Purpose

To determine whether the costs submitted by Story Place Preschool, Inc. (Story Place) on its Consolidated Fiscal Report (CFR) were properly calculated, adequately documented, and allowable under the State Education Department’s (SED’s) guidelines, including the Reimbursable Cost Manual (RCM). Our audit covered the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014.

Background

Story Place is an SED-approved, for-profit special education provider located in Castleton, New York. Story Place offers a range of services and programs, including preschool special education services, to children with disabilities from birth to five years of age. Story Place is reimbursed for preschool special education services through rates set by SED. These reimbursement rates are based on financial information, including costs, that Story Place reports to SED on its annual CFR. To be eligible for reimbursement, reported costs must comply with RCM requirements. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, Story Place reported about $1.9 million in reimbursable costs on its CFR for three rate-based preschool special education programs.

Key Finding

For the year ended June 30, 2014, we determined Story Place reported $5,150 in personal service costs on its CFR that did not comply with SED’s requirements for reimbursement.

Key Recommendations

To SED:

• Review the disallowances resulting from our audit and make appropriate adjustments to the costs reported on Story Place’s CFRs and to Story Place’s tuition reimbursement rates.
• Remind Story Place officials of the pertinent SED guidelines that relate to the deficiencies we identified.

To Story Place:

• Ensure that costs reported on annual CFRs fully comply with SED’s guidelines and requirements.

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

State Education Department: Upstate Cerebral Palsy - Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2014-S-71)
State Education Department: Unity House of Troy - Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2014-S-60)