Finding Text
2024-005 Federal Agencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Program Names: Child and Adult Care Food Program Assistance Listing Numbers: 10.558 Pass-Through Agency: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Education Pass-Through Number: 359-46-477-8 Award Period: July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 Type of Finding: • Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria: Under CACFP program requirements, participating organizations must maintain complete and accurate eligibility documentation for all individuals receiving free or reduced price meals. Eligibility must be supported by appropriate verification of household income or evidence that the participant receives assistance from another qualifying federal program. These records must be current, complete, and available for audit review. Condition: During our testing of participant eligibility, we selected a sample of 40 participants receiving meals at centers contracted with the CBS Food Program. For 2 of the 40 participants, management was unable to provide complete and valid eligibility documentation. In one instance, the only available eligibility form had been prepared in a future fiscal year, and in another instance, the eligibility form could not be located at all. Questioned Costs: None Cause: The organization’s existing process for maintaining and managing CACFP eligibility documentation is not sufficiently controlled to ensure that all required forms are collected, retained, and maintained in accordance with federal program requirements. Contributing factors may include inadequate file management procedures, insufficient staff oversight, or the absence of a documented monitoring and follow up process for missing or inconsistent forms. Effect: Failure to maintain complete and accurate eligibility documentation increases the risk of ineligible participants being claimed for reimbursement, which could result in questioned costs, repayment obligations, or findings by federal or pass through oversight agencies. In addition, incomplete participant files limit management’s ability to demonstrate compliance with federal eligibility requirements and may affect future program funding. Recommendation: We recommend that management strengthen its CACFP eligibility documentation procedures to ensure that all required forms are properly completed, collected, and retained for every participant. This should include implementing a standardized intake process, maintaining timely reviews to confirm completeness of eligibility files, and developing a tracking or monitoring system to identify missing or outdated documentation. Management should also reinforce internal expectations for timely updating of eligibility files and ensure staff are trained on CACFP documentation requirements. Views of Responsible Officers and Corrective Action Plan: Please refer to Community Benefit Solutions dba CBS Food Program’s Corrective Action Plan.