Finding Text
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Education, U.S Department of Agriculture Federal program title: Child Nutrition Cluster Education Stabilization Fund Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants English Language Acquisition State Grants Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund Assistance Listing Number: 10.555, 84.425U, 84.367, 84.365, 21.029 Federal Award Identification Number, Year, and Award Period: S367240030: 7/1/2022 - 9/30/2025 S425U210023: 3/24/21 - 9/30/2024 T365A240031: 7/1/2024 - 9/30/2025 202525N119946: 10/4/2024 - 9/30/2025 CPFFN0199: 2/4/2022 - 12/31/2026 Pass-Through Agency: N/A Pass-Through Number(s): N/A Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: Under the requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (Pub. L. No. 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, hereafter referred as the “Transparency Act” that are codified in 2 CFR Part 170, recipients (i.e., direct recipients) of grants or cooperative agreements are required to report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the obligation was made. Criteria or specific requirement (continued): Additionally, 2 CFR section 200.303 requires that nonfederal entities receiving federal awards establish and maintain internal control over the federal award, which includes providing an environment where segregation of duties can be achieved for preventative measures. Condition: During single audit testwork over reporting, the following issues were noted which are detailed by ALN: 10.555 2 out of 3 grant did not report subaward information during fiscal year 2025 to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). 84.425U 1 of 1 grant had an incomplete subaward information report submitted to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). 84.365 1 of 1 grant had an incomplete subaward information report submitted to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). 84.367 1 of 1 grant submitted the report 1 month after the due date 21.029 1 of 1 grant did not report subaward information during fiscal year 2025 to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). Management’s Progress for Repeat Finding: This is a repeated and modified finding. While the Department has improved its efforts, there are still opportunities for improvement to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements as well as compliance with Department policy. Questioned costs: None. Context: This was identified during Reporting Testing. The samples described above were statistically valid samples. Cause: The Department lacks established internal controls and procedures over FFATA subaward management to ensure reports are submitted timely, complete, and are properly maintained in the files of the Department. Effect: The Department is not in compliance with federal regulations. Repeat Finding: 2024-004, 2023-004, 2022-006, 2021-004 Recommendation: We recommend the Department review the instructions for completion of the FFATA reports with training provided to the program staff who are preparing and reviewing the FFATA reports to ensure submitted reports are timely and complete. We recommend the Department implement effective processes and procedures to maintain the submitted reports and the documentation used to prepare the reports in the files of the Department. Views of responsible officials: ALN 10.555: Open – Views of responsible officials and management’s planned corrective actions, timeline and designation of what employee position are responsible for meeting deadlines in the timeline. ALN 84.425U The SSFS staff is currently working on adding all pertinent subawards. However, it has proven difficult to get access to our staff via the FFATA helpdesk. We are diligently trying to solve such issues as not knowing the previous owner of these grants in the FFATA system in order to transfer this ownership to the current staff. The Director and Deputy Director of the Student, School, and Family Support (SSFS) Bureau are responsible for ensuring the FFATA reporting is completed by March 31, 2025. ALN 21.029 Open – Views of responsible officials and management’s planned corrective actions, timeline and designation of what employee position are responsible for meeting deadlines in the timeline. ALN 84.365: Open – Views of responsible officials and management’s planned corrective actions, timeline and designation of what employee position are responsible for meeting deadlines in the timeline. ALN 84.367: Open – Views of responsible officials and management’s planned corrective actions, timeline and designation of what employee position are responsible for meeting deadlines in the timeline.