Corrective Action Plans

Finding 382970 (2023-012)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Questioned Costs Special Tests & Provisions Eligibility § 200.303

Corrective action plan: HHSC has made significant investments in its eligibility workforce to meet workload demands. In the last fiscal year, HHSC has onboarded more than 2,100 eligibility staff, implemented workforce recruitment and retention initiatives, and augmented its training capacity by leve...

Corrective action plan: HHSC has made significant investments in its eligibility workforce to meet workload demands. In the last fiscal year, HHSC has onboarded more than 2,100 eligibility staff, implemented workforce recruitment and retention initiatives, and augmented its training capacity by leveraging technology, strengthening the quality of the virtual learning products and scheduling, and standardizing On-the-Job Trainings. HHSC will also continue to create and share guidance and tips with staff to reinforce proper data entry in the eligibility determination system, including entries related to TANF. Implementation date: December 31, 2024 Responsible person: Gracie Perez – Interim Associate Commissioner, Access and Eligibility Services (AES) Operations

View Audit 296491 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382969 (2023-011)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring § 200.303 § 200.332

Corrective action plan: TANF – While Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Services & Preadmission Screening & Resident Review (PASRR) no longer operates contracts with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Social Services Block Grant, or Block Grants for Community Mental Health Servi...

Corrective action plan: TANF – While Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Services & Preadmission Screening & Resident Review (PASRR) no longer operates contracts with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Social Services Block Grant, or Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services funding, IDD Services & PASRR’s IDD Contract Management Unit will incorporate the following items into its performance contracts and record the requirement in its procedure defining required data fields for contracts that include federal funding:  UEI  FAIN  Federal award date  Assistance listings numbers and title  Indirect cost rate (including if the de minimis rate is charged) For indirect cost rates, the Federal Funds Office Indirect Cost Rate Group continues to accept, negotiate, and acknowledge Indirect Cost Rates for the Health and Human Services system. Once a rate is established, the contracting area incorporates the rate into appropriate contracts. The IDD Contract Management Unit will incorporate approved indirect cost rates into contracts that include federal awards. SSBG/MHBG – Behavioral Health Services’ pass-through agreements effective September 1, 2023 include 2 CFR §200.332 requirements. Implementation dates: TANF – August 31, 2025 SSBG/MHBG – September 1, 2023 Responsible persons: TANF – Chad Pomerleau, Director, IDD Services & PASRR Contract Management Unit SSBG/MHBG – Roderick Swan, Associate Commissioner, Behavioral Health Contract Operations

View Audit 296491

Finding 382968 (2023-010)

Material Weakness 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Procurement, Suspension & Debarment Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness § 200.303

Corrective action plan: HHSC is currently engaged in long-term planning related to improving FFATA reporting, which may involve the use of CAPPS-Financials, or a different system; with the choice of solution depending on a determination of overall effectiveness. While it may be potentially problemat...

Corrective action plan: HHSC is currently engaged in long-term planning related to improving FFATA reporting, which may involve the use of CAPPS-Financials, or a different system; with the choice of solution depending on a determination of overall effectiveness. While it may be potentially problematic for HHSC to commit to the specific designation of CAPPS-Financials as the improvement solution, actions will be taken to improve compliance. HHSC will implement a quality review of selected programs to assess FFATA compliance on an annual basis. Implementation date: September 1, 2025 Responsible person: Racheal Kane, Director, Federal Funds

View Audit 296491

Finding 382966 (2023-001)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Questioned Costs Eligibility Internal Control / Segregation of Duties § 200.303

Corrective action plan: To rectify the discrepancies in the EA Eligibility Application/Determination section of the IMPACT system, DFPS is implementing the following measures: 1. Research and Analysis: DFPS IT initiated research on 12/12/2023 to investigate the root cause of why the child became eli...

Corrective action plan: To rectify the discrepancies in the EA Eligibility Application/Determination section of the IMPACT system, DFPS is implementing the following measures: 1. Research and Analysis: DFPS IT initiated research on 12/12/2023 to investigate the root cause of why the child became eligible upon recertification. This research will be ongoing to comprehensively understand the underlying factors. 2. Database Audit: A database audit table was added in early October 2023 to expedite the identification of similar issues in the future. This enhancement aims to facilitate a quicker determination of the root cause for any inaccuracies related to EA eligibility. 3. Batch Analysis: The EA eligibility batch process will undergo a thorough analysis to ensure it accurately identifies children who should or should not be deemed EA eligible. Insights from this analysis will help optimize the batch process and prevent similar occurrences. 4. Project Review: A review of Project 65700, completed in August 2021, will be conducted to assess if any gaps in the re-certification batch allowed a child to be incorrectly considered EA eligible. The data fix performed during this project will also be scrutinized to ensure it adhered to accurate eligibility criteria. 5. Communication and Training: DFPS commits to ongoing communication and training for INV/AR staff regarding EA and the correct method of answering questions within the IMPACT system. This aims to enhance staff awareness and compliance with federal guidelines and internal policies. 6. Internal Quality Assurance: DFPS will strengthen its internal quality assurance reviews of cases eligible for EA. This proactive approach ensures ongoing compliance with federal guidelines and internal policies, thereby minimizing the likelihood of eligibility-related errors. 7. In Fiscal Year 2023, DFPS Investigations/Alternative Response personnel underwent supplementary training sessions and received revised policy and resource guides pertaining to Emergency Assistance (EA). These initiatives were implemented to address the concerns identified, specifically related to inaccuracies in responding to questions within the EA Eligibility Application/Determination. DFPS remains committed to these corrective actions to address the identified issues and continually improve the accuracy and reliability of the EA eligibility determination process. The effectiveness of these measures will be regularly assessed to uphold the integrity of the system and prevent improper payments. Citizenship: To rectify this situation and to ensure that a child that is not a U.S. citizen, qualified alien, or permanent resident does not receive EA benefits, DFPS is implementing the following measures: 1. DFPS Finance will work with program and IT to determine the best practices when answering citizenship and the Emergency Assistance (EA) eligibility questions and ensure the IMPACT system is reading the responses and applying the logic properly resulting in EA eligibility determination that is in compliance with United States Codes, Chapter 8 Aliens and Nationality, Chapter 14 – Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits of Aliens, §1611. 2. DFPS will review the list of non-citizens and update their eligibility if they are incorrectly deemed EA eligible. 3. DFPS will review the payments issued to non-citizens and process adjustments to ensure EA funds are used only for eligible activities. Implementation dates: IMPACT IT research begun on 12/12/2023 and will be ongoing to determine the root cause of the issue. Ongoing communication to staff. Citizenship: The first item will require a coordination with IT and programs and it’s completion date will be dependent on the efforts required to make the agreed upon changes. Item 2 and 3 is anticipated to be completed by May 31, 2024. Responsible persons: Jerome Green, CPI Deputy Director of Field; Citizenship: Scott Greer, Budget Director

View Audit 296491 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382959 (2023-003)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Questioned Costs Special Tests & Provisions Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Corrective action plan: DSHS TVFC compliance site visits are now separated into two stages: Process & Documentation and Oversight & Verification. During 2023, internal controls and role assignments were established for each phase to ensure appropriate entry into PEAR, review activities, and follow-u...

Corrective action plan: DSHS TVFC compliance site visits are now separated into two stages: Process & Documentation and Oversight & Verification. During 2023, internal controls and role assignments were established for each phase to ensure appropriate entry into PEAR, review activities, and follow-up activities. These controls are in place and expected to be used throughout fiscal year 2024. Implementation date: February 20, 2024 Responsible person: Denise Reeder, MPH, MA, Immunization Section, Vaccine Operations Group Manager

View Audit 296491 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382958 (2023-002)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Special Tests & Provisions Reporting § 200.303

Corrective action plan: An “Adding New Users-CHRS” document was submitted to the auditors in 2022 as an interim measure that remains in place. Immunization program and VHSS program staff are working together with HHSC Information Technology to establish a replacement system to CHRS. The new system i...

Corrective action plan: An “Adding New Users-CHRS” document was submitted to the auditors in 2022 as an interim measure that remains in place. Immunization program and VHSS program staff are working together with HHSC Information Technology to establish a replacement system to CHRS. The new system is expected to address provisioning issues and provide central office staff with reports to be able to analyze data more quickly. This replacement system is expected to be identified and implemented by June 2026. Implementation date: Replacement System implementation anticipated by June 30, 2026 Responsible person: Greg Leos, Assessment and Epidemiology Group Manager

View Audit 296491

Finding 382957 (2023-030)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Period of Performance § 200.303

Corrective action plan: TEA’s Department of Grant Compliance and Administration (GCA) will implement the following actions to ensure accuracy of corrections requested by LEAs in the USDE ESSER Annual Performance Report:  USDE ESSER Reporting Corrections Changelog – In direct response to this audit ...

Corrective action plan: TEA’s Department of Grant Compliance and Administration (GCA) will implement the following actions to ensure accuracy of corrections requested by LEAs in the USDE ESSER Annual Performance Report:  USDE ESSER Reporting Corrections Changelog – In direct response to this audit exception, the GCA Department Chief of Staff and GCA ESSER Reporting Team has begun implementing a changelog to track LEA corrections on the various ESSER Annual Performance Reports. This changelog is intended to: 1. Track changes requested by LEAs; 2. Verify that staff have responded to and confirmed corrections with LEAs; 3. Track that changes have been made on the various reports; and 4. Ensure that the changes are completed on the respective report.  Updated Documentation Procedures – GCA Department Chief of Staff and ESSER Reporting staff will begin to ensure that the various corrected reports (after the first submission, and subsequent correction periods) are properly documented, so that the various versions of the report submitted to USDE are tracked accordingly, this will allow for corrections requested by LEAs can be verified in accordance with the changelog mentioned above.  Quality Control Review – GCA Department Chief of Staff and ESSER Reporting Staff will begin development of additional quality control procedures for the CROSSACT report to verify that the data that is submitted by LEAs via SmartSheet is properly entered into the Excel spreadsheet that is uploaded to USDE. These procedures will verify the following: 1. Verify that the appropriate LEA name and UEI was properly entered into the Excel spreadsheet; and 2. Verify that the FTE counts reported by LEAs upload correctly and within the variance allowed by USDE in their business rules. Implementation date: All of these changes will be implemented starting in Year Four of USDE ESSER Annual Reporting by TEA. Responsible persons: Associate Commissioner and Chief Grants Officer, Cory Green and GCA Department Chief of Staff, Nick Davis

View Audit 296491

Finding 382953 (2023-031)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring § 200.303 § 200.332

Corrective action plan: SRM has added all AEL subrecipients to its Monitoring Year 2024 mid-year risk assessment. They will be included in the Monitoring Year 2025 risk assessment and all annual and mid-year risk assessments going forward. Implementation date: January 23, 2024 Responsible persons: M...

Corrective action plan: SRM has added all AEL subrecipients to its Monitoring Year 2024 mid-year risk assessment. They will be included in the Monitoring Year 2025 risk assessment and all annual and mid-year risk assessments going forward. Implementation date: January 23, 2024 Responsible persons: Mary Millan, Deputy Director, SRM, Division of Fraud Deterrence and Compliance Monitoring.

View Audit 296491

Finding 382928 (2023-021)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The OOG is creating materials for Grantees to clearly define and standardize terms in accordance with SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance Version 5.0. Additionally, the OOG is updating internal processes to enforce Agency reporting of FSRs and Reconcilers on a monthly bas...

Corrective action plan: The OOG is creating materials for Grantees to clearly define and standardize terms in accordance with SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance Version 5.0. Additionally, the OOG is updating internal processes to enforce Agency reporting of FSRs and Reconcilers on a monthly basis for all active grants. The OOG will ensure accuracy of Agency submissions by reconciling data between the eGrants Financial Status Reports (FSRs) and the Reconcilers. Should a variance exist, the OOG will document any changes made, and the reason therefore, with concurrence from the Agency. The OOG will update the reporting processes and institute new internal controls. For each reporting period, the ARPA Reporting Administrator will take the quarterly data provided for each grant and reconcile that information with the eGrants FSR data. The Public Safety Office (PSO) Grants Administration Director will verify the data. The PSO Executive Director will review and Administration Director will approve the reporting information prior to submission in to the ARPA Portal. Prior to final submission, the data will receive a quality assurance check. Implementation date: Full implementation by April 1, 2024 Responsible persons: Suzanne Johnson, Director of Administration and Aimee Snoddy, Executive Director Public Safety Office

View Audit 296491

Finding 382927 (2023-020)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Procurement, Suspension & Debarment Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Allowable Costs / Cost Principles § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The Office of the Governor, Public Safety Office (PSO) has Policy 8.60 User Accounts that includes the periodic review of internal and external users in eGrants every six (6) months. This eGrants User Account Review is the responsibility of the PSO eGrants Help Desk. In Novem...

Corrective action plan: The Office of the Governor, Public Safety Office (PSO) has Policy 8.60 User Accounts that includes the periodic review of internal and external users in eGrants every six (6) months. This eGrants User Account Review is the responsibility of the PSO eGrants Help Desk. In November 2022, the lead System Support Specialist for the PSO retired from state service with over 20 years of service to the OOG. Due to her knowledge of the eGrants system, she was assigned the responsibility of completing the eGrants User Access Review; and, prior to her departure she completed a review that covered the January – June 2022 review period. After her departure, the eGrants User Access Review responsibility was assigned to the eGrants Help Desk but was not placed on the Master Tasklist used by the Desk to track compliance and reporting deadlines. This led to the July – December 2022 User Access Review not being completed. To ensure the eGrants User Access Review is completed in a timely manner and in accordance with our internal policy, this task has been added to the PSO Master Tasklist with a due date of July 31 for the January – June review period and January 31 for the July – December review period. In December 2023, the eGrants Help Desk completed the January 2023 – June 2023 user account review; the July 2023 – December 2023 review was completed on February 1, 2024. In December 2023 the PSO’s Grants Administration Director trained two PSO Help Desk staff on the User Account Review processes to mitigate issues with staff vacancies. This task will be monitored by the PSO’s Grants Administration Director. Implementation date: December 18, 2023 Responsible persons: Angie Martin, Public Safety Office Grants Administration Director, and Public Safety Office eGrants Help Desk Staff

View Audit 296491

Finding 382926 (2023-019)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Procurement, Suspension & Debarment Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Allowable Costs / Cost Principles § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The OOG updated and documented the Change Management Procedures for Portal systems for all Portals subsequent to TTIR. The OOG began using Super Clio (the internally developed Change Management tracking system) for new projects and Portals, subsequent to TTIR, in accordance w...

Corrective action plan: The OOG updated and documented the Change Management Procedures for Portal systems for all Portals subsequent to TTIR. The OOG began using Super Clio (the internally developed Change Management tracking system) for new projects and Portals, subsequent to TTIR, in accordance with the new Change Management Procedure. Please see attached Change Management Procedure for OOG Information Services Division Portal systems. TTIR is a portal system that was created for a limited purpose and will decommission in the summer of 2024. The OOG will include the TTIR decommissioning project under the Change Management Procedure and mandate use of Super Clio. OOG Management does not anticipate further changes will be done to TTIR code, hotfixes applied, or content changes will be made. Any exceptions to this will be documented, approved, and signed by Management and put in the TTIR Program file for future evidence. Implementation date: Full implementation March 1, 2024 Responsible persons: Suzanne Johnson, Director of Administration, and Lars Hjaltman, Director of Information Services Division

View Audit 296491

Finding 382925 (2023-008)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Questioned Costs Subrecipient Monitoring Allowable Costs / Cost Principles § 200.303 § 200.334

Corrective action plan: The Provider Finance Department (PFD) will take proactive measures to establish and enforce guidelines that guarantee documentation is retained for a minimum of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report for each grant. This approach aligns with o...

Corrective action plan: The Provider Finance Department (PFD) will take proactive measures to establish and enforce guidelines that guarantee documentation is retained for a minimum of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report for each grant. This approach aligns with our dedication to transparency, accountability, and responsible grant management. We will ensure that all the documentation is saved within our documentation repository for a minimum of three years from the date of submission. Implementation date: June 1, 2024 Responsible person: Stacy Kerns – Director, Business Operations and Support Services

View Audit 296491 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382924 (2023-028)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting § 200.303

Corrective action plan: In response to the recent audit, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs' (TDHCA) Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) Data and Reporting Team (DRT) is implementing operational changes to enhance its ability to validate the quarterly reports. Moving forward, DRT will...

Corrective action plan: In response to the recent audit, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs' (TDHCA) Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) Data and Reporting Team (DRT) is implementing operational changes to enhance its ability to validate the quarterly reports. Moving forward, DRT will not only receive reports on totals for each budget, obligation, and expenditure field, but will also require the submission of backup documentation from the sending party. This additional step ensures that the team can independently verify the accuracy of reported figures. Furthermore, DRT will check the calculations within the backup documentation to confirm that the aggregate amounts align with the reported figures. These measures are designed to ensure that the HAF program's reporting is both accurate and reflective of activities. Implementation date: February 12, 2024 Responsible persons: David Johnson, HAF/TRR Data and Reporting Manager; Lizet Hinojosa, Director of HAF; Grace Timmons, Assistant Director of HAF; Lanette Johndrow, Director of HAF Subrecipient Activities; and Teri- Ann Parise, HAF Financial Analyst. Corrective action plan: For legal and counseling services, a report has been created that pulls all costs from the Housing Contract System and separates the data by Intake, Housing and Legal to allow for an appropriate report of all costs. This report is to be run weekly and updated by the Director of HAF Subrecipients, and then given to the finance department to verify against paid invoices for validation. Any discrepancies are to be discussed immediately and resolved. Implementation date: July 17, 2023 Responsible persons: Lanette Johndrow, Director of HAF Subrecipient Activities; Teri-Ann Parise, HAF Financial Analyst; and Mariah Tamayo, Financial Analyst

View Audit 296491

Finding 382923 (2023-027)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Eligibility Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties § 200.303

Corrective action plan: Yardi and AmeriNat Case auditors and supervisors have been reminded that the original loan amount and origination date must be verified before approving a case. The CDF portal should have these columns completed. If the CDF does not include the original loan amount and origin...

Corrective action plan: Yardi and AmeriNat Case auditors and supervisors have been reminded that the original loan amount and origination date must be verified before approving a case. The CDF portal should have these columns completed. If the CDF does not include the original loan amount and origination date, case auditors will ask the loan servicer for a corrected record which includes the original loan amount and origination date in order to confirm conforming loan limits. For non-traditional loan servicers, a deed of trust or settlement statement will continue to be requested from the homeowner. As it relates to the specific case in question, the Reinstatement (R program) plus Monthly Payment Assistance (U Program) case was originally a HAF Contribution to Modification case (P Program.) The case was transferred from the P Program to the R Program on 8/23/2022 and due to a technical issue, the Yardi portal did not add the U Program to the existing R Program. On 1/17/2024, the U Program was manually added to the R Program and payment was made to the homeowner’s loan servicer for the three additional monthly payments. Implementation date: January 17, 2024 Responsible persons: Lizet Hinojosa, Director of HAF and Grace Timmons, Assistant Director of HAF

View Audit 296491

Finding 382922 (2023-026)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Special Tests & Provisions Allowable Costs / Cost Principles § 200.302 § 200.303

Corrective action plan: TDHCA will enhance internal controls over reporting by implementing a secondary review to compare reported amounts to supporting documentation. Standard Operating Procedures will be updated to include secondary review. The formula that led to this error has already been corre...

Corrective action plan: TDHCA will enhance internal controls over reporting by implementing a secondary review to compare reported amounts to supporting documentation. Standard Operating Procedures will be updated to include secondary review. The formula that led to this error has already been corrected. Implementation date: March 31, 2024 Responsible person: David Johnson, HAF/TRR Data & Reporting Manager

View Audit 296491

Finding 382921 (2023-025)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring § 200.303 § 200.331 § 200.332

Corrective action plan: To address the error, CMSM will add an additional layer of review for the Master Planning Summary (MPS) to be performed by the director of compliance subrecipient monitoring. In addition the MPS will be periodically provided to affected Program divisions for review. Implement...

Corrective action plan: To address the error, CMSM will add an additional layer of review for the Master Planning Summary (MPS) to be performed by the director of compliance subrecipient monitoring. In addition the MPS will be periodically provided to affected Program divisions for review. Implementation date: March 1, 2024 Responsible person: Earnest Hunt, Director of Compliance Subrecipient Monitoring

View Audit 296491

Finding 382919 (2023-023)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring School Nutrition Programs Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking § 200.303

Corrective action plan: CNC – Food and Nutrition Department revised the internal Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) reporting procedures to ensure that all subaward/subaward amendment obligations over $30,000 are identified and submitted in Federal Funding Accountability and...

Corrective action plan: CNC – Food and Nutrition Department revised the internal Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) reporting procedures to ensure that all subaward/subaward amendment obligations over $30,000 are identified and submitted in Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) by the last day of the month following the month in which the subaward/subaward amendment obligation was made or the subcontract award/subcontract modification was made. TDA FND provided correspondence emails and incident reports documentation with screenshots for the FSRS technical issues to CLA:  CNC_NSLP grant: TDA FND informed CLA auditors that agency has been experiencing significant technical difficulties uploading the FFATA data into FSRS. During these attempts, the system shows the following error message: "Sub-awardee Awardee Address - Congressional District could not be validated/matched from the provided address and zip+4." Unfortunately, this occurred on numerous uploads (300-400) every time an attempt was made. As a disclaimer, a single error will prevent an entire report from being uploaded into the system. TDA FND staff has contacted the FSRS helpdesk many times to no avail, resulting in reports not being uploaded and causing TDA FND to be behind on the FFATA reporting.  FFVP grant: TDA allocates FFVP funds to CEs during two periods of operation. If CEs do not spend the funds, then TDA must either (1) reallocate or (2) let the funds lapse and return to USDA. Considering the nature of the grant allocation and USDA requirements of maximizing grant spending to benefit schools during this process, it might cause a discrepancy between what was reported on the FFATA report and what was adjusted after the fact. As of today, the system error continues to occur with TDA FND staff having little to no control over it. TDA would like to emphasize that the help desk process with FSRS is not expedient and would cause the loss of employee productivity if the burden to remedy the systems issues (beyond recording unsuccessful attempts) was delegated to the state. TDA FND staff will continue to prepare the reports and attempt to submit them as required. TDA FND Staff will document instances where the upload is unsuccessful. CDBG – TDA will ensure that all FFATA reports are submitted timely. For CDBG, program staff has implemented procedures to ensure that FFATA reports are prepared, reviewed by the Director of CDBG Programs, and submitted on a monthly basis. Implementation dates: CDBG: January 2024 CNC: March 1, 2024 Responsible persons: CDBG: Suzanne Barnard, Director for CDBG Programs CNC: Anwar Sophy, Administrator, TDA FND Business Management

View Audit 296491

Finding 382918 (2023-022)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

HUD Housing Programs Reporting Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Corrective action plan: TDA has completed the noted adjustments and submitted a corrected PR-28 for Program Year 2022 to HUD. Implementation date: February 1, 2024 Responsible person: Suzanne Barnard, Director for CDBG Programs

View Audit 296491

Finding 382917 (2023-007)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting Procurement, Suspension & Debarment § 200.303

Corrective action plan: In this case, the filtering of the data did not pick up these two contracts. When it was determined that they had been overlooked, the reporting was completed. The source information for FFATA reporting was originally coming from the Contracts department. In order to have a m...

Corrective action plan: In this case, the filtering of the data did not pick up these two contracts. When it was determined that they had been overlooked, the reporting was completed. The source information for FFATA reporting was originally coming from the Contracts department. In order to have a more complete dataset, CDR was tasked as identifying the source data as opposed to Contracts as they are more familiar with these contracts. This change was implemented beginning in September 2023. This change should mitigate the chance of any contracts being missed. Implementation date: September 2023 Responsible person: Elizabeth Ozuna - Senior Director of Federal Finance and Grant Management

View Audit 296491

Finding 382916 (2023-006)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The GLO will review the process and task notes templates to correct the language to ensure it differentiates between those that have TIGR access and those that do not, and properly reflects what was reviewed and completed with an offboarding request. In addition, the GLO will...

Corrective action plan: The GLO will review the process and task notes templates to correct the language to ensure it differentiates between those that have TIGR access and those that do not, and properly reflects what was reviewed and completed with an offboarding request. In addition, the GLO will review the account de-provisioning process in place to determine if it can be improved to address the account access that was available after this individual left the agency. The GLO will implement a semi-annual manual or automated account review process to identify accounts for former employees who were not properly disabled with their departure from the agency. This process will be documented as part of our overall user access review processes. Implementation date: May 15, 2024 Responsible persons: Robert Eason, Deputy Director, CDR, Pamela Mathews, Director Program Integration, CDR, Brad Kaufman, Senior Director of IT Operations.

View Audit 296491

Finding 382915 (2023-005)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The GLO will update the Active Directory password policy for GLOAD domain users to align it to the agency password policy as defined in GLO Identification and Authentication policy. We are unable to add the same password policy complexity and lockout settings to the on-premis...

Corrective action plan: The GLO will update the Active Directory password policy for GLOAD domain users to align it to the agency password policy as defined in GLO Identification and Authentication policy. We are unable to add the same password policy complexity and lockout settings to the on-premises, standalone MIP system as this software doesn’t provide that functionality. Implementation date: May 15, 2024 Responsible person: Brad Kaufman, Senior Director of IT Operations.

View Audit 296491

Finding 382913 (2023-009)

Significant Deficiency 2023

State of Texas C/o Comptroller of Public Accounts

TX

Questioned Costs Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Allowable Costs / Cost Principles § 200.303

Corrective action plan: The General Ledger Cost Allocation and Chartfield teams are currently fully staffed. An aggressive plan to complete FY 2023 reallocations and catch FY 2024 reallocations up to current (one federal quarter plus one month in arrears) is in place. Implementation date: August 31,...

Corrective action plan: The General Ledger Cost Allocation and Chartfield teams are currently fully staffed. An aggressive plan to complete FY 2023 reallocations and catch FY 2024 reallocations up to current (one federal quarter plus one month in arrears) is in place. Implementation date: August 31, 2024 Responsible person: Heather Nevill, Director, Fund Management

View Audit 296491 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382909 (2023-003)

Significant Deficiency 2023

Southern Oregon University

OR

Student Financial Aid Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties § 200.303

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures to ensure required contracts and contract components are provided to the Department of Education when required....

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures to ensure required contracts and contract components are provided to the Department of Education when required. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The management team acknowledges this finding. At the time of the audit, management could not ascertain whether the contract with BankMobile was uploaded to the Department of Education Contract portal as there is no repository or database available to schools. This submission was completed in February 2024. Names of the contact persons responsible for corrective action: Agnes Maina Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed

View Audit 296487

Finding 382908 (2023-002)

Significant Deficiency 2023

Southern Oregon University

OR

Questioned Costs Student Financial Aid Significant Deficiency § 200.303

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding stale-dated check escheatment to ensure that the funds are returned to the appropriate program within...

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding stale-dated check escheatment to ensure that the funds are returned to the appropriate program within 240 days from the date of issue. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The management team acknowledges this finding as it was identified and rectified during an internal audit earlier this year. Effective Fall 2023 a new process is in place that incorporates all Title IV funding into the current stale-dated refund check process. The Bursar and the Student Financial aid office will closely monitor aging checks and reissue or return funds to the Department of Education. Names of the contact persons responsible for corrective action: Stephanie Hanigan and Karinda Decker Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Completed

View Audit 296487 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 382907 (2023-001)

Significant Deficiency 2023

Southern Oregon University

OR

Student Financial Aid Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting § 200.303

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding enrollment reporting including additional monitoring over the third-party service provider to ensure ...

Federal Direct Student Loans and Federal Pell Grant Program – Assistance Listing No. 84.268 and 84.063 Recommendation: We recommend that the University enhance its policies and procedures regarding enrollment reporting including additional monitoring over the third-party service provider to ensure that reporting is completed accurately and timely. Action taken in response to finding: The Student Records Specialist will increase monitoring of Clearinghouse data. SOU will also reach out to Clearinghouse to identify reports/tools that can assist with accurate and timely reporting. Issues that are identified will be communicated to the Director of Financial Aid and University Registrar for reconciliation. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Karinda Decker and Matt Stillman Planned completion date for corrective action plan: Immediately

View Audit 296487

Corrective Action Plans

Filters