Finding Text
Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 93.600 Head Start
Federal Award Identification Number and Year - 238600, 248600
Pass through Entity - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Finding Type - Material weakness
Repeat Finding - No
Criteria - The School District must submit the form SF 425 three times annually. They must submit a semi annual, annual and final report. Several reports were not filed timely. Additionally, there is no secondary review over reports before they are submitted.
The SF 429 which is required to be submitted annually and there is no secondary review over this report before submission.
Condition - Throughout the year, there was no control in place to ensure required reports were filed timely and in accordance with the grant agreement. The School District does not currently have a control in place where a review of inputs of the SF 425 and SF 429 reports could result in inaccurate reporting.
Questioned Costs - None
Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - N/A
Context - It was noted that the School District filed their SF 425 late during the year and had no review over the SF 425 and SF 429 required reports.
Cause and Effect - The absence of a secondary review or timely filing of required reports could cause errors to occur in reporting or funding being adjusted due to noncompliance with the grant agreement and federal guidance.
Recommendation - The School District should implement a control where reports are reviewed, and approval is documented to ensure the submission is mechanically accurate and agrees to financial information and general ledger detail. In addition, the District should create a checklist to ensure they are filing their reports timely.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions - This finding was due to the District having turnover among key personnel in the grants area, as well as non adherence to policies and procedures related to grant records, grant accounting, and year end close processes. The District has developed policies and procedures specific to the Head Start program and has implemented a grant calendar to ensure that reporting deadlines are not missed going forward.