What is “Noncompliance?”

A grantee is considered to be in noncompliant status when:

• Provisions of a grant are not met
• Reporting requirements are not met
• Grant-required activities are not taking place
• Audit requirements are not being followed
• Other identified delinquencies exist

Once in noncompliant status, the grantee is subject to processes overseen by DCEO program managers, the Office of Accountability, and the Legal Office.  The noncompliance process provides assistance to the grantee to re-establish compliance or, alternatively, initiates the grant funds recovery process. 

A grantee remains in noncompliant status until delinquencies are resolved.

When does the Legal Office get involved?

DCEO’s Legal Office does not formally become involved in the process until the grantee has been referred to the Legal Office by a DCEO program.  Prior to referral to the Legal Office, the grantee has already been provided with several opportunities to resolve issues.

Once the grantee is determined to be in noncompliance, the grantee is referred to the DCEO Legal Office for continued case management.  The Legal Office is responsible for further communications with the grantee. 

The Legal Office becomes involved in order to take grant funds recovery action.   Grants that are placed into the recovery process are forwarded to the Program Director and the Accounting Department.  The Accounting Department ensures that once a grantee is placed into the recovery process, that grantee is not eligible to receive additional DCEO payments or new grants. 

In situations where grantee fraud is suspected or evidenced, cases are automatically turned over to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for immediate investigation and potential legal action.

I am a Grantee… what should I do to avoid Noncompliance?

The grantee's responsibility is to closely follow the terms of the signed and executed Grant Agreement.  This is a binding legal contract.  Grantees that received grant awards from DCEO were selected based on their application. Therefore, grantees should continue to work toward their goals and objectives as stated in the application and incorporated into the grant agreement.

Grantees need to know the content of their Grant Agreement, including the specific monitoring and reporting requirements and Scope of Work.

It is easier to avoid noncompliance when grantees maintain ongoing communication with the DCEO grant managers. Grantees should continually reach out to DCEO about any issues or concerns that may arise in meeting the requirements of the grant.

Grantees are required to retain all documentation to support how DCEO grant funds are spent.  Reporting requirements may vary by grantee, but all grantees will be required to support that funds were spent properly and in accordance with the Grant Agreement.

Grant Funds Recovery Act:

The Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act (30 ILCS 705), or GFRA, is an Illinois statute that applies to all grants and provides a recovery approach for state agencies, such as DCEO, for any funds misspent or improperly held.  The GFRA states that grant funds may not be used except for those purposes which the funding agency and grantee agree on.  Those purposes are identified in the Grant Agreement.  Grantees must return to DCEO, within 45 days of the grand period, any grant funds not expended or legally obligated by the end of the grant period. 

The GFRA authorizes the Department and others, including the Attorney General, to take action to recover any grant funds that have been misspent, improperly held, or not expended or legally obligated by the end of the grant period.  The GFRA represents the final stage of the noncompliance process, at which point the Legal Office seeks legal remedy to resolve issues with the grantee.