Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Pass-Through Agency: New Jersey Department of Children and Families
Federal Program Name: Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention - ARP
Assistance Listing Number: 93.590
Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and on Compliance
Condition: For 4 of 16 transactions tested for procurement compliance, an improper procurement method was used, and the Organization did not obtain price quotes from an adequate number of sources in accordance with small purchase procurement rules. For 7 transactions, which management identified as sole source contracts, the Organization did not document the justification for the noncompetitive proposal. For 3 of 6 transactions tested for suspension and debarment compliance, verification that the vendor or subcontractor was not suspended or debarred was not performed and documented prior to entering into a covered transaction. Lastly, YCS's written procurement policy does not conform to the requirements established by the Uniform Guidance.
Criteria: It is the responsibility of the Organization to have procedures and controls in place to ensure that the Organization is complying with all compliance requirements set forth by the Uniform Guidance, as it relates to the Organization’s federal and state awards.
Cause: The Organization does not have the proper procedures and controls in place to comply with the procurement and suspension and debarment compliance requirements established by the Uniform Guidance.
Effect: Noncompliance with procurement and suspension and debarment compliance requirements can potentially affect the Organization’s ability to obtain federal and state contracts in the future.
Repeat Finding: No.
Recommendation: Revise the Organization’s existing procurement policy to align the procurement methods used by the Organization to those required by the Uniform Guidance and establish procedures for documenting the verification of suspension and debarment prior to entering into a covered transaction with a vendor.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: The Organization has updated its procurement policy to make documentation requirements clearer. The policy has also been streamlined to simplify the guidance while making sure that our policy is stricter than the requirements of the Uniform Guidance and funders that we operate under. For example, all requests over $5,000 require 3 quotes. The policy also adds requirements that we continue to check suspension and debarment when needed, but adds clearer requirements for the documentation of this step. We have also created sperate policies for our separate entities to better align with the requirements of each.
The initial vendor packet which is required for all new vendors was also updated to align with the recommendations. We performed an in-depth review of every vendor to ensure they meet the requirements and have updated our vendor list. We will continue to review every vendor for suspension and debarment on an annual basis in addition to when it is required by the individual transaction.