Corrective Action Plans

The District will reduce net cash resources by investing in capital equiment where necessary and allocating direct cost overhead expenditures.

Corrective Action Taken or Planned: Child Nutrition, Inc. is in contact with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) awaiting official written notification of the requirement that the three visits per year take place within the fiscal year. Immediately, for the current fiscal year (FY2024), the Executive Director analyzed the Review History Report for all active providers to ensure compliance within the current fiscal year. The Executive Director drafted and finalized Reports Required to ensure Monitor Compliance within Fiscal Year (October – September) on March 11, 2024 and trained all Organization staff on March 14, 2024. Reports Required to ensure Monitor Compliance within Fiscal Year (October – September) • Review History Report: Executive Director and Field Specialist Manager are to review quarterly and communicate with Field Specialist if there are any discrepancies or required action. Field Specialists are required to run report for their case load and review quarterly. • Provider Due Reviews: Executive Director and Field Specialist Manager are to review monthly and communicate with Field Specialist if there are any discrepancies or required action. Field Specialists are required to run report for their case load and review monthly • Providers Not Trained: Executive Director and Field Specialist Manager are to review monthly and communicate with Field Specialist if there are any discrepancies or required action. Field Specialists are required to run report for their case load and review monthly • Sponsor Review Worksheet – Past Review History Executive Director and Program Manager will review the past review history on the Sponsor Review Worksheet as reports are received and entered into Minute Menu. The Program Manager will update Review# in Minute Menu. The Executive Director will edit next review due date as necessary. Name of Contact Person: Elizabeth Wittusen, Executive Director Phone Number of Contact Person: (540) 347-3767 Projected Completion Date: March 2024

FINDINGS—FEDERAL AWARDS 2023-001: Reporting Type of Finding: Noncompliance, significant deficiency Condition/Context: The District overclaimed meals served by 16 lunches, resulting in an overpayment of $71. Action planned in response to finding: The District will evaluate its internal control procedures over the preparation of meal reimbursement claims to eliminate clerical errors to ensure that the meals claimed to the Arizona Department of Education are accurately reported. Planned completion date for corrective action plan: For the period ending June 30, 2024. Name of the contact person responsible for corrective action: Casey Hancock, Business Manager

Management has identified the incidents where an agency signature was not obtained upon two deliveries of USDA foods to that agency. Management has verified that the deliveries of USDA foods to that agency were legitimate deliveries in accordance the Compliance Requirements for the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Management believes that enhanced training and supervision will improve the application of management's documented controls that require agency signatures be obtained upon delivery of USDA foods to partnering agencies.

Dear Mr. Waguespack, Please accept this letter as the Louisiana Department of Education's (LDOE) official response to the draft finding submitted by your office of the financial audit for the LDOE for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. A review of the audit finding has been conducted, and we concur with the finding. Recommendation: While there was significant improvement in reporting for ESF, LDOE should continue to strengthen internal controls to ensure accurate information is reported and should correct all amounts and obligation dates that were previously reported incorrectly. LDOE Response: LDOE has prioritized addressing the implementation of procedures and internal controls to comply with the requirements of FFATA. As noted in the recommendation, the agency has made significant improvements with the corrective actions taken during the 2022-2023 year in regard to the internal FFATA data reporting process. To remedy the issues identified previously, LDOE hired and trained a full-time staff person in October 2022 to be responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of reporting FFATA fiscal data. In addition, LDOE developed a FFATA reporting tracker to strengthen internal controls, which has aided in improving the agency’s ability to ensure the reporting of accurate and timely data to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). All of these measures were in place for the FY23 FFATA reporting timelines noting that the LDOE had committed to a deadline of September 2023 to correct all prior year findings, and the LDOE met this timeline. LDOE now has the FFATA reporting infrastructure in place to ensure reports are successfully submitted accurately and timely to FSRS for the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) and ESEA. During the current audit, it was determined that the FY2021 and FY2022 FFATA prior year findings across the majority of programs were cleared. Because of LDOE’s commitment to accurate and timely data reporting, the LDOE staff conducted its own review of fiscal data submitted to comply with FFATA. During this review, the LDOE staff identified a discrepancy in the report that is generated by an internal system used for the FFATA reporting for the Child Nutrition Cluster (CNC) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). It was determined that the report had been programmed in 2011 to pull cumulative totals versus monthly totals each month. Therefore, this system’s incorrect reporting had gone unnoticed by LDOE and the USDA for over a decade. This data reporting error resulted in an over-reporting of the total awards for CNC and CACFP since the creation and implementation of FFATA reporting. LDOE had received no guidance from the awarding agency regarding the FFATA reporting until contacting them recently for advice on this matter. LDOE notified the Legislative Auditors of this internal control issue during the onset of the FFATA CNC portion of the audit. The LLA has since noted this inaccuracy as a finding. Since identifying this discrepancy, LDOE has taken initiative to resolve this issue by contacting the system developer to change the generated report, contacting the awarding agency (USDA) for clarification surrounding the CNC and CACFP FFATA reporting requirements, and submitting a helpdesk ticket in the FSRS to correct the FY2023 reported amounts. During the FY23 audit of the ESF Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program funded by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, a test of 474 subawards totaling $293,847,931 related to 20 subwardees showed that LDOE reported the incorrect obligation date in the FSRS for 47 subawards totaling $967,987. This one issue represents an error rate of only .3%. Although the program fiscal data was accurate, the timeliness of when it was reported could have been slightly better. This immaterial issue will be resolved with increased staff training and enhancement of verification routines. LDOE has taken the requirement to submit reports accurately and timely very seriously and continues to dedicate extra time and resources to ensure all data reporting is accurate. If you have any questions, you may contact Keisha Payton by telephone at 225-219-4426 or via email at keisha.payton@la.gov.

FINDING 2023-005 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Special Tests & Provisions: School Food Service Accounts Summary of Finding: The School Corporation had not properly designed or implemented a system of internal controls, which would include appropriate segregation of duties, that would likely be effective in preventing, or detecting and correcting, noncompliance for Special Tests & Provisions: School Food Service Accounts. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Amy K. Sivley Contact Phone Number and Email Address: 260-563-2151; sivleya@apaches.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Explanation and Reasons for Disagreement: n/a Description of Corrective Action Plan: On a monthly basis, Corporation Treasure will print receipt postings to be reviewed, verified and signed off by Superintendent/CFO. Anticipated Completion Date: To begin immediately, March 2024

FINDING 2023-003 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Allowable Activities and Allowable Costs Summary of Finding: The School Corporation had not properly designed or implemented a system of internal control, which would include appropriate segregation of duties, that would likely be effective in preventing, or detecting and correcting noncompliance related to allowable activities and allowable costs. The School Corporation purchased two pieces of equipment that were over $5,000 each in Fiscal Year 2023 without approval from the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity. The first piece of equipment was a liftgate in the amount of $6,906, and the second piece of equipment was a vehicle in the amount of $7,500 for a combined total of $14,406. The financial management system of each non-federal entity must provide written procedures for determining allowability of costs in accordance with the federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal Award. The policy should provide clear guidance as to what costs constitute appropriate direct and indirect charges to federal awards as well as provide for consistency in charging practices across the School Corporation. The School Corporation did not have an allowable costs policy outlining the School Corporation's processes and policies with regards to costs charged to federal grants. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Amy K. Sivley Contact Phone Number and Email Address: 260-563-2151; sivleya@apaches.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Explanation and Reasons for Disagreement: n/a Description of Corrective Action Plan: Retrain Food Service Director and Assistant Food Service Director on the process for purchasing equipment. The district will also develop and pass an Allowable Costs Policy. Anticipated Completion Date: To be completed by July 1, 2024

Corrective Action Planned: Community Action Center of Northfield (CAC) is working with our food sourcing partners to investigate better accounting practices from their end to more accurately facilitate USDA food inventory before the food stuffs are delivered to CAC. Additionally, CAC will investigate cost-efficient models of physical inventory for in-kind donated (free) food. Name(s) of Contact Person(s) Responsible for Corrective Action: Scott Wopata, Executive Director, will be responsible for leading correct actions Anticipated Completion Date: While CAC is hopeful to receive more accurate inventory records from our food sources, this is outside of our control. Additionally, initial research into inventory management systems have proven extremely cost prohibitive as they relate to technology and/or labor, especially related to in-kind donated (free) food. We will pilot manual weekly inventory counts in the 2024/25 fiscal year with full corrective actions to reflect the outcome of those pilot studies.

AUDITEE’S CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN As required by Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (UG), the Jackson Public School District has prepared and hereby submits the following corrective action plan for the findings included in the Schedule of Findings and Questioned Cost for the year ended June 30, 2023: Finding 2023-001 Corrective Action Plan Details A.    Contact person responsible for corrective action: Name: Marc Rowe Title: Executive Director B.    Description of corrective action planned: The district will implement and strengthen its internal control systems over reporting and submitting its monthly claims for reimbursement to ensure claims are submitted within established reporting deadlines. C.    Anticipated completion date of corrective action: 6/30/2024

The Director of Nutrition Services, hired August 2023, has been trained on the verification process and procedures along with timeline compliance requirements.

The Director of Nutrition Services, hired August 2023, has been trained on the verification process and procedures along with timeline compliance requirements.

FINDING 2023-002 Information on the federal program: Subject: Child and Adult Care Food Program Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Program: Child and Adult Care Food Program Assistance Listing Number: 10.558 Federal Award Numbers and Years (Or Other Identifying Number): FY2022, FY2023 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Finding: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: There was not an effective control in place to review underlying transaction detail billed by the food service management compliance to verify compliance with Activities Allowed or Unallowed requirements. There was also not an effective control in place to monitor and review the food service management company followed procurement and suspension and debarment regulations. Context: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, waivers from the federal government provided free meals to all students through the Summer Food Service Program and allowed meals to be consumed off-site. Due to the changing regulations, the USDA and IDOE required School Corporations to implement an Integrity Plan for any schools providing Grab and Go Meals which includes inquiring of any adult requesting meals without children present as to how many children under the age of 18 would be served. Prior to March 2020, the School Corporation was using a point-of-sale system to record meals served. Starting in March 2020, the School Corporation was authorized by IDOE to utilize a clicker to track meals served. During the summer months of 2021, the School Corporation was also authorized by IDOE to provide meal pickup service on Wednesdays from 3 – 6 p.m. for 5 days’ worth of meal for both breakfast and lunch, resulting in 10 meals being served per child under the age of 18 each week. In June 2021, the Indiana Department of Education performed an unannounced meal site observation and a second, announced meal site review noting several program compliance and administrative issues. In July 2021, the IDOE performed a targeted review of the Summer Food Service Program for the period of March 2020 through May 2021 noting the following program compliance issues. • Meals were distributed without ensuring they were going to children ages 18 and younger as required by SFSP regulations. • Meals were taken off site to be distributed/dropped off at non—approved locations. • Meals were distributed and claimed on days when no meal service was approved, • Meals were distributed outside of approved meal service times. • Some meals were not distributed in household size quantities to the parent or guardian but distributed in bulk to large groups and knowingly transported in unsafe and unsanitary ways. • Meal count records were incomplete, unsigned, or missing required information. • Meal production was not adjusted when attendance fluctuations were noted. • Different menu items were ordered for and distributed to a specific group of individuals that was not the same as the planned menu. • Menu planning did not consider food inventory on hand and MSD of Pike Township’s access to USDA Foods (commodities) to reduce overall food costs. • Unauthorized donation, distribution, and disposal of foods purchased with federal funds was made without MSD Pike administration knowledge or approval. The review also noted a lack of administrative oversight of the food service management company contract including the following issues: • Food service management company representatives were making decisions regarding child nutrition program operations without consulting MSD of Pike Township administration. This practice was ongoing and occurred over several administrations. • Potential unallowable expenditures were noted in a review of monthly itemized invoices presented to MSD of Pike Township for recent payment. Items for personal consumption of food service management employees such as coffee, energy drinks, donuts, lunches, and even unauthorized travel expenses were presented but are considered unallowable expenditures from the food service account. As a result of the review, a total of $623,724 was disallowed for unsupported meal claims from September 2020 through May 2021 from the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for At-Risk suppers reimbursed through the CACFP program. The School Corporation and IDOE agreed to a repayment plan to repay the disallowed costs identified which was paid in December 2021. Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles During the testing of activities allowed or unallowed and allowed costs/cost principles, we selected 6 monthly invoices from the food service management company during the audit period. We noted there was not an internal control in place by School Corporation personnel to obtain and view the underlying support of transactions charged by the food service management company to verify the transaction was for a business purpose. The School Corporation did not obtain and review source documents, such as invoices or proof of payment for vendor transactions or a schedule of employees, assigned locations, salaries, and hours to be worked for payroll transactions submitted by the food service management company for reimbursement. We also selected a sample of 40 vendor transactions charged to Fund 0800 to test which were not related to the food service management company and incurred directly by the School Corporation. For 6 of the 40 transactions tested, we noted transactions for concession fees which were charged to the School Nutrition Program from July 2021 through September 2022 and are deemed unallowable. In October 2022, the School Corporation began recording all concession activity to Fund 2180, Concessions – District. The six concession transactions in our sample total $663 which are considered known questioned costs. Procurement and Suspension and Debarment The School Corporation did not have an internal control in place to monitor the food service management company was following proper procurement standards. School Corporations that contract with a food service management company on a cost reimbursement basis should ensure they are monitoring contracts sufficiently including verifying or reviewing the following: • The School Corporation should receive contract commits to supply. • Reviewing invoices received from the food service management company compared to amounts paid by the food service management company. • Reviewing contracts for compliance with Buy American • Verifying return of discounts, rebates, or credit are properly applied to the School Corporation’s account. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding. MSD of Pike Township (Pike) agrees during the audit period effective controls were not in place to review and approve meal counts tracked and submitted for reimbursement, review underlying transaction detail billed, nor monitor and review the Food Service Management Company (FSMC) followed procurement and suspension and debarment regulations. Pike has increased the Business Office oversight of the Food Service Management Company (FSMC). Pike has hired a Food Service Financial Specialist to provide more the detailed review of invoices and operations ledger and the underlying transaction details. Additionally, effective October 2022, MSD of Pike Township hired a Director of Food Service to provide oversight of the Food Service Management Company (FSMC) including but not limited to meal counts, site audits, and compliance with procurement regulations. The FSMC no longer has access to submit claims on the CNP website. Responsible Party and Timeline for Completion: Greg A. Foster, Chief Financial Officer, will oversee the corrective action plan.

FINDING 2023-003 Information on the federal program: Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster – Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Program: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program for Children Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Award Numbers and Years (Or Other Identifying Number): FY2022, FY2023 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Finding: Material Weakness Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation to ensure compliance with requirements related to the Child Nutrition Program and Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirements. Context: During the audit period, the School Corporation had purchases over $25,000 from three vendors charged to Fund 0800 – School Lunch Fund which requires suspension and debarment procedures. For one of two vendors selected for testing, there was no evidence provided to verify that the vendor was checked for suspension and debarment prior to entering into the transaction. The total amount disbursed to the vendor during the audit period was $141,128. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding. Specifically, regarding Suspension and Debarment, for contracts over $25,000, MSD of Pike Township will obtain a Certification or include a Suspension and Debarment clause in the contract. Absent Certification, the Director of Grants will review for “Suspension and debarment” and maintain documentation. This review will continue annually. Responsible Party and Timeline for Completion: Greg A. Foster, Chief Financial Officer, will oversee the corrective action plan.

FINDING 2023-001 Information on the federal program: Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Program: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, and Summer Food Service Program for Children Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Award Numbers and Years (Or Other Identifying Number): FY2022, FY2023 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Finding: Material Weakness, Qualified Opinion Condition: There was not an effective control in place to review underlying transaction detail billed by the food service management compliance to verify compliance with Activities Allowed or Unallowed requirements. There was also not an effective control in place to monitor and review the food service management company followed procurement and suspension and debarment regulations. Context: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, waivers from the federal government provided free meals to all students through the Summer Food Service Program and allowed meals to be consumed off-site. Due to the changing regulations, the USDA and IDOE required School Corporations to implement an Integrity Plan for any schools providing Grab and Go Meals which includes inquiring of any adult requesting meals without children present as to how many children under the age of 18 would be served. Prior to March 2020, the School Corporation was using a point-of-sale system to record meals served. Starting in March 2020, the School Corporation was authorized by IDOE to utilize a clicker to track meals served. During the summer months of 2021, the School Corporation was also authorized by IDOE to provide meal pickup service on Wednesdays from 3 – 6 p.m. for 5 days’ worth of meal for both breakfast and lunch, resulting in 10 meals being served per child under the age of 18 each week. In June 2021, the Indiana Department of Education performed an unannounced meal site observation and a second, announced meal site review noting several program compliance and administrative issues. In July 2021, the IDOE performed a targeted review of the Summer Food Service Program for the period of March 2020 through May 2021 noting the following program compliance issues. • Meals were distributed without ensuring they were going to children ages 18 and younger as required by SFSP regulations. • Meals were taken off site to be distributed/dropped off at non—approved locations. • Meals were distributed and claimed on days when no meal service was approved, • Meals were distributed outside of approved meal service times. • Some meals were not distributed in household size quantities to the parent or guardian but distributed in bulk to large groups and knowingly transported in unsafe and unsanitary ways. • Meal count records were incomplete, unsigned, or missing required information. • Meal production was not adjusted when attendance fluctuations were noted. • Different menu items were ordered for and distributed to a specific group of individuals that was not the same as the planned menu. • Menu planning did not consider food inventory on hand and MSD of Pike Township’s access to USDA Foods (commodities) to reduce overall food costs. • Unauthorized donation, distribution, and disposal of foods purchased with federal funds was made without MSD Pike administration knowledge or approval. The review also noted a lack of administrative oversight of the food service management company contract including the following issues: • Food service management company representatives were making decisions regarding child nutrition program operations without consulting MSD of Pike Township administration. This practice was ongoing and occurred over several administrations. • Potential unallowable expenditures were noted in a review of monthly itemized invoices presented to MSD of Pike Township for recent payment. Items for personal consumption of food service management employees such as coffee, energy drinks, donuts, lunches, and even unauthorized travel expenses were presented but are considered unallowable expenditures from the food service account. As a result of the IDOE review, a total of $1,299,365 was disallowed from the Summer Food Service Program. The School Corporation and IDOE agreed to a repayment plan to repay the disallowed costs identified. The School Corporation completed the repayment to IDOE in December 2021. Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles During the testing of activities allowed or unallowed and allowed costs/cost principles, we selected 6 monthly invoices from the food service management company during the audit period. We noted there was not an internal control in place by School Corporation personnel to obtain and view the underlying support of transactions charged by the food service management company to verify the transaction was for a business purpose. The School Corporation did not obtain and review source documents, such as invoices or proof of payment for vendor transactions or a schedule of employees, assigned locations, salaries, and hours to be worked for payroll transactions submitted by the food service management company for reimbursement. We also selected a sample of 40 vendor transactions charged to Fund 0800 to test which were not related to the food service management company and incurred directly by the School Corporation. For 6 of the 40 transactions tested, we noted transactions for concession fees which were charged to the School Nutrition Program from July 2021 through September 2022 and are deemed unallowable. In October 2022, the School Corporation began recording all concession activity to Fund 2180, Concessions – District. The six concession transactions in our sample total $663 which are considered known questioned costs. Procurement and Suspension and Debarment The School Corporation did not have an internal control in place to monitor the food service management company was following proper procurement standards. School Corporations that contract with a food service management company on a cost reimbursement basis should ensure they are monitoring contracts sufficiently including verifying or reviewing the following: • The School Corporation should receive contract commits to supply. • Reviewing invoices received from the food service management company compared to amounts paid by the food service management company. • Reviewing contracts for compliance with Buy American • Verifying return of discounts, rebates, or credit are properly applied to the School Corporation’s account. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan: Management agrees with the finding. MSD of Pike Township (Pike) agrees during the audit period effective controls were not in place to review and approve meal counts tracked and submitted for reimbursement, review underlying transaction detail billed, nor monitor and review the Food Service Management Company (FSMC) followed procurement and suspension and debarment regulations. Pike has increased the Business Office oversight of the Food Service Management Company (FSMC). Pike has hired a Food Service Financial Specialist to provide more the detailed review of invoices and operations ledger and the underlying transaction details. Additionally, effective October 2022, MSD of Pike Township hired a Director of Food Service to provide oversight of the Food Service Management Company (FSMC) including but not limited to meal counts, site audits, and compliance with procurement regulations. The FSMC no longer has access to submit claims on the CNP website. Responsible Party and Timeline for Completion: Greg A. Foster, Chief Financial Officer, will oversee the corrective action plan.

This error was due to clerical oversight. The program has reviewed the processes in place with the appropriate staff and has implemented additional layers of review to ensure compliance.

Finding Number: 2023-001 Planned Corrective Action: In 2022- 2023, Aramark hired a new Food Service Supervisor. The Supervisor failed to report the numbers correctly. She was told to pull the POS report and use the Aramark calendar, which differs from a monthly calendar. Once she had the numbers, they would be manually input into the Aramark program. She was using these numbers to report to the ODE. When doing this, she made several errors, which resulted in us reporting more meals than we actually served. Correction : 1) Report numbers to the ODE using the CN6 and CN7 reports. 2) Correct our reported number to ODE using the CN6 and CN7 reports for August - November 2023. Anticipated Completion Date: 1) We started in December 2023 using the correct report s, the CN6 and CN 7, to report our numbers to the ODE for reimbursement. 2) In February, we put in the correct numbers for August- November 2023 with the ODE, so our numbers will balance for the 2023-2024 school year. Responsible Contact Person : Michael Pissini, Treasurer Leslie McKimmie, Food Service Director

Department: Education Title: Internal control over CNC subrecipient monitoring procedures needs improvement Questioned Costs: None Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Child Nutrition supervisor will review details of the findings from the state auditors to assess where errors occurred in both administrative review completion and tracking. Clear separation of duties will be created between administrative staff responsibilities for review tracking and reviewer staff responsibilities. Staff will be trained on review tracking spreadsheet responsibilities. Staff will be trained on administrative review tool completion. Training will highlight areas where data was missing, more information was needed or errors were made. This will occur at monthly staff meetings. Special Provision 2 base year review staff will be trained on the need to ensure SFAs revise claims as required due to base year review findings. It will be recommended that a tracking document be created to validate that claim adjustments have been made. If the adjustment is over the 60 day late claim window, the financial specialist will track the reason for the claim exception. Completion Date: March 15, 2024 (first, second and third items), June 10, 2024 (fourth item) and March 14, 2024 (sixth item) Agency Contact: Adriane Ackroyd, Assistant Director Child Nutrition, DOE, 207-592-1722

Department: Education Title: Internal control over CNC donated food inventory needs improvement Questioned Costs: None Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department found a ticketing issue in CNPWeb, and a ticket was issued to remediate the problem. The Department staff will continue to provide paper back up until the computer system is found to be reliable. Completion Date: December 31, 2024 and March 18, 2024 respectively Agency Contact: Jane McLucas, Director of Child Nutrition, DOE, 207-624-6880

Department: Education Title: Internal control over the submission of CNC Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards information needs improvement Questioned Costs: None Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department will work with auditors to find the SEFA numbers. The Department director will create a procedure to report the SEFA numbers to DOE Finance. The Department will review with DOE Finance for approval of the procedure. Completion Date: March 1, 2024, May 1, 2024 and June 1, 2024 respectively Agency Contact: Jane McLucas, Director of Child Nutrition, DOE, 207-624-6880

Department: Education Title: Internal control over CNC claim reimbursements needs improvement Questioned Costs: None Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department will adjust the one-time exception procedure to include the procedure for downward adjustments and tracking of sponsor requested downward adjustments. The Department will adjust the SFSP application/site information sheet approval and update procedures to include instructions on documentation needs. Requests for site information sheet changes will be documented and maintained in CNPweb. CNPweb ticket requests have been submitted to ensure downward adjustments are tracked in CNPweb. CNPweb ticket requests have been submitted to ensure site information sheet changes are date stamped. Completion Date: March 12, 2024 (first and second items), March 1, 2025 (third item) and June 9, 2022 (fourth item) Agency Contact: Adriane Ackroyd, Assistant Director Child Nutrition, DOE, 207-592-1722

Department: Health and Human Services Title: Internal control over P-EBT Food Benefits needs improvement Questioned Costs: Known: $4,271 Likely: $4,862,998 Status: Management’s opinion is that corrective action is not required Corrective Action: The Department disagrees with the following Conditions: For 22 students, MDOE was not able to identify the specific student whose continuous absence established those students’ schools’ eligibility date. The P-EBT state plan required at least one student to be absent or remote for at least five consecutive days to establish a school eligibility date and MDOE in fact applied this test and established a school eligibility start date at the time the eligibility files were generated. While the school eligibility start date was captured and preserved in the original files provided to OSA, no student was named. The name of the student was not relevant to other students’ eligibility, and creating or preserving a record of the particular student whose absence conferred eligibility was not a requirement of Maine’s P-EBT plan with FNS, the Department’s MOU with MDOE, or federal P-EBT policy. Further attaching that kind of Personal Identifying Information (PII) to other students’ records would not be appropriate. Additionally, since local educational agencies (LEAs) update the core database throughout the school year and beyond, the results could not be replicated in the course of this audit to retrospectively identify the particular students whose absences conferred eligibility. Neither the omission of the students’ names in the original file nor DOE’s inability to identify such students during the audit establishes that it was improper to issue P-EBT benefits in connection with those students. These students were found eligible based on the best data available to MDOE at the time. Likewise, the Department acknowledges that for four students, MDOE was unable – when requested to do so by the OSA – to locate their economically disadvantaged status in the database updated by LEAs throughout the school year. That does not mean, however, that it was improper to issue P-EBT benefits in connection with those students. These students’ economically disadvantaged status was verified by MDOE and captured in the files at the time of issuance. The Department disagrees that tracking benefit issuance by child identification number is inadequate to monitor benefit issuances and ensure benefits are not duplicated. Child identification numbers are the most reliable way to track and deduplicate issuance. As pointed out in this finding, many households had more than one child. Additionally, some children may have moved from one household to another during the period in question. The Department disagrees with the Context and Likely Questioned Costs: For the reasons detailed above, only three – not 29 – of the students sampled were established to have been issued benefits in error. OSA’s calculations should be adjusted accordingly. The Department disagrees with the Causes: OSA is incorrect to conclude that OFI should have reviewed, reconciled, and verified data provided by MDOE prior to issuance for at least two reasons. First, contrary to OSA’s characterization of the partnership, the Department and MDOE were jointly responsible for administering the P-EBT program, with delegated duties defined in the state plan. That federally approved plan considered MDOE data to be accurate and actionable, and it did not contemplate OFI independently validating such data. Second, the Department is not permitted access to the local educational agency data that would have been necessary for the type of review and reconciliation proposed. The Department disagrees with the Recommendations: The three bulleted recommendations cannot be implemented. The P-EBT program ended December 31, 2023. It will not be possible to take corrective action in the implementation of a program that no longer exists. The State is confident that all issuances in the audit period, including those raised by OSA, were issued correctly based on the best information available at the time by the Departments responsible for implementing the P-EBT program. As such and following FNS guidance that no benefits are to be recouped unless the household applied for them directly, OFI will not revisit prior P-EBT decisions as suggested in OSA’s additional recommendation. Completion Date: N/A Agency Contact: Ian Yaffe, Director, Office for Family Independence, DHHS, 207- 592-1481

FINDING 2023-001 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster – Eligibility, Procurement and Suspension and Debarment , Special Tests and Provisions – Verification of Free and Reduced Price Applications (NSLP) Summary of Finding: Material Weakness Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Steve Nauman, Treasurer Contact Phone Number and Email Address: Phone: 812-522-3340 Email: naumans@scsc.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: The SCSC management team will design and implement a proper system of internal control, including policies and procedures that would provide segregation of duties to ensure appropriate reviews, approvals and oversight are taking place concerning the Eligibility, Procurement and Suspension and Debarment, and Special Tests and Provisions - Verification of Free and Reduced Price Applications (NSLP) compliance requirements. Anticipated Completion Date: The projected date of completion is March 31, 2024.

District will work with legal counsel to establish parameters to execute verification for cause as outlined in USDA Food and Nutrition Services, Child Nutrition Programs Eligibility Manual for School Meals - Determining and Verifying Eligibility, Section 6 - Verification. District will work within established parameters to verify district employee salaries of approved applications submitted by district employees

FINDING 2023‐004 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster ‐ Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Summary of Finding: The School Corporation designed and implemented a process to ensure that costs charged for the procurement of goods and services to the food service program were properly procured. The process was for vendor claims to be reviewed and approved by the department head or Food Service Director and the Treasurer. Prior to entering subawards and covered transactions with federal award funds, recipients are required to verify that such contractors and subrecipients are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded. “Covered transactions” include but are not limited to contracts for goods and services awarded under a non‐procurement transaction (i.e. grant agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000. The verification is to be done by checking the SAMs exclusions, collecting a certification from that vendor, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that vendor. Recommendation: We recommended that management of the School Corporation establish a proper system of internal controls and develop policies and procedures to ensure that contractors are not suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded prior to entering into any contracts or subawards. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Tim Garland, Superintendent Contact Phone Number: 574‐626‐2525 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: During the audit period, sufficient internal controls were deficient in specific areas which prevented comprehensive program compliance. To address and rectify the issues as presented, vendor verification will be completed on an annual basis. The Food Service Director and Treasurer will confirm through documentation that vendors are not suspended or debarred using resources available. Documentation representing oversight and compliance will be retained and referenced as needed for verification. Anticipated Completion Date: Q2 2024 (6/30/2024)

FINDING 2023‐003 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster ‐ Internal Controls Summary of Finding: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Activities Allowed and Unallowed. Recommendation: We recommended that management of the School Corporation design and implement a proper system of internal control, including policies and procedures that would provide segregation of duties to ensure appropriate reviews, approvals and oversight are taking place regarding vendor claims. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Tim Garland, Superintendent Contact Phone Number: 574‐626‐2525 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: Lewis Cass Schools makes every effort to ensure proper documentation is obtained before processing vendor claims. To prevent oversight and strengthen internal controls, each level of management oversight has implemented stringent safeguards. All food service vendor claims will not be processed for payment without the authorization of the Food Service Director. Upon confirmation of the Food Service Director’s documented authorization, the Deputy Treasurer will document the authorization, and prepare the claim for the Treasurer. The Treasurer will ensure documented authorization of the Food Service Director and the Deputy Treasurer, along with the proper budget account code applied before releasing authorization for payment. The application of the procedures above will apply to all vendor claims for payment. Therefore, vendors meeting the thresholds for suspension and debarment will also be included. Anticipated Completion Date: Q2 2024 (6/30/2024)