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EAP Policy Manual FFY24 Chapter 1 Service Provider Selection and Responsibilities Page 4 inform Commerce if they operate or own any business that could be viewed as a conflict of interest with the delivery of the Energy Assistance Program. Risk Management Risk planning is geared toward events that occur when things are different than planned. Service Providers should have procedures in place to deal with unplanned events. Service Providers must have in place processes for handling appeals, complaints, errors and fraud (see Chapter 10 - Incidents and Appeals). The goal is ensuring the Service Provider’s ability to maintain financial strength, a positive public image, and the overall quality of its products and government services. Control Activities Service Provider should design and implement internal control in processing applications, determining eligibility and delivering benefits. These procedures ensure program services are timely, accurate, uniform and equally available throughout the state. They address essential EAP required procedures such as: • Utilizing tools and resources of the program as intended. • Utilizing an approach to managing program demands ebbs and flows. • Partnerships through coordination, collaboration and cooperation. • Maintaining and retaining records • Securing the privacy of individuals. • Ensuring sufficient staffing and backup to provide complete and continuous EAP administration. • Assigning appropriate segregation of duty for program and fiscal procedures • Ensuring processes are auditable • Ensuring equal access to EAP services. • Logging applications upon arrival. • Having a process for requesting energy vendor consumption to ensure timely services. • Having a method of requesting additional information for incomplete applications. • Coordinating with energy vendors to ensure timely after-business-hours response to emergencies. Program Duties and Functions Service Providers must ensure sufficient staffing and backup to provide complete and continuous administration of EAP at the local level in the following areas of program operation.