An Audit Report on the Child Care Program at the Texas Workforce Commission
By Texas State Auditor's Office , Ed.
October
2002
Summary: This report indicates that the Local Workforce Development Boards (Boards) and contractors that administer the Texas Workforce Commission’s (Agency) subsidized Child Care Program have gaps in their processes for managing contracts. Contract award and monitoring activities were reviewed at the Agency’s Austin headquarters, 6 selected Boards, and the 6 Boards’ child care contractors. These 6 Boards collectively received approximately 48 percent of child care funding for fiscal year 2001. Data indicate that weaknesses in contract management may have allowed an estimated $1.9 million in unsupported payments between September 2001 and January 2002. Included in this $1.9 million were contractors at 3 Boards who may have paid an estimated $331,000 to providers for services to clients who underreported their wages when applying for child care services. These 6 Boards paid $20.8 million to relative self-arranged care providers without adequately ensuring that children received care. Incomplete safeguards for electronic data in the child care service delivery system risk inaccurate payments. Recommendations are offered to the Agency to ensure that all Boards enforce monitoring policies and procedures. Management’s response and auditor follow-up comment are included. Appendices include: (1) “Objectives, Scope, and Methodology”; and (2) “Funding Allocations and Expenditures at the 28 Boards for Fiscal Year 2001.”
Index Terms: Audits, Child Care Subsidy Program, State Agencies, Subsidized Child Care, Financial Management, Fraud, Texas
Publication Type: Reports (Descriptive)
Pages: 49 pages
Language: English
Availability
Texas State Auditor's Office
Robert E. Johnson, Sr. Building
1501 N. Congress Avenue
Austin,
Texas
78701
512-936-9500
FAX: 512-936-9400
auditor@sao.state.tx.u