Finding Text
Finding #2023-001 – Significant Deficiency and Other Noncompliance. Applicable Federal Program: Department of the Treasury, Passed through Texas Department of Agriculture, COVID-19 – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Assistance Listing #: 21.027, Contract #: HDM2022007-129-131, Contract year: 02/22-01/23. Applicable State Program: Texas Department of Agriculture, Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program, Contract #’s: HDM2022007-129-131 and HDM2023062-098-099, Contract years: 02/22-01/23 and 02/23-01/24. Criteria: Eligibility – The Texas Administrative Code – Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program, Title 4 Agriculture, Part 1 Department of Agriculture, Chapter 1 General Procedures, Subchapter O Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program, Rule §1.959 Eligibility of Persons Served, requires that each Grantee using grant for the preparation or delivery of a Home-delivered meal must document that persons receiving a meal funded are Homebound Elderly persons or Homebound persons with a Disability as defined in §1.951. Additionally, Rule §1.961 Recordkeeping and Record Retention, requires (a) Grantees to maintain documentation as required by the Department to verify that individuals who receive meals paid for or delivered in part with grant funds received qualify as a Homebound Elderly person or Homebound person with a Disability. Interfaith Ministries’ policies and procedures require an annual re-assessment of the continued eligibility of participants served meals funded under the Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program. If an annual re-assessment has not been performed, the meals provided to the participant should be funded by other funders. Condition and context: During our testing of 60 participants for proper eligibility, we noted 2 participants were not re-assessed for eligibility by their annual anniversary and continued to receive meals funded under the Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program. Cause: Interfaith Ministries’ staff did not follow policies and procedures to change the funding source until the annual re-assessment could be performed. Effect: The two participants continued to receive approximately 79 meals funded by the Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program after the expiration of the annual eligibility date. Recommendation: Provide additional training to personnel responsible for determining eligibility for monitoring the annual reassessment and changing the funder until the reassessment can be performed. View of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding. See Corrective Action Plan.