Audit of Contracted Human Services, July 2018

2 |  A u d i t o f C o n t r a c t e d H u m a n S e r v i c e s  J u l y 2 0 1 8 Executive Summary As part of the Annual Audit Plan, the Clerk of Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s  Internal  Audit Department and Office of the Inspector General  conducted an independent audit of  Contracted Human Services. The purpose of the audit was to assess whether contract eligibility  for agencies participating in the program was maintained and properly monitored and to  ensure that payment requests comply with the stipulations within the contract.  The audit found that the process by which requests for payment are approved by Health and  Human Services does not consistently ensure that the requests are properly calculated and that  supporting documentation is sufficient and properly supports the request. Additionally, it was  observed that improvements could be made when determining an agency’s payment rate as it  relates to the total award amount.  Weaknesses in the payment approval process could result in overpayments, payments for  services not in compliance with the contract, or payments for programs that are not meeting  the needs of Sarasota County residents. Contracts written with inconsistent award amounts,  rates, and supporting exhibits have the potential to lead to confusion of staff in the calculation  of payments or result in the deliberate misrepresentation of services provided by the agencies.