgeted
amounts, especially for contracts that include multiple federal fiscal years of funding.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action
Ricardo Ornelas, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed the processes for preparation of the SEFA and
incorporated additional procedures to ensure errors are identified and corrected prior to submission,
including multiple levels of review for the prepared SEFA to ensure the information reported in the
SEFA agrees to the contract, amendment(s), payment confirmation, and underlying accounting
records.
In addition, management will adopt the recommendations above.
Criteria
Title 2: Grant and Agreements, Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”), Subpart F Audit Requirements,
specifically §200.510 (b) Schedule of expenditures of Federal Awards:
The auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of Federal awards for the period covered by the
auditee's financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined
in accordance with §200.502 - Basis for determining Federal awards expended. While not required,
the auditee may choose to provide information requested by Federal awarding agencies and passthrough
entities to make the schedule easier to use. For example, when a Federal program has
multiple Federal award years, the auditee may list the amount of Federal awards expended for each
Federal award year separately. At a minimum, the schedule must include:
List of individual Federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster of programs, provide the
cluster name, list individual Federal programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the
applicable Federal agency name.
Total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listing
Number (ALN) or other identifying number when the ALN information is not available. For a
cluster of programs, the total award expended for the cluster must also be provided.
For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and the
identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included.
Condition
In performing procedures over the completeness and accuracy of El Proyecto del Barrio, Inc.’s
(El Proyecto) schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) for the year ended September 30,
2023, we noted that the SEFA prepared by El Proyecto contained an incorrect ALN related to the
California State Preschool Program (CSPP). The ALN was initially presented as 93.975 instead of
93.575.
Cause
During the review of the SEFA, Finance Staff reviewed over 1,700 data fields for accuracy and
completeness. Unfortunately, one (1) data field had an undetected transposition error in the ALN
number causing inaccurate SEFA information.
Effect
An incorrect SEFA may result in an inefficient audit approach and incorrect program risk assessment
process which could lead to incorrect determination of major programs that should be included in the
audit testing. Also, failure to properly allocate costs to correct federal programs can lead to federal
funding being withdrawn or expenditures being paid with the incorrect funding source.
Questioned Costs
None.
Recommendation
The SEFA, which is prepared by the auditee and considered supplementary information to the financial
statements, is a key part of the reporting package required by the Uniform Guidance. The SEFA also
serves as the primary basis that auditors use to determine which programs will be audited as part of
the single audit. Therefore, the auditee’s responsibility for preparing an accurate and complete SEFA
is critical. We recommend that El Proyecto reviews its existing process for preparation and review
of the SEFA and incorporate additional procedures as necessary to the current review checklist,
including inquiry with the Federal granting agency or pass-through entity, when necessary, and other
research procedures to help ensure the accuracy and completeness of the SEFA and that errors are
identified and corrected before submission. In addition, we recommend that the grant tracking sheets
are appropriately reconciled to the accounting records to ensure payments do not exceed budgeted
amounts, especially for contracts that include multiple federal fiscal years of funding.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action
Ricardo Ornelas, Chief Financial Officer, reviewed the processes for preparation of the SEFA and
incorporated additional procedures to ensure errors are identified and corrected prior to submission,
including multiple levels of review for the prepared SEFA to ensure the information reported in the
SEFA agrees to the contract, amendment(s), payment confirmation, and underlying accounting
records.
In addition, management will adopt the recommendations above.
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141289-1, 141290-1
1144365-0, 144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
A. Untimely Submission of Expenditure and Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Criteria
El Proyecto is required to use the City of Los Angeles (the City) template forms to submit the
Expenditure Report and General Ledger Reconciliation Report to the City by the following required
submission dates:
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, we noted that the following reports were not submitted
within the required timeframe:
Of the eight (8) monthly Expenditure Reports selected for testwork, we noted that six (6)
monthly Expenditure Reports were submitted beyond the due date as follows:
Of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports selected for testwork, we
noted that two (2) reports for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 were not submitted
within the required timeframe, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto did not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that required reports were
submitted to the City within the required timeframe.
Effect
Late submission of required reports will result in noncompliance with the grant and funding agreement.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its controls to ensure compliance with grant reporting
requirements, as specified in the award documents. We recommend that El Proyecto develop a
tracking of grants report submission schedule, maintain formal documentation of reports submitted,
increase management oversight and review procedures, and perform additional staff training, as
needed, regarding federal grants reporting requirements.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement additional monitoring measures to ensure that preparation and the
submission of grant expenditure reports by grant staff are submitted in a timely manner.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.224
Assistance Listing Program Title: Health Center Program Cluster
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Passed Through Entity: Not applicable
Federal Award Number: H80CS06647
Federal Award Year: January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
Compliance Requirement: Special Tests and Provisions – Sliding Fee Discounts
Criteria or Specific Requirements
Health centers must have a schedule of fees or payments for the provision of their health services
consistent with locally prevailing rates or charges and designed to cover their reasonable costs of
operation. They are also required to have a corresponding schedule of discounts applied and adjusted
based on the patient’s ability to pay. The patient’s ability to pay is determined based on the official
poverty guidelines, as revised annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register and HHS maintains a web page
that provides the poverty guidelines.
Non-grant funds (State, local, and other operational funding and fees, premiums, and third-party
reimbursements which the project may reasonably be expected to receive, including any such funds
in excess of those originally expected), shall be used as permitted under the law and may be used for
such other purposes as are not specifically prohibited under the law if such use furthers the objectives
of the project.
Condition
El Proyecto determines the amount of fees to be charged to a patient based on the patient’s income,
expenses and number of dependents in conjunction with the sliding fee schedule.
In performing testwork, we noted that 1 out of 25 sampled patients was charged an incorrect sliding
fee amount resulting in El Proyecto undercharging the patient by a total of $70. This error was due to
oversight by the staff in the patient’s income amount used to calculate the sliding fee. Rather than
using gross income from the annual income tax return of the patient, taxable income was incorrectly
used to determine the sliding fee amount.
Questioned Costs
The total net amount undercharged was $70 for one patient sample.
Cause
The potential causes for the above error are as follows:
The staff normally uses a paystub as a source document to determine the patient’s income;
The staff requires additional training on using tax returns to determine patient’s income.
Effect
Errors in the determination of patient fee amounts could result in overcharging or undercharging of
fees, and noncompliance with federal requirements.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto’s controls and procedures be strengthened to ensure 1) income
declaration is properly verified and adequately documented and 2) that the sliding fee discount is
properly determined and applied. This should include incorporating additional procedures, as
necessary, in the existing checklist used to determine the patient’s sliding fee amount. El Proyecto
should also provide additional training to staff involved in the sliding fee process and ensure that
appropriate individuals are properly monitoring and reviewing El Proyecto’s compliance with program
requirements. This will help ensure that the proper sliding fee is charged to patients and that program
goals and objectives are being met.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will continue to implement the following measures to ensure compliance with the sliding
fee discount program, and consistently assess patient income and family size.
El Proyecto will continue to provide ongoing training to clinic staff who evaluate the sliding fee
application at its clinic locations. The training will consist of reviewing sliding fee program policies and
procedures along with all applicable patient forms, sliding fee scale, and patient eligibility.
Person Responsible: Leticia Vasquez
Position of Responsible Party: Billing Manager
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
B. Lack of Formal Review of the Quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation Reports by
Authorized Personnel
Criteria
In accordance with FMD Directive No. 17–002, El Proyecto must submit to the City the quarterly
General Ledger Reconciliation Report by the end of the month following each quarter. A template form
provided by the City includes a preparer and reviewer section.
In accordance with El Proyecto’s formal policies and procedures, quarterly and monthly reports must
be reviewed and approved by one of the following individuals:
Haimanot Fekado, Program Director
Mary Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer
Corinne Sanchez, Chief Executive Officer
Condition
In performing reporting compliance testwork, of the four (4) quarterly General Ledger Reconciliation
Reports selected for testwork, we noted that all four (4) were not properly signed as reviewed and
approved by one of the authorized personnel listed above, as follows:
Cause
El Proyecto does not have adequate monitoring controls in place to ensure that reports submitted are
properly reviewed and approved by authorized personnel.
Effect
Lack of formal review and approval may result in errors not being identified and corrected prior to
submission to the City.
Questioned Costs
Not applicable.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto strengthen its monitoring controls to ensure that formal policies and
procedures for the review and approval of reports are properly adhered to.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures to ensure that only authorized personnel can review
and submit reports. This also includes signing off on all needed contracts.
Person Responsible: Yulin Lin
Position of Responsible Party: Controller
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024
Assistance Listing Number: 93.558
Assistance Listing Program Title: 477 Cluster: Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Passed Through Entity: City of Los Angeles Community Development Department
Federal Award Number: 141290-1
144413-0
Federal Award Year: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023
July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Per the City of Los Angeles contract, program eligibility requirements are as follows:
A City resident; and
A citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen as determined by right-to-work
requirements including the completion of the current United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf); and
A resident of an area served by the Los Angeles County Local Workforce Development Area
(LWDA); and
Between the ages of 14-18 if enrolled under CalWORKs; or
Any youth 19 years old must be in the CalLearn program if enrolled under CalWORKs funding
source.
Between the ages of 14 and 24 if enrolled under “Other Underserved Youth (OUY) formerly
Net County Cost (NCC)” funding source.
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “Department of Public Social Services (DPSS)
Foster” funding source; or
Between the ages of 14-24 if enrolled under “System Involved Youth” (SIY) funding source.
Directly and/or indirectly involved in public systems including, but not limited to: the justice
system (juvenile and adult), the child welfare system, public housing, and immigration. Foster,
CalWORKS, OUY or probation funds shall be expended before utilizing SIY funds when
possible.
Condition
In performing eligibility testwork, we noted 2 out of 25 participants had incorrect birth dates in their
CalJOBS profile.
After these issues were identified by the auditors and raised to management, El Proyecto corrected
the respective CalJOBS profiles to reflect the correct birth dates.
Note that the above errors did not impact the participants’ eligibility.
Cause
Participants’ birth dates must be manually entered into the CalJOBS website portal. There is currently
no formal review process in place to ensure that participant details entered into the CalJOBS website
portal are accurate and complete.
Effect
Lack of proper supporting documentation used to determine participant eligibility and lack of formal
review of participant data maintained in the CalJOBS system may result in inaccurate participant
eligibility determination.
Recommendation
We recommend that El Proyecto develop an adequate process and control to ensure that encoded
details to CalJOBS are accurate. We also recommend that El Proyecto verify the information from the
application form to the proof of birth date (i.e. birth certificate or California I.D.).
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions
El Proyecto will implement monitoring measures by grant supervising staff to ensure that typos entered
into any system are reviewed before final submission.
Person Responsible: Haimanot Fekadu
Position of Responsible Party: Youth Source Center Sun Valley
Completion Date: September 30, 2024