program-integrity-effective-fiscal-management-practices

Reason(s) for non-compliance: • The Lead Agency did not sufficiently describe fiscal controls that allow for tracking of funds to establish allowable expenditures, as required by 98.67(c)(2). (Plan Question 10.1.2b) Overall Target Completion Date: 10/01/2024 Action Step Number Action Step Description Target Completion Date 1 The MDHS Division of Early Childhood Care & Development (DECCD), which is the division that oversees the CCDF program, has a finance team (two business managers and a finance director) that solely oversee CCDF fiscal spending and activities. This team utilizes both Smartsheet reporting functions and the and the Mississippi Accountability System for Government Information and Collaboration (MAGIC) to to track spending for all CCDF activities. To account for and track CCDF spending activities a code is assigned to the transaction. Codes are broken down by CCDF fiscal year and spending activity (i.e., direct services, indirect services, quality improvement, infant/toddler, administrative costs, etc.) A code is assigned to each invoice when it is processed. That code determines which year and category that transaction will fall under. Transactions are recorded in Smartsheet and are reconciled each month against the MAGIC CCDF ledger to make sure every transaction that has been approved is accounted for properly. 10/01/2024 2 To ensure accuracy of spending and reporting within each CCDF activity category, the DECCD Finance Director reviews and compares the MAGIC monthly transaction report/ledger with each transaction that is recorded on the DECCD CCDF Smartsheet. Throughout each month as invoices are coded and approved to be paid. The 10/01/2024 Finance Director flags any expenses on the MAGIC ledger that do not match the Smartsheet report. Each month, the DECCD team meets with the lead agency's larger Budgets and Accounting Division leadership to discuss mismatched transactions on the report and works with the larger division to correct any discrepancies. 3 The lead agency utilizes subgrantee agreements with quality partners to perform some CCDF quality improvement activities. Quality partners submit reimbursement claims monthly that must be reviewed and approved in a timely manner. Our Business managers receive notification when a claim has been submitted through a Smartsheet program. The lead agency follows a five business day time frame to review the claims and process them for payment. DECCD business managers review claims for amounts and spending categories and compare against each subgrantee contract and budget. The team also reviews all supporting documentation to guarantee funds are spent appropriately. If any errors are found, the business team will notify the respective quality partner through the CCDF Smartsheet that corrections must be made and the claim must be resubmitted. Once everything is correct, the DECCD Division Director/CCDF Administrator will review, sign, and approve the claim to be paid. This claim is then sent to the subgrantee analyst and manager in the lead agency's Budgets and Accounting division to process the claim through MAGIC for payment. 10/01/2024