Finding 1140716 (2024-003)

Legal Services Corporation FFAL #09-542026 Legal Services Corporation – Basic Field Grant Eligibility Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Noncompliance Criteria: 45 CFR 1644.4 establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. 45 CFR 1626.6 requires the auditee shall require all applicants for legal assistance who claim to be citizens to attest in writing in a standard form provided by the Corporation that they are citizens, unless the only service provided for a citizen is brief advice and consultation by telephone, or by other non-in-person means, which does not include continuous representation. 45 CFR 1626.4(e) requires the auditee to document the client presented an immigration document by making a note in the client's file stating that a staff member has seen the document, the type of document, the client’s alien registration number, the date of the document, and the date of the review including a staff member’s signature when the documents were reviewed. Condition: Testing identified one case in which the U.S. Citizen Attestation was not obtained and one case in which documentation was not obtained and retained within the case file detailing immigration documents being received and reviewed. Cause: There was a lapse in oversight of the internal control process ensuring case files include the required documentation to ensure cases are in compliance with the applicable federal standards. Effect: Lack of compliance with designed internal controls over case files could result in the Organization using funds for cases that may not be eligible for reimbursement. Questioned Costs: None reported. Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sample of 60 cases out of more than 250 cases opened during 2024 were selected for eligibility testing. Repeat Finding from Prior Year: Yes – 2023-003 Recommendation: We recommend management review the internal control process to ensure U.S. Citizen Attestation forms are signed and retained and documentation of immigration documents are obtained and documented in the file when required. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is in agreement.