Finding Text
Finding 2025.002 - Reporting - Material Weakness Name of Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Program Name and Assistance Listing Number: Head Start Cluster, 93.600 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: 01CH011268-05-01 (2024), 01CH012890-01-01 (2024), 01CH011268-05-03 (2024) Name of Pass-through Entity (if applicable): N/A Criteria In accordance with §200.328 Financial Reporting and 200.329, Monitoring and Reporting Program Performance, recipients and subrecipients must submit financial and performance reports as required by the award. Under the requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (“FFATA”) that are codified in 2 CFR Part 170, recipients (i.e., direct recipients) of grants or cooperative agreements are required to identify awards subject to FFATA, collect and report information on each first tier subaward or amendment of $30,000 or more in federal funds in the FFATA Subaward Reporting System. Condition A SF-425 report was not properly supported by accounting records or reviewed prior to filing. Additionally, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act ("FFATA") report for the subrecipient was not filed. Cause CLC lacks sufficiently documented policies and procedures related to the grant's reporting requirements. CLC experienced a change in personnel. Management did not maintain supporting documentation for the SF-425 report and did not have the report reviewed prior to submission. Additionally, management was unaware of the FFATA reporting requirement. Effect or Potential Effect Inadequate documentation of policies and procedures for reporting requirements and controls over the preparation and review of reports resulted in the untimely filing of required reports causing there to be noncompliance with the reporting requirement set forth by the Uniform Guidance. Lack of review and support may result in the improper reporting of activity to the granting agency. Questioned Costs None Context One of two SF-425 reports was tested. The report tested did not have supporting documentation or evidence of review. The entity was required to submit 1 FFATA report, which was not submitted. Identification as a Repeat Finding This is not a repeat finding. Recommendation We recommend that management establish and formally document comprehensive policies and procedures for the reporting process. These policies and procedures should clearly outline all required reports, filing timelines, and the method for maintaining supporting documentation. We recommend that CLC develop and implement a standardized checklist outlining all required grant compliance requirements. The checklist should clearly identify the individual responsible for preparation and the individual responsible for review. Additionally, both the preparer and reviewer should document their completion of the review to provide evidence that compliance requirements have been appropriately verified. Views of Responsible Officials Children’s Learning Centers of Fairfield County, Inc. concurs with this finding. Management will establish and formally document grant reporting policies and procedures for the Head Start Cluster, including a centralized compliance calendar, required deliverables list, and a standardized checklist for each reporting package (including SF-425 and FFATA subaward reporting, as applicable). All reports will be supported by underlying accounting records, retained in a centralized repository, and subject to documented preparer and independent reviewer sign-off prior to submission. CLC will provide staff training and cross-training to maintain continuity during personnel changes.