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283 these situations, the Office of Economic Services will be responsible for gathering additional data necessary to make these determinations. Deficiencies identified from all management information sources must be analyzed and evaluated together to determine their causes, magnitude, and geographic extent. Causes indicated and deficiencies identified must be examined to determine if they are attributable to a single cause and can be effectively eliminated by a single action. Deficiencies and causes identified must also be compared to the results of past corrective action efforts to determine if the new problems arise from the causal factors which contributed to the occurrence of previously identified deficiencies. Data analysis and evaluation must be an ongoing process to facilitate the development of effective and prompt corrective action. The process will also identify when deficiencies have been eliminated through corrective action efforts and will provide for the reevaluation of deficiencies and causes when it is determined that corrective action has not been effective.

2 7 . 2 I D E N T I F I C A T I O N O F H I G H E R R O R A R E A S USDA, FNS may use QC information to determine which project areas/counties/local offices have reported payment error rates that are either significantly greater than the State Agency average or greater than the national error standard of the Program. When FNS notifies the Agency that a “high error” area exists, the Agency will ensure that corrective action is developed and reported in accordance with the provisions Section 28.2 State Corrective Action Plan. If FNS identifies a “high error” locality which the Agency has previously identified as error-prone and taken appropriate action, no further action will be required. If the Agency’s corrective action plan fails to address problems in FNS-identified “high error” areas, FNS may require the Agency to implement new or modified cost-effective procedures for the certification of households.