Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services State Department/Agency: Kansas Department of Health and Environment Federal Program Name: Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Assistance Listing Number: 93.323 Award Number and Period: NU50CK000549 (7/1/2019...
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services State Department/Agency: Kansas Department of Health and Environment Federal Program Name: Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Assistance Listing Number: 93.323 Award Number and Period: NU50CK000549 (7/1/2019 – 7/31/2027) & NU51CK000384 (8/1/2024 – 7/31/2029) Compliance Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance, Material Noncompliance (Modified Opinion) Condition: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (Department) submits quarterly workplan milestone progress reports; however, the reports provided are cumulative in nature and prior quarterly versions are not retained. As a result, auditors were unable to review progress and supporting information for each individual quarter, as only the most recent cumulative report was available. We were also unable to verify the dates that the quarterly performance reports were submitted. The Department prepares and submits quarterly workplan milestone progress reports and annual performance reports; however, documented evidence of supervisory or management review and approval of these reports prior to submission was not consistently maintained. As a result, the Department was unable to provide documentation demonstrating that the reports were reviewed for accuracy, completeness, or compliance with reporting requirements. Recommendation: We recommend that the Department implement procedures to retain copies of each quarterly workplan milestone progress report at the time of submission. Maintaining discrete quarterly reports will improve documentation, support compliance with program requirements, and allow for effective monitoring and audit review of progress throughout the reporting period. In addition, we recommend that the Department implement formal procedures to document the review and approval of the quarterly and annual performance reports prior to submission. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The ELC program director will download quarterly workplan milestone updates to capture quarterly progress. These will initially be signed as approved electronically by the program staff and the ELC director. A more permanent solution will be a software solution that will allow the upload of the quarterly milestone update files prior to submission to ELC CAMP, with review and approval queues. The same procedure will also be used for annual performance measures. A standard operating procedure will be created to ensure formal documentation of this process. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Sheri Tubach Planned completion date for corrective action plan: March 1, 2026, for the interim plan and August 1, 2026, for the permanent solution