Finding Text
Reporting
Major Program – Head Start
Assistance Listing Number – 93.600
Federal Agency – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Pass-Through Entity – Start Early
Grant Numbers – 05CH011953/01, 05CH8456/06, 05HE001067-01-01, 05HE00106701
Award Periods – January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023
Criteria or Specific Requirement – The Association has reporting requirements under its contract with the pass-through grantor, where the pass-through grantor requires reports to be submitted within 20 days of month end.
Condition – In testing the contract reporting requirements between the Association and the pass-through entity, we noted that the required reports were not completed and submitted in accordance with the required due dates or that the submission date of the reports were not available for review.
Context – 6 reports were selected for testing and 2 of the reports were submitted beyond the twenty-day requirement. The other 4 selected for testing did not have evidence of when the reports were submitted and were unable to determine if they were submitted on time. A nonstatistical sampling methodology was used to select the sample.
Questioned Costs – None.
Effect – Reporting requirements were not met in accordance with the requirements stipulated under the Association’s contract with the pass-through grantor.
Cause – Staff turnover and lack of formal policies and procedures resulted in the issue noted above.
Repeat Finding – Yes; 2017-004, 2018-004, 2019-003, 2020-003, 2021-003
Recommendation – We recommend that the Association implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all reporting due dates and other requirements. The Association should also retain copies of all reports including the formal sign off and review.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Concur. The Association has hired a Grant Administrator whose responsibility is to ensure timely submission of the reports, including implementing procedures to ensure the final reports with the documented review and approval are retained.