Finding 382599 (2023-002)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
CL
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-20
Audit: 296160
Organization: Catholic Charities, Inc. (DE)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The heating funds reconciliation report for 2023 was not submitted on time, leading to noncompliance.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with reporting and cash management requirements was not met, affecting the return of unused funds.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Charities should establish clear procedures to ensure timely completion of reconciliation reports and refunds to the State.

Finding Text

Major Program: 93.568 - Low Income Home Energy Assistance (Grantor - Department of Health and Social Services) Type of Finding: Noncompliance and Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Compliance Requirements: Reporting and Cash Management Condition: The 2023 program year heating funds reconciliation report was not completed and submitted to the State of Delaware in a timely manner. Criteria: Charities receives advanced funding from the State of Delaware to make payments to energy vendors on behalf of eligible program participants. In some instances, a participant’s approved benefit amount may exceed the amount of funds actually utilized by the energy vendor. At the end of each heating season, Charities must perform a reconciliation of unused heating benefits, request the return of unutilized benefits from the energy vendors, and refund the State of Delaware by June 15th. Cause: Turnover in program staff and lack of established procedures to reconcile DEAP payment vouchers with the corresponding funding invoices. Effect: Unused heating benefits were not refunded to the State of Delaware by June 15, 2023. Recommendation: We suggest that Charities implement procedures to ensure the final heating funds reconciliation report is completed accurately and any related refund is remitted to the State of Delaware in accordance with the established timeline.

Corrective Action Plan

Major Program: 93.568 - Low Income Home Energy Assistance (Grantor - Department of Health and Social Services) Condition: The 2023 program year heating funds reconciliation report was not completed and submitted to the State of Delaware in a timely manner. Corrective Action Plan: Charities DEAP program has revised and implemented reconciliation procedures to ensure the program year 2023 heating reconciliation benefit report is completed on April 6, 2024. The final reconciliation report for the 2023 heating benefit refund will be remitted to the State of Delaware Office of Community Services (OCS) in accordance with the established guidelines by April 14, 2024. Process of completion is performed manually: 1. The collection of delivered and non-delivered fuel vendors’ unexpended benefits reports has been obtained from the non-delivered vendors. Completed November 2023. 2. Inter-Agency households’ report of benefits returned to the State of Delaware OCS for the heating season 2023 by the county and by invoice number is in process of being manually completed. 3. The documents noted in procedures 1 and 2 must reconcile with the DEAP billing supervisor report of heating benefits issued - funded and refunded by the vendors. The agency finance unit reporting of paid benefits vs refunded benefits must be compared to the noted reports to verify all report totals equal. 4. The unused benefit report noting the total amount to be returned to the State OCS, is completed once the agency finance unit verification of totals reported in procedures 2 and 3 are accurate for the 2022-2023 heating reconciliation. The program year 2023 reconciliation report will be completed according to OCS’s format and submitted along with the check from the agency for the total amount of the refund. Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Samantha Wallace, Interim Executive Director Anticipated Completion Date of Corrective Action: April 6, 2024

Categories

Cash Management Reporting Significant Deficiency Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 382598 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 959040 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 959041 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance $23.76M
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $2.56M
14.231 Emergency Solutions Grant Program $295,873
93.550 Transitional Living for Homeless Youth $250,000
93.243 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services_projects of Regional and National Significance $202,814
93.676 Unaccompanied Alien Children Program $83,755
93.788 Opioid Str $45,000
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $41,989
97.024 Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program $17,165
14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids $15,998
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $3,106