Finding Text
Finding No. 2025-002: Subrecipient Monitoring and Procurement and Suspension and Debarment – Noncompliance Federal Program Name: Juvenile Mentoring Program Pass-through Entity: None Federal Assistance Listing Number: 16.726 Criteria Uniform Guidance requires that non-Federal entities ensure that they do not make subawards to entities that are suspended or debarred from participating in Federal programs. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to the non-procurement suspension and debarment regulations set forth in 2 CFR §200.214 and 2 CFR Part 180, which restrict the issuance of Federal awards and subawards to excluded parties. Condition During the audit period, the Partnership issued subawards to subrecipients; however, the Partnership’s current subrecipient policies are missing several critical elements, including procedures to verify that subrecipients are not suspended or debarred by the federal government, requirements to pass applicable federal special conditions down to subrecipient awards, methods to track the total amount of funding provided to subrecipients under each federal program, processes to ensure that payments to subrecipients minimize the time between the transfer of federal funds from the grantee and disbursement to the subrecipient, a risk-based monitoring approach, and an on-site monitoring process that includes reviews of financial and administrative aspects of the program, among other areas. Cause The Partnership had not previously developed or updated its subrecipient monitoring policies to fully align with the requirements of Uniform Guidance. Management relied on informal practices and staff knowledge rather than comprehensive, documented procedures to address suspension and debarment verification, subaward compliance requirements, cash management, and risk-based monitoring. In addition, limited compliance resources and the absence of a centralized compliance review process contributed to gaps in policy development and implementation during the audit period. Effect Without verification of suspension and debarment status, the Partnership is at risk of making subawards to entities that are ineligible to receive Federal funds. This could result in questioned costs, required repayment of Federal funds, or other sanctions imposed by the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity. Questioned Costs None noted. Context Non-federal entities other than states, including those operating federal programs as subrecipients of states, must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.327 and must follow the subrecipient monitoring and management standards set out at 2 CFR 200.331 through 200.333. They must use their own documented procurement and subrecipient monitoring procedures, which reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided that the procurements and subawards conform to applicable federal statutes and the procurement and subrecipient monitoring requirements identified in 2 CFR Part 200. Recommendation We recommend that the Partnership implement written policies and procedures to ensure that all subrecipients are verified as not suspended or debarred prior to the execution of subawards. Acceptable methods of verification include reviewing SAM.gov exclusion listings, obtaining written certifications from subrecipients, or incorporating suspension and debarment representations into subaward agreements. Documentation of the verification should be retained in accordance with record retention requirements. Management’s Response/View of Responsible Officials Management agrees with this finding, see the Corrective Action Plan.