Corrective Action Plans

Browse how organizations respond to audit findings

Total CAPs
51,865
In database
Filtered Results
11,003
Matching current filters
Showing Page
223 of 441
25 per page

Filters

Clear
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse program received required single audits, and that it appropriately followed up on ...
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse program received required single audits, and that it appropriately followed up on findings and issued management decisions. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: Completion Date: Agency Contact: The Authority partially concurs with the finding. Effective July 2023, the Authority transitioned the subrecipient monitoring single audit tracking process to a new unit. The Authority will: • Implement and formalize new procedures to ensure subrecipients receive required single audits. • Follow up on findings and issue timely management decisions. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-066. Estimated June 2024 William Sogge, CPA, CIA External Audit Liaison PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5110 william.sogge@hca.wa.gov
Finding: The Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure it filed accurate and timely reports required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. Questi...
Finding: The Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure it filed accurate and timely reports required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Authority concurs with the finding. The Authority implemented the following to comply with the reporting requirements: • Office of Contracts and Procurement includes a Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) form as the last attachment in all subawards and ensures it is complete prior to forwarding it to Grants Accounting. • Grants Accounting staff were trained on an interim process to routinely monitor FFATA contracts forwarded by the Office of Contracts and Procurement and enter agency information into the FFATA Subaward Reporting System. The Authority will establish a validation process to ensure executed subawards are identified for reporting and completed reports are reviewed. The Authority will also formalize internal processes into procedures and continue to provide training to staff involved in the process. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-069 and 2021-058. Completion Date: Estimated June 2024 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA, CIA External Audit Liaison PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5110 william.sogge@hca.wa.gov
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over earmarking requirements for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Correct...
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over earmarking requirements for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: Monthly tracking workbooks are being completed and reviewed throughout the fiscal year. To address the audit recommendation, the Authority implemented formal communication for review of the monthly tracking workbooks and began maintaining documentation of the review in December 2022. The Authority is in compliance with the earmarking requirements of the program. No further procedural changes are needed. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-068 and 2021-056. Completion Date: December 2022 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA, CIA External Audit Liaison PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5110 william.sogge@hca.wa.gov
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls to ensure payments to providers for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse program were allowable and met period of performance requirements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93....
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls to ensure payments to providers for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse program were allowable and met period of performance requirements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $3,447,346 Status: Corrective action not taken Corrective Action: The Authority does not concur with the finding. The Authority maintains that its internal controls are effective, and procedures are compliant with grant requirements. No corrective action will be implemented. The costs questioned by the auditor do not reflect funds that have been paid or drawn from the grantor. As a result, there are no funds to return to the grantor. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-067, 2021-057, and 2020-059. Completion Date: Not applicable Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA, CIA External Audit Liaison PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5110 william.sogge@hca.wa.gov
View Audit 306534 Questioned Costs: $1
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls to ensure individuals are eligible to receive benefits for the Money Follows the Person program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.791 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Correc...
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls to ensure individuals are eligible to receive benefits for the Money Follows the Person program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.791 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department partially agrees with the finding. The Department agrees that the Financial and Social Services Communication (14-443) forms were not provided to terminate the enrollment of the four exceptions identified in the finding. However, in those exceptions, the Roads to Community Living (RCL) disenrollment communication was made in accordance with the existing Nursing Facility Case Management policy as defined in Chapter 10 of the Long-Term Care (LTC) Manual. In addition, all clients met eligibility criteria for RCL services or were converted to another Home and Community Based program within the 365-day RCL demonstration year limitation. In these cases, the client was converted to a state plan or waiver with the new program start date noted on the 14-443 forms. The 14-443 form is a communication tool used by the Department’s public benefit specialists. For Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) enrolled Medicaid participants, benefits are managed by the Washington State Health Care Authority and the 14-443 form is not required or used by the Department’s public benefit specialists. This MAGI beneficiary communication detail was not articulated in the RCL chapter of the LTC Manual. As of May 2024, the Department updated Chapter 29 of the LTC Manual to clarify instructions related to when the 14-443 form must be completed for MAGI participants and what needs to be included on the form when it is required. Completion Date: May 2024 Agency Contact: Richard Meyer External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45804 Olympia, WA 98504-5804 (360) 664-6027 Richard.Meyer@dshs.wa.gov
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal provider eligibility requirements for the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID 93.775 93.777 93.777 COVID 93...
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal provider eligibility requirements for the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID 93.775 93.777 93.777 COVID 93.778 93.778 COVID Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Authority partially concurs with the finding. The Authority does not concur that four providers did not receive a proper license check, nor that the backdated provider was noncompliant with regulations prior to receiving a National Provider Identifier (NPI). When a provider’s license expires, the Authority enters an end date for the provider taxonomy to prevent future payments. The Authority does not pay claims without an NPI and this is compliant with federal requirements. Corrective action has been in process to address revalidation issues. As of January 1, 2024, the Authority implemented a system change moving the revalidation date to 90 days before the end of the five-year period. The Authority is developing additional procedures to strengthen internal controls over provider enrollment. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-055, 2021-047, 2020-046, 2019-048, 2018-042, 2017-033, and 2016-035. Completion Date: Estimated December 2024 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA, CIA External Audit Liaison PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5110 william.sogge@hca.wa.gov
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with managed care financial audit requirements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID-19 93.775 93.777 93.777 COVID-19 93.778 93.778 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective...
Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with managed care financial audit requirements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID-19 93.775 93.777 93.777 COVID-19 93.778 93.778 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: Completion Date: The Authority partially concurs with the finding. Audited financial reports: The Authority agrees it allowed Managed Care Organizations (MCO) to submit annual audited financial reports in accordance with Statutory Accounting Principles to be consistent with the standards used by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. The Authority will amend contract language to require MCOs to submit audited financial reports prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, in order to comply with federal requirements. The Managed Care Oversight Audit Plan details the scheduled audits and prioritizes the various required audits. Going forward, the audit plan will list more specific information regarding the requirements and these changes will be added to the strategic plan. Periodic audits: The Authority does not concur with the auditor’s opinion that periodic audits must be “conducted and fully complete” at least once every three years. The federal regulations found in 42 CFR §438.602 specifically states: “The State must periodically, but no less frequently than once every 3 years, conduct, or contract for the conduct of, an independent audit…”. The term “complete” is not included in the federal regulations. The Authority will reach out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to confirm its interpretation of the regulation. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-054 and 2021-048. Estimated July 2024 Agency Contact: Kari Summerour, CPA External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-9586 Kari.Summerour@hca.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements to ensure reports were complete and accurate for the Social Services Block Grant program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 Amount ...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements to ensure reports were complete and accurate for the Social Services Block Grant program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department maintains that funds were not improperly charged or reported for the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program. The Department provided the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) with detailed expenditure data reports, email documentation showing management’s review of the expenditures being charged to the SSBG program, and changes being requested prior to federal submission. In addition, the federal reporting system creates an email after certification, which the Department shared with the SAO. The Department utilizes grant-level management for all federal funds, including the SSBG program. This process consists of making grant-level adjustments between allowable grant sources to properly spend grant funds within the allowable period of performance and ensure level of effort and matching requirements are met. The Department allocated the SSBG funds to eligible clients and allowable activities in compliance with 45 CFR 98.67 but did not include the level of data recommended by the SAO for some transfers. The Department is committed to collaborating with SAO to determine an appropriate methodology which identifies a sampling unit that can be used to accurately test compliance. In response to the auditor’s recommendations, the Department will: • Review internal controls and federal requirements related to SSBG reporting. • Develop and maintain a business process that would allow adjustments to include transaction level data. Completion Date: Estimated December 2025 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure cash draws for the Social Services Block Grant were properly supported. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 Amount $1,504,566 Statu...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure cash draws for the Social Services Block Grant were properly supported. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 Amount $1,504,566 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department maintains that funds were not improperly charged to the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG) program. This is a two-year grant that the Department spends down in one fiscal year. The expenditures drawn were allowable and within the period of performance and the one exception identified was due to the timing of expenditure transfers. The Department utilizes grant-level management for all federal funds, including the SSBG program. This process consists of making grant-level adjustments between allowable grant sources to properly spend grant dollars within the allowable period of performance and ensure level of effort and matching requirements are met. The Department allocated the SSBG funds to eligible clients and allowable activities in compliance with 45 CFR 98.67 but did not include the level of data recommended by the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) for some transfers. The Department is committed to collaborating with SAO to determine an appropriate methodology which identifies a sampling unit that can be used to accurately test compliance. In response to the auditor’s recommendations, the Department will develop and maintain a business process that would allow adjustments to include transaction level data. Completion Date: Estimated December 2025 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
View Audit 306534 Questioned Costs: $1
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to providers were allowable and properly supported for the Social Services Block Grant. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 ...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to providers were allowable and properly supported for the Social Services Block Grant. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.667 Amount $8,518,020 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department maintains that funds were not improperly charged to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program. The Department utilizes grant-level management for all federal funds, including the SSBG program. This process consists of making grant-level adjustments between allowable grant sources to properly spend grant funds within the allowable period of performance and ensure level of effort and matching requirements are met. The Department allocated the SSBG funds to eligible clients and allowable activities in compliance with 45 CFR 98.67 but did not include the level of data recommended by the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) for some transfers. Cost objectives within the accounting system are used to track SSBG funding. Expenditures eligible for the SSBG program are transferred at the cost objective level and not the transaction level. The SAO tested a sample of 16,006 payments which totaled 94% of total provider payments charged to the grant. SAO found that all payments were for activities that were supported, allowable, authorized, and accurate. SAO is questioning the costs of the remaining payments because the transfer of expenditures was not completed at the transaction level. Those remaining payments were transferred from eligible and allowable expenditures for the SSBG program. The Department is committed to collaborating with SAO to determine an appropriate methodology which identifies a sampling unit that can be used to accurately test compliance. In response to the auditor’s recommendations, the Department will develop and maintain a business process that would allow adjustments to include transaction level data. Completion Date: Agency Contact: Estimated December 2025 Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
View Audit 306534 Questioned Costs: $1
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over reporting requirements for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Departm...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over reporting requirements for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department partially concurs with the finding. The Department acknowledges that errors were made in the crosswalks and quarterly reports submitted during the audit period. To address the auditor’s specific finding, the Department has: • Reviewed and updated all electronic versions of the quarterly crosswalks for accuracy. • Submitted corrections for the federal fiscal year 2023 Quarter 3 report. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-051. Completion Date: February 2024 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure group care facility employees and adults residing in prospective caregivers’ households had cleared background checks before having unsupervised access to children. Questioned Costs: Assist...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure group care facility employees and adults residing in prospective caregivers’ households had cleared background checks before having unsupervised access to children. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department partially concurs with the finding. The auditors identified two exceptions where fingerprint checks for two family foster home adults were completed two days later than the required timeline of 15 calendar days. The delay was due to the misspelling of one applicant’s last name in the system. Upon correction, the applicants subsequently completed the fingerprint checks and were determined eligible. As stated in the finding’s Cause of Condition, the Department developed a corrective action plan to address the internal control deficiencies in response to the prior year’s finding which had not been fully implemented within the current audit period. The Department is confident that all staff who work with children and youth have cleared background checks. As of April 1, 2023, the Department implemented a new process for processing background checks for group care facilities to strengthen internal controls, documentation, and clarification on the “effective date.” The updated process is outlined below: • A new form was created with clear instructions for the group care facilities to provide the applicant/employee information, including the background check confirmation code, directly to the Department’s Background Check Unit (BCU). • The BCU works with the applicant/employee through the fingerprint background check process. • The results are sent directly to the BCU, at which time they complete a child abuse/neglect history check and if needed a suitability assessment. The BCU documents the results in FamLink with the date the background check is completed. • The BCU emails the results to the group care facility and the Department’s Licensing Division (LD) group. If the applicant/employee is cleared and is not a renewal, LD staff adds the applicant/employee to the group care facility in FamLink with the clearance information attached. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-050. Completion Date: April 2023 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure monthly foster care maintenance payments to children’s caregivers were adequate and accurate for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amoun...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure monthly foster care maintenance payments to children’s caregivers were adequate and accurate for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department is committed to strengthening internal controls and complying with grant requirements. As stated in the finding’s Cause of Condition, the Department utilizes FamLink as the case management system for the Foster Care program which, due to system limitations, did not have the reporting capabilities to track rate setting reviews during the audit period. To assist with tracking rate setting requirements, the Department: • Created a new report in FamLink to assist rate assessors in identifying six-month reviews that have not been performed timely. • Implemented monthly tracking by supervisors to assist with internal controls and compliance. In response to the auditor’s recommendations and to assist in compliance, the Department has submitted a request to the technical team for an update to the report to also show when the next rate assessment is due. Completion Date: Estimated June 2024 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure payments to providers for travel and family visits were allowable and adequately supported for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amo...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls to ensure payments to providers for travel and family visits were allowable and adequately supported for the Foster Care program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department is committed to strengthening internal controls and complying with grant requirements. As stated in the finding’s Cause of Condition, the Department was unable to fully implement the prior corrective action plan during the audit period. In April 2023, the Fiscal Integrity Unit collaborated with other divisions to implement the following internal controls: • Utilized algorithms in the Sprout system to identify reimbursement requests outside of a reasonable amount. • Required providers to submit additional documentation or explanation for those identified amounts. • Implemented a re-run process for prior billing periods to eliminate potential double billings by providers. • Trained headquarters and field office accounting staff to utilize the new algorithms and review additional documentation prior to processing payments. • Required program staff review and approval of all vendor invoices prior to release of payment for the Eastern Washington regions. In January 2024, the Fiscal Integrity Unit identified and implemented regional program approvals for Western Washington providers. The Contracts office has also taken the following actions: • In August 2023, filled one vacant staff position dedicated to reviewing child welfare contracts to include family time visit payments. • In November 2023, developed compliance audit plans for child welfare contracts and began fiscal monitoring of family time visit payments. • In December 2023, filled an additional vacant staff position dedicated to reviewing child welfare contracts. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-048 and 2021-040. Completion Date: January 2024 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate controls over and did not comply with certain requirements of its Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Status: Corrective action complete Correct...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate controls over and did not comply with certain requirements of its Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.658 93.658 COVID-19 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department concurs with the finding and is committed to improving internal controls. The Department did not have adequate staffing levels to maintain the business processes for one monthly workbook for the Public Assistance Cost Allocation Plan. The Department was not able to complete the September 2022 workbook for cost base 100 (administrative charges) due to competing state and federal fiscal year close deadlines. Available staff were focused on grant reconciliations and closing out the prior fiscal year financial transactions. The Department has reviewed the base edit form written procedures with staff and added monthly reminders for the Cost Allocation and Grants Management Unit. In addition, the Department has confirmed that all cost base 100 workbooks have been properly completed for the state fiscal year 2024. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-047. Completion Date: March 2024 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to perform risk assessments and monitor subrecipients of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93.568 COVID-19 Amount $0 ...
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to perform risk assessments and monitor subrecipients of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93.568 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department has two programs that administer and award Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds: the Energy Assistance program and the Weatherization program. There were no issues identified with the Energy Assistance program. The Weatherization program has improved its risk assessment process to include the following: • Provided proper training and development to new program staff to ensure risk assessments are completed on time. • Expanded the list of approvers for all steps within the risk assessment process, including supervisors, to demonstrate a thorough review process is in place. The Weatherization program has improved the monitoring process by incorporating the following: • Perform monitoring visits of all subrecipients per federal requirements two times per year instead of one. • Complete a full review and assessment of the monitoring process by the Compliance Manager and monitoring team. • Update all monitoring related forms, tools, and protocols to ensure accuracy, consistency, and completeness. The updated protocols will be in place in program year 2024. • Maintain an expanded list of approvers, including supervisors, for all steps within the monitoring process. • Continue to monitor all subrecipients at a level that exceeds federal program requirements of 5% of completed units. • Create a plan for addressing the monitoring frequency of high-risk subrecipients. • Monitor all associated funding sources to ensure compliance with program rules. • Utilize our data system and monitoring activities to evaluate the objectives for monitoring LIHEAP funds in the Weatherization program. Completion Date: January 2024 Agency Contact: Gena Allen, CFE Internal Control Officer PO Box 42525 Olympia, WA 98504-2525 (360) 480-5149 Gena.Allen@Commerce.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subawards for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program contained the federal award identification elements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93...
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subawards for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program contained the federal award identification elements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93.568 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department has two programs that administer and award Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds: the Energy Assistance program and the Weatherization program. The Energy Assistance program created a plan to improve the documentation and communication regarding required federal award identification elements to ensure compliance with 2 CFR 200.332, which outlines requirements for pass-through entities. For all contracts: • The Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN) will be included on the face sheet, information sheet, and section one in each contract. This will eliminate errors resulting from multiple federal awards being issued from a single contract. • The information will be entered by the LIHEAP Commerce Specialist and reviewed by the LIHEAP Program Manager and the Community and Economic Opportunities Managing Director prior to execution of each contract. The Weatherization program will also follow this process to correct similar deficiencies reported by the auditors. In the spring of 2023, the Department instituted an agency-wide process to comply with the Requirements for Pass Through Entities in 2 CFR 200.332. A template is completed and provided to all federal subrecipients at the time the subaward is issued. The agency requirements were also communicated through our Daily Digest Communication, once in 2022 and again in 2023. Additionally, the Internal Control Officer has worked with program staff to familiarize them with the requirements and process. Completion Date: December 2023 Agency Contact: Gena Allen, CFE Internal Control Officer PO Box 42525 Olympia, WA 98504-2525 (360) 480-5149 Gena.Allen@Commerce.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93.568 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Co...
Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.568 93.568 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) utilized a reporting process that was audited as part of the fiscal year 2023 audit. The LIHEAP program has the following process: • The program manager prepares the necessary reports. • The managing director reviews reports before submittal. • The program manager submits reports once the managing director’s approval is received. • The program manager receives notice that the report has been accepted by the grantor. • The program manager saves a copy of the report, documentation and the report submission acceptance from the grantor. To address the deficiencies reported by the auditors, program management implemented additional steps into their reporting process: • The LIHEAP program manager retains all data reports from the LIHEAP data system used for reporting. • LIHEAP information technology staff save a snapshot of the entire database from the date of the report. This allows point-in-time reporting information to be retained as audit support documentation and for audit support. • The managing director sends written/email approval to the program manager for reports reviewed. • The program manager retains written approvals as audit support documentation and for audit support. Following the auditors’ recommendations, the LIHEAP program submitted updated Grantee Survey and Household Reports, which were accepted by the grantor’s awarding portal. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-039 and 2021-032. Completion Date: March 2024 Agency Contact: Gena Allen, CFE Internal Control Officer PO Box 42525 Olympia, WA 98504-2525 (360) 480-5149 Gena.Allen@Commerce.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to perform fiscal and program monitoring of subrecipients for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93...
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to perform fiscal and program monitoring of subrecipients for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.566 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department concurs with the finding. In response to a prior audit finding, the Department’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) developed a subrecipient versus contractor determination tool. However, this tool was not formalized until April 2023, and implementation and training occurred in April through June 2023. The Department is taking action to strengthen internal controls over subrecipient monitoring for ORIA’s contracts. By July 2024, the Department will: • Complete a review of all active contracts utilizing federal funding to ensure subrecipients are accurately identified. • Explore the feasibility of increasing ORIA and Economic Services Administration accounting staff resources to support the workload increase associated with monitoring subrecipients. By October 2024, the Department will convene a work group with contracts and accounting staff to create effective internal controls and written procedures for fiscal and program monitoring of ORIA’s subrecipient contracts. This will include the following: • Verify the subrecipient status for each contract is correctly determined and recorded in the Agency Contracts Database. • Include the required subrecipient language in the contract. • Obtain a copy of the indirect rate certification or cost allocation plan from the subrecipient. • Complete risk assessments. • Create appropriate monitoring plans for each subrecipient. • Conduct fiscal monitoring of each subrecipient to obtain assurance that the use of federal funds complies with federal laws and regulations. • Create corrective action plans when required. By January 2025, the Department will ensure all ORIA program staff responsible for monitoring receive training on the updated procedures. Completion Date: Estimated January 2025 Agency Contact: Richard Meyer External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45804 Olympia, WA 98504-5804 (360) 664-6027 Richard.Meyer@dshs.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs received required single audits, and that it followed up on findings and issued mana...
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with federal requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Refugee and Entrant Assistance programs received required single audits, and that it followed up on findings and issued management decisions. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.566 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department concurs with the finding. By September 2024, the Department’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) will follow up with the remaining 35 subrecipients and require the completion of the Subrecipient Federal Financial Assistance form for fiscal year 2023, as needed. By November 2024, ORIA will: • Follow up with the remaining 35 subrecipients to verify that they completed a single audit if they received $750,000 or more in federal assistance. • Inform any subrecipients that have not been audited about the single audit requirement. • Work with Economic Services Administration (ESA) accounting staff to review all completed audit reports and, for any findings found, issue a management decision on the effectiveness of the subrecipients’ proposed corrective actions to address the findings. • Work with ESA accounting unit to establish and implement effective internal controls and written procedures to: o Identify subrecipients who receive $750,000 or more annually in federal assistance from all sources. o Verify if subrecipients complete required audits, if applicable, and take appropriate action if audits are not completed. o Review single and program-specific audit reports for findings. o Write and issue a management decision, when appropriate, within six months outlining the Department’s determination of the adequacy of the subrecipient’s proposed corrective actions to address the finding. o Monitor the subrecipient’s corrective action plan for timely and effective completion. By December 2024, ESA accounting staff will track and monitor subrecipient activities to ensure appropriate and timely corrective action is taken to resolve single and programmatic audit findings. By March 2025, ORIA and ESA accounting unit will train all program staff responsible for monitoring the new procedures to ensure a full understanding of the shared responsibilities for compliance with department policies. Completion Date: Estimated March 2025 Agency Contact: Richard Meyer External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45804 Olympia, WA 98504-5804 (360) 664-6027 Richard.Meyer@dshs.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure it filed reports required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance program. Questioned Costs:...
Finding: The Department of Social and Health Services did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure it filed reports required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.566 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department concurs with the auditor’s findings. The Department will immediately report all first tier subawards, including amendments, totaling $30,000 or more to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). By June 2024, to ensure ongoing compliance with the FFATA reporting requirements, the Department will: • Establish effective internal controls and written procedures to ensure: o All first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more are reported. o Grant amendments for initial awards that are below $30,000 are tracked as soon as the modifications trigger reporting requirements. o Reports for submission contain the required data elements. • Implement and communicate the procedures for reporting first tier subawards to the Division of Finance and Financial Resources (DFFR) for inputting into FSRS. • Develop written procedures for inputting subawards appropriately in FSRS and will communicate those procedures to DFFR staff. By July 2024, the Department will: • Compile the required data elements for the 29 first tier subawards and the 18 subaward amendments, in addition to any new subawards in fiscal year 2024 that meet the reporting threshold, and report to DFFR for input into FSRS. • Work with DFFR to develop and subsequently implement a process to verify all subawards and subaward amendments have been reported in FSRS. Completion Date: Estimated July 2024 Agency Contact: Richard Meyer External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45804 Olympia, WA 98504-5804 (360) 664-6027 Richard.Meyer@dshs.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to child care providers paid with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds were allowable and property supported. Questioned Costs: A...
Finding: The Department of Children, Youth, and Families did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to child care providers paid with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds were allowable and property supported. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.558 Amount $107,338,725 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) program was previously managed by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Early Learning. Since the program transitioned in 2019, the Department has been making efforts to strengthen internal controls over payments to child care providers and other grant requirements. The Department implemented grant-level management of all federal funds, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant. This consisted of making significant grant level adjustments between allowable grant sources to properly spend grant dollars within the allowable period of performance and ensure level of effort and matching requirements were met. The Department’s grant adjustments were processed based on eligible clients and allowable activities. The Department does not currently have the staff to develop and maintain the business process redesign, as well as the information technology initiatives necessary to meet the level of assurance recommended by the State Auditor’s Office. In response to the auditor’s recommendations, the Department submitted a budget request for the 2024 supplemental budget. Funding was provided to develop and maintain the business process that would allow adjustments to include child-level data beginning July 2024. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2022-035 and 2021-028. Completion Date: Estimated December 2025 Agency Contact: Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov
View Audit 306534 Questioned Costs: $1
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with fiscal monitoring requirements for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.323 93.323 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status...
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with fiscal monitoring requirements for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.323 93.323 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action not taken Corrective Action: The Department has implemented corrective actions to address the prior year’s finding and does not concur with this finding. The State Auditor’s Office (SAO) did not report on the subrecipient review process in its entirety. The Department’s Fiscal Monitoring Unit (FMU) is not an audit department and functions differently than what SAO recommended in the finding. Federal guidance does not require a certain percentage of samples to be selected to ensure adequate review. The Department’s subrecipient monitoring process is comprehensive and involves the steps outlined below: • Complete initial risk assessment of subrecipients post contract execution to determine the level of support required from each entity as backup documentation for payment requests. • Program contract managers review supporting documentation prior to payment. • FMU conducts subrecipient monitoring visits to ensure each entity has adequate internal controls to comply with federal requirements. This includes: o Reviewing at least three months of invoices submitted by subrecipients and judgmentally selecting transactions based on subject matter expertise about DOH, specific programs, and federal guidance. The review includes ensuring adequate supporting documentation is maintained for invoiced amounts, such as timesheets and receipts. o Reviewing entity policies, procedures, and history of compliance. o Assessing manual and automated internal controls, and applicable cost allocation methodology. o Reviewing applicable contracts. Each entity has a consistent internal control structure across all funding types. As such, FMU performs subrecipient monitoring site reviews of the entity, not for a specific grant. The reviewers are required to document all grants received by the entity and select a few transactions from each, if applicable. FMU typically selects to review a quarter of the invoiced amounts. If a grant award is not represented in the invoices selected, FMU will select additional invoices to ensure all awards are included. Similar conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-033. Completion Date: Not applicable Agency Contact: Jeff Arbuckle External Audit Manager PO Box 47890 Olympia, WA 98504-7890 (360) 701-0798 Jeff.Arbuckle@doh.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program received required single audits, and that it appropriately followed up on findings ...
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure subrecipients of the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program received required single audits, and that it appropriately followed up on findings and issued management decisions. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.323 93.323 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department will review internal controls to ensure: • Timely review of federal subrecipient single audits. • Management decision letters are issued to subrecipients. • Subrecipients take timely and appropriate action on all deficiencies pertaining to the federal award. Management will monitor the control activities to ensure future compliance with the requirements. Completion Date: Estimated December 2024 Agency Contact: Jeff Arbuckle External Audit Manager PO Box 47890 Olympia, WA 98504-7890 (360) 701-0798 Jeff.Arbuckle@doh.wa.gov
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.323 93.323 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Correc...
Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with reporting requirements for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.323 93.323 COVID-19 Amount $0 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: In response to the fiscal year 2022 audit recommendations, the Department implemented procedures to ensure management review and approval of the fiscal report, Case Investigation and Contact Tracing (CICT) report, and the Reopening Schools testing report are documented and retained before submission to the federal grantor. At the beginning of fiscal year 2023, the auditors were still conducting field work for the prior year’s audit. Procedures were not in place at that time when reports were submitted to the Case Risk and Exposure Surveillance Tool and RedCap systems. As a result, corrective actions were not fully implemented during the current audit year. The CICT reporting was discontinued as of August 2023, and the Reopening Schools project ended after July 31, 2023. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2022-034. Completion Date: January 2023 Agency Contact: Jeff Arbuckle External Audit Manager PO Box 47890 Olympia, WA 98504-7890 (360) 701-0798 Jeff.Arbuckle@doh.wa.gov
« 1 221 222 224 225 441 »