Report 2015-503 Recommendation 13 Responses
Report 2015-503: Follow-Up—California Department of Social Services: It Has Not Corrected Previously Recognized Deficiencies in Its Oversight of Counties' Antifraud Efforts for the CalWORKs and CalFresh Programs (Release Date: June 2015)
Recommendation #13 To: Social Services, Department of
To ensure the accuracy of the overpayments that counties collect and report for the CalFresh program, Social Services should create a process to verify on a rotational basis the counties' overpayment collection reports.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2018
To ensure the accuracy of overpayments that counties have collected for the CalFresh program, the Program Integrity Bureau/IEVS Review Unit has developed a series of scenarios that counties must show from the time an overpayment/overissuance was calculated, collection efforts, and the reporting of such activities. Counties are now required as part of their routine IEVS review to provide cases in the following scenarios:
1. Cases that have been terminated or previously reactivated terminated debt (debt previously written as uncollectable).
2. Cases that posted as "closed" when a final payment is received.
3. Cases that a previously established claim was changed from one category to another because of a hearing or court determination.
4. Cases that had Treasury Offset Program (TOP) reversals.
5. Cases with repayments due to bankruptcy notification.
6. Cases where a refund was made due to overcollection.
7. Cases where EBT benefits are returned as payment and credited to the client's account.
IEVS reviews with this component began in October 2018.
- Completion Date: October 2018
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From December 2017
In December 2016, CDSS began a series of meetings with the 19 largest counties to discuss and begin to resolve overpayment collection report (Food and Nutrition Services [FNS] 209) issues. CDSS is finalizing the procedures for monitoring and verifying the data reported on the FNS 209 by all 58 counties. This review process will begin before the end of the 2017 calendar year.
- Estimated Completion Date: December 2017
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2016
A county visit is planned for November 2016 to begin developing the process to include review of the counties' overpayment collection reports in the Income Eligibility and Verification System (IEVS) review in the 2016-17 year cycle.
- Estimated Completion Date: January 2017
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Not Fully Implemented
1-Year Agency Response
This is now part of an overall effort to leverage existing divisional program compliance reviews to maximize current staffing resources and reduce disruptions in county operations. This will require the development of a new module to be included as part of the existing county IEVS reviews, in collaboration with CalFresh and the Accounting Branches along with FNS Western Region Office staff.
- Estimated Completion Date: December 2016
- Response Date: June 2016
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending
6-Month Agency Response
CDSS is continuing internal discussions to develop the verification process.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 20, 2016
- Response Date: December 2015
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented
60-Day Agency Response
CDSS has begun internal discussions to develop the verification process.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 20, 2016
- Response Date: August 2015
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2015-503
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.