Finding 558105 (2024-008)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-04-30
Audit: 354985

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: One case was not properly disclosed to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), violating federal requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: 45 CFR 1644 mandates detailed disclosure for each court case, including party names, court details, and case numbers.
  • Recommended Follow-up: Strengthen policies and procedures for case file management to ensure full compliance with documentation and disclosure requirements.

Finding Text

Finding 2024-008 – Case Requirements (Significant Deficiency and Non-compliance) Information on the Federal Program: Legal Services Corporation Basic Field Grant, Award No. 09.610020 Criteria: 45 CFR 1644 requires for each case filed in court by its attorneys on behalf of a recipient client, recipients disclose the name and address of each party in the case, cause of action, name and address of the court where the case is filed, and the case number assigned by the court. Condition/Context: During our testing of regulations, we examined 71 case files. Of the 71 case files tested, 2 of the cases required disclosure. One case was not properly disclosed to LSC. Cause: The required case disclosure was omitted from the report to LSC. Effect: The Organization did not properly disclose one case. Questioned Costs: None reported Recommendation: We recommend the Organization strengthen its policies and procedures surrounding the process of opening case files to ensure compliance with all required documentation and disclosure requirements. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this finding. See Management’s View and Corrective Action Plan included at the end of the report.

Corrective Action Plan

Upon review of the one case file, it appears that the lapse occurred during a turnover in staff assignment. Both the original attorney assigned to this case and the subsequent attorney left the firm and as a result there was a failure to disclose it to LSC. To address this issue and prevent future occurrences, we are implementing the following corrective actions within the next 60 days:  Case Transfer Protocol: We are creating a case transfer memo form for Legal Server. We will include an assessment of whether the case needs to be reported during the next LSC Case Disclosure Report.  Case Management System Updates: We are also working on a litigation module for Legal Server that will allow us to track when a case moves from pre-litigation to litigation so that we can easily identify cases that should be included in LSC Case Disclosure Report.  Staff Training: Ongoing training is being provided to ensure all attorneys and advocates understand the importance of timely and accurate disclosures, especially during case transfers.

Categories

Significant Deficiency

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 558101 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 558102 2024-005
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 558103 2024-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 558104 2024-007
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1134543 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1134544 2024-005
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1134545 2024-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1134546 2024-007
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1134547 2024-008
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
09.020 Legal Service Corporation Basic Field Grant $8.06M
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $761,657
12.599 Congressionally Directed Assistance $350,486
21.008 Low Income Taxpayer Clinics $162,711
21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $128,497