COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS OF THE DALLAS REGION, INC..

Finding 2025-001: Allowable costs and activities – material weakness in internal controls over compliance. 21st Century Community Learning Centers ALN 84.287C State Compensatory Education Funds – Communities In Schools Criteria: CISDR’s internal control procedures over compliance stipulate that all invoices be approved by management. Condition: During nonpayroll cost testing 18 of the 50 samples did not have documented approval of expenses charged to the grant. Cause: CISDR did not have a standard procedure in place to document and retain management’s approval. Effect: CISDR’s allowable cost and activities were not fully documented in accordance with internal control procedures over compliance requirements in accordance with Uniform Guidance and Texas Grant Management Standards. Questioned Costs: None Recommendation: Management should ensure documentation of approval of all invoices are retained. Management’s Response: See corrective action plan.

Finding 2025-002: Allowable costs and activities – material weakness in internal controls over compliance and compliance finding. 21st Century Community Learning Centers ALN 84.287C State Compensatory Education Funds – Communities In Schools Criteria: CISDR’s internal control procedures over compliance requires supporting documentation for all purchases. Condition: During allowable cost testing for federal and state grants, supporting documentation for 23 out of the 50 transactions tested could not be located. Cause: CISDR had significant turnover in management and accounting staff, resulting in document retention failures. Effect: CISDR’s document retention was not in accordance with internal control over compliance procedures. Expenses charged to the grant could not be substantiated. Questioned Costs: $2,607.83, representing the amount of the samples tested that had no supporting documentation. Recommendation: Management should implement a document retention plan and train all staff on the policy. Management’s Response: See corrective action plan.

Finding 2025-004: Allowable costs– material weakness in internal controls over compliance and compliance finding. 21st Century Community Learning Centers ALN 84.287C State Compensatory Education Funds – Communities In Schools Criteria: Section 200 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires recipients to have internal controls in place to prevent and detect duplicate transactions from being charged to the grant. Condition: During allowable cost testing for federal and state grants, 2 out of the 25 transactions tested were charged to both grant years 2024 and 2025. Cause: CISDR had significant turnover in management and accounting staff. Effect: Expenses were charged to the grant twice. Questioned Costs: $621.92, representing the total amount the grant was overcharged during both periods. Recommendation: Management should implement a review of the requests for reimbursements, including checks for duplicate charges. Management’s Response: See corrective action plan.