Finding 384410 (2023-001)

Finding Number: 2023-001 AL Number and Title: Child Nutrition Cluster Federal Award Identification Number / Year: 2023 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Compliance Requirement: Reporting Pass-Through Entity: Ohio Department of Education Repeat Finding from Prior Audit? No Questioned Cost, Material Weakness, and Noncompliance 7 C.F.R. § 210.7 indicates to receive reimbursement for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) each school food authority must submit to the state administering the Federal funds an accurate count of free, reduced, and full paid lunches and have a system in place at the point of sale to accurately capture this data. Each state is responsibility for developing a reimbursement rate for each type of meal (free, reduced, or full-priced), up to the maximum amount established by the Secretary of Agriculture. In Ohio, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) requires districts to use the Claims Reporting and Reimbursement System (CRRS) to report meal data for reimbursement. The District uses a point-of-sale system that generates CN-7 and CN-6 reports, which is used to compile the monthly reimbursement request submitted to ODE. 7 C.F.R. § 220.11 indicates to receive reimbursement for the School Breakfast Program, each school food authority must submit to the state administering the Federal funds an accurate count of free, reduced, and full paid breakfasts served. If a single state agency administers any combination of the Child Nutrition programs, the school food authority shall be able to use a common claim form with respect to claims for reimbursement for meals served under those programs. Lack of internal controls and understanding of reporting requirements resulted in the following reporting errors which occurred between August 2022 and May 2023: • The District overstated their reported free lunches by 11,009 and under-reported reduced and paid lunches by the 944 and 10,065, respectively. These errors resulted in a total over-reimbursement and questioned cost of $36,209. • The District overstated their reported free breakfasts by 1,840 and under-reported reduced and paid breakfasts by 196 and 1,644, respectively. These errors resulted in a total over-reimbursement and questioned cost of $3,401. Failure to report the correct number of paid, reduced, and free meals served to ODE could lead to the District receiving greater reimbursements than they are entitled and additional questioned costs. The District should ensure the number of paid, reduced and free meals reported to ODE through CRRS agrees to the month end point-of-sale system CN-7 and CN-6 reports. The reason for any variances between the computer-generated CN-7 and CN-6 reports and the CRRS site claim forms should be documented in writing.