Finding Text
2023-005 U.S. Department of Agriculture
Passed-through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
Child Nutrition Cluster – CFDA 10.553 & 10.555
Material Weakness in Internal Controls over Compliance and Compliance Finding
Criteria: Per 7 CFR Part 245.6, the School must provide meal benefit forms for use by families in making application for free or reduced-price meals. The School must determine household eligibility for free or reduced priced meals either through direct certification of the application process at or about the beginning of the school year.
Condition: Free or reduced meals applications could not be provided. The Food Service Department did not process free or reduced priced meals applications for the 2022-2023 school year.
Cause: The School did not adequately monitor its Food Service Department for compliance with Federal regulations.
Effect: Due to not maintaining an appropriate benefit issuance process, the School did not utilize benefit eligibility in the meals claiming process or notify families of their benefit status.
Questioned Costs: None
Repeat Finding from Prior Year: No
Recommendation: The City should process free and reduced-price meal applications at the beginning of the school year, notify the families of their benefit status and transfer the status on the application to the point-of-sale system to be used in the meals claiming process.
Views of Responsible Official: Management agrees with the finding.