FAC Explorer

Finding 386083 (2023-001)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
G
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-27
Audit: 298447
Organization: Local Area of the Workforce Development in the Northwest (PR)
Auditor: CPA Diaz-Martinez Csp

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Local Area did not meet the required 20% spending on work experiences and only allocated 28% for Out-of-School Youth services, indicating a compliance failure.
  • Impacted Requirements: This finding violates WIOA mandates for Youth Activity fund allocations, specifically earmarking for work experiences and services for Out-of-School Youth.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement quarterly monitoring of earmark requirements involving finance, planning, and youth program staff to ensure compliance and timely corrective actions.

Finding Text

CRITERIA WIOA Youth Activities required that not less than 20 percent of Youth Activity funds allocated to the local area, except for the local area expenditures for administration, must be used to provide paid and unpaid work experiences (Section 129(c)(4)), WIOA, 128 Stat. 1510). Also, a minimum of 75 percent of the Youth Activity funds allocated to States and local areas, except for the local area expenditures for administration, must be used to provide services to Out-of-School Youth (Section 129(a)(4)(A), WIOA, 128 Stat. 1506). STATEMENT OF CONDITION During our audits test of the earmarking compliance requirement for the Youth Program funds of the program year 2021-2022, we noted that the Local Area only expended 7.3% of the funds allocated to programmatic activities on paid and unpaid work experiences at the end of the two years of funds availability which ended June 30, 2023. Also, the Local Area only expended 28% of the Youth Program funds allocated for program year 2021-2022 on services for Out-of-School. QUESTIONED COSTS None PERSPECTIVE INFORMATION This is a repeated finding and includes two earmarking requirements. This represents a systematic problem in our evaluation. STATEMENT OF CAUSE The Local Area fail to timely identify the lack of compliance with the earmarking requirement for the Youth Program and failed to planned activities for participants related to paid and unpaid work experience and activities for Out-of-School Youth during the two years of funds availability. POSSIBLE ASSERTED EFFECT The Local Area failed to comply with a programmatic requirement of the Youth Program. IDENTIFICATION OF REPEAT FINDING Repeat Finding – Prior year Finding Numbers 2019-001, 2020-001, 2021-001 and 2022-001. RECOMMENDATIONS We recommend that a formal monitoring of the earmark requirements for the Youth Program, as well as other earmark requirements, takes place at least on a quarterly basis during the funds period of performance. Staff that should participate in the monitoring include finance, planning, youth program staff and executive staff. If deviations or failure to meet the earmark are noted, communications must be generated to the youth program staff in order to take corrective actions before the elapse of the funding period.

Corrective Action Plan

The Corrective Action Plan in a continuous basis will be as follow: 1.Employment and Educational Fairs for the Youth Program are being developed to recruit out of school Youth and promote work experiences activity. 2. The Promotion and Dissemination staff began an aggressive campaign in different advertising media to recruit out of school youth. 3. The program area has already planned for the month of May and June 2024 to carry out work experience activities coordinated with private companies and municipalities. It is planned for young people out of school and in school. 4. Both the program staff and the fiscal agent will be continuously monitoring the expense and obligations to the work experience activities to comply with the 20% expense. 5.The youth committee attached to the Northwest Local Board will comprise a representative from finance, budget and planning staff (youth program and executive) who will measure the achievement of the 20% benchmark on a quarterly basis. 6.This committee will take appropriate actions in order to verify the correctness of the expenditures according to the 20% expense requirement mentioned above. 7.This committee will provide to the Executive Director, recommendations to the operational areas in order to comply to the goal of expenditures required under sections 20CFR 681,590,681,600(a)(3) and681.600 of WIOA. 8.A report will be issue to the operational levels in accordance to the recommendations adopted by the Executive Director. 9. The public policy for the implementation of the work experience element of the youth program gave the opportunity to increase 2% of youth services. 10.The Northwest Local Area has established strategies for the dissemination of services for the youth program. This is done through the integration of social networks (lnstagram and Facebook), radio, signs, press, television and official internet page. 11.The youth area, together with the promotion unit, established an itinerary of visits to the municipalities that comprise our area in order to carry out campaigns(Work Fairs)to guide our services and recruitment. 12.We will continue to join efforts through mass campaigns with an effective strategic plan to outreach the youth program. LEAD PERSONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ACTION ITEM COMPLETION Executive Director, Area Executive, MIS Director and Finance Director

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Period of Performance

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 962525 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
17.258 Wia Adult Program $2.41M
17.278 Wia Dislocated Workers $2.14M
17.259 Wia Youth Activities $1.47M