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Date: (Must be dated and mailed certified or registered within 30 calendar days following the on-site review)
Name and Title of Appropriate State Official
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Dear (enter title and name):
During (enter date/time frame), Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) staff from the Central and Regional Offices and State of (enter the name of the State) staff conducted an eligibility review of (enter the name of the State)'s title IV E foster care program in (enter the name of the city).
The purpose of the title IV-E foster care eligibility review was (1) to determine if (enter the name of the State) was in compliance with the child and provider eligibility requirements as outlined in 45 CFR §1356.71 and §472 of the Social Security Act; and (2) to validate the basis of (enter the name of the State)'s financial claims to ensure that appropriate payments were made on behalf of eligible children and to eligible homes and institutions.
Include any information about the review, the review team, discoveries, positive feedback, etc., such as the following:
We commend the State for its excellent efforts to improve its title IV-E foster care eligibility determination process, resulting in a more accurate title IV-E foster care eligibility program. The enclosed report identifies program strengths and provides recommendations for further improvement.
Suggested language when the State is determined to be in substantial compliance:
This is to inform you that the ACF has determined the State of (enter the name of the State)'s title IV-E foster care maintenance payment program to be in substantial compliance with Federal child and provider eligibility requirements for the period (enter date) through (enter date). Because (enter the name of the State) was found to be in substantial compliance, a secondary review will not be required. The next primary review must be held in 3 years. The financial penalty to be taken for this review will be for the payments, including the administrative costs, associated with the (enter number) error cases and the (enter number) non-error cases with ineligible payments as indicated in the enclosed final report of review findings.
Suggested language when the State is determined not to be in substantial compliance:
This is to inform you that the ACF has determined the State of (enter name)'s title IV-E foster care maintenance program not to be in substantial compliance with Federal child and provider eligibility requirements for the period (enter date) through (enter date). Pursuant to 45 CFR §1356.71(i), (enter the name of the State) is required to develop a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) designed to correct those areas needing corrective action as identified in the enclosed report. The PIP is not to exceed 1 year. It will be developed by the State, in consultation with ACF Regional Office staff, and must be submitted to the ACF Regional Office by (enter date that is 90 calendar days from date of this notification letter).
The PIP must include the following components:
Also, pursuant to 45 CFR §356.71(j)(2), following the completion of the PIP, a secondary review must be held between ____ and ____ (enter the date of the first Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System [AFCARS] reporting period following the completion date of the PIP). The sample for the secondary review will be 150 cases (plus at least a 10 percent oversample of 15 cases) drawn from the State's most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data submission following the completion of the State PIP.
Suggested language concerning the disallowance:
This letter also constitutes our formal notice of disallowance of $(enter dollar amount), maintenance payments, and $(enter dollar amount), related administrative costs in Federal Financial Participation (FFP) for title IV-E foster care claimed for the cases determined to be in error. An additional disallowance of $(enter dollar amount), maintenance payments, and $ (enter dollar amount), related administrative costs were assessed in FFP for title IV-E foster care payments claimed improperly for the cases determined to be non-error cases. These additional findings were not considered in the determination of the State's substantial compliance with the Federal requirements (for primary reviews only).
A review of a sample of 80 cases was drawn from a universe of title IV-E payments for the review period noted above. The review team determined that (enter number) error cases and (enter number) non-error cases were ineligible for Federal funding.
Since the amount of disallowed funds was previously included in Federal payments made to the State, you must repay these funds by including a prior period decreasing adjustment on the Quarterly Report of Expenditures (Form ACF-IVE-1), Part 1, Line 1, Columns (c) and (d). The IVE-1 form must be submitted within 30 days of the date of this letter in order to avoid the assessment of interest.
This is the final decision of the Administration for Children and Families. Under regulations at 45 CFR Part 16, you have an opportunity to appeal this decision to the Departmental Appeals Board (Board). This decision shall be the final decision of the Department of Health and Human Services unless, within 30 days of receiving this decision, you deliver or mail (using registered or certified mail to establish the date) a written notice of appeal to:
Department of Health and Human Services
Departmental Appeals Board, MS 6127
Appellate Division
330 Independence Ave., SW
Cohen Building, Room G-644
Washington, D.C. 20447
You must attach to the notice a copy of this decision, note that you intend to appeal, state the amount in dispute, and briefly state why you think this decision is wrong. A copy of your appeal also should be sent to my attention in the ACF Regional Office. The Board will notify you of further procedures.
If you appeal, you may elect to repay the amount at issue pending a decision by the Departmental Appeals Board, or you may retain the funds pending that decision. An adjustment to return the disallowed funds for the purposes of avoiding interest assessment must be made through the use of the IVE-1 form, as described above. If you retain the funds and the Board sustains all or part of the disallowance, interest will be charged starting from the date of this letter on the funds the Boards decides were properly disallowed. Regulations at 45 CFR Part 30 detail how interest will be computed.
In the event you choose to take no action to return the funds, it will be assumed you have elected to retain the funds either to appeal or to delay recoupment of the funds until the next issued grant award. Interest will continue to accrue on the Federal funds retained by the State during this period.
Closing for all letters:
We thank you and your staff for the excellent efforts that were made to prepare for and participate with us in this review. We look forward to working with you and your staff to continue to improve State implementation of the Federal requirements and to improve services to children and families. Please contact (enter name of ACF Regional Office review coordinator) at (enter telephone number) if you have any questions about this review. Questions concerning the disallowance should be directed to (enter name of ACF Regional Office fiscal contact) at (enter telephone number).
Sincerely,
Regional Administrator
cc: Children's Bureau Associate Commissioner
Others as Appropriate
Enclosures
