The performance audit of AmeriCorps grants awarded to Serve DC, the Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism and Partnership, and three of its 16 subgrantees (including the Jumpstart for Young Children, Center for Inspired Teaching, and Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School) identified approximately $1.7 million of questioned Federal and match costs covering three calendar years from 2017 through 2019. The Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School became the Center for Inspired Teaching and had no claimed costs. In particular, the audit identified concerns regarding Serve DC and subgrantee’s inadequate documentation for personnel expenses, inadequate support for Serve DC’s in-kind match, Serve DC’s inadequate accounting records, subgrantee’s inadequate criminal history checks, and Serve DC and subgrantees’ insufficient internal controls that resulted in under or excess reporting of costs. Serve DC and Jumpstart for Young Children responded separately to address the report findings and recommendations; the Center for Inspired Teaching did not respond to the draft report. Serve DC did not concur with eight of the 16 recommendations, involving the questioning or disallowing of costs. Jumpstart also did not concur with its only recommendation which was related to the disallowance of match costs. AmeriCorps concurred with all our recommendations and promised to work with Serve DC to strengthen its internal controls surrounding the audit findings and will ensure Serve DC’s financial reporting aligns with financial management system standards.
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| Require Serve DC to develop and implement policies and procedures to appropriately track in its accounting system and obtain supporting documentation for all in-kind match costs associated with AmeriCorps grants and from within the DC government and third parties. | |||||
| 13 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| Require Serve DC to implement controls to prepare reports that support and reconcile to the amounts reported to AmeriCorps eGrants. Serve DC should also establish controls to reconcile and document costs recorded in the accounting record to the costs reported on the Federal Financial Report for each grant. | |||||
| 15 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| Require that Serve DC develop and implement a mandatory training program including a tracking system to ensure that all subgrantees’ staff have training, capability, and assistance to enter their budgets and costs into its reporting system to meet reporting requirements timely. | |||||
