The Cuyahoga County Department of Internal Auditing (DIA) conducted an audit of programs within the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for the period of January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The main objective of the audit was to identify higher risk programs within DCFS and to assess the internal controls relative to the mitigation of fraud and compliance with program guidelines. After obtaining an appropriate understanding of the processes and risk, DIA determined that processes around the establishment of Foster Care and Adoption subsidies contained the highest risk. Audit procedures disclosed internal control weaknesses related to documenting OAC and/or Internal Policy compliance regarding certification, qualification, and reimbursement of Foster Care and Adoption subsidies and services. In addition, audit procedures identified an opportunity for increased efficiency relative to the duplication of efforts for data input requirements within two applications. Recommendations made by DIA included that DCFS update systems utilized to either have payments processed in case management system or make updates to current systems to increase efficiency and add controls to update fields. Also, DIA recommended that DCFS update the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages it uses to calculate Adoption subsidy payments, and to maintain all Add-On and Level of Care documentation.
OH
United States
