Finding 1206297 (2024-006)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2026-04-10

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Claims for Reimbursement exceeded the actual number of meals served to eligible children.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 7 CFR § 210.7(c) regarding accurate meal counts and reporting.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement controls to ensure accurate reporting of meals served to prevent over-reimbursement.

Finding Text

7 CFR § 210.7(c) requires each school food authority to ensure that Claims for Reimbursement are limited to the number of free, reduced price, and paid meals and afterschool snacks that are served to children eligible for free, reduced price, and paid meals and afterschool snacks, respectively, for each day of operation. The school food authority is also required to base Claims for Reimbursement on meal counts, taken daily at the point of service, which correctly identify the number of free, reduced price and paid meals served to eligible children. Testing revealed the number of meals served shown on Claims for Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program was greater than the number of children in attendance on the date the meals were served. Controls were not in place to ensure the correct number of meals served were reported on the Claims for Reimbursement. As a result, the Tallapoosa County Board of Education received reimbursement amounts greater than it should have for its School Breakfast Program.

Corrective Action Plan

The Tallapoosa County Board of Education will implement additional controls to ensure accurate meal counts are reported on Claims for Reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program. Procedures will be strengthened to ensure meal counts are taken daily at the point of service (where students walk through the cafeteria lines) and verified against student attendance records when preparing reimbursement claims. The Child Nutrition Program staff will review meal count reports prior to submission to ensure the number of meals claimed does not exceed the number of students in attendance. Additional oversight will be provided to ensure compliance with federal Child Nutrition Program requirements.

Categories

Cash Management School Nutrition Programs

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $4.81M
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $1.15M
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION_GRANTS TO STATES $788,893
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $758,898
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $188,959
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS $174,336
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $102,195
84.358 RURAL EDUCATION $84,235
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $63,561
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION_PRESCHOOL GRANTS $29,677
96.001 SOCIAL SECURITY_DISABILITY INSURANCE $720