State Survey Analysis Report
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APPENDIX 2. STATE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT HANDLES IMPROPER PAYMENTS IN THE CHILD CARE PROGRAM
2. Provide a description of the organizational structure of the agency in your State that handles improper payments in the child care program. If available, please provide the web site address where it can be found.
| 19 State agencies responded to Question 2 (Appendix 2: pp. 44–46) | |
| State | Description of the State Organizational Structure |
|---|---|
| Arizona | See attached Organizational Chart |
| California (DE) | See attached CDE organization chart. Local public and private agencies operating programs for CDE handle improper payments for local child care programs. |
| California (DSS) | CDE and CDSS share the administration of the three stages of child care. Each of the 58 counties (i.e. county welfare departments) handles improper payments for the child care program within their county. Please see CDSS’ organization chart. |
| Connecticut | See attachments 1a, 1b and 1c. |
| Georgia | State disseminates policy and procedures to the counties. Caseworkers and supervisors in the county are responsible to uphold these rules and regulations. Regional program specialists work with counties to ensure policy is upheld. Accuracy reviews are performed at the county level monthly using sampling. Maximus, our contractor that provides provider management and payment services, offers an automated payment system that covers 27 counties provides another safeguard. Regional accounting upholds sound accounting principles and issues payments to providers in 132 counties. If either the counties or Maximus suspect fraud, they refer the case to the Office of Investigative Services (OIS). OIS performs an investigation and relays its findings back to the county for repayment or to a prosecutor for legal action. |
| Kansas | Processes are in place at both the Central and Regional levels to handle improper payments within our State. At the Central Office level, the Economic and Employment Support section handles supervision and oversight of Quality Assurance and Management Evaluation functions within the agency for this purpose. These are located within the Support Services unit. A current hard copy of this organizational structure is attached to this document. At the Regional Office level, both the Economic and Employment Support and Performance Improvement divisions are tasked with the processes to identify and correct improper payments. A current hard copy of the Wichita Regional Office organizational structure is attached to this document. |
| Kentucky | See Attachment A |
| Maryland | Local Department of Social Services handles overpayments. Each department's structure is a little different. The process involves case management, invoice processing and fiscal offices. |
| Massachusetts | Please see the attached organizational chart. The Assistant Commissioner of Administration and Finance oversees the Accounting and Contracting Units (which are directly involved with improper payments). The Director of Contracts supervises the agency’s Assistant Director of Audit Resolution and Contract Monitors who conduct site visits to providers throughout the State. Contract Monitors relay any improper payments they find during site visits to the Assistant Director of Audit Resolution and the Director of Accounting. Repayment is facilitated through the Accounting Dept. and if needed, the Legal Unit. |
| Minnesota | Minnesota ’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCDP) is State supervised and county administered. The Children and Family Services Administration (CFS) within the Department of Human Services (DHS) has oversight responsibility for the Child Care Assistance Program. Within CFS the Program Assessment and Integrity Division focuses on program integrity for the child care assistance program. |
| Missouri | Please refer to the organizational chart available at the following web link: http://www.dss.mo.gov/ddo/orgchart.htm and click on the Division of Legal Services link. |
| Montana | Early Childhood Services Bureau Fiscal staff members and Child Care Resource & Referral contractors coordinate efforts with the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services Fiscal Bureau where an accounts receivable system tracks overpayments received and balances remaining. http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/aboutus/orgcharts/bureauorgchart.pdf |
| Nebraska | Nebraska Health & Human Services System <=== Director, Finance and Support Agency <=== Support Services <=== Issuance & Collection Center |
| New Hampshire | Currently, the Office of Special Investigations accepts referrals for improper child care payments. The Child Development Bureau has recently employed one staff member specifically to address improper child care payments. The Division of Family Assistance has designated a staff position whose responsibilities include collaboration with the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to design and implement strategies and procedures to increase and maintain the integrity of the child care system and reduce child care system abuse. No Organizational chart is available. |
| North Carolina | The Division of Child Development (DCD) is the State agency that manages the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) and allocates subsidy funds to the local departments of social services (DSS’s). The DSS agency may choose to contract with a local agency to administer the Subsidy Program. Hence, the term local purchasing agency (LPA) will be used throughout this survey to describe the local agency. The Subsidy Program is administered at the local level; therefore, the local DSS is the agency that identifies fraud and recovers overpayments made due to fraud. |
| Ohio | Ohio ’s is a State-supervised, county-administered system. The State develops rules and processes for administering the Child Care program. The identification and processing of improper payments occurs at the county level. |
| Utah | • Workers: Review past child care and refer any cases that appear to be an overpayment. They also authorize any child care assistance that is an underpayment. • Payment Specialists: Receive overpayment referrals from workers and investigators and determine if it is in fact and overpayment based upon policy, procedures, and rule. They also determine the amount of the overpayment and if the overpayment looks to be fraud. This is then sent to adjudications. • Adjudicators: Complete all the legal work in order to collect or garnish overpayments. They also determine if the overpayment was fraudulent. They send it to the collections unit. • Collections: Collections is responsible for collecting all overpayments and making sure that money collected goes back to the appropriate program. |
| Washington | An organizational chart is attached. |
| Wisconsin | The document attached to the email for this survey (childcare_chart_042604) describes each agency that is involved in child care program integrity efforts. |
| Those that did not provide an answer: | |
| Alabama | |
| District of Columbia | |
| Mississippi | |
| Oklahoma | |
| Puerto Rico | |
| West Virginia | |
Appendix 3 >>