By Emilee Calametti | The Center Square
Louisiana’s 2024 single audit requires the attention of the state government as 35 findings were reported with 16 of those being repeat findings from previous audits.
The total amount questioned relating to federal programs is $260.6 million. According to the LLA, some of the 35 findings need attention from the state government as some concern compliance reports, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. Of that amount, the Louisiana Department of Health constitutes more than $260.1 million of the questioned costs.
The 35 findings were throughout several federal agencies, including the Department of Children and Family Services, Louisiana Workforce Commission, LSU at Shreveport, LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans, Southern University in Baton Rouge, University of Louisiana in Monroe, Louisiana Department of Health, Louisiana Tech University, and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The Department of Children and Family Services had $4,685 in questioned costs for overbilling of different programs as well as underbilling SNAP programs. There were also instances reported of unauthorized employee fuel transactions by a former DCFS employee that totaled $97,500 in the fiscal year 2024.
The employee under investigation resigned as of March 31, 2024. Due to misappropriation, there is an additional $37,746 in question for the DCFS. The department has $42,431 in total questioned costs.
In a response to the LLA, DCFS said, “DCFS concurs with the finding and has zero tolerance for unauthorized use of state or federal funds.”
They stated the department has developed procedures to monitor transactions every month. “Any DCFS employee engaged in such an unauthorized use of state and federal funds would be terminated.”
The Louisiana Department of Health also has $87 million in question for medical assistance programs. The audit found inadequate documentation for billed services totaling $17,402 in federal funds. For Medicaid, there is $28,793 in questioned costs, and CHIP programs have $6,042.
Both of these instances concern beneficiaries invalidly enrolled. There is $172,802 in question for ineligible maternity kick payments. The LDH also exceeded the allocated amount for DSH payments by $4,225,716 and $168 million in questioned federal costs for Medicaid expenditures.
In response to the DSH payments, the department stated, “LLA has identified $4,225,716 of total computable payments made in excess of the global DSH allotment for FFY 2016. The department will recoup funds from the facility that was overpaid and return the FFP portion of that overpayment to CMS.”
LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport has $2,686 in questioned costs. This is the sixth consecutive year the LSUHSC-S did not ensure proper documentation.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has $18,707 in questioned costs relating to Geosciences, Mental Health Research Grants, and Allergy and Infectious diseases research. The university also has $63,790 in separate questioned costs for the Office of STEM Management and Fossil Energy Research Development. The university has $82,497 in total questioned costs.
Louisiana State University at Shreveport has $101,159 in questioned costs for Federal Pell Grant Programs and Federal Direct Student Loans. The university did not return Title IV funds to the U.S. Department of Education in the required timeframe.
There were $101,159 in outstanding checks to students and parents as of January. These were issued between September 2014 to May 2024, and not returned to the USDOE.
Southern University at Baton Rouge has $39,555 in questioned costs relating to Federal Pell Grant Programs and Federal Direct Student Loans not returned to the USDOE per the guidelines of Title IV funds.
Louisiana Tech University has $206,451 in questioned costs for misappropriating research and development cluster funds. Nine electronic fund transfer payments were made to an out-of-state university that were fraudulently diverted to unknown individuals.
Many of the agencies released responses to the findings and questioned costs in the auditor’s report.
Emilee Ruth Calametti serves as staff reporter for The Center Square covering the Northwestern Louisiana region. She holds her M.A. in English from Georgia State University and soon, an additional M.A. in Journalism from New York University. Emilee has bylines in DIG Magazine, Houstonia Magazine, Bookstr, inRegister, The Click News, and the Virginia Woolf Miscellany. She is a Louisiana native with over seven years of journalism experience.