Audit 391387

2025-002 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Program Name: Child Nutrition Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: Not Available Pass-Through Agency: Maryland State Department of Education Pass-Through Number: Not Available Award Period: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: Compliance: Nonfederal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All nonprocurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. 2 CFR 180.300 states that an entity may determine suspension and debarment status by: (a) Checking SAM (System for Award Management) Exclusions; or (b) Collecting a certification from that person; or (c) Adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person. Control: Per 2 CFR section 200.303(a), a nonfederal entity must: Establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the nonfederal entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. These internal controls should comply with the guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the “Internal Control-Integrated Framework,” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Condition/Context: For seven of eight vendors selected for testing, the Board was unable to provide documentation that it had verified the suspension and debarment status before entering into covered transactions with the vendor. Questioned Costs: There are no questioned costs related to this finding as the vendors were not federally suspended or debarred. Cause: The Board’s procedures and internal controls over suspension and debarment were updated in response to finding 2024-001 in the prior year but were not implemented until 4/1/2025. Therefore, all contracts executed prior to this date did not follow the updated suspension and debarment requirements. Effect: Failure to verify the suspension and debarment status of vendors may result in the procurement of goods or services from vendors that are suspended or debarred and result in unallowable expenditures charged to the program. Repeat Finding: Yes, refer to prior year finding 2024-001. Recommendation: We recommend that the Board review its policies and procedures to ensure they include the three options for determining suspension and debarment status listed in 2 CFR 180.300 and that controls are sufficient to ensure that the suspension and debarment status is verified for all vendors prior to entering into covered transactions. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the finding.