Finding Text
Type of Finding: Non-compliance within Major Programs
•Criteria: Caritas Family Solutions is responsible to maintain documentation that participants
demonstrate residency in the appropriate counties at the time of enrollment or re-certification.
•Condition: During the audit, it was identified that there were three participants with expired driver's
licenses in their files as part of the most recent re-certification process. This incomplete documentation
prevented Armanino from verifying the participants' residency in the appropriate counties.
•Cause: The inclusion of expired driver's licenses may result from inadequate record-keeping practices,
a lack of clear procedures for residency verification, or an oversight in maintaining updated
documentation.
•Effect: The absence of valid residency documentation hinders compliance with the major program and
raises concerns about whether participants meet the residency requirements, potentially impacting the
proper allocation of grant resources.
Recommendation: The Organization should establish and enforce procedures for collecting and
maintaining valid and up-to-date documentation to verify participant residency during enrollment and
re-certification.
•Responsible Party: Gary Huelsmann, Chief Executive Officer
•Management Response and Corrective Action Plan: This deficiency was also discovered during our
internal investigation, and Caritas Family Solutions has implemented a new process to ensure that
internal controls are in place.
A SCSEP Employment Specialist will meet with participants to complete the recertification
application and gather the necessary documentation.
The recertification application and documentation will be forwarded to the PM for review and
approval.
The PM will review the form, sign, and date it after confirming that all information is accurate and
complete.
If there are inaccuracies and/or missing information, the form will be returned to the ES who will
follow up with the host site to obtain the missing information or correct the inaccuracy.
The QI department will conduct quarterly file reviews to determine if processes are being followed.
The recertification process was modified during the pandemic, and the state of Illinois extended
the expiration deadline for IDs and drivers’ licenses though December 2022. When driver’s
license facilities reopened, many had limited hours or were by appointment only, and some
participants had challenges renewing their IDs and licenses during the limited hours. The lifting
of restrictions and return to normal business hours now makes it easier for participants to
secure the documentation needed for recertification. Some participants were not aware that the
COVID protocols and restrictions related to ID and driver’s license expiration had changed.
With the end of the COVID protocols and restrictions, we have reinstituted the in-person/faceto-
face recertification process required by the funder. We also have more face-to-face contact
with participants and are able to better communicate information such when and where they
can go to renew their IDs and drivers’ licenses.
•Anticipated Completion Date: Implemented in September 2023, but the process will be ongoing while
the program is funded.