Purpose

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

Background

TCDC, a not-for-profit organization located in Johnson City, New York, provides preschool special education services to children with disabilities who are between the ages of three and five years. TCDC is reimbursed for preschool special education services through rates set by SED. These reimbursement rates are based on financial information, including costs, that TCDC reports to SED on its annual CFR. To be eligible for reimbursement, reported costs must comply with the guidelines specified in the RCM. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, TCDC reported about $1.8 million in reimbursable costs on its CFR for the rate-based preschool special education programs it operated.

Key Finding

We identified $16,699 in costs charged to the preschool special education programs that did not comply with SED’s requirements for reimbursement. The non-reimbursable costs included $5,394 in ineligible property expenses, $3,609 in ineligible food costs, $2,337 in ineligible costs for consultant services, $2,309 in non-program-related costs, and $3,050 in other non-reimbursable costs.

Key Recommendations

To SED:

• Review the disallowances identified by our audit and, if warranted, make the necessary adjustments to the costs reported on TCDC’s CFR and to TCDC’s tuition reimbursement rates.
• Remind TCDC officials of the pertinent SED guidelines that relate to the deficiencies we identified.

To TCDC:

• Ensure that costs reported on annual CFRs fully comply with SED’s requirements, and communicate with SED to obtain clarification as needed.

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

Newmeadow, Inc: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2015-S-48)
Story Place Preschool, Inc.: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2015-S-69)