Finding Text
2022-005 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Social Services Federal Program Name: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ALN: 93.558 Award Period: July 1, 2021 ? June 30, 2022 Compliance Requirement: Eligibility Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Prior Year Finding: No Criteria: A financially needed family that consists of a minor child living with a parent/caretaker relative or pregnant woman may receive TANF assistance. The child must be less than 18 years old or less than 19 years old if a full-time student in a secondary school. Recipients must be United States citizens or qualified aliens. Assistance is provided for up to 60 months and can be extended if specific requirements are met. Assistance may not be provided to/for: ? An unmarried individual under 18 years old with a child (minor parent) who has not completed high school/equivalent unless the individual is working toward attaining a high school diploma or participating in an alternative education/training program. ? An unmarried individual under 18 with a child if the minor parent and child are not living with a parent, legal guardian, or an adult relative. ? Minor child that has or is expected to be absent from the home for 45 consecutive days or at the option of a State between 30-180 days. ? An individual fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody for a felony, confinement after a conviction of a felony, or in violation of probation/parole terms. ? An individual convicted of fraudulent representation for assistance within the past ten years. As a condition of receiving assistance, families must assign the rights of any support received from any other person to the State. Condition: A sample of 40 FY2022 TANF cases was tested for compliance with the above criteria and the observations were noted below. ? 24 out of 40 case files tested did not contain adequate documentation to verify eligibility requirements and approval of benefits. Approximately, 55% of the reviewed files lacked evidence that the workers verified the relationship between the minor children and the applicant and that the children were living in the home. ? 1 out of 40 case files tested, the assistance unit captured a child that was not living in the household, which inappropriately increased the monthly benefit amount. ? 1 out of the 40 cases tested did not contain evidence that the eligibility worker inquired about the applicant?s indication on the application that they were not in compliance with probation/sentencing terms prior to approving the application. Questioned Costs: None Cause: The case notes in the system of record referenced various verification methods and documentation that was obtained. However, the documentation could not be located and provided to the auditors. Per DSS management, limited staffing working the volume of cases is an attributing factor for the observations. The verifications were not conducted, and/or the documentation was not placed in the case files. A quality control process is not in place to ensure that eligibility verifications are conducted, and documentation is obtained and retained in the case files. Effect: Applicants that do not meet TANF requirements may be inappropriately screened eligible and receive benefits. Also, incomplete case files hinder RDSS?s ability to support eligibility screening decisions. Recommendation: We recommend that the Economic Support and Independence Deputy Director develop and implement a quality control process to ensure the required eligibility verifications are conducted and properly documented in the case files. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: The City agrees with this finding. See separate Corrective Action Plan related to this finding.