Memo: Cause and Corrective Action Plan for Finding 2025-003 This correspondence serves as Cook County Health (CCH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) response to Finding 2025-003. During the FY2025 Single Audit, one audit finding was identified by Washington, Pittman & McKeever, LLC...
Memo: Cause and Corrective Action Plan for Finding 2025-003 This correspondence serves as Cook County Health (CCH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) response to Finding 2025-003. During the FY2025 Single Audit, one audit finding was identified by Washington, Pittman & McKeever, LLC. The root cause and corrective action plan is identified below. Condition During the current audit period, the Cook County Department of Public Health (DPH) did not comply with federal regulations regarding the use and reporting of program income as it relates to funds awarded through the RWHAP Root Cause Analysis The HIV grants transitioned to CCH from an external organization in July 2025. Award amounts were granted in multiple phases, requiring four budget revisions, with the final revision approved in December 2025. The contractual period covered March 2025 through December 2025. During the transition period, CCH lacked formal operational procedures to identify, record, and track program income. Several operational and administrative challenges contributed to this issue, including: • No written internal procedures were in place to define or track program income requirements. • No formal transition teams were established to identify core grant obligations, resulting in unclear interpretation of sponsor requirements. • CCH had not yet identified the appropriate internal systems or interdepartmental collaborations necessary to retrieve and reconcile program income data. • Organizational priorities during the transition focused on maintaining existing deliverables, including vouchering, budget compliance, hiring, and onboarding of direct and administrative staff. • Staffing Shortages, CCH onboarded personnel quickly as contractual employees, direct staff transitioned onboard as CCH employees in phases upon execution of grant contracts. Corrective Action Plan CCH Director of Grants Accounting is implementing formal written processes and procedures to ensure compliance with Federal Uniform Guidance requirements related to program income. The corrective action plan includes: • Developing standardized written procedures that clearly define program income requirements and tracking responsibilities. • Establishing shared roles and responsibilities across departments to support consistent data collection, reconciliation, and reporting. • Identifying the specific data elements required to accurately record and monitor program income. • Formalizing interdepartmental collaboration processes necessary to retrieve and validate program income information. • Defining the systems and reporting tools that will be used to track and maintain program income records. • Providing staff training on program income requirements, documentation standards, and compliance expectations. These actions will strengthen internal controls and ensure timely, accurate identification and tracking of program income moving forward, official approval/implementation is expected December 2026