Data Reliability Audit Requirements for the Fiscal Year 2011 Reporting Period

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER

DCL-11-15

DATE: August 22, 2011

ATTACHMENT: FY 2011 Audit Trail Specs for DCL as of 9-30-11 (PDF)

TO: ALL STATE IV-D DIRECTORS

RE: Data Reliability Audit Requirements for the Fiscal Year 2011 Reporting Period

Dear Colleague:

Enclosed with this letter are the data submission requirements for the federal fiscal year (FY) 2011 Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) Data Reliability Audits (DRAs), as required by Section 452(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Social Security Act. Although the required submissions are due by the end of 10 business days after the beginning of calendar year 2012, we are providing the specifications as early as possible to assist states that may need extra time to coordinate and schedule these requirements with their information technology departments.

DCL-04-02, Data Reliability Audit Process for Auditing States Less Frequently than Annually, dated January 21, 2004, describes when a DRA will be conducted. As stated in the DCL, when a state is not subject to a DRA, a Data Reliability Review (DRR) will be conducted. The Office of Audit will follow the DRR process by conducting analytical procedures on Lines 1, 2, 5 and 6, or 8 and 9, 24, 25, 28 and 29, as outlined in DCL 04 02. Also, to review the Cost-Effectiveness performance indicator, we will evaluate whether selected amounts reported on the OCSE-34A and the OCSE-396A could be verified to the first level of state documentation.

As in prior years, the OCSE Office of Audit will continue to evaluate the completeness, reliability and security of performance indicator data reported by the states and the accuracy of the reporting systems used in calculating the performance indicators. This requires electronic files from each state that contain the complete, unduplicated child support case universe as of September 30, 2011, including all open IV-D cases, closed cases and non IV-D cases and the audit trails for each line on the OCSE-157 used in the computation of performance indicators. The specifications for these files are enclosed. Note that CP SSN, NCP SSN and Child SSN are no longer required fields.

States must ensure that the universe and the performance indicator audit trails are in accordance with the OCSE-157 reporting instructions and our audit specifications because getting the data in a standard format expedites the audit work. Time spent validating data, querying, sampling and matching sampled records will be shortened considerably if the audit trails supporting the performance indicator data are submitted uniformly by all 54 states and territories.

Submissions are required for both DRAs and DRRs. To provide assurance about the integrity of the data and in order to safeguard your state’s data, the database file with the universe and audit trails must be encrypted in a self-extracting file and sent to the Area Audit Office on a read-only CD and/or DVD. Please note that this is different from a read only database file. As an additional safety measure, we strongly suggest that you send the password under a separate correspondence. Although the required submissions are not due until the end of 10 business days after the beginning of calendar year 2012, an early submission has a number of important benefits. It affords you the opportunity to review and make corrections to the OCSE-157 at any time prior to the December 31st final reporting deadline for the OCSE-157. Any inconsistencies between the audit trails and the OCSE-157 that can be identified and corrected by the state prior to the submission deadlines should not only expedite the audit but also result in fewer reportable audit findings. Ultimately, an early submission of data should result in more timely incentive payments and more time to correct data reliability problems for the subsequent audit period.

I urge all states not yet providing read-only systems access to the auditors to do so as soon as possible. Please have your systems staff contact the auditors to ensure that read only remote system access is being provided and functioning properly. Read-only remote access to a state’s child support system allows the Office of Audit to review sample cases in the data-testing phase of the audit more efficiently and effectively. It enables a better allocation of scarce resources and results in less disruption of state and local child support operations. Read-only access is a requirement detailed in Objective G-5 of the OCSE State Systems Certification Review Guide, updated in 2009 and posted on the OCSE website at: /programs/css/resource/certification-guide-2009

We trust that you will be able to provide us with the audit trails in the suggested format as early as possible and before the deadlines for data submission for the reasons previously identified. Again, you have until December 31, 2011, to submit the final FY 2011 OCSE-157 report and up to 10 business days after the beginning of calendar year 2012 to provide the associated audit trails. Additionally, corrected OCSE-157 reports for prior periods must also be received within the deadlines stated above. States that are submitting corrected data from prior periods may want to refer to DCL-10-21, Submittal of the OCSE-157 Report for FY 2010 and Resubmission of FY 2009 Data Found to be Incomplete or Unreliable, dated October 8, 2010, for more information on this topic. OCSE-157 reports for both the current and prior periods must be submitted to the OCSE Division of Planning, Research and Evaluation, while the audit trails must be provided to your appropriate Area Audit Office.

Because of the technical nature of the data specifications, it is important that this DCL and the Enclosure be forwarded to the staff developing the programming that will produce the audit trails. The process used by the auditors to validate the audit trails is dependent on the table names, field names and data type agreeing with these specifications. Any deviation can affect the acceptance of the audit trails and the prompt initiation and completion of the audit.

Your timely cooperation is greatly appreciated. Please feel free to consult with our audit staff if you have any questions or need our assistance as you work with systems staff to develop the audit trail file in the suggested format.

Sincerely,

Vicki Turetsky
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement