Finding Text
Finding 2025-001: Suspension and Debarment Criteria: The recipient must comply with the requirements regarding Suspension and Debarment (2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR § 417.300), which requires that the recipient not enter into any transaction with a person or entity who is proposed for debarment, debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal programs or activities. For the CACFP, the USDA maintains a National Disqualified List (NDL) to facilitate this compliance. Condition: The Sponsoring Organization did not consistently document the verification that new Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) centers or Family Child Care (FCC) providers were not suspended or debarred prior to enrollment. During testing of five new CACFP centers/FCC providers enrolled during the audit period, one center/FCC provider file (20% of the sample) did not contain documentation of the required verification against the USDA National Disqualified List (NDL) or other appropriate suspension/debarment verification source prior to the effective date of the enrollment agreement. Cause: Personnel responsible for the enrollment process did not consistently follow the established internal control procedure to document verification of new centers/FCC providers against the USDA National Disqualified List (NDL) prior to finalizing the enrollment. Effect: A lack of documented verification increases the risk that the Sponsoring Organization could inadvertently enroll a center or FCC provider that has been suspended or debarred from participation in Federal programs, leading to non-compliance with Federal regulations and potential loss of Federal funding. Questioned Costs: None noted. Context: This is the first year this finding has been reported. The internal control deficiency appears to be a breakdown in the execution of the established procedure rather than an absence of a control. Repeat Finding: No. This is the first time this specific finding has been identified. Recommendation: We recommend the Sponsoring Organization reinforce the established internal control procedure and implement a supervisory review to ensure that all enrollment files for new CACFP centers and FCC providers include clear, documented evidence that the suspension and debarment verification was performed and dated prior to the execution of the enrollment agreement.