Finding 966820 (2023-103)

Material Weakness
Requirement
G
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-29
Audit: 301196
Organization: Coconino County (AZ)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The County did not meet the federal requirement to spend at least 20% of WIOA Youth Activities funds on work experiences, spending only 15% instead.
  • Impacted Requirements: Federal regulations mandate that 20% of funds be earmarked for youth work experiences and require proper monitoring and reporting of expenditures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The Department should ensure compliance by implementing policies to meet the 20% spending requirement, improve monitoring, and communicate any issues with the Arizona Department of Economic Security promptly.

Finding Text

Cluster name: WIOA Cluster Assistance Listings numbers and names: 17.258 WIOA Adult Program 17.259 WIOA Youth Program 17.278 WIOA Dislocated Worker Formula Grants Award number and year: DI21-002282, July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2025 Federal agency: U.S. Department of Labor Pass-through grantor: Arizona Department of Economic Security Compliance requirement: Earmarking Questioned costs: Unknown Condition—Contrary to federal regulation, the County Administration Department (Department) failed to ensure that it spent no less than the required 20 percent, or $93,701, of WIOA Youth Activities monies earmarked to provide in-school and out-of-school youth with paid and unpaid work experiences for the grants award year, April 2021 through June 2023. Instead, the County spent only 15 percent, or $72,045, of the required 20 percent, and the remaining 5 percent, or $21,656, of its allocation remained unspent. Effect—County youth did not receive $21,656 of paid and unpaid work experience services that the federal program intended. Also, the Department may have received additional monies for the federal program that it was not entitled to. Cause—The Department used a tracking mechanism to accurately report its paid and unpaid work experiences spending throughout the fiscal year but did not properly monitor its WIOA Youth Activities spending to ensure the 20 percent earmarking requirement was met. In addition, the Department did not have policies and procedures to ensure it monitored its paid and unpaid work experience expenditures throughout the award period. Criteria—Federal regulation requires the County to earmark and spend no less than 20 percent of its WIOA Youth Activities monies to provide in-school and out-of-school youth with paid and unpaid work experiences. Additionally, federal regulation also requires the Department to monitor such expenditures and report them to the pass-through grantor, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, monthly throughout the award period to ensure it is spending the monies in a timely manner to meet the earmarking requirement (20 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] §681.590). Also, federal regulation requires establishing and maintaining effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance that federal programs are being managed in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and award terms (2 CFR §200.303). Recommendations—The Department should: 1. Spend no less than the required 20 percent of its WIOA Youth Activities monies to provide in-school and out-of-school youth with paid and unpaid work experiences. 2. Include a process in its WIOA Youth Activities program’s policies and procedures to: a. Fully implement new strategies to recruit and retain qualified in-school and out-of-school youth who will benefit from the paid and unpaid work experience the program provides. b. Monitor its paid and unpaid work experiences spending throughout the award period. c. Timely communicate to the Arizona Department of Economic Security if the Department cannot meet the earmarking requirement. The County’s corrective action plan at the end of this report includes the views and planned corrective action of its responsible officials. We are not required to audit and have not audited these responses and planned corrective actions and therefore provide no assurances as to their accuracy.

Categories

Questioned Costs Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Allowable Costs / Cost Principles

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 390376 2023-101
    Material Weakness
  • 390377 2023-102
    Material Weakness
  • 390378 2023-103
    Material Weakness
  • 390379 2023-104
    Material Weakness
  • 390380 2023-103
    Material Weakness
  • 390381 2023-104
    Material Weakness
  • 390382 2023-103
    Material Weakness
  • 390383 2023-104
    Material Weakness
  • 966818 2023-101
    Material Weakness
  • 966819 2023-102
    Material Weakness
  • 966821 2023-104
    Material Weakness
  • 966822 2023-103
    Material Weakness
  • 966823 2023-104
    Material Weakness
  • 966824 2023-103
    Material Weakness
  • 966825 2023-104
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.923 Emergency Watershed Protection Program $8.27M
10.691 Good Neighbor Authority $7.39M
21.032 Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund $6.00M
10.665 Schools and Roads - Grants to States $2.57M
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $1.86M
93.391 Covid-19 - Activities to Support State, Tribal, Local and Territorial (stlt) Health Department Response to Public Health Or Healthcare Crises $1.51M
84.425U Education Stabilization Fund $1.02M
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $854,206
17.259 Wioa Youth Activities $580,719
10.557 Wic Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children $467,421
93.069 Public Health Emergency Preparedness $443,020
17.258 Wioa Adult Program $404,434
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $370,117
12.610 Community Economic Adjustment Assistance for Compatible Use and Joint Land Use Studies $370,103
10.561 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $340,685
93.569 Community Services Block Grant $327,171
17.278 Wioa Dislocated Worker Formula Grants $318,447
93.268 Covid-19 - Immunization Cooperative Agreements $287,179
10.689 Conservation Program (cfp) $280,500
93.917 Hiv Care Formula Grants $277,253
93.136 Injury Prevention and Control Research and State and Community Based Programs $260,064
84.041 Impact Aid $227,414
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $205,975
10.167 Transportation Services $167,420
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families $148,361
93.045 Special Programs for the Aging, Title Iii, Part C, Nutrition Services $125,402
47.076 Stem Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) $124,403
93.994 Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the States $114,843
93.658 Foster Care Title IV-E $111,968
93.977 Sexually Transmitted Diseases (std) Prevention and Control Grants $92,391
93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $89,967
47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering $72,407
93.268 Immunization Cooperative Agreements $70,273
10.351 Rural Business Development Grant $68,417
10.704 Law Enforcement Agreements $65,000
16.554 National Criminal History Improvement Program (nchip) $55,755
93.991 Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant $54,629
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $50,597
10.935 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production $45,581
93.575 Childcare and Development Block Grant $43,116
93.667 Social Services Block Grant $40,119
84.358 Rural Education $33,035
93.354 Covid-19 - Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response $29,729
20.616 National Priority Safety Programs $27,335
97.067 Homeland Security Grant Program $26,108
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $25,802
16.838 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Other Subsances Use Program $22,978
84.425D Education Stabilization Fund $22,702
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $22,038
93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance $20,863
93.940 Hiv Prevention Activities Health Department Based $19,210
93.053 Nutrition Services Incentive Program $16,714
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $16,615
93.563 Child Support Enforcement $15,582
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $13,496
21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $13,345
16.034 Covid-19 - Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program $13,293
84.206 Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education $10,626
93.788 Opioid Str $9,049
93.044 Special Programs for the Aging, Title Iii, Part B, Grants for Supportive Services and Senior Centers $7,422
93.586 State Court Improvement Program $6,530
93.052 National Family Caregiver Support, Title Iii, Part E $4,881
93.103 Food and Drug Administrative Research $4,198
45.310 Grants to States $3,749
10.555 National School Lunch Program $3,677
93.597 Grants to States for Access and Visitation Programs $2,152
10.533 School Breakfast Program $1,957
93.647 Social Services Research and Demonstration $176