Addressing Improper Payments
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Improper Payments Reporting Requirements: Related Items:State Assessment of Internal Controls Final Report (2008) Available in PDF or Word. Child Care Administrator’s Improper Payments Information Technology Guide (2008) Available in PDF or Word. Second Error Rate Pilot Report (2007) Available in PDF or Word. State Survey Analysis Report (2007) Map of Partner States (2007) Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program - a CCDF Issue Brief (2006) Phase III: Improper Payments Information Survey for the CCDF Program (2005) Phase II: Phase I: Phase I Findings: Information from States (2004) Other: TANF and Child Care Programs: HHS Lacks Adequate Information to Assess Risk and Assist States in Managing Improper Payments (2004)(GAO Report) Available in Text or PDF. Implementation Guidance for the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (2003) (OMB Guidance) Available in HTML or PDF. Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA) (2002) The President's Management Agenda (2002) The full version of the PMA is available in PDF. Archives: Notice of Proposed Rule Making, Child Care Error Rate Public Comment Period, March 2 - May 1, 2007 Fact Sheet: Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program: August 2005. Presentation: Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program: A Project of the ACF/Child Care Bureau. |
Error Rate Final Rule
Current Status: The Final Rule to revise the Child Care and Development Fund regulations to provide for the reporting of error rates in the expenditure of CCDF grant funds was published in the Federal Register on September 5, 2007 with an effective date of October 1, 2007. On September 10, 2007 a notice of approval of the data collection forms and instructions that will be used to implement the Final Rule on CCDF error rate reporting was published in the Federal Register.
Improper Payments in the Child Care Program
In response to one of the key elements of the President’s Management Agenda, the Improper Payment Information Act of 2002, and related Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, the Child Care Bureau (CCB) initiated the Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program project.
Phase I: Information Sharing. To understand the improper payments issue from a State perspective, the CCB invited eleven states to participate in the project in 2003 in order to assess the adequacy of systems, databases, policy constants, and administrative structures and to describe the critical differences among broad categories of States. Both State—and locally—administered organizational structures were represented.
Phase II. Error Rate Methodology Pilot Testing. In 2004-2005, CCB continued to solicit input on improper payments from States, Territories and Tribes through conference calls; new questions in the FY 2006-2007 CCDF biennial State Plans; pilot testing of a error rate methodology in four States and solicitation of input from additional partner States. Through this process, CCB assessed different approaches to specifying and tracking child care error rates, documented obstacles, constructed case studies of solutions to serve as technical assistance materials, and captured information about and copies of effective procedures, training materials, software and the like. CCB also examined new technological approaches in some States.
Phase III: Expanding the Initiative. In 2005-2006, CCB expanded its improper payments initiative through a variety of activities: (1) pilot testing of a State Internal Control Self-Assessment Instrument in nine States; (2) a second pilot testing in five States of a slightly revised error rate methodology (3) publication of an "Issue Brief" based on response from the CCDF biennial State Plans on a series of questions about definitions of and strategies to address improper payments; 4) distribution and processing the results of a voluntary State survey on policies, practices, and challenges related to improper payments; and (5) preparation of an Information Technology Guide for States to assist them in understanding major software tools to prevent and identify improper payments and different information technology investment approaches, as well as providing guidance for procuring information technology products and services.