U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General

Audit Report

ST. LOUIS COUNTY SPECIAL REVIEW
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This report reflects the findings of the Office of Inspector General at the time that the audit report was issued. More current information may be available as a result of the resolution of this audit by the Department of Labor program agency and the auditee. For further information concerning the resolution of this report's findings, please contact the program agency.

Report Title:  St. Louis County Special Review

Report Number:  05-98-002-03-340

Issue Date:  March 3, 1998
 

In response to a congressional request, OIG performed an audit of JTPA funds administered by SDA 13 in the State of Missouri. SDA 13 provides employment and training opportunities to JTPA eligible participants in St. Louis County, which does not include the City of St. Louis, Missouri.

Our audit was to determine whether JTPA program staff were actually working on individual programs to the extent claimed. Our audit questioned $567,737 of direct cost charges made to the JTPA Title III program because the staff routinely charged a disproportionate share of their time to the Title III grants. We questioned an additional $136,574 for indirect costs which were based on these disproportionate direct charges. These indirect costs were also questioned because the methods used to compute indirect costs were incorrect.

Our audit covered the period July 1, 1994 to March 31, 1997. More than 83 percent (15 of 18) of the current and former staff we interviewed indicated that the time charged to the JTPA Title III program did not accurately portray their efforts. Moreover, most Title III services were subcontracted to and performed by St. Louis Community College. We concluded that the cumulative effect of the evidence we obtained discredited the time and attendance reports prepared by the staff as a reliable source for reporting and charging costs to the Title III program.

We recommended that the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training direct the State of Missouri to: (1) determine the Title III activities performed by the staff and recover the costs questioned that cannot be substantiated as valid and reliable Title III charges; and (2) require St. Louis County and the PIC for SDA 13 to establish control and review procedures sufficient to assure that all costs charged to Title III grants are properly supported by reliable documentation.

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