Finding Text
Non-Federal entities must establish and maintain effective internal controls over Federal awards that provide reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. The Federal Government reimburses the District for meals served to eligible children as part of the Child Nutrition Cluster program. The District is required to determine a child's eligibility to receive program benefits. The District accepted both paper and online applications for free and reduced-price meals, and eligibility was determined based on factors such as family size and income. The District contracted with i3 Verticals to use their PaySchools system to determine eligibility for both types of applications, either completing an application in the system through their online account, or by using paper applications where the applications were manually input into PaySchools. The District had no procedures in place to ensure the system determined the proper eligibility status for 45 of the 60 applications tested based on the information provided in the online applications. Failure to implement controls over online eligibility applications could result in ineligible students receiving benefits. The District should implement control procedures for online applications to ensure students are properly marked as paid, free or reduced.