Cluster name: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Cluster
Assistance Listings numbers and names: 17.258 WIOA Adult Program
17.259 WIOA Youth Activities
17.278 WIOA Dislocated Worker Formula Grants
Award numbers and years: DI21-002286, April 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024;
Alert 23-001, July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024;
Alert 23-003, July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024;
Alert 24-002, July 1, 2023 through May 31, 2024
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Labor
Pass-through grantor: Arizona Department of Economic Security
Questioned costs: N/A
Assistance Listings number and name: 21.027 COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Award numbers and years: 1505-0271, March 3, 2021 through December 31, 2024;
19418, May 31, 2023 through September 30, 2023
Federal agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Pass-through grantors: Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, City of Tucson, Arizona Housing Coalition, and Arizona Department of Public Safety
Questioned costs: N/A
Assistance Listings number and name: 97.024 COVID-19 - Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program
Award numbers and years: 027200-048, November 1, 2021 through December 30, 2024;
027200-056, April 1, 2023 through February 29, 2024;
23*115, March 1, 2023 through February 29, 2024;
23*154, April 1, 2023 through February 29, 2024
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Pass-through grantor: United Way EFSP
Questioned costs: $347,345
Assistance Listings number and name: 97.141 Shelter and Services Program
Award number and year: 24*039, March 1, 2023 through September 30, 2025
Federal agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Questioned costs: N/A
Compliance requirement: Subrecipient monitoring
Total questioned costs: $347,345
Condition—The County’s Grants Management and Innovation Department (Department) awarded over
$29 million to 27 subrecipients during fiscal year 2024, or 29% of the County’s total federal expenditures for the federal programs shown in Table 1 below, but did not perform all the required monitoring of its subrecipients’ activities or compliance with award terms and program requirements.
Table 1
Summary of subrecipients by federal program
Fiscal year 2024
Federal program name Subrecipient information
Total number Number tested Total awards Total federal expenditures Subrecipient awards as a percentage of total federal expenditures
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Cluster 4 4 $ 568,095 $12,253,972 4.6%
Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) 17 7 17,241,445 56,862,338 30.3%
Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program (EFS) 4 4 7,810,673 22,622,229 34.5%
Shelter and Services Program (SSP) 2 2 3,560,449 8,172,063 43.5%
Total 27 17 $29,180,662 $99,910,602 29.2%
While the Department performed some monitoring procedures during the year, those procedures were not sufficient to evaluate its subrecipients’ use of program monies in accordance with the award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations.
Specifically, contrary to federal regulations, the Department did not perform the following required monitoring procedures:
• Perform monitoring activities based on risk assessments performed—The Department did not perform monitoring activities based on risk assessments performed. Specifically, the Department’s risk assessment procedures identified 7 high-risk and 4 moderate-risk subrecipients, but it did not modify its monitoring activities to address the risks identified. Additional monitoring activities could include providing training or technical assistance on program-related matters and performing on-site reviews, selective audits, and/or other monitoring procedures like reviewing the subrecipient’s policies and procedures obtained to ensure the subrecipients complied with award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations.
• Document monitoring procedures, results, and actions taken—For 4 of 4 WIOA subrecipients, 7 of 7 SLFRF subrecipients, 3 of 4 EFS subrecipients, and 1 of 2 SSP subrecipients we tested, while the Department completed and maintained a checklist of subrecipient monitoring procedures, it did not document monitoring results or Department actions taken for these subrecipients based on the checklist results.
• Verify subrecipient single audits were conducted timely—The Department did not verify whether 1 of its 4 WIOA subrecipients had a single audit performed.
Effect—The Department’s failure to perform required monitoring contributed to $347,345 of misspent EFS program monies that the Department may be required to return to the federal agency in accordance with federal requirements.1 Specifically, the Department’s not reviewing subrecipient procurement policies and procedures aided in allowing 1 EFS subrecipient to render services for which conflicts of interest existed. Specifically, the EFS subrecipient, Catholic Community Services (CCS), began having laundry services provided by a vendor, Amado Laundry, in April 2023, for which it then self-reported to the County a conflict-of-interest violation in May 2024. This violation was a result of a CCS employee forming a vendor relationship with Amado Laundry, which was owned by the employee’s mother.
After the Department’s management was made aware of the conflict of interest, they performed monitoring procedures over CCS and identified noncompliance with federal procurement guidelines totaling $347,345, including determining that Amado Laundry charged a rate double the average rates charged by competitors. The County issued a management letter to CCS on September 27, 2024, communicating a conflict-of-interest finding and a procurement standards finding. The conflict-of-interest finding required CCS to develop new, written procurement-related conflict-of-interest procedures in compliance with federal regulations and to create and maintain an ongoing training program related to these federally compliant conflict-of-interest procedures for employees.
Further, there is an increased risk that $29 million of program monies the Department awarded to subrecipients may not be spent in accordance with the award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations. If monies are spent inconsistent with program requirements, those who intended to benefit from the program may not receive all the services or other benefits they otherwise would have received.
Also, the Department’s not verifying subrecipient single audits were conducted may result in the Department’s not following up on and ensuring corrective action is taken on audit findings that could potentially affect the program and/or issue management decisions for audit findings pertaining to the federal award. Finally, the County is at risk that this finding applies to other federal programs it administers.
Cause—The Department’s management reported that they did not always follow County policies and procedures and only performed limited procedures because their subrecipient monitoring policies and procedures were outdated, the number of subrecipients increased significantly during the fiscal year, and they did not have sufficient staff to monitor all subrecipients. The Department’s management also reported that it prioritized transitioning to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system rather than monitoring all subrecipients.
Further, the County’s policies lacked requirements to perform monitoring activities based on risk assessments performed and to review subrecipients’ policies and procedures to ensure the subrecipients complied with award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations.
Criteria—Federal regulation requires the County to monitor subrecipients, which includes required monitoring procedures for (2 CFR §200.332):
• Assessing the risk of each subrecipient’s noncompliance and performing monitoring activities based on those risk assessments, such as providing training or technical assistance on program-related matters and performing on-site reviews, selective audits, and/or other monitoring procedures.
• Reviewing financial and performance reports.
• Verifying single audits were conducted timely.
• Following up on and ensuring corrective action is taken on audit findings that could potentially affect the program.
• Issuing a management decision for audit findings pertaining to the federal award.
In addition, County policies require the County to:
• Assess subrecipient risk and establish a monitoring plan and perform monitoring procedures at least every 2 years, including verification of internal controls.2,3
• Review the Federal Audit Clearinghouse at least quarterly to review subrecipient single audits and issue management decision letters, as necessary.2
• Maintain documentation of monitoring procedures, including the monitoring procedure’s results and any Department actions taken.3
Further, federal regulation requires establishing and maintaining effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that federal programs are being managed in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and award terms (2 CFR §200.303).
Recommendations to the County—
1. Perform required monitoring of its subrecipients and their compliance with the award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations.
2. Follow its established policies and procedures for performing and documenting monitoring reviews of subrecipients to:
a. Maintain documentation of monitoring procedures demonstrating they were performed, including the monitoring procedures’ results and any Department actions taken, if appropriate.
b. Verify subrecipients receive timely single audits, follow up on and ensure that corrective action is taken on audit findings that could potentially affect the program, and issue management decisions for audit findings pertaining to the federal award.
3. Update its policies and procedures to include:
a. A process to determine the appropriate monitoring activities to perform based on subrecipient risk assessments performed, such as providing training or technical assistance on program-related matters, and performing on-site reviews, selective audits, and/or other monitoring procedures.
b. Review subrecipients’ policies and procedures, including procurement processes, to ensure the subrecipients complied with award terms, program requirements, and federal regulations.
4. Prioritize and allocate sufficient resources, such as staffing, to comply with the award terms, program requirements, federal regulations, and its updated policies, and designate an individual(s) to perform necessary subrecipient-monitoring procedures.
5. Work with U.S. Department of Homeland Security to determine if it will require the Department to reimburse $347,345 in questioned costs.
The County’s corrective action plan at the end of this report includes the views and planned corrective action of its responsible officials. We are not required to audit and have not audited these responses and planned corrective actions and therefore provide no assurances as to their accuracy.
This finding is similar to prior-year finding 2022-101 and was initially reported in fiscal year 2022.
1 Federal Uniform Guidance requires federal awarding agencies to follow up on audit findings and issue a management decision to ensure the recipient takes appropriate and timely corrective action (2 CFR §200.513[c]). Further, it requires that federal awarding agencies’ management decisions clearly state whether or not the audit finding is sustained, the reasons for the decision, and the expected auditee action to repay disallowed costs, make financial adjustments, or take other action, as directed by the federal awarding agencies (2 CFR §200.521).
2 Pima County. (2018, June). Grants Management & Innovation Policy number GMI-04: Subrecipient Risk Assessment / Management Decisions.
3 Pima County. (2018, June). Grants Management & Innovation Policy number GMI-28: Subrecipient Monitoring.