Finding 2025-002: Competitive Proposal Process for Dental Van Procurement (Significant Deficiency) Federal Program: FIP [93.526] Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Criteria: Federal regulations under the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200), specifically 2 CFR § 200.319(b) and § 200.320(b), require that all procurement transactions be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition. For a competitive proposal process, the organization must publicly advertise the procurement and include a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements and specifications for the goods or services to be procured. Furthermore, 2 CFR § 200.320(b)(2)(i) requires that proposals be evaluated and a selection made based on established evaluation criteria. These criteria must be clearly stated in the solicitation and must be used as the basis for the selection, ensuring that price is a factor but not the only one. Condition: The organization intended to use a competitive proposal process to procure a van. However, it failed to publicly advertise the request for proposals, limiting the pool of potential vendors to only those known to the organization. Additionally, the request for proposals did not include a complete and accurate list of specifications, nor did it include the evaluation and selection criteria that would be used to assess the proposals. While the organization did obtain three proposals and documented its rationale for selecting a vendor that was not the lowest bidder, the overall process did not meet the standards for full and open competition required by federal regulations. Questioned Costs: None Cause: The organization lacked a clear understanding of the specific requirements for a federal competitive proposal process. There were no written procedures or internal controls in place to ensure all required documentation and steps were followed. This oversight, combined with an over-reliance on informal practices, contributed to the noncompliance. Effect: The non-compliant procurement process increases the risk that the organization paid more than was necessary for the vehicle, which is an inefficient use of federal funds. Context: This procurement was for a significant asset for the program. While the organization has made an attempt to solicit proposals, the process was fundamentally flawed from the outset due to the lack of public advertising, incomplete specifications, and missing evaluation criteria. This is the first time the organization has procured a van with these funds, and the error was an oversight rather than an intentional act of noncompliance. Repeat Finding: No. This is the first time this specific finding has been identified. Recommendation: The organization should immediately develop and implement a comprehensive procurement policy and procedures manual that fully aligns with 2 CFR Part 200. This manual should provide a detailed checklist for all procurement methods, including specific requirements for public advertising, developing clear specifications, and documenting the full evaluation process based on a set of pre-established criteria. Mandatory training on federal procurement regulations should be provided to all staff involved in federal awards management and procurement to ensure they understand the importance of compliance. Management Response: The organization acknowledges the finding. To address this, we are committing to develop and implement a comprehensive procurement policy and procedures manual that strictly aligns with requirements within the Uniform Guidance. This manual will include detailed checklists for all procurement methods, covering public advertising, clear specification development, and the use of pre-established, documented evaluation criteria, followed by mandatory training for all staff involved in procurement.
FINDING 2024-001 Subject: Water and Waste Disposal Systems for Rural Communities - Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Program: Water and Waste Disposal Systems for Rural Communities Assistance Listings Number: 10.760 Federal Award Number or Year (or Other Identifying Number): Interim Financing Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Modified Opinion Condition and Context The City did not have an effective system of internal controls over federal award requirements, including procurement and suspension and debarment. The City failed to properly design and implement internal controls, such as appropriate segregation of duties, to ensure compliance and detect or correct noncompliance in a timely manner. Federal regulations allow for informal procurement methods when the value of the procurement for property or services does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, which is set at $250,000 unless a lower, more restrictive threshold is set by a non-federal entity. As Indiana Code has set a more restrictive threshold of $150,000, informal procurement methods are permitted when the value of the procurement does not exceed $150,000. This informal process allows for methods other than the formal bid process. The informal process is divided between two methods based on thresholds: micro-purchases, typically for those purchases $10,000 or under, and small purchase procedures for those purchases above the micro-purchase threshold but below the simplified acquisition threshold. Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive price rate quotations. If small purchase procedures are used, then price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources. Procurement - Small Purchases During the audit period, the City had six vendors with purchases under the $150,000 threshold that were considered simplified acquisition procurements and over the $10,000 threshold that was considered micro-purchase procurements. All six vendors were selected for testing, and for five of those vendors, the City could not provide the procurement history or the rationale for the method of procurement, the selection of vendor, or the basis for price. The total dollar amount spent with these five vendors during 2024 was $246,055. Procurement - Simplified Acquisitions During the audit period, the City had three vendors with purchases over the $150,000 threshold that were considered simplified acquisition procurements. All three vendors were selected for testing, and for two of those vendors, the City could not provide the procurement history or the rationale for the method of procurement, the selection of vendor, or the basis for price. The total dollar amount spent with these two vendors during 2024 was $2,654,999. Procurement - Policy Per Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200.318(a), a non-federal entity that receives federal funds must have and use documented procurement procedures that conform to applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Additionally, state law, such as Indiana Code 5-22, prescribes specific procedures for purchasing supplies and services based on various dollar thresholds. The City did not provide a purchasing policy for review that included the applicable federal regulation, such as procedures to avoid the acquisition of unnecessary or duplicative items and procedures to ensure that all solicitations incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the material, product, or services to be procured. Additionally, the City did not maintain written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and governing actions of its employees engaged in the selection, award, and administration of contracts. Suspension and Debarment Prior to entering into subawards and covered transactions, recipients are required to verify that such contracts and subrecipients are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded. "Covered transactions" include, but are not limited to, contracts for goods and services awarded under a nonprocurement transaction (i.e., grant agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000. The verification is to be done by checking the Excluded Parties List System (ELPS), collecting a certification from that person, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person. The City failed to verify that vendors were not suspended or debarred prior to entering into covered transactions exceeding $25,000. Of the eight vendors tested, no documentation was provided to show that a check was performed against the EPLS or through other acceptable verification methods. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance was determined to be a systemic issue throughout the audit period. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.318 states in part: "(a) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. . . . (i) The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. . . ." 2 CFR 200.320(b) states in part: "Formal procurement methods. When the value of the procurement for property or services under a Federal financial assistance awards exceeds the SAT, or a lower threshold established by a non-Federal entity, formal procurement methods are required. Formal procurement methods require following documented procedures. Formal procurement methods also require public advertising unless a non-competitive procurement can be used in accordance with § 200.319 or paragraph (c) of this section. The following formal methods of procurement are used for procurement of property or services above the simplified acquisition threshold or a value below the simplified acquisition threshold the non-Federal entity determines to be appropriate: (1) Sealed bids. A procurement method in which bids are publicly solicited and a firm fixed-price contract (lump sum or unit price) is awarded to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming with all the material terms and conditions of the invitation for bids, is the lowest in price. . . . (2) Proposals. A procurement method in which either a fixed price or cost-reimbursement type contract is awarded. Proposals are generally used when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids. . . ." 2 CFR 180.300 states: "When you enter into a covered transaction with another person at the next lower tier, you must verify that the person with whom you intend to do business is not excluded or disqualified. You do this by: (a) Checking the SAM.gov Exclusions; or (b) Collecting a certification from that person; or (c) Adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person." Cause The City's management was not aware of federal compliance requirements related to procurement and suspension and debarment. The City had not established or implemented the necessary internal controls and written policies to ensure purchases and contracts were administered in accordance with federal and state regulations. Effect Without the proper implementation of an effectively designed system of internal controls, the City cannot ensure that the services obtained provided full and open competition or the basis of the price. In addition, the City cannot ensure the vendors paid were eligible to participate in federal programs. Any program funds the City used to pay vendors that have been suspended or debarred would be unallowable, and the funding agency could potentially recover them. Noncompliance with the provisions of federal statues, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award could result in the loss of future federal funding to the City. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that the City's management establish a proper system of internal controls to ensure expenditures made from federal awards use the appropriate procurement method and retain the documentation to support the procurement methods used in order to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the federal award. We recommended that management of the City establish a proper system of internal controls and develop policies and procedures to ensure contractors and subrecipients, as appropriate, are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded prior to entering into contracts or subawards. We also recommended strengthening its policies and procedures to ensure appropriate supporting documentation for federal programs is retained to be presented for audit. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.
Criteria: 2 CFR 200.319 states that all procurement transactions under the Federal award must be conducted in a manner that provides full and open competition and is consistent with Federal procurement standards. 2 CFR 200.214 states in part that recipients and subrecipients are subject to the suspension and debarment regulations. In addition, 2 CFR 200.303 in part states that a recipient of a Federal award must establish, document, and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award. Condition: We have selected and tested one vendor for suspension and debarment with expenditures in excess of $25,000 for the construction of a new shelter and office space for compliance with suspension and debarment. We identified the one vendor were not properly verified for suspension and debarment prior to the contract execution date. It appears that the vendor was not suspended or debarred by the federal government. Cause: Internal controls over suspension and debarment were not properly designed to verify that all vendors are in compliance with suspension and debarment. Effect: Our testing identified that the Organization’s internal controls over compliance with suspension and debarment are not in place to comply with the suspension and debarment requirements. Based on our testing, the vendor was in compliance with suspension and debarment. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization re-evaluate the design of internal controls over compliance with suspension and debarment compliance requirements based on 2 CFR 200.214 and establish policies and procedures to comply with these requirements as they relate to requirements related to federal grants. Corrective Action Plan: Reported on page 20.
Internal Controls over Compliance and Compliance with Procurement Standards Information on the Federal Program: Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury Assistance Listing Number: 21.029 Assistance Listing Name: COVID-19 - Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund Pass-through Award: Pass-through Entity Award Number Award Period District of Columbia CPFFN0167 November 21, 2023 through December 31, 2026 Criteria: 2 CFR Section §200.318(i) states, “The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price.” Per 2 CFR Section §200.319, “All procurement transactions for the acquisition of property or services under a Federal award must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the standards of this section and §200.320.” 2 CFR Section §200.324 stipulates that a non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis for each procurement in excess of a minimum threshold. Additionally, 2 CFR Section §200.320(c) states in part, “There are specific circumstances in which noncompetitive procurement can be used. Noncompetitive procurement can only be awarded if one or more of [the defined] circumstances apply”. Condition: We noted there was insufficient documentation retained to support adherence to the required procurement policy and standards. Documentation was unable to be provided to support that cost or price analyses were performed and were conducted providing full and open competition. Additionally, for one procurement deemed noncompetitive by WWHS, none of the circumstances allowing noncompetitive procurement were met. Cause: WWHS’ internal controls over procurement did not fully operate as designed for the year ended December 31, 2024. WWHS did not maintain all required aspects of formal documentation as required by the applicable 2 CFR standards, was unable to provide evidence of full and open competition, and in one instance improperly elected noncompetitive procurement. Effect: We were unable to determine whether the value of procurements for goods or services that exceeded the micro-purchase threshold followed a proper formal procurement method in accordance with 2 CFR Sections §200.319, 320, and 324. Failure to perform procurement procedures in accordance with WWHS’ documented policies and General Procurement Standards as outlined in the 2 CFR Part 200 could result in the procurement being disallowed. Questioned costs: Not determinable Context: We selected a sample of 6 procurements by non-statistical methods, out of a population of 11 procurements. All procurements are related to eligible pre-award costs. WWHS was unable to provide sufficient formal procurement documentation to support full and open competition and performance of cost or price analysis for 4 out of 6 selected procurements. One of those samples was deemed noncompetitive by WWHS but did not meet the circumstances allowing noncompetitive procurement. The prevalence of these findings is detailed in the condition section above. Repeat finding: This is not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend management refine their procurement tracking method by clarifying established policies and procedures to create more consistency throughout all WWHS purchase transactions. We also recommend management ensure all required procurement documentation is maintained in conjunction with its document retention policy and that a standardized checklist is used for all purchase transactions. Finally, we recommend management train personnel involved in procurement transactions, including reviewer and approver, to adhere to the documented procurement procedures. View of Responsible Officials: The procurement referenced in this finding was completed in 2021 and was connected to the buildout of a new facility that was opened in 2023. The federal award used to ultimately fund the project was obtained in 2024, and thus the expenditures retroactively applied to the award. Management concurs with this finding and will ensure proper adherence to the procurement policy.
2 CFR § 200.302(b)(7) requires written procedures for determining the allowability of costs in accordance with Subpart E-Cost Principles of this part and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. 2 CFR 200.320(b)(2) requires non-federal entities to have a written method for conducting technical evaluations of the competitive proposals receive and for selecting contract recipients. 2 CFR 200.319(d) requires non-federal entities to have written procedures for procurement transactions to ensure all solicitations incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the material, product, or service to be procured and identify all requirements which the offerors must fulfill and all other factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals. The Village was awarded grant monies under the Uniform Guidance (UG); however, the Village did not establish formal written policies required by the UG for the sections listed above. To help ensure compliance with the Uniform Guidance requirements, the Village should establish and maintain timely updated policies and, more importantly, implement procedure as specified by UG requirements for all grant monies received. Any changes to the Village's policies should also be formally approved by Council and documented within the minutes.
Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.319(c) the Organization must have written procedures for procurement transactions. Condition: The Organization does not have a written procurement policy as required by the Uniform Guidance. Context: During the audit it was noted that the Organization lacked a documented procurement policy. Cause: The Organization did not have an adequate procurement policy Questioned Costs: None Effect: An important component of internal controls and compliance is the existence of operating policies and procedures. Without those, there is a higher risk of noncompliance with program requirements. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: Management should determine the scope of written policies and procedures to comply with the Uniform Guidance. Views of Responsible Officials (unaudited): The Organization agrees with the finding and recommendation. The Board of Directors of the Organization will develop policies and procedures to ensure they meet the Uniform Guidance Requirements.
2024-002 – Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment Program: ALN# 47.070 = Computer and Information Science and Engineering Federal Agency: National Science Foundation Federal Award Identification Number(s): 2216614, 2122756 Period: Year Ended December 31, 2024 Criteria: Under 2 CFR 200.319, and 2 CFR 200.320, non-federal entities must maintain written procurement policies and internal controls to ensure compliance with Federal requirements, including suspension and debarment checks. Under 2 CFR 200.214, non-federal entities must not enter into contracts with parties that are suspended or debarred. Condition: During our review of procurement policies, we noted that the Organization did not have written procedures addressing procurement suspension and debarment requirements and the Organization was unable to furnish documentation that procurement, suspension, and debarment procedures took place for all contracts selected for testing. Cause: The Organization has not developed formal written procurement, suspension, and debarment policies and procedures. Effect: Without written polices and procedures, the Organization is at increased risk of: • Failing to verify vendor eligibility. • Contracting with suspended or debarred entities. • Procurements conducted in a manner that fails to provide full and open competition. Questioned Costs: No questioned costs identified. Context: This sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample. Repeat Finding: Yes Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization: • Develop and implement written procurement policies that clearly outline procedures for suspension and debarment verification. • Require and document evidence of compliance for all covered procurement transactions • Train staff on the updated procedures. • Periodically review procurement files to ensure consistent adherence. Views of Responsible Officials: See management corrective action plan attached.
Finding 2024-002 Procurement - Significant Deficiency Program name: Office for Coastal Management Assistance Listing: 11.473 Federal award Identification number: 20 NFWF 339630 Federal award year: 9/1/2020 - 9/30/2024 Federal awarding agency: U.S. Department of Commerce Criteria - Per 2 CFR 200.318 (i), recipients and subrecipients must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of each procurement. These records must include: rationale for the method of procurement; selection of contract type; contractor selection or rejection, and; basis for the contract price. Additionally, 2 CFR 200.318(a) requires entities to maintain and use documented procurement procedures that are consistent with applicable laws and regulations. Condition - The Organization has a written procurement policy in place; however, it was unable to provide documentation demonstrating that procurement transactions during the audit period were conducted in accordance with that policy. Specifically, the auditee did not retain records detailing the procurement method used, contractor selection rationale, or price justification for sampled transactions. Cause - The Organization did not maintain or consistently apply documentation protocols for internal control reviews. Formal documentation practices were not in place during the audit period. Effect - Without sufficient documentation, the auditee cannot demonstrate compliance with Federal procurement standards. This increases the risk of noncompliance with Uniform Guidance requirements and may result in unallowable costs or questioned costs. Questioned costs - None identified. Perspective - The deficiency was pervasive across multiple procurement transactions. Identification of Repeat Findings - This is a repeat finding from the prior year (Finding 2023-003). As a result of the 2023 audit report, issued in February 2026, the Organization began the process of developing updated policies for compliance. In 2025, the Organization formally adopted a new procurement policy as well as procedures to ensure proper documentation will be maintained. Recommendation - We recommend that the Organization strengthen its internal controls over procurement by: Ensuring all procurement transactions are documented in accordance with 2 CFR 200.319(i). Training staff on documentation requirements. Periodically reviewing procurement files for completeness and compliance. Management response - Management agrees with this assessment and has committed to a corrective action plan. Management has also engaged with a new accounting firm to oversee the financial reporting functions at the Organization.
FINDING 2024-001 Information on the federal program: Federal Agency: Department of the Treasury Pass-Through Entity: N/A – Direct Grant Federal Program: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Noncompliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)...." 2 CFR 200.318 states in part: "(a) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. . . . (i) The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. . . .” 2 CFR 200.320 states in part: “The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. (a) Informal procurement methods. When the value of the procurement for property or services under a Federal award does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), as defined in § 200.1, or a lower threshold established by a non-Federal entity, formal procurement methods are not required. The non-Federal entity may use informal procurement methods to expedite the completion of its transactions and minimize the associated administrative burden and cost. The informal methods used for procurement of property or services at or below the SAT include: . . . (2) Small purchases — (i) Small purchase procedures. The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which is higher than the micro-purchase threshold but does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. If small purchase procedures are used, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources as determined appropriate by the non-Federal entity. . . . “ 2 CFR 180.300 states: "When you enter into a covered transaction with another person at the next lower tier, you must verify that the person with whom you intend to do business is not excluded or disqualified. You do this by: (a) Checking the SAM Exclusions; or (b) Collecting a certification from that person; or (c) Adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person." Condition: The City did not have internal controls in place to ensure compliance with the procurement and suspension and debarment requirements. The City had not designed or implemented adequate policies or procedures to ensure that proper procurement procedures for small purchase and simplified acquisition procurement thresholds were followed. Cause: The City had not developed a system of internal controls that would have ensured compliance with Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirements for covered transactions. Effect: Without the proper implementation of an effectively designed system of internal controls, the internal control system cannot be capable of effectively preventing, or detecting and correcting, material noncompliance. As a result, procurement procedures for goods and services were not adhered to and vendors to whom payments equal to or in excess of $25,000 were not verified to be not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded. The failure to comply with the grant agreement and the compliance requirement could have resulted in the loss of federal funds to the City. Questioned costs: There are no questioned costs. Context: For one out of three samples selected for the small purchase procurement threshold, three quotes and rationale for selecting the vendor were not documented. Small purchase procurements require three competing quotes and rationale for selection of the vendor. The procurement was for park improvement design services. The City was unaware that professional services are required to follow the federal procurement process. Per grant requirements, all grant funded expenditures require appropriate procurement, regardless of whether it is a good or service. For two out of three samples selected for suspension and debarment testing, the City did not have support that vendors procured under CSLFRF funding were not suspended or debarred. Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: Yes, finding 2023-003 in the prior year report. Recommendation: We recommend that the City establish and implement control procedures to ensure compliance with the grant agreement and the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement. This should include ensuring proper procurement methods are followed, suspension and debarment checks are performed and documented prior to entering into the transaction. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: Management acknowledges the finding. See management’s corrective action plan attached to this audit report.
2024-003 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal Program Name: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: 2024; FAIN not available. Award Period: January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 Compliance Requirement: Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Type of Finding: Material weakness in internal control over compliance Criteria or Specific Requirement: The United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 2, Part 200.319 indicates procurement transactions under the Federal award must be conducted in a manner that provides full and open competition. Additionally, 2 CFR Part 200.320 indicates that for any allowable method chosen, the recipient or subrecipient must maintain and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D. When a non-federal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the nonfederal entity must verify that the entity, as defined in 2 CFR Part 180.995 and agency adopting regulations, is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. This verification may be accomplished by (1) checking the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA), (2) collecting a certification from the entity, or (3) adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that entity (2 CFR Part 180.300). 2 CFR Part 200.303 indicates that non-Federal entities receiving Federal awards must establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. Condition: The Borough did not maintain documentation to support the suspension and debarment procedures performed for covered transactions in order to demonstrate compliance with 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 200. Questioned Costs: None. Context: One (1) of two (2) selections subject to suspension and debarment compliance requirements did not include adequate documentation to demonstrate that the Borough properly verified the vendor was not suspended or debarred prior to entering into the services agreement. Cause: Procedures were not implemented to maintain documentation to support compliance with the standards of suspension and debarment contained in 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 200. Effect: Compliance with the requirements of the federal award could not be demonstrated. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend management enhance procedures and controls to ensure documentation is maintained to support all suspension and debarment verifications related to expenditures from federal award programs. Such documentation should be consolidated and maintained in a secure, accessible location. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.
2 CFR § 1000.10 gives regulatory effect to the Department of Treasury for the following sections of 2 CFR 200: 2 CFR § 200.302(b)(7) requires written procedures for determining the allowability of costs in accordance with Subpart E-Cost Principles of this part and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. 2 CFR 200.320(b)(2)(ii) requires non-federal entities to have a written method for conducting technical evaluations of the competitive proposals received and for selecting contract recipients. 2 CFR 200.319(d) requires non-federal entities to have written procedures for procurement transactions to ensure all solicitations incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the property, equipment, or service to be procured and identify all requirements which the offerors must fulfill and all other factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals. The Village was awarded grant monies under the Uniform Guidance (UG); however, the Village did not establish formal written policies required by the UG for the sections listed above. A lack of policies could result in inadequate guidance for individuals to follow and ensure proper compliance. To help ensure compliance with the Uniform Guidance requirements, the Village should establish and maintain timely updated policies and, more importantly, implement procedures as specified by UG requirements for all grant monies received. Any changes to the Village's policies should also be formally approved by Council and documented within the minutes.
FINDING 2024-004 Subject: COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds - Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal Program: COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listings Number: 21.027 Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): Contract #65873, SLT-3157 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Natural Resources Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Material Weakness, Modified Opinion Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the immediately prior audit report. The prior audit finding number was 2023-004. Condition and Context Procurement The County did adopt an applicable federal purchasing policy. The Lake County Indiana Purchasing Manual for Supplies, Services, and Public Works states on page 19 that "Federal funds less than $25,000 will obtain 3 quotes by telephone or fax and obtain board approval. . . ." The Lake County Indiana Purchasing Manual for Supplies, Services, and Public Works also states on page 19 that "Federal funds more than $25,000 but less than $50,000 will invite 3 quotes at an open public meeting." The federal procurement requirement, per the Code of Federal Regulations section 200.320, states that for small purchases, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources. In 2024, the County had two vendors. One was paid $27,963, and one was paid $12,970 for a total of $40,933 from the COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) under Contract #65873 from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. However, the County did not obtain price or rate quotes for the applicable vendors under the small purchase threshold as required per its purchasing policy or the federal requirements. Suspension and Debarment Prior to entering into subawards and covered transactions with the SLFRF award funds, recipients are required to verify that such contractors and subrecipients are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded. "Covered transactions" include, but are not limited to, contracts for goods and services awarded under a nonprocurement transaction (i.e., grant agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 and all subawards. The verification is to be done by checking the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), collecting a certification from that person or entity, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person or entity. The County did not have policies or procedures in place related to the suspension and debarment requirements for the SLFRF funds. Three covered transactions totaling $7,530,563 paid from the SLFRF funds were identified. Documentation to show that suspension and debarment was verified prior to entering into contracts with these three vendors could not be provided by the County. The amounts for which suspension and debarment were not verified for Contract #65873 from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the SLT-3157 directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury were $27,963 and $7,502,600, respectively. The lack of internal controls and noncompliance were isolated to the transactions identified above. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.318(i) states: "The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price." 2 CFR 200.320 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must have and use document procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. (a) Informal procurement methods. When the value of the procurement for property or services under a Federal award does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), as defined in § 200.1, or a lower threshold established by a non-Federal entity, formal procurement methods are not required. The non-Federal entity may use informal procurement methods to expedite the completion of its transactions and minimize the associated administrative burden and cost. The informal methods used for procurement of property or services at or below the SAT include: . . . (2) Small purchases — (i) Small purchase procedures. The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which is higher than the micro-purchase threshold but does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. If small purchase procedures are used, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources as determined appropriate by the non-Federal entity. . . ." 2 CFR 180.300 states: "When you enter into a covered transaction with another person at the next lower tier, you must verify that the person with whom you intend to do business is not excluded or disqualified. You do this by: (a) Checking SAM Exclusions; or (b) Collecting a certification from that person; or (c) Adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that person." Cause The County's purchasing policy does not provide procedures on how the County will ensure the appropriate number of quotes will be obtained for small purchases or how the County will ensure compliance with the suspension and debarment requirements. Effect Noncompliance with the provisions of federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award could result in the repayment or loss of future federal funding to the County. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation Management of the County should develop procedures to ensure the appropriate procurement methods are used for items or services procured that are within the small purchase threshold and to ensure vendors are not suspended or debarred when expending federal funds. Appropriate documentation should be maintained to ensure compliance with procurement and suspension and debarment. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
2024-001 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and Material Noncompliance Federal Program Information Funding Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal ALN: 21.027 Criteria Per 2 CFR 200.214, non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with parties that are suspended or debarred. 2 CFR 200.318(i) also states that "subrecipients must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of each procurement transaction. These records must include the rationale for the procurement method, contract type selection, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price." Condition The Chamber has a procurement policy in place; however, the Chamber neglected to verify if vendors had been suspended or debarred, in accordance with stated regulations. The Chamber also did not maintain sufficient records to document the rationale for the procurement method used for a transaction exceeding the small purchase threshold. Questioned Costs $25,000 Context A sample of 3 vendors was made from a population of 3 vendors whose expenses exceeded the covered transaction threshold that were charged to the major program. Of the 3 sampled vendors, the Chamber neglected to check the suspension or debarment status of 1 vendor prior to entering a covered transaction of $25,000. A sample of 3 vendors was made from a population of 3 vendors whose total transactions exceeded the small purchase threshold. Of the 3 sampled vendors, the Chamber did not maintain sufficient records to document the rationale of using a noncompetitive procurement method for a small purchase transaction. Cause The Chamber claimed that they had been conducting business transactions with this vendor prior to having a procurement policy in place and did not implement the procurement policy on already developed business relationships. The Chamber also did not consider documenting its rationale for continuing to use the vendor for services that exceeded the small purchase threshold that were charged to the major program. Effect Purchases may have occurred that do not follow the policy, and contracts with vendors that had been suspended or debarred could have been awarded and not detected. The Chamber also did not conduct procurement transaction "in a manner that provides full and open competition," as defined in 2 CFR 200.319(a). Repeat Finding Yes - reference 2023-001. Auditor's Recommendations Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce should include a provision in all contracts transacted in conjunction with using funds originating from a federal award grant, with respect to suspension and debarment, communicate all requirements for procurement to staff and establish procedures to verify that vendors are not suspended or debarred. Chamber staff should also perform an independent status check of vendors in sam.gov prior to entering into an agreement and retain the search results. The Chamber should also evaluate its current method of procurement and educate staff that if using funds from a federal award to enter into a transaction exceeding the small purchase threshold, that full and open competition must be facilitated, despite any prior relationships with vendors.
Finding Number: 2024-010 Prior Year Finding Number: N/A Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury COVID-19 – Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund ALN: 21.029 Award #: CPFFN0167 Award Year: 02/09/2022 – 12/31/2026 Government Department/Agency: District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) Criteria - The Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR Section 200.303 requires that non-Federal entities receiving Federal awards (i.e., auditee management) establish and maintain internal control designed to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal statues, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. In accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.318(a), General Procurement Standards, the non-federal entity must use its own documented procurement procedures which reflect applicable State, local, and tribal laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal law and the standards identified in General Procurement Standards. Additionally, 2 CFR Section 200.318(i) states that the non-federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of the procurement. These records are required to include but are not necessarily limited to the following: rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. All procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent in accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.319 and must be performed using the appropriate procurement method as outlined in 2 CFR Section 200.320. In accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.320(c), Noncompetitive procurement. There are specific circumstances in which the recipient or subrecipient may use a noncompetitive procurement method. The noncompetitive procurement method may only be used if one of the following circumstances applies: (1) The aggregate amount of the procurement transaction does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold (see paragraph (a)(1) of this section); (2) The procurement transaction can only be fulfilled by a single source; (3) The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from providing public notice of a competitive solicitation; (4) The recipient or subrecipient requests in writing to use a noncompetitive procurement method, and the Federal agency or pass-through entity provides written approval; or (5) After soliciting several sources, competition is determined inadequate. Condition – During our testing of procurement and suspension and debarment requirements, we examined the two (2) procurement contracts that comprised the entire procurement population. Based on the procedures performed, we identified one (1) contract, valued at $278,259, out of the two (2) contracts totaling $8,185,708, in which DCPL used a single source or sole source justification for the selection rationale. However, this justification did not comply with the requirements set forth in 2 CFR Section 200.320(c). Questioned Costs – Not determinable. Context – This is a condition identified per review of DCPL’s compliance with the specified requirements using a statistically valid sample. Effect – Failure to adhere to the procurement procedures specified in the Uniform Administrative Requirements may lead to the Federal agency disallowing the procurement and associated costs. Cause – While DCPL adhered to their policies and procedures for private expenditures, the agency did not adhere to federal procurement requirements (2 CFR Section 200.320(c)) listed above to support noncompetitive procurement on the requirements to use sole source. Recommendation – We recommend that management establish the requisite internal control policies and procedures to ensure that all procurements reported under the federal program are in compliance. Related Noncompliance – Noncompliance. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – DCPL concurs with the auditor’s findings and recommendations. The District’s corrective action is described in the Management’s Corrective Action Plan included as Appendix B of the attached Management’s Section.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
Failure to Follow Procurement Policy Finding 2024-002 Condition: The Authority did not comply with the current procurement policy as procedures were not fully followed and forms required by the Authority’s procurement policy were not completed for the heating ventilation and cooling project, new roof, and electric vehicle charging stations. The following forms required by either 2 CFR 200 and/or the Authority’s own procurement policy were not completed for the current year capital asset purchases: Written Record of Procurement Checklist Form, Method of Procurement Decision Matrix, Advertisement and Solicitation Form, Bid Quotations, Fewer Than 3 Offers Received Evaluation if applicable, Proposal Tabulation, Certification of Compliance with Federal Clauses for the assets less than $25,000, and Responsibility Determination (sam.gov debarred verification). Criteria: The following requirements are documented in 2 CFR 200-Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. 2 CFR 200.214 Suspension and Debarment Non-Federal entities are subject to the non-procurement debarment and suspension regulations implementing Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, 2 CFR part 180. The regulations in 2 CFR part 180 restrict awards, subawards, and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. 2 CFR Part 200.318 General Procurement Standards (a) The Non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327. (i) the non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. 2 CFR 200.320 Methods of Procurement to be Followed (b) The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. 2 CFR 200.324 Contract Cost and Price (a) The Non-Federal entity must perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold including contract modifications. The method and degree of analysis is dependent on the facts surrounding the particular procurement situation, but as a starting point, the non-Federal entity must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals. Concurrently, the Authority’s did not comply with its own current procurement policy as it did not follow or prepare the required documentation detailed in the following sections. Procurement Requests-The Authority will maintain sufficient records to detail the history of a procurement. Such records shall include method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection (or rejection), and the contract price. The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as nonresponsible and ineligible for contract award. Debarment and Suspension- The Authority will treat any prospective contractor or sub-contractor listed on a centralized State government debarment and suspension list as non-responsible and ineligible for contract awards. To see if a prospective contractor is eligible, we will look on the website www.SAM.gov and when the bid has been received. Methods of Procurement- a. Micro and Emergency Purchases (do not exceed $10,000)-(a) A written determination as to why price is deemed fair and reasonable must be on file with each purchase made under this method of procurement using Micro-Purchase Price Reasonableness Determination Form. (b) Splitting of procurements to avoid the competitive procurement requirements of federal and state statues shall not be condoned. b. Small Purchase Procurement ($10,000 to $250,000)-(a) A minimum of two price or rate quotations shall be obtained from qualified sources; (b) The procurement will be made from the lowest priced qualified bid, if products or goods are equal; (c) MDOT requires for procurements under $25,000.00. Included Procurement Appendix A, B, E, F, G, H, or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. (d) MDOT requires for procurements over $25,000.00 solicitations, including specifications and written selection procedures (lowest bids), Include Procurement Appendix A, F, G, H or I and Vehicle Specification certification if applies. Third Party Contracts with applicable clauses and bond documents must be included. Cause: The Authority did not follow its own procurement policy. Effect: The Authority is noncompliant with 2 CFR 200 and its own procurement policy. Directive: We direct the Authority review and update its procurement policy and implement procedures to ensure that the Authority is complying with the federal requirements, required forms are being completed, and documentation is being maintained. Management’s Response--Corrective Action Plan: Contact person is Todd Shurn, Executive Director, 275 East Wall Street, P.O. Box 837, Benton Harbor, Michigan 49023. Telephone (269) 927-2268. The Authority acknowledges the finding and is currently working to correct this.
2024-001 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and Material Noncompliance Federal Program Information Funding Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Federal ALN: 21.027 Criteria Per 2 CFR 200.214, non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with parties that are suspended or debarred. 2 CFR 200.318(i) also states that "subrecipients must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of each procurement transaction. These records must include the rationale for the procurement method, contract type selection, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price." Condition The Chamber has a procurement policy in place; however, the Chamber neglected to verify if vendors had been suspended or debarred, in accordance with stated regulations. The Chamber also did not maintain sufficient records to document the rationale for the procurement method used for a transaction exceeding the small purchase threshold. Questioned Costs $25,000 Context A sample of 3 vendors was made from a population of 3 vendors whose expenses exceeded the covered transaction threshold that were charged to the major program. Of the 3 sampled vendors, the Chamber neglected to check the suspension or debarment status of 1 vendor prior to entering a covered transaction of $25,000. A sample of 3 vendors was made from a population of 3 vendors whose total transactions exceeded the small purchase threshold. Of the 3 sampled vendors, the Chamber did not maintain sufficient records to document the rationale of using a noncompetitive procurement method for a small purchase transaction. Cause The Chamber claimed that they had been conducting business transactions with this vendor prior to having a procurement policy in place and did not implement the procurement policy on already developed business relationships. The Chamber also did not consider documenting its rationale for continuing to use the vendor for services that exceeded the small purchase threshold that were charged to the major program. Effect Purchases may have occurred that do not follow the policy, and contracts with vendors that had been suspended or debarred could have been awarded and not detected. The Chamber also did not conduct procurement transaction "in a manner that provides full and open competition," as defined in 2 CFR 200.319(a). Repeat Finding Yes - reference 2023-001. Auditor's Recommendations Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce should include a provision in all contracts transacted in conjunction with using funds originating from a federal award grant, with respect to suspension and debarment, communicate all requirements for procurement to staff and establish procedures to verify that vendors are not suspended or debarred. Chamber staff should also perform an independent status check of vendors in sam.gov prior to entering into an agreement and retain the search results. The Chamber should also evaluate its current method of procurement and educate staff that if using funds from a federal award to enter into a transaction exceeding the small purchase threshold, that full and open competition must be facilitated, despite any prior relationships with vendors.
Finding Number: 2024-010 Prior Year Finding Number: N/A Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury COVID-19 – Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund ALN: 21.029 Award #: CPFFN0167 Award Year: 02/09/2022 – 12/31/2026 Government Department/Agency: District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) Criteria - The Uniform Guidance in 2 CFR Section 200.303 requires that non-Federal entities receiving Federal awards (i.e., auditee management) establish and maintain internal control designed to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal statues, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. In accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.318(a), General Procurement Standards, the non-federal entity must use its own documented procurement procedures which reflect applicable State, local, and tribal laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal law and the standards identified in General Procurement Standards. Additionally, 2 CFR Section 200.318(i) states that the non-federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of the procurement. These records are required to include but are not necessarily limited to the following: rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. All procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent in accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.319 and must be performed using the appropriate procurement method as outlined in 2 CFR Section 200.320. In accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.320(c), Noncompetitive procurement. There are specific circumstances in which the recipient or subrecipient may use a noncompetitive procurement method. The noncompetitive procurement method may only be used if one of the following circumstances applies: (1) The aggregate amount of the procurement transaction does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold (see paragraph (a)(1) of this section); (2) The procurement transaction can only be fulfilled by a single source; (3) The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from providing public notice of a competitive solicitation; (4) The recipient or subrecipient requests in writing to use a noncompetitive procurement method, and the Federal agency or pass-through entity provides written approval; or (5) After soliciting several sources, competition is determined inadequate. Condition – During our testing of procurement and suspension and debarment requirements, we examined the two (2) procurement contracts that comprised the entire procurement population. Based on the procedures performed, we identified one (1) contract, valued at $278,259, out of the two (2) contracts totaling $8,185,708, in which DCPL used a single source or sole source justification for the selection rationale. However, this justification did not comply with the requirements set forth in 2 CFR Section 200.320(c). Questioned Costs – Not determinable. Context – This is a condition identified per review of DCPL’s compliance with the specified requirements using a statistically valid sample. Effect – Failure to adhere to the procurement procedures specified in the Uniform Administrative Requirements may lead to the Federal agency disallowing the procurement and associated costs. Cause – While DCPL adhered to their policies and procedures for private expenditures, the agency did not adhere to federal procurement requirements (2 CFR Section 200.320(c)) listed above to support noncompetitive procurement on the requirements to use sole source. Recommendation – We recommend that management establish the requisite internal control policies and procedures to ensure that all procurements reported under the federal program are in compliance. Related Noncompliance – Noncompliance. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – DCPL concurs with the auditor’s findings and recommendations. The District’s corrective action is described in the Management’s Corrective Action Plan included as Appendix B of the attached Management’s Section.
Finding No.: 2024-009 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education AL Program: 84.403 Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Area Area: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Questioned Costs: $6,918 Criteria: 2 CFR 200.319 states that: (a) All procurement transactions under the Federal award must be conducted in a manner that provides full and open competition and is consistent with the standards of this section and 2 CFR 200.320. (c) (6) Examples of situations that may restrict competition include specifying only a “brand name” product instead of allowing “an equal” product to be offered and describing the performance or other relevant requirements of the procurement. (d) (2) The recipient or subrecipient must have written procedures for procurement transactions. These procedures must ensure that all solicitations incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the property, equipment, or service being procured. The description may include a statement of the qualitative nature of the property, equipment, or service to be procured. When necessary, the description must provide minimum essential characteristics and standards to which the property, equipment, or service must conform. Detailed product specifications should be avoided if at all possible. When it is impractical or uneconomical to clearly and accurately describe the technical requirements, a “brand name or equivalent” description of features may be used to provide procurement requirements. The specific features of the named brand must be clearly stated. 2 CFR 200.324(a) states that recipient or subrecipient must perform a cost or price analysis for every procurement transaction, including contract modifications, in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold. Finding No.: 2024-009, continued Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education AL Program: 84.403 Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Area Area: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Questioned Costs: $6,918 Conditions: 1. Of thirty-nine items, aggregating $426,960 of $9,005,697 of expenditures subjected to procurement test, deficiencies were noted, as follows: a. For 1 item (or 3%), procurement did not provide full and open competition in the solicitation process. The request for quotation specified particular model, including a requirement for a specific “brand name” product instead of allowing “an equal” product to be offered. Item # Federal Award No. Purchase Order Expenditures Questioned Costs 1 S403A220002 20240435 $12,447 $6,918 2. GDOE does not have procurement policies that meet the requirements of 2 CFR 200.318(a) and 2 CFR 200.324(a). Specifically, GDOE lacks documented procedures to ensure compliance with procurement transactions under a Federal award or subaward, requiring the performance and retention of cost price analysis for procurement transactions above the simplified acquisition threshold. Cause: GDOE did not enforce monitoring controls over compliance with applicable procurement requirements. Also, GDOE lacks adequate internal controls over periodic review of procurement policies, specifically, ensuring all required key provisions from the Compliance Supplement are included in the procurement policies. Effect: GDOE is in noncompliance with applicable procurement and suspension and debarment requirements. The reportable questioned cost is $6,918. Also, we did not identify procurement of goods or services that would have required a cost price analysis. Finding No.: 2024-009, continued Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education AL Program: 84.403 Consolidated Grant to the Outlying Area Area: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Questioned Costs: $6,918 Recommendation: Responsible personnel should enforce monitoring controls over compliance with applicable procurement requirements. Also, GDOE should revisit its procurement policies and ensure all required provisions stated in the Compliance Supplement are covered.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.
Repeat finding 2023-001, 2022-001, and 2021-002 FAN 93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program Child Nutrition Cluster Procurement and Suspension & Debarment Type of Finding: Non-Compliance U.S. Department of Health & Human Services U.S Department of Agriculture Criteria Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326. They must use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. A non-federal entity must: 1. Meet the general procurement standards in 2 CFR section 200.318, which include oversight of contractors’ performance, maintaining written standards of conduct for employees involved in contracting, awarding contracts only to responsible contractors, and maintaining records to document history of procurements. 2. Conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. 3. Use the micro-purchase and small purchase methods only for procurements that meet the applicable criteria under 2 CFR sections 200.320(a) (1) and (2). 4. For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, the non-federal entity must use one of the following procurement methods: the sealed bid method if the acquisition meets the criteria in 2 CFR section 200.320(b); the competitive proposals method under the conditions specified in 2 CFR section 200.320((b) (2); or the noncompetitive proposals method (i.e., solicit a proposal from only one source) but only when one or more of four circumstances are met, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.320(c)). 5. Perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, including contract modifications (2 CFR section 200.323(a)). The cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting must not be used (2 CFR section 200.323(b)). 6. Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes applicable provisions required by 2 CFR section 200.326. These provisions are described in Appendix II to 2 CFR Part 200, “Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards.” The requirements that apply to procurement under grants and cooperative agreements are contained in 2 CFR sections 200.317 through 200.326, program legislation, federal awarding agency regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a non-procurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220. All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. The requirements for non-procurement suspension and debarment are contained in OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180, which implements Executive Orders 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension;” federal awarding agency regulations in Title 2 of the CFR adopting/implementing the OMB guidance in 2 CFR Part 180; program legislation; and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition The Organization had no findings for contracts procured during the last three fiscal years that were detail tested. However, the Organization’s management recognizes that there are still active contracts under the federal programs for fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 that were procured over three fiscal years ago in which adherence to procurement policies, specifically documentation history of procurement, has not been maintained. In regards to progress made in reducing the number of vendors that are out of compliance, specifically vendors with over $50,000 of annual expenditures that were categorized as “legacy” vendors procured under the previous procurement policies, the Organization went from having 100 vendors totaling approximately $159 million in expenditures as of August 31, 2023, to 46 vendors totaling approximately $119 million as of August 31, 2024. This shows a decrease of 54% in the number of legacy vendors with a decrease of 25% in the dollar-value of the legacy vendors year over year. Further, the Organization continues to make progress in reducing legacy vendor non-compliance by reducing that number to 33 vendors totaling approximately $113 million as of January 2, 2025. As this has been a recurring finding in which management is actively getting all active contracts under the current procurement policies, only those current contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years were detail tested. Of the approximately 70 active vendor contracts that were procured in the last three fiscal years that were wholly or partially funded with Unaccompanied Alien Children Program revenue dollars or with Child Nutrition Cluster Program revenue dollars, ten were tested with no errors noted. Cause The Organization is aware they are operating under contracts that were procured in previous years that may not have all the records maintained. Contracts procured within the last three years show compliance with federal requirements based on detailed testing. Reprocuring all of the legacy contracts at once would potentially cause disruptions in operations due to the products/services related those vendors playing an important role in the Organization’s day-to-day operations. As such, the Organization still has active contracts procured under the old policies that they are working on reprocuring as these contracts’ renewal dates arise, if not earlier. Effect or Potential Effect The Organization could potentially be under contract with vendors that are not the best value, not adequately qualified, potentially suspended or debarred, or otherwise not suitable for contract under federal procurement guidelines. No questioned costs were identified, as services/goods under these contracts that were previously tested were deemed to be allowable under the program, and no exceptions noted for allowable costs/activities for samples that included payment to those vendors in previous years or current year. Recommendation The Organization should continue to review all its “legacy” contracts that were procured under the previous procurement policies to determine if there is proper documentation maintained for compliance with applicable procurement guidelines. This includes systematically re-procuring any current contracts not in compliance as soon as feasible. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions See corrective action plan.