Corrective Action Plans

FINDING 2024-002 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Procurement Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Kyle Zahn & Jack Lazar Contact Phone Number and Email Address: (765) 883-5576 kzahn@western.k12.in.us jlazar@western.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: At a coming leadership meeting the Finance Director will review procurement rules and procedures with the leadership team. Additionally, the Director of Finance and Food Service Director will conduct an audit of the vendors used for the Child Nutrition Cluster and revise as necessary current systems for identifying vendors who exceed $50,000 during a school year. Anticipated Completion Date: March 31, 2025

Views of Responsible Officials: We have already taken several steps to address this issue and to ensure that similar situations do not occur in the future: 1. Policy Review and Reinforcement: We have conducted a detailed review of the procurement policy to ensure that all relevant employees know its requirements and the importance of compliance. We are also revising our internal communication to ensure everyone involved in procurement knows the steps and documentation required. 2. Training and Awareness: To prevent future non-compliance, we are scheduling mandatory training sessions for all personnel involved in procurement activities. This will help ensure that all team members fully understand the policy and know how to apply it correctly.

FINDING 2024‐005 Finding Subject: Special education Cluster (IDEA) ‐ Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Summary of Finding: When the value of the procurement for property or services are within the small purchase threshold, or a lower threshold established by a nonfederal entity, quotes and a contract are required. The small purchase threshold is between $10,000 and $150,000 however the threshold between $10,000 and $50,000 require quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources. Indiana Code 5‐22‐8 has more restrictive requirements for the small purchase threshold between $50,000 and $150,000, which require three quotes and a contract to be awarded. The Cooperative had five vendors which fell within the small purchase threshold and all five vendors were tested. The Cooperative did not obtain quotes or competitive proposals, nor was a circumstance met that would have allowed for a noncompetitive procurement for the purchases. Three vendors paid from the grant funds were identified as being covered transactions during the audit period. All three vendors, provided goods or services which equaled or exceeded $25,000 and were selected for testing. For all three vendors, the Cooperative did not verify the vendors’ suspension and debarment status prior to payment. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Tim Scott Contact Phone Number and Email Address: 574‐654‐7273 tscott@npusc.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: Due to several changes in personnel in the Special Education office, obtaining quotes and checking SAMS.gov was an oversight. The Special Ed Administrative Assistant and/or the Special Ed Director is now making sure these things are complete before a purchase order is entered or services are rendered. A copy of SAMS.gov and the quote are attached to the purchase order. Anticipated Completion Date: October 2024

Federal Agency Name: Department of Labor Assistance Listing Number: 17.270 Program Name: Reentry Employment Opportunities Finding Summary: The Organization’s procurement policy did not contain all of the required procurement standards and contract provisions as required by Uniform Guidance. The organization entered into a covered transaction with a vendor before performing a review to ensure the vendor was not suspended or debarred. Corrective Action Plan: SHIP has had a long‐standing partnership with Sky Ranch Behavioral Services (SRBS), the lone applicant for the BOOST GO’s Violence Prevention Services RFP. Since SHIP serves as fiscal agent and employer of record for SRBS, SHIP would know if SRBS was on the disbarred list. Therefore, the Executive Director did not check to see if SRBS was suspended or disbarred. Despite having this knowledge, this action still should have been taken to tick the boxes on SHIP’s procurement policy, and to stay consistent with this practice being done for other vendors. The Executive Director takes full responsibility for this oversight. SHIP will review its procurement policy to ensure it matches federal guidance and will make necessary revisions (if any), and will take a draft to the SHIP Board of Directors for approval. Once approved, training will be provided to all Program Directors and relevant staff to ensure everyone understands the steps and procedures for the procurement policy. SHIP will also review all MOUs and subcontracts to ensure they match the federal requirements Responsible Individual: Matt Ohman, Executive Director Anticipated Completion Date: Revised Procurement Policy will be presented to the SHIP Board for approval and staff will be trained by June 2024, ready for new fiscal year contracts.

FINDING 2024-003 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster – Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Summary of Finding: Documented evidence of the implementation of the control process was not maintained. Due to the lack of controls, it could not be determined that the school corporation ensured compliance with the grant agreement. Proper safeguards were not in place to ensure that documentation was properly maintained, causing the CFO and Food Service Director to be unable to locate the documentation for each procurement method. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Allison Pund and Margaret Leavitt Contact Phone Number and Email Address: 812-683-3971 x5002; punda1@swdubois.k12.in.us; leavittm@swdubois.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Explanation and Reasons for Disagreement: NA Description of Corrective Action Plan: The School Corporation will establish a proper system of internal control and develop policies and procedures to ensure all requirements are followed. Creation of these policies and procedures will be created by the CFO and Food Service Director. Internal controls will be put in place to ensure these policies and procedures are followed. In addition, the Food Service Director will maintain all bids, contracts, and other documentation to support the procurement methods used and will verify suspension and debarment prior to entering into covered transactions of $25,000 or more. Anticipated Completion Date: August 2025

FINDING 2024‐002 Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) – Procurement Summary of Finding: During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, federal grant funds were to pay for contracted speech services. The vendors used exceeded the Simplified Acquisition Threshold and sealed bids or competitive proposals were not obtained. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Adam C. Minth Contact Phone Number: 219-374-3504 Views of Responsible Official: The school corporation concurs with the finding and will be implementing corrective procedures by the end of this fiscal year. Description of Corrective Action Plan: As a member of the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative (NISEC), Hanover Community School Corporation usually expends contracted services out of our general education fund. For the fiscal year 2023-2024, we included our contracted speech services into our federal grant funds. During the audit, Hanover was notified that we didn’t follow the procurement procedures when expending out of the federal grant. This finding was due to Hanover not going out and receiving multiple bids for contracted companies that provide services to our students. Hanover uses three contracted companies to provide Speech Pathologist and Speech Language Assistants. We have used these three companies for many years and have built great working relationships with these providers. After receiving the finding, and discussing with the auditor, we created a memo that we took to our board. In the memo we explained why we use the three contracted vendors instead of going out for bids. Finding Speech Pathologists and Speech Language Assistants is very difficult in the school setting, and they have created great working relationships with these three contracted companies. Within the memo, we listed all the contracted vendors that they use and why they work directly with them instead of going out for bids. At the beginning of each school year, they will create a new memo with any contracted companies that they will be using during that school year. Anticipated Completion Date: 4/30/2025

FINDING 2024-004 Finding Subject: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) – Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Summary of Finding: Procurement- Small Purchase In fiscal year 2023, the Cooperative had five vendors which fell within the small purchase threshold (between $10,000 and $150,000). The Cooperative did not obtain quotes or competitive proposals, nor was a circumstance met that would have allowed for a noncompetitive procurement for the purchases. The total amount spent in was $292,806. Suspension and Debarment Verification to verify that contractors and subrecipients are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise under a nonprocurement transaction through SAM was not being completed. Three vendors each fiscal year provided goods or services which equaled or exceeded $25,000 were selected for testing. The total amount spent on covered transactions was $266,063 and $142,639 for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. For all six vendors, the Cooperative did not verify the vendors’ suspension and debarment status prior to payment. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Greg Hunt Contact Phone Number: (219) 362-7056 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: Our Special Education Administrative Assistant has already begun checking on SAM for any federal purchases to verify suspension and debarment. She has also been provided with the LaPorte Community School Corporation’s Procurement Policy number po6325 and will adhere to those guidelines for any future purchases. Anticipated Completion Date: January 2025

Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization review its current documented procurement policy, and its current processes and controls over procurement and suspension and debarment to ensure all required elements are included and the appropriate level of documentation is retained and available. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: RTDCA will revise its documented procurement policy to adhere to the federal procurement policy mandates and ensure all required elements and documentation are retained. Person Responsible: Ms. Katharine Dixon, President and CEO Planned Completion Date: By September 30, 2025

Finding 2024-001 Federal Department: Department of Labor Assistance Listing #: 17.274 Material Weakness in Internal Controls and Noncompliance Category of Finding – Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment Finding Summary: There was no observable control documentation to directly indicate that a search for price comparisons or suspension and debarment was performed on vendors. Responsible Individuals: Jill Johnson, Executive Director Corrective Action Plan: Our Executive Director and Controller developed an updated procurement policy. This policy went into effect on July 1, 2024 and has been implemented throughout the organizational system. Anticipated Completion Date: July 1, 2024

Context: The School Corporation had one vendor which exceeded the simplified acquisition threshold which was selected for testing. The School Corporation was unable to provide any supporting documentation for the procurement process required under School Corporation policy. The sample item amount dispersed was $160,827 for food purchases in FY 2023. Additionally, the School Corporation did not have any support to show the vendor was not disbarred or suspended. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Steve Boulanger, Food Service Director Contact Phone Number: 765-240-2372 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: As of October 2024, our Food Service Director has been running vendors through the SAM.gov website, printing the results, and filing them for audit purposes. Anticipated Completion Date: 10/01/2024

Finding Number: 2024-001 Condition: Controls were not sufficient to establish written policies and procedures surrounding procured contracts and to ensure that the history of procurement decisions were documented, as required by 2 CFR 200. Context - Institute's Management did not maintain adequate records for three of the four noncompetitive contracts, including details on procurement history. Additionally, for contracts under both the Research and Development Cluster and the ELC contract, management failed to provide evidence of suspension and debarment checks for contractors before entering into transactions. However, there was no evidence of contractors being suspended or debarred, and no questioned costs were identified. Planned Corrective Action: Management agrees with the recommendation and will review the relevant guidance to ensure compliance. Necessary revisions will be made to the existing procurement policies and procedures in a timely manner to ensure that procurement decisions are documented, as required by 2 CFR Part 200. Contact person responsible for corrective action: Lavenia Bell, Accounting; Teresa Martinez, Senior Post Award Coordinator; Mariela Romo, Administrator Anticipated Completion Date: 8/31/2025

Context: The School Corporation is a member of the Northeast Indiana Special Education Cooperative (Cooperative). During fiscal years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the Cooperative operated the special education program and spent the federal money on behalf of all its members. As the grant agreement was between the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and each member school, the School Corporation was responsible for ensuring and providing oversight of the Cooperative. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Brittany Treesh Contact Phone Number: 260-357-3185 Views of Responsible Official: The school corporation concurs with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: Garrett-Keyser-Butler’s Business Manager will work closely with the Special Education Cooperative Treasurer and DeKalb Eastern Business Manager during the grant process and make sure all required documents are collected. Anticipated Completion Date: The Business Manager will implement this procedure March 2025.

Finding 2024-002 Procurement and Suspension and Debarment (Compliance) – 2020 Findings Major Federal Award Programs Condition The City's procurement standards do not include the essential elements as outlined in 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. Corrective Action Plan The City issued and updated purchasing policy which includes the CFR requirements in early fiscal year 2024-2025. The city has hired adequate staffing which allows the purchasing department to enforce the suspension and debarment process during the procurement process. The City will have a formal process to require checking for Procurement and Suspension and Debarment prior to any contracts being issued. The policy will include but not limited to: 1. Bidding/RFP requirements: Prior to making a grant-related purchase, the procurement office will check the selected vendor on www.sam.gov prior to approving. The procurement office will document the Suspension and Debarment verification by including a screen print of the Exclusions search. 2. Annual check Annually, procurement will run a list of all vendors and employees paid from federal funds. This list will be reviewed against sam.gov, unless set up one month prior to the review. 3. Notification in bid/RFP specifications The procurement office will also make sure to include language in the specification about complying with CFR rules for federal funding. The implementation of this recommendation is monitored by the Procurement Director and Finance Director Michael Gormany or designee.

FINDING 2024-002 Finding Subject: Child Nutrition - Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment Summary of Finding: There were no controls in place to ensure that the School Corporation complied with the small purchase requirements. The School Corporation obtained quotes for the two vendors that qualified for the small purchase threshold, but no oversight performed. There were no controls in place to ensure that the vendors included a suspension and debarment clause or check the Sam.gov website. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Micah Williams Contact Phone Number and Email Address: 765-832-2426/mwilliams@svcs.k12.in.us Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: The finance department will work in conjunction with the Food Services Director to ensure that quotes are obtained from vendors that are listed on Sam.gov or have a suspension and debarment clause before making in purchases. There will be an email thread detailing the request, the quotes, and the process for ensuring suspension and debarment. Anticipated Completion Date: Immediate.

MUSD will review all federal procurement transactions to ensure that they align with board policy 3230. The District has also joined PINCO, Partners in Nutrition Cooperative as of June 2024. PINCO is “the only self-managed Co-Operative USDA Receiving Agency and Purchasing Group in California. PINCO maintains an active and healthy relationship with CDE’s Resource Management Unit (RMU). PINCO works directly with the RMU assisting Member Districts with all reporting and documentation required under NSLP sponsorship.”

Action taken in response to finding: Esperanza will: 1. For new vendors – review if the vendor is included in the federal list of debarred, suspended, or excluded vendors 2. For existing vendors – review, on an annual basis, if vendors are included in the federal list of debarred, suspended, or excluded vendors Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Ryan Gadia Planned completion date for corrective action plan: June 30, 2025

Context: For the two small purchase method procurements sampled for testing, we noted that the School Corporation, did not obtain quotes from an adequate number of qualified sources. The total amount disbursed for the sample items was $146,895 in FY23 and $69,793 in FY24 for contracted occupational therapy and physical therapy services. The School Corporation did properly confirm the sample vendors were not debarred or suspended. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Shannon Current Contact Phone Number: 260-726-9341 Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the finding now that we are aware this must be done for contracted services. Prior to the audit, for at least 12 years, we were not aware this was to be done for contracted services. During prior audits, this was never brought to our attention. Description of Corrective Action Plan: Moving forward, we will make sure to solicit three quotes for contracted services that will be more than $50,000. Anticipated Completion Date: As soon as our next contracted service contract is to be entered into which will most likely be in May 2025 prior to the next school year.

Finding: While testing the procurement requirement, we noted that internal controls were not properly designed over the procurement requirement. Prior to receiving federal funding beginning in August 2022, the program conducted a request for proposal (RFP) process and began contracting with a vendor. When federal funding was obtained, the vendor was not reevaluated in accordance with the Uniform Guidance to ensure the procurement requirements were being met. In addition, we noted UW Health – Madison’s procurement policy documents do not include all of the information that is required by the Uniform Guidance. Correction actions taken or planned: Management became aware of the need to perform additional procedures to comply with Uniform Guidance part way through the year ended June 30, 2024 and completed the evaluation once it became known. However, by that time, the vendor was already charged to the grant prior to the completion of the vendor evaluation. UW Health has developed processes and procedures to ensure compliance with the Uniform Guidance and that evaluations are taking place prior to any vendors being charged to the grant. UW Health is also in the process of updating policy to comply with Uniform Guidance. Anticipated completion Date: June 2025 UW Health employees responsible for Corrective Action Plan: James Hood, Director of Procurement Services and Jamie Soyk, Program Director – Financial Reporting

2024-001 (Procurement and Suspension & Debarment) Management Comments and Corrective Action: Due to the growing need to adequately care for the minors at SWK’s shelters coupled with the limitations of access to vendors caused by COVID-19, SWK utilized existing vendor to minimize significant disruptions to operations. The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Reprocuring all of these contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related to those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s dayto- day operations. In April 2021, the Organization hired new procurement leadership and invested in Full Time Employees (FTEs) to develop a robust procurement department. Due to this procurement revamp, Procurement adopted a hybrid model, and Desktop Protocols were established to provide universal procedures to fulfill policy. Protocols instruct staff on obtaining three quotes and provide tools for selecting the vendor. In addition, quality protocols and tools are currently in development to verify a random sample of procurement transactions and files. The Organization still has several active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Proposed Implementation Date of Corrective Action: In process and to be completed by December 31, 2025. Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Steven Beckman, CFO 45

Recommendation: We recommend the County follow procurement policies in place at the County or outlined in the Uniform Guidance. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Corrective Action Plan: Going forward, the county is committed to enhancing the efficiency and transparency of its procurement process for awarding contracts. We will ensure that all departments strictly adhere to the established procurement policy, fostering an environment of full and open competition. Additionally, we will implement annual training sessions for all departments to reinforce their understanding of the procurement policy and ensure ongoing compliance. Name of contact person responsible for corrective action: Jeffrey Rank, Director, Office of Budget & Finance Planned completion date for corrective action plan: February 28, 2025

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 2024-001 COVID-19 – American Rescue Plan Act – Assistance Listing No. 21.027 Recommendation: We recommend that the Town review its formal procurement policies and revise with the criteria in 2 CFR sections 200.318 and 200.326. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The Town was checking for disbarred vendors, but did not date or track when the searches were done. Going forward, a spreadsheet will be kept of vendors and date of search on SAM.gov. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Julie Chapman Planned completion date for corrective action plan: June 30, 2025

Management will reinforce the requirements of the procurement policy and the importance of complying with its provisions with the applicable staff. This will be completed by June 30, 2025.

FINDING 2024-004 The City does not have documented procurement policies and procedures in place as required by the Uniform Guidance. Management's Response: The City will document procurement policies and procedures.

Corrective Action Planned: The federal project that has been in the works for multiple years, and, as a result, the Authority determined established procurement procedures would not be written and approved. The Authority did not make this decision in haste. The Authority met compliance guidelines for the procedures of items during the project. What we lack is an approved written document, which at this time is something we do not have the resources to undertake. Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing Contact Person Responsible: Jennie Weary, Treasurer/Secretary

MANAGEMENT’S PLANNED CORRECTIVE ACTION: For noncompetitive procurement, the District will maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include but are not limited to the rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. The District’s timeframe for implementation is effective immediately. The District has a formal procurement policy for federal programs (#626) in place. The District hired a Business Manager effective with the 2024-2025 fiscal year who, in conjunction with the District’s Federal Program Coordinator, will be responsible for following the District’s existing procurement policy for federal programs, in particular related to this finding, the implementation of noncompetitive procurement procedures to ensure that they are followed appropriately. District Officials responsible for the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan: Dr. Johannah Vanatta, Superintendent and Erin Bluedorn, Business Manager.