Finding 11975 (2023-002)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
AB
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-02-07

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: An employee funded by IDEA B did not have a signed Time & Effort Certification before their termination.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal regulations requiring certification for grant-funded employees.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should establish controls to ensure all terminated grant-funded employees have signed certifications at termination.

Finding Text

Finding 2023-002 – Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Cost Principles 84.027/84.173 – Special Education Cluster (IDEA) Type of Finding – Compliance Finding and Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria For federally funded employees, twice a year employees and supervisors sign a Time & Effort Certification to certify that they are a grant-funded employee. Condition There was one instance where an employee that was paid with IDEA B (Special Education Cluster) funds, but did not have a signed Time & Effort Certification indicating time spent on the grant prior to termination on 8/19/2022. Cause The employee’s termination was prior to the semi-annual process of having employees sign the Time & Effort Certification forms. Effect Because the employee’s termination was prior to the semi-annual process, the form was not signed prior to the employee leaving. Recommendation We recommend that management implement controls to ensure that all grant-funded employees that are terminated have a signed Time & Effort Certification form at the time of termination. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions Management agrees with the finding and recommendation.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2023-002 – Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Cost Principles 84.027/84.173 – Special Education Cluster (IDEA) Type of Finding – Compliance Finding and Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Corrective Action Plan Federal Programs, along with Human Resources and Business Services improved the current process in place when a federally funded employee resigns. We have put in place the Federal Compliance Officer and the CFO’s assistant in the workflow to be notified when a federally funded employee resigns or terminated so they can work with technology to get the Time and Effort certifications signed before their last day. Person(s) Responsible Meritza Webb, Executive Director of HR & HRIS Mahdia Lalee, Director of Business Services Martina Fernandez, Executive Assistant to the CFO Dean Garcia, Federal Programs Monitoring & Compliance Specialist Anticipated Completion Date 12/31/2023

Categories

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Significant Deficiency

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 588417 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.553 School Breakfast Program $6.84M
84.027 Covid-19 - Special Education_grants to States $1.26M
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $1.24M
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $993,321
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $786,449
84.002 Adult Education - Basic Grants to States $704,384
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $618,431
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $444,295
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $423,292
93.323 Covid-19 - Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $365,610
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $308,473
12.000 Reserve Officer Training Corps $282,243
84.425 Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $157,741
10.555 National School Lunch Program $127,331
84.196 Education for Homeless Children and Youth $72,566
84.173 Covid-19 - Special Education_preschool Grants $69,715
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $29,148
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $19,436