HARTFORD, Conn — The latest state audit of the Department of Social Service found a series of significant problems in reporting, security and tracking of information and state funds in the past two fiscal years.
The report covered fiscal years ending June 30, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Auditors found DSS did not report nearly $1.8 million lost by the department due to failure to comply with federal guidelines for electronic visit verification (EVV) for all Medicaid-funded personal care services that require an in-home visit.
The department received a waiver through 2020, but failed to comply during 2021, resulting in the loss of the funding.
Auditors said in their report, "A loss of revenue from the federal government requires state funds to compensate for the loss. The department should have filed a loss report, explained the circumstance, and described a corrective action plan."
In its response to the report, the department said, "The Department disagrees with the loss reporting requirement for EVV non-compliance. DSS was aware of the associated decrease in funding due to non-compliance and continued to work to meet the requirements. The financial impact was known, accounted for, and reported accordingly.”
Auditors also identified 705 SNAP household members listed as eligible in [Integrated Management of Public Assistance for Connecticut] ImpaCT while incarcerated for more than 30 days. The review found 391 of them resided in a single-person household with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards used for 12,833 transactions totaling $768,889 during their incarceration.
The department agreed with the finding and said the problem arose from difficulty comparing databases of those incarcerated and those receiving SNAP benefits. A new report is being used that is described as more user-friendly.
Auditors found that DSS submitted Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) reports and federal expenditure information that contained several inaccuracies
According to the report, state agencies submit Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) reports and federal expenditure information to the State Comptroller to produce the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA).
DSS submitted GAAP reports and federal expenditure information that contained several inaccuracies.
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2019:
- DSS overstated one SEFA amount by $17.4 million.
- DSS overstated two GAAP forms by $38.5 million.
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2020:
- DSS overstated one SEFA amount by $3.2 million.
- DSS overstated two GAAP forms by $1.6 billion and understated three GAAP forms by $28.3 million.
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021:
- DSS overstated eight SEFA amounts by $771.1 million and understated eight SEFA amounts by $790.5 million.
- DSS overstated two GAAP forms by $1.5 billion and understated three GAAP forms by $297.8 million.
Auditors said, "These conditions, if not corrected, would have caused the State Comptroller to report inaccurate or incomplete information on the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards."
The department agreed with the findings and has determined a different report that will be used to more accurately provide the information.
The audit identified 44 SNAP households with a state employee or retiree whose gross state pay exceeded the SNAP income limit for their household size for at least three consecutive months during calendar years 2019 and 2020.
In addition, auditors found 365 SNAP household members listed as eligible in ImpaCT after their date of death. These transactions totaled $75,611. DSS was found to have issued $114,930 in benefits to six residential care facilities on behalf of eight deceased clients.
The department said they have updated their procedures which are expected to more accurately identify overpayments.
The report also found issues with a lack of oversight for internal controls, bed capacities, capital expenditures, and cost reports. It noted a lack of review for employee access to confidential information, and discrepancies between SNAP data and EBT system limitations. The department also failed to adequately control state-administered general assistance disbursements. DSS agreed with the findings according to the report.
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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