Audit Report on the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Foster Care Contract with the Administration for Children’s Services

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

The audit determined whether the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services (CHFS) complied with major programmatic provisions of its foster care contract with the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and whether CHFS days-of-care payment requests to ACS and special payments on behalf of foster children were adequately supported.  The scope period of this audit was Fiscal Year 2007 (July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007).

CHFS, established in 1986, is a community-based, comprehensive family service agency, serving North Brooklyn and adjacent communities.  Its programs include foster boarding homes, independent living, adoption, family-based mental health treatment, and medical services.  The largest program at CHFS is providing foster care services to Hispanic families in North Brooklyn.  During Fiscal Year 2007, CHFS provided services to 270 foster children in 163 foster boarding homes.  In January 2006, ACS renewed its contract with CHFS for three years, for a total of $13.9 million. ACS paid CHFS $4.3 million for foster care services provided during Fiscal Year 2007.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Our audit revealed that CHFS complied with some of the major programmatic provisions of its foster care contract with ACS.  For the 30 cases reviewed, applications to serve as foster parents were completed, the foster parents received the required background checks, and pre-placement inspections of the foster parents’ homes were conducted.

However, there were significant weaknesses in certain areas that must be addressed.  These weaknesses raise questions as to whether the level of CHFS interaction with its foster children and foster parents is sufficient to ensure the health and safety of the children.  Several foster child case files lacked evidence that CHFS caseworkers conducted the required contacts and visits to foster children and foster parents.  In addition, although all Family Assessment Service Plans (FASPs) and annual recertification reviews of the foster homes were completed, considering the insufficient evidence that caseworkers made all the required contacts and visits to the foster children and parents, questions arise as to whether all of the FASPs and annual recertifications were properly completed.  Furthermore, many foster parent case files lacked evidence that the foster parents received the required initial and annual refresher training.  Finally, special payment expenditures made by CHFS were not adequately supported or supervised.

Audit Recommendations

To address these issues, the audit recommends, among other things, that CHFS:

• Immediately perform visits to those foster children who have not been visited.

• Ensure that caseworkers consistently prepare progress notes in CONNECTIONS to document all contacts and visits with foster children and foster parents.

• Provide supervisory oversight to ensure that all required contacts and visits are conducted and documented.

• Ensure that safety assessments are performed whenever a criminal background check or State Central Register (SCR) review reveals concerns about an adult living in a foster care home.

• Ensure that criminal background checks and SCR reviews are done on all adult household members in the foster home.

• Ensure that the foster parents who have not received the required training are immediately trained.

• Ensure that there is an appropriate segregation of duties throughout the special payments process to prevent the misuse of special payment funds.

The audit also recommends, among other things, that ACS:

• Continue to closely monitor CHFS to ensure that the required number of visits to foster children are conducted.

• Conduct periodic reviews of foster parent training information in CONNECTIONS for all types of foster parents and notify CHFS when it identifies foster parents who have not received the required training.

Agency Response

In its response, ACS agreed with 12 recommendations and stated that it believes that one is not applicable.