Finding 519303 (2024-009)

Finding 2024-009: Reporting (50000) Assistance Listing # 10.553, 10.555 – U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Education, Child Nutrition Cluster Repeat Finding? No Criteria: SFAs and sponsors must submit monthly claims for reimbursement for meals and snacks served to eligible students within 60 days following the last day of the month covered by the claim (7 CFR sections 210.8, 220.11, 215.10, and 225.15(c)). Each month’s claim for reimbursement and all data used in the claims review process must be maintained on file. Accurate records must be maintained justifying all meals claimed. Failure to maintain such records may be grounds for denial of reimbursement for meals served and/or administrative costs claimed during the period covered by the records in question. Records are required to be retained for a period of three years after submission of the final Claim for Reimbursement for the fiscal year. Condition: The District uses a point-of-sale system to track lunches and breakfasts served as well as how many meals in each category are free, reduced or paid. From August 2023 to September 2023, one school site’s meals were coded to paid in the point of sales system, but the District applied a rate to the total meals to arbitrarily determine how many meals to report as free, reduced or paid. Cause: Lack of oversight procedures to ensure that data being entered into CNIPS from the point of sales system is accurate. Context: Discrepancies were noted for August 2023 and September 2023, the two months tested. Effect: Meals reported could not be reconciled to total meals served. This could cause inaccurately claimed meal counts and inappropriate reimbursement. Questioned Cost: There is insufficient documentation to determine the total meals served which have been reported as free, reduced, or paid. As a result, we were unable to determine the questioned cost amount. Recommendation: We recommend that all meal service records be reconciled against claim forms on a monthly basis. Views of Responsible Officials: Nutrition Services has implemented a new procedure of checks and balances before submitting monthly meal claims in CNIPS. The Director generates the monthly meal count report from our point of sales program, MealTime, for each site. The meal count numbers are then entered into CNIPS. Before submission the numbers are reconciled by the Office Assistant III to ensure accuracy.