Corrective Action Plans

Finding: The Office of Financial Management did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds were used only for allowable activities. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 21.027 COVID-19 Amount $300,000,000 Status: Corrective action not taken Corrective Action: The Office does not concur with the audit finding. The state of Washington created a separate fund to track the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) expenditures. The state, through legislation, approved the transfer from the CSLFRF account to various state transportation accounts. The Office reaffirms that all expenditures from the transportation accounts that received the CSLFRF funds were used to maintain government services. The State Administrative and Accounting Manual requires all state agencies to establish internal controls over payments for goods and services, including ensuring payments are lawful and for proper purposes, reviewing payments to ensure they are supported, as well as documenting the review of all payments. State agencies continued to follow their established internal controls to ensure expenditures from the transportation accounts were proper and allowable for both non-CSLFRF and CSLFRF funds. The Office will continue to: ? Work with the U.S. Treasury through upcoming desk audits to ensure no questioned costs are required to be repaid. ? Document all correspondence with the grantor during the audit resolution process. Completion Date: Not applicable Agency Contact: Brian Tinney Statewide Accounting Director PO Box 43127 Olympia, WA 98504-3127 (564) 999-1781 brian.tinney@ofm.wa.gov

Finding: The Department of Commerce did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to subrecipients of the Emergency Rental Assistance program were allowable and properly supported. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 21.023 COVID-19 Amount $255,642,551 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department implemented procedures to strengthen internal controls to ensure Emergency Rental Assistance program expenditures are allowable, properly supported, and in compliance with the subrecipient fiscal monitoring requirements. The Homelessness Assistance Unit managing director completed the following corrective actions in September 2022: ? Updated unit reimbursement procedures to include a requirement for specific supporting documentation to accompany payment requests from all subrecipients. ? Provided training to staff on reviewing supporting documentation to ensure expenditures reconcile with reimbursement requests and to verify expenditures are within the period of performance. ? Reviewed 2 CFR 200.332 and updated procedures to include additional requirements for pass-through entities. ? Worked with the Department?s internal control officer for review and feedback of the updated procedures. The managing director will perform a review of the reimbursement process during the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2023, to ensure procedures are followed. The Department will consult with the federal grantor to discuss the audit results. Completion Date: Estimated September 2023 Agency Contact: Gena Allen 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 improperly charged $390 to the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 21.019 COVID-19 Amount $390 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department concurs with the finding. Since the Department received CRF funding through legislative appropriation, resolution of the questioned costs with the grantor will be managed by the Office of Financial Management. Completion Date: Estimated October 2023 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 Corrections improperly charged $37,392 to the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 21.019 COVID-19 Amount $37,392 Status: Corrective action complete Corrective Action: The Department concurs that the questioned costs identified by the auditors resulted from an employee?s overpayment inappropriately charged to the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). The Department is committed to ensuring compliance with federal grant requirements. In response to this audit finding, the Department: ? Reviewed controls around payroll overpayments and developed a process to ensure they are not included in any future federal funding transfers. ? Reviewed and identified allowable costs that were not initially charged to the grant which would compensate for the questioned costs identified. The identified costs have been filed with the original transfer journal voucher and will be provided to the Office of Financial Management (OFM). Since the Department received CRF funding through legislative appropriation, resolution of the questioned costs with the grantor will be managed by the OFM. Completion Date: June 2023 Agency Contact: Anita Kendall Senior Director, Business Services PO Box 41106 Olympia, WA 98504-1106 (360) 480-7915 Anita.kendall@doc1.wa.gov

Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure it met the earmarking requirement for the Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.959 93.959 COVID-19 Amount $661 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Federal Financial Reporting unit will update procedures for preparing monthly earmarking tracking workbooks to ensure the Authority does not exceed the maximum allowable amount for administrative costs. The procedures will also include management review and approval of the earmarking tracking workbooks. The Authority processed subsequent adjustments reducing the administrative costs charged to the grant, which the auditors did not take into consideration. The Authority does not concur with the questioned costs identified in the audit and will confirm with the federal grantor that the questioned costs do not need to be repaid. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2021-056. Completion Date: Estimated September 2023 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA 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 requirements 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 $19,959,714 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Authority partially concurs with the audit recommendations. The Authority concurs that expenditures for indirect charges were applied to the award, through the Authority?s cost allocation system, for activities that occurred after the period of performance. The Authority will develop written procedures to review allocation bases at the end of a grant period. The Authority does not concur with the audit exceptions related to two accruals recorded in the accounting system before the period of performance. As noted by the auditors, no payments were made on these accruals. The period of performance of the grant extends beyond the end of the state?s fiscal year. Invoices for the program continue to be received after fiscal year end and the cut-off date for reporting on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. Staff review payments for grant allowability based on service month when invoices are received. The Authority does not concur with the questioned costs related to the year-end accruals and will verify with the grantor that questioned costs do not need to be repaid. The year-end accruals were solely recorded as estimates and were not used to make any program payments or draw funds from the grantor. While the year-end accruals may include some amounts beyond the state fiscal year, questioning the year-end accruals in their entirety is an overstatement of any potential error that was made. The Authority will update procedures for calculating year-end accruals to: ? Maintain all supporting documentation used to calculate the year-end accrual transactions. ? Maintain a workbook to calculate estimated expenditures to be accrued for the fiscal year. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2021-057 and 2020-059. Completion Date: Estimated September 2023 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA 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 controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to providers for the Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services were allowable and met period of performance requirements. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.958 93.958 COVID-19 Amount $8,668,982 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Authority partially concurs with the audit recommendations. The Authority will: ? Maintain all supporting documentation used to calculate the year-end accrual transactions. ? Maintain a workbook to calculate estimated expenditures to be accrued for the fiscal year. The Authority will continue to review payments for allowability and ensure they occur within the grant period. The period of performance of the grant extends beyond the end of the state?s fiscal year. Invoices for the program continue to be received after fiscal year end and the cut-off date for reporting on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. The Authority does not concur with the questioned costs and will verify with the grantor that questioned costs do not need to be repaid. Completion Date: Estimated September 2023 Agency Contact: William Sogge, CPA 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 federal provider eligibility requirements for the Medicaid and Children?s Health Insurance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID-19 93.775 93.777 93.777 COVID-19 93.778 93.778 COVID-19 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Authority partially concurs with the finding. The Authority agrees that ProviderOne sends revalidation notifications one day after the due date rather than before the due date. A system revision to correct this issue is expected to be in place by the beginning of 2024. The Authority does not concur with the remainder of the audit finding as stated in the description of condition. The auditor did not provide sufficient information for the Authority to review the identified exceptions and associated questioned costs. Due to the lack of information provided, the Authority is unable to agree or disagree with the results of the audit. The Authority will work with the auditor to obtain sufficient supporting information to review the exceptions and questioned costs. Once this process is completed, the Authority will work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on finding resolution. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2021-047, 2020-046, 2019-048, 2018-042, 2017-033, and 2016-035. The auditors determined 2016-035 as resolved. Completion Date: Estimated March 2024 Agency Contact: Kari Summerour, CPA External Audit Compliance Manager PO Box 45502 Olympia, WA 98504-5502 (360) 725-5337 Kari.Summerour@hca.wa.gov

Finding: The Health Care Authority did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure clients were eligible for the Children?s Health Insurance Program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.767 93.767 COVID-19 Status: Corrective action not required Corrective Action: The Authority does not concur with the finding. The Authority pursued and was notified of approval for the 1115 disaster waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The waiver will approve Children?s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for clients aged 19 and over during the public health emergency, retroactive to March 18, 2020. Once the official approval letter is received from CMS, the issue will be resolved, and the approval letter will be provided to CMS Audit Resolution. The Children?s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) postpartum period is state-funded and the Authority processes manual journal vouchers to move federal funding to state funding each quarter. For this audit, the auditors did not allow sufficient time for accounting staff to provide the journal vouchers for inclusion in the audit results. The Authority will work with CMS during the audit resolution process and provide the journal vouchers as needed to demonstrate that state funds were used for the postpartum expenditures. Effective July 1, 2022, the Authority added coding to ProviderOne which automates the accounting process for CHIPRA postpartum client funding. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2021-046. Completion Date: Not applicable 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 client eligibility requirements for child care services paid with the Child Care and Development Fund and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.558 93.575 93.575 COVID-19 93.596 Amount $5,689 $5,078 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program was previously managed by the Department of Social and Health Services 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 CCDF grant requirements. In response to the finding, the Department established overpayments and referred them to the Office of Financial Recovery for collection. As part of process and internal control improvements, the Department implemented the Fair Start for Kids Act (FSKA) on October 1, 2021, to simplify rules and expand eligibility. The FSKA: ? Raises the State Median Income threshold, increasing the number of eligible two-parent households. ? Caps copayments at $115 for applicants and $215 for reapplicants, reducing the copay amounts for two-parent households. ? Acts as disincentives for fraud as families are less likely to report the non-custodial parent who is not a household member. The Department continues to review cases for accuracy following these new rules and policies. In September 2022, the Office of Child Care (OCC) released a document to help CCDF lead agencies simplify the format and content of child care assistance applications, which includes guidance on defining, collecting, and verifying eligibility information. The Department continues to follow guidance from OCC to update policies and procedures within the authority under the Revised Code of Washington and Washington Administrative Code. This includes: ? Updating policies and procedures for cases with simplified eligibility such as families experiencing homelessness or families with children receiving protective services. Public Benefit Specialist (PBS) staff received training in the winter of 2022, which included the use of systems data to establish household composition. ? Developing a guide for staff to more effectively use the Employment Security Department (ESD) quarterly reported data for eligibility determinations. The ESD data is directly reported by the employer, secured, and reduces delays in benefits by eliminating the wait for employment verification. It is also simple to use for the PBS staff and the auditors, thereby reducing income calculation errors and removing the need for consumers to provide documentation to support the eligibility determination. This procedural change and training are expected to be completed by the summer of 2023. The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in findings 2021-035, 2020-039, 2019-032, 2018-030, 2017-026, 2016-023, 2015-026, 2014-026, 2013-017 and 2012-30. Completion Date: Estimated October 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 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 properly supported. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.558 Amount $67,699,429 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 (TANF) grant. The Department allocated the TANF grant to eligible clients and allowable activities in compliance with 45 CFR 98.67. For the fiscal year 2021 program audit, the State Auditor?s Office (SAO) issued a finding with $32 questioned costs for non-compliance with the CCDF eligibility requirement. No other findings, management letters, or exit items were reported in this compliance area or the cost allocation of funds based on eligibility for the CCDF or TANF grants. Given that eligibility or cost allocation has not been an area of concern, and transfers were processed between TANF and CCDF source of funds with the same eligibility criteria, the Department is assured that TANF funding was spent appropriately within federal regulations. The Department is committed to improving internal controls. The Department does not currently have the resources to develop and maintain the business process redesign, as well as the information technology initiatives necessary to meet the level of assurance recommended by SAO. In response to prior year?s audit recommendations, the Department has submitted a budget request to the Legislature in the 2023-2025 biennial budget for additional resources to process adjustments to include transaction-level data. As part of the audit resolution process, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CCDF program at the federal level, reviews all SAO findings and issues management decision letters. The letters will reflect the grantor?s determination of whether an audit finding is sustained, the reasons for the decision, and the required actions by the auditee. When a management decision is issued for the fiscal year 2021 finding, the Department will work with HHS and follow the audit resolution process. Completion Date: Agency Contact: The conditions noted in this finding were previously reported in finding 2021-028. Estimated December 2024 Stefanie Niemela Audit Liaison PO Box 40970 Olympia, WA 98504-0970 (360) 725-4402 stefanie.niemela@dcyf.wa.gov

Finding: The Department of Health did not have adequate internal controls over and did not comply with requirements to ensure payments to providers were allowable, met cost principles, and were within the period of performance for the Immunization Cooperative Agreements program. Questioned Costs: Assistance Listing # 93.268 93.268 COVID-19 Status: Corrective action in progress Corrective Action: The Department partially agrees with the finding. The Department agrees that internal controls can be strengthened over provider payments to ensure funds are allowable and spent within the period of performance. The following actions were taken: ? Required payments to providers contain adequate support in line with the A19 matrix and subrecipients? risk assessments. ? Provided additional training to staff in the immunization unit responsible for reviewing invoices. ? Developed tracking sheets which enable staff to record details from backup documentation reviews and payment approvals. The Department will review the control weaknesses identified in the audit related to the consolidated contract payment process and will determine if changes need to be made. The Department disagrees with the audit exceptions and questioned costs identified in the finding. The Department will work with the federal grantor to resolve any questioned costs. Completion Date: Estimated December 2023 Agency Contact: Jeff Arbuckle External Audit Manager PO Box 47890 Olympia, WA 98504-7890 (360) 701-0798 Jeff.Arbuckle@doh.wa.gov