Finding Text
Eligibility for Benefits - Child Nutrition Program (Significant Deficiency) Federal Agency: United States Department of Agriculture Program Name: Child Nutrition Program Cluster Assistance Listing Numbers: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Award Period: Year ended June 30, 2025 Criteria: Under the Child Nutrition Program requirements, the District must maintain complete documentation to justify student eligibility. This includes collecting signed applications and performing an accurate evaluation of household income against federal eligibility guidelines. Condition: We have determined that the District failed to maintain a required application for one student and incorrectly approved another student whose household income exceeded the federal eligibility limits of the benefits being received. Cause: The District’s policies and procedures were not in place and working properly to ensure that all applications were archived and the income evaluation steps were accurately performed. Context: Out of twenty students tested for eligibility, one application for eligibility was not maintained and one file contained incorrect income evaluation. Effect: Benefits were provided to students who either lacked supporting documentation or did not meet the income eligibility limits of benefits received. Recommendation: We recommend that Board of Education and management evaluate the controls over the eligibility process to ensure that the process is being followed and implemented correctly and ensure that there is compliance with guidelines. Questioned Costs: None Repeat Finding: No Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and plans to evaluate the current process to determine how controls over compliance can be strengthened to ensure that documentation is maintained and family income is accurately evaluated in correlation with the income eligibility guidelines.