Auditors of Public Accounts

categorized as quality activities was understated. Direct services was

overstated by the same amount.

Recommendation: The Office of Early Childhood should establish and implement procedures to
ensure that the information used to prepare each quarterly ACF-696, Child
Care and Development Fund Financial Report, is prepared accurately. The
final report should undergo supervisory review prior to submission.

Views of Responsible Officials:

The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) has reviewed the findings noted in
the audit report and agrees with them. The OEC has implemented the
required changes in the most recent quarterly ACF-696 report.

In the previous audit, section 2015-775, the MOE reported in the previous
audit was not caused by the OEC but by the federal lead agency due to a one-
time allotment of funding that was being miscalculated when entering the
information into the ACF-696. This situation required the federal lead
agency to reformat the year end ACF-696 to allow these funds to be reported
accurately.

2016-776 Special Tests and Provisions Health and Safety Requirements and
Criminal Background Checks

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CFDA 93.575)

Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development
Fund (CFDA 93.596)
Federal Award Agency: United States Department of Health and Human Services
Award Years: Federal Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016
Federal Award Numbers: 1501CTCCDF and 1601CTCCDF

Criteria: Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 98.40 requires the lead
agency to certify that procedures are in effect (e.g., monitoring and
enforcement) to ensure that providers serving children who receive subsidies
comply with all applicable health and safety requirements. This includes
verifying and documenting that childcare providers (unless they meet an
exception e.g., family members who are caregivers or individuals who object
to immunization on certain grounds) serving children who receive subsidies
meet requirements pertaining to prevention and control of infectious diseases,
building and physical premises safety, and basic health and safety training for
providers (45 CFR section 98.41).

Section 19a-80(c) of the Connecticut General Statutes states that The

commissioner of Early Childhood, within available appropriations, shall
require each prospective employee of a child day care center or group day care

308
 Auditors of Public Accounts

home in a position requiring the provisions of care to a child to submit to state

and national criminal history record checks. The criminal history records
checks required pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted in accordance
with Section 29-17a. The commissioner shall also request a check of the state
child abuse registry established pursuant to Section 17a-101k

Condition: Our previous Statewide Single Audit noted deficiencies in the processing of
background checks for daycare providers. Our current review of OEC
background check procedures for childcare providers disclosed that providers
with criminal backgrounds that would make them ineligible to provide
services under the Child Care and Development Fund Program are not being
detected in a timely manner.

Context: OEC procedures allow prospective daycare providers to begin employment

after submitting background check documentation, but prior to the
completion of their background check. This is a systemic problem as it
applies to all providers undergoing background checks.

Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs.

Effect: The current procedure is flawed because it allows ineligible persons to

provide childcare prior to the completion of a background check. The lack of
timely processing of employee background checks could result in individuals
with disqualifying criminal histories working in childcare settings for a
significant duration before being completely vetted.

Cause: OEC does not have a unified monitoring and enforcement system capable of
ensuring that all employees entering Connecticuts childcare system are
identified, have received background checks, and had follow-up action in all
instances in which a background check revealed legal matters of concern.

The office relies on a process that does not provide management with real-
time feedback of background check activity. The OEC Child Day Care Unit
uses several different systems for tracking and documenting its follow-up
activities with respect to background checks.

In the absence of real-time feedback of background check activity,

individuals with dangerous charges or whose conviction could result in
disqualification, may not be identified or may not be identified in a timely
manner for follow-up.

Prior Audit Finding: This was previously reported as finding 2015-776.

Recommendation: The Office of Early Childhood should adopt a pre-certification or licensing

process for prospective employees of childcare providers.

309
 Auditors of Public Accounts

Views of Responsible Officials:

We agree with this finding. The Office of Early Childhood has proposed
legislation to address this finding. That proposed legislation can be found in
H. R. 7035. Specifically, the proposed language reads [n]o such prospective
employee shall have unsupervised access to children in the child care center
or group child care home until such comprehensive background is completed
and the Commissioner of Early Childhood permits such prospective
employee to work in such child care center or group child care home. In
addition, the Office of Early Childhood is in the process of acquiring a new
background check system that would provide center directors with real-time
information about the status of their employees background checks.

2016-777 Compliance with Federal Encryption Requirements and Access Privileges

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CFDA 93.575)

Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development
Fund (CFDA 93.596)
Federal Award Agency: United States Department of Health and Human Services
Award Years: Federal Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016
Federal Award Numbers: 1501CTCCDF and 1601CTCCDF

Criteria: Any noncriminal justice agency receiving access to either the FBI Criminal
Justice Information System (CJIS) or the National Identity Services (NIS)
system shall enter into a signed written agreement with the appropriate
signatory authority of the authorized agency providing access. The written
agreement shall specify which systems (CJIS or NIS) and services the agency
will have access to and the FBI CJIS Division policies the agency must
adhere to.

Condition: A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between OEC and the Department

of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) does not exist.

Context: The FBI CJIS Division has established audit programs to evaluate
compliance with policy requirements associated with access to CJIS systems
and information. This National Identity Services (NIS) audit assesses
compliance with standards, federal laws and regulations associated with the
use, dissemination, and security of national criminal history record
information (CHRI); National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact rules
and procedures, and the CJIS Security Policy. The NIS audit is performed
every 3 years and includes entities that receive CHRI for criminal justice
purposes.

The May 2015, NIS Audit Report of the OEC Unlicensed Provider Unit
identified 10 areas of concern requiring corrective measures. OEC was out

310