Finding 374397 (2022-003)

Criteria: Each state shall participate in the Income ligibility and Verification System (IEVS) required by Section 1137 of the Social Security Act as amended. Under the state plan the state is required to coordinate data exchanges with other federally assisted benefit programs. request and use income and benefit information when making eligibility determinations and adhere to standardized forniat•,, and procedures in exchanging information with other programs and agencies. The Departments Local Office Procedure Manual (the -Manual."). establishes the following procedures for the exchange of information of persons receiving Social Security Benefits (BENDEX): (a) The BENDEX list is issued monthly to the Director of each Region. (b) The Regional Director sends it to the corresponding local office. (c) The list is assigned and delivered to the technicians to crosscheck the information of the list with the participants' file. (d) The technicians will make a note on the Daily Contact Form (ADSEF-106G) including the finding, date of crosscheck. and name. In the BENDEX list the technicians must write their initials and the date on which the evaluation was made. Condition: We noted several files for participants of the referenced federal award were not complete to evaluate properly and conclude participantbeneficiary vvas eligible. as required by the Department procedures and federal law. As a result. we could not conclude participants rev loved were eligible to receive benefits as required by the federal award. Perspective - We selected a sample of fifteen (15) participant files as part of compliance testing regarding eligibility. We noted several cases in which the following documentation was not present in participants" files as follows: • (2) Child Support Cooperation Agreement for non-custodial parents. (Cat. C) • (1) Evidence of' residence. (Cat. A) • (2) Verification of Valid ID. (Cat. A) • (1) Medical Certification From Specialist Form (TANF-34). (Cat. D) • (1) Participant file was not available for our review (Cat. C) The Child Support Cooperation Agreement for non-custodial parents is an eligibility requirement for all Category C participants as evidence of custodial parent's cooperation with the ASUME, administration in identifying the minor's father and establishing an alimony. The Valid Identification is an eligibility control established in the program's state plan to prove the existence of participants. The Medical Certification From Specialist Form (TANF-34) is an eligibility requirement that must be provided by applicants under category D to certify that they are incapable of compliance with work, study. or training requirements due to their mental or physical health. Effect: The Department may be qualifying participants that do not meet the eligibility requirements established by federal regulations. This may ultimately result in sanctions. reduced funding. having to return monies to the federal agency. or cancellation of grants. Cause: The Department is not adhering to the established internal control procedures and not adequately documenting its evaluation and conclusion over the eligibility of participants. Recommendation: The Department must adhere to its existing internal control procedures to properly document eligibility verification procedures performed and to ensure compliance with federal regulations and the State Plan. All documents established by the Department to evaluate and conclude participants are eligible. need to be obtained and evidenced in the participant's tile. The Department should also properly communicate eligibility verification procedures to employees and provide a clear outline as to the tasks. responsibilities. and supervision and approval tasks for each employee within the eligibility verification process. In case any document established for verification of eligibility is temporarily waived due to specific reasons (natural disasters, pandemic, etc.) the Department should formally communicate the provisions of the temporary waiver, obtain approval from the federal awarding agency. and formal communication should be included in the participant's file. Questioned Costs: Could not be determined. Management's Response: Refer to Grantee's Corrective Action Plan.