Finding Text
U.S. Department of Education
Passed-Through Entity: New York State Education Department
Finding Reference: 2023-001
Child Nutrition Cluster:
National School Lunch Program (Assistance Listing # 10.555)
School Breakfast Program (Assistance Listing # 10.553)
Summer Food Service Program for Children (Assistance Listing # 10.559)
Compliance Requirement: Eligibility
Criteria
Children from households with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are
eligible to receive meals or milk free under the School Nutrition Program. Children from
households with incomes above 130 percent but at or below 185 percent of the Federal poverty
level are eligible to receive reduced price meals. Persons from households with incomes
exceeding 185 percent of the poverty level pay the full price (7 CFR sections 245.2, 245.3, and
245.6; section 9(b)(1) of the NSLA (42 USC 1758 (b)(1)); sections 3(a)(6) and 4(e) of the CNA (42
USC 1772(a)(6) and 1773(e))). The School District must:
(a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides
reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in
compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal
award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in “Standards for
Internal Control in the Federal Government” issued by the Comptroller General of the United
States or the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
(b) Comply with the U.S. Constitution, Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the Federal awards.
(c) Evaluate and monitor the non-Federal entity's compliance with statutes, regulations and
the terms and conditions of Federal awards.
(d) Take prompt action when instances of noncompliance are identified including
noncompliance identified in audit findings.
(e) Take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information and
other information the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity designates as
sensitive or the non-Federal entity considers sensitive consistent with applicable Federal,
State, local, and tribal laws regarding privacy and responsibility over confidentiality.Condition/Context
We haphazardly sampled 40 students receiving benefits under the Child Nutrition Cluster. We
viewed the applications determining eligibility that are to be reviewed and signed by the Director of
Food Services to ensure the eligibility status was deemed correct for each application. We noted that
24 applications were not documented as having been reviewed. Known and likely questioned costs
were determined not to exceed $25,000. The sampling methodology used was not statistically valid.
Cause
Adequate oversight of the eligibility determination process was not in place in order to identify
mistakes in determining eligibility.
Effect
Without demonstrable, documented controls supporting compliance with Child Nutrition compliance
standards, compliance with the requirements may not be assured.
Recommendation
We recommend that the School District institute additional procedures to ensure that eligibility
determinations are reviewed and accurate.
View of Responsible Officials
The School District will institute additional procedures to ensure that eligibility determinations are
reviewed and accurate.