Audit 322999

FY End
2023-12-31
Total Expended
$4.50M
Findings
8
Programs
4
Organization: Educare of Omaha, Inc. (NE)
Year: 2023 Accepted: 2024-09-30
Auditor: Eide Bailly LLP

Organization Exclusion Status:

Checking exclusion status...

Findings

ID Ref Severity Repeat Requirement
500163 2023-003 Material Weakness - AB
500164 2023-003 Material Weakness - AB
500165 2023-005 Material Weakness - I
500166 2023-006 Material Weakness - C
1076605 2023-003 Material Weakness - AB
1076606 2023-003 Material Weakness - AB
1076607 2023-005 Material Weakness - I
1076608 2023-006 Material Weakness - C

Programs

ALN Program Spent Major Findings
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $766,448 Yes 2
93.600 Head Start $663,180 Yes 1
93.659 Adoption Assistance $2,421 - 0
93.658 Foster Care Title IV-E $1,616 - 0

Contacts

Name Title Type
M964VNLX9QW4 Veronica Jones Auditee
4025616141 Darren Osten Auditor
No contacts on file

Notes to SEFA

Accounting Policies: Note 1 - Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated schedule of expenditures of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal grant activity of the Organization under programs of the federal government for the year ended December 31, 2023. The information in this Schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of the Organization, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, changes in net assets, or cash flows of the Organization. Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. No federal assistance has been provided to a subrecipient. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: Note 3 - Indirect Cost Rate The Organization has elected not to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate allowed under the Uniform Guidance.

Finding Details

US Department of Health and Human Services Passed through Omaha Public Schools Federal Financial Assistance Listing #93.600 Head Start Cluster Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 07CH011832-03-00 11/1/2022 – 10/31/2023, 07CH011832-02-00 11/1/2021 – 10/31/2022 Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization requested drawdowns of grant funds in excess of amounts awarded for the grant years ended 10/31/2023 and 10/31/2022 that were denied by the passthrough agency, Omaha Public Schools, resulting in an overstatement in grant revenue and receivables, and federal awards expended included in the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Cause: Management was not effectively tracking expenditures applied to its grant award during the year. Effect: Drawdowns submitted for reimbursement for the grant year ended 10/31/2023 in the amount of $203,096 and for the grant year ended 10/31/2022 in the amount of $102,927 were not approved resulting in grants receivable and revenue being overstated during the year. An entry was provided by management to write off the uncollectible amounts in the consolidated financial statements. The schedule of expenditures of Federal awards was adjusted to reduce federal awards expended for the amount of the overstatement during the current fiscal year. Questioned Costs: $306,023. Context: In testing the balances of grants receivable at June 30, 2024, it was noted that certain amounts were disallowed by the passthrough agency administering grant funds for the Organization. Of the $390,226 written off as uncollectible, $306,023 was applicable to the Head Start grant. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls over its grant monitoring to ensure that expenditures applied to each grant award are complete and accurate. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over its grant monitoring. Management is in the process of reviewing its accounting policies and procedures over grant monitoring to ensure amounts are tracked appropriately.
US Department of Health and Human Services Passed through Omaha Public Schools Federal Financial Assistance Listing #93.600 Head Start Cluster Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 07CH011832-03-00 11/1/2022 – 10/31/2023, 07CH011832-02-00 11/1/2021 – 10/31/2022 Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization requested drawdowns of grant funds in excess of amounts awarded for the grant years ended 10/31/2023 and 10/31/2022 that were denied by the passthrough agency, Omaha Public Schools, resulting in an overstatement in grant revenue and receivables, and federal awards expended included in the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Cause: Management was not effectively tracking expenditures applied to its grant award during the year. Effect: Drawdowns submitted for reimbursement for the grant year ended 10/31/2023 in the amount of $203,096 and for the grant year ended 10/31/2022 in the amount of $102,927 were not approved resulting in grants receivable and revenue being overstated during the year. An entry was provided by management to write off the uncollectible amounts in the consolidated financial statements. The schedule of expenditures of Federal awards was adjusted to reduce federal awards expended for the amount of the overstatement during the current fiscal year. Questioned Costs: $306,023. Context: In testing the balances of grants receivable at June 30, 2024, it was noted that certain amounts were disallowed by the passthrough agency administering grant funds for the Organization. Of the $390,226 written off as uncollectible, $306,023 was applicable to the Head Start grant. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls over its grant monitoring to ensure that expenditures applied to each grant award are complete and accurate. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over its grant monitoring. Management is in the process of reviewing its accounting policies and procedures over grant monitoring to ensure amounts are tracked appropriately.
US Department of Agriculture Passed through Nebraska Department of Education Federal Financial Assistance Listing #10.558 Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 28-1183-000 7/1/2022 6/30/2023 and 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024 Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that the Organization is managing the federal awards in compliance with federal statutes, regulations and terms and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization entered into purchase agreements with two vendors without complying with their purchasing and procurement policies and did not follow their internal policies related to debarment and suspension. Cause: The Organization did not seek competitive bids for purchase agreements that met the requirements of the Organization’s procurement policy. The Organization also did not document verification that vendors utilized were listed on the General Services List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement programs. Effect: Purchases were made by the Organization with federal grant funds that did not follow the procurement policies in place by the Organization. Also, contracts may have been entered into with parties that may have been debarred or suspended from federal procurement programs. Questioned Costs: None reported Context: We selected a sample of purchases made by the Organization subject to the procurement compliance requirement, and noted that two purchase agreements, which accounted for $543,031 of amounts expended for the program were not subjected to a competitive bid process. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: The Organization should review its procedures and controls over compliance with its purchasing and procurement policies to ensure compliance with the Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment compliance requirements of the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control and compliance with its procurement policies. Management is in the process of reviewing its existing purchasing and procurement policies and controls over the administration of those policies to ensure compliance with Uniform Guidance requirements.
US Department of Agriculture Federal Financial Assistance Listing #10.558 Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) Cash Management Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Criteria: CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that the Organization is managing the federal awards in compliance with federal statutes, regulations and terms and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization was unable to provide adequate documentation to support the number of meals claimed for reimbursement. Cause: The Organization did not properly reconcile its reimbursement claims to its meal counts included in its attendance records. Effect: Meals claimed for reimbursement by the Organization were not properly supported by its internal records. Questioned Costs: None reported Context: Reimbursement to institutions is based upon the actual and verifiable daily counts of meals served by meal type (breakfast, lunch, snack and supper) and eligibility status (paid, reduced, free) multiplied by the applicable meal rate of reimbursement. A sample of four monthly reimbursement requests made by the Organization subject to the reporting requirement was selected for testing. Of the four monthly reimbursement requests selected, each of them contained variances between the reported number of meals served not agreeing to the Organization’s meal counts included in attendance records for the selected month. Of the items tested, meal counts were overstated by 3 meals for one meal type (breakfast) on one reimbursement request and understated by a total of 384 meals for other meal types (breakfast, lunch and snack) on the four monthly reimbursement requests. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls to ensure that reimbursement requests for meals are properly reconciled to supporting documentation. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over compliance. Management is in the process of reviewing its existing controls over the tracking and submitting of its meal counts included in its attendance records for reimbursement.
US Department of Health and Human Services Passed through Omaha Public Schools Federal Financial Assistance Listing #93.600 Head Start Cluster Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 07CH011832-03-00 11/1/2022 – 10/31/2023, 07CH011832-02-00 11/1/2021 – 10/31/2022 Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization requested drawdowns of grant funds in excess of amounts awarded for the grant years ended 10/31/2023 and 10/31/2022 that were denied by the passthrough agency, Omaha Public Schools, resulting in an overstatement in grant revenue and receivables, and federal awards expended included in the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Cause: Management was not effectively tracking expenditures applied to its grant award during the year. Effect: Drawdowns submitted for reimbursement for the grant year ended 10/31/2023 in the amount of $203,096 and for the grant year ended 10/31/2022 in the amount of $102,927 were not approved resulting in grants receivable and revenue being overstated during the year. An entry was provided by management to write off the uncollectible amounts in the consolidated financial statements. The schedule of expenditures of Federal awards was adjusted to reduce federal awards expended for the amount of the overstatement during the current fiscal year. Questioned Costs: $306,023. Context: In testing the balances of grants receivable at June 30, 2024, it was noted that certain amounts were disallowed by the passthrough agency administering grant funds for the Organization. Of the $390,226 written off as uncollectible, $306,023 was applicable to the Head Start grant. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls over its grant monitoring to ensure that expenditures applied to each grant award are complete and accurate. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over its grant monitoring. Management is in the process of reviewing its accounting policies and procedures over grant monitoring to ensure amounts are tracked appropriately.
US Department of Health and Human Services Passed through Omaha Public Schools Federal Financial Assistance Listing #93.600 Head Start Cluster Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 07CH011832-03-00 11/1/2022 – 10/31/2023, 07CH011832-02-00 11/1/2021 – 10/31/2022 Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization requested drawdowns of grant funds in excess of amounts awarded for the grant years ended 10/31/2023 and 10/31/2022 that were denied by the passthrough agency, Omaha Public Schools, resulting in an overstatement in grant revenue and receivables, and federal awards expended included in the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Cause: Management was not effectively tracking expenditures applied to its grant award during the year. Effect: Drawdowns submitted for reimbursement for the grant year ended 10/31/2023 in the amount of $203,096 and for the grant year ended 10/31/2022 in the amount of $102,927 were not approved resulting in grants receivable and revenue being overstated during the year. An entry was provided by management to write off the uncollectible amounts in the consolidated financial statements. The schedule of expenditures of Federal awards was adjusted to reduce federal awards expended for the amount of the overstatement during the current fiscal year. Questioned Costs: $306,023. Context: In testing the balances of grants receivable at June 30, 2024, it was noted that certain amounts were disallowed by the passthrough agency administering grant funds for the Organization. Of the $390,226 written off as uncollectible, $306,023 was applicable to the Head Start grant. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls over its grant monitoring to ensure that expenditures applied to each grant award are complete and accurate. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over its grant monitoring. Management is in the process of reviewing its accounting policies and procedures over grant monitoring to ensure amounts are tracked appropriately.
US Department of Agriculture Passed through Nebraska Department of Education Federal Financial Assistance Listing #10.558 Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) Applicable Federal Award Number and Year – 28-1183-000 7/1/2022 6/30/2023 and 7/1/2023 – 6/30/2024 Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Material Noncompliance Criteria: CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that the Organization is managing the federal awards in compliance with federal statutes, regulations and terms and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization entered into purchase agreements with two vendors without complying with their purchasing and procurement policies and did not follow their internal policies related to debarment and suspension. Cause: The Organization did not seek competitive bids for purchase agreements that met the requirements of the Organization’s procurement policy. The Organization also did not document verification that vendors utilized were listed on the General Services List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement programs. Effect: Purchases were made by the Organization with federal grant funds that did not follow the procurement policies in place by the Organization. Also, contracts may have been entered into with parties that may have been debarred or suspended from federal procurement programs. Questioned Costs: None reported Context: We selected a sample of purchases made by the Organization subject to the procurement compliance requirement, and noted that two purchase agreements, which accounted for $543,031 of amounts expended for the program were not subjected to a competitive bid process. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: The Organization should review its procedures and controls over compliance with its purchasing and procurement policies to ensure compliance with the Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment compliance requirements of the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control and compliance with its procurement policies. Management is in the process of reviewing its existing purchasing and procurement policies and controls over the administration of those policies to ensure compliance with Uniform Guidance requirements.
US Department of Agriculture Federal Financial Assistance Listing #10.558 Child and Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) Cash Management Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance Criteria: CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that the Organization is managing the federal awards in compliance with federal statutes, regulations and terms and conditions of the federal award. Condition: The Organization was unable to provide adequate documentation to support the number of meals claimed for reimbursement. Cause: The Organization did not properly reconcile its reimbursement claims to its meal counts included in its attendance records. Effect: Meals claimed for reimbursement by the Organization were not properly supported by its internal records. Questioned Costs: None reported Context: Reimbursement to institutions is based upon the actual and verifiable daily counts of meals served by meal type (breakfast, lunch, snack and supper) and eligibility status (paid, reduced, free) multiplied by the applicable meal rate of reimbursement. A sample of four monthly reimbursement requests made by the Organization subject to the reporting requirement was selected for testing. Of the four monthly reimbursement requests selected, each of them contained variances between the reported number of meals served not agreeing to the Organization’s meal counts included in attendance records for the selected month. Of the items tested, meal counts were overstated by 3 meals for one meal type (breakfast) on one reimbursement request and understated by a total of 384 meals for other meal types (breakfast, lunch and snack) on the four monthly reimbursement requests. Repeat Finding from Prior Years: No Recommendation: We recommend that management continue to evaluate its processes and controls to ensure that reimbursement requests for meals are properly reconciled to supporting documentation. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is aware of the deficiency in internal control over compliance. Management is in the process of reviewing its existing controls over the tracking and submitting of its meal counts included in its attendance records for reimbursement.