Finding Text
Finding 2022-002 ? Financial Eligibility ? Documentation of Board Review and Approval of Financial Eligibility Guidelines Federal Award Program ? Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Basic Grant, CFDA #09.120000 Statement of Condition ? The last time the Board documented review and approval of financial eligibility guidelines was at the April 2019 meeting. They would have been required to review and approve them again by April 2022. Criteria ? The governing body of a recipient must adopt guidelines for determining the financial eligibility of persons seeking legal assistance under the LSC Act. (45 CFR ?1611.3(a)). The governing body is to review these guidelines at least once every three years and make any necessary adjustments (45 CFR ?1611.3(a)). Questioned Costs ? None. There was no effect on the expenditure of LSC funds. Cause ? Loss of key personnel responsible for this requirement. Effect ? Review and approval of financial eligibility guidelines was not documented in the last three years. Recommendation ? Implement a reminder system to ensure the review and approval of financial eligibility guidelines is documented at a minimum of every three years. Views of Responsible Officials ? PTLA faced a challenging year in 2022 with a significant change in leadership, which resulted in this deadline being missed. In particular, at the time of the Board of Directors meeting when the triennial review of our client financial eligibility policy would have occurred, PTLA's Executive Director had recently passed away, and the Board was fully engaged in the search process for a new ED. Moving forward, PTLA will develop a reminder system to ensure this review and approval occurs on a timely basis.