Follow-Up Audit of Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) Liberty Pass Program, December 2017

Open/Partially completed Conditions and Pending Corrective Action Two (2) of the four (4) conditions indentified in the original report were partially addressed, but require additional management attention. 1. Compliance by third party agencies . Current Status, Follow-Up Audit dated June 2017: Third party agencies were advised by SCAT that as of October 1, 2016, reports from the HMIS were no longer required to be provided to SCAT. As a result, many third party agencies ceased entering data into the HMIS related to Liberty Pass sales. Suncoast provided data from the HMIS that was available for Liberty Passes distributions for the time period of October 1, 2016 through April 30, 2017. The available data indicates that of the 1,923 Liberty Pass distributions that occurred, there were 245 instances where none of the three eligibility requirements listed in the Enrollment Form were met. Controls were not in place to monitor third parties for compliance with the eligibility requirements of those individuals sold or distributed Liberty Passes. However, subsequent to audit fieldwork, SCAT advised that a single database has been developed and implemented for tracking Liberty Pass distributions to eligible citizens. Original Audit Observation, Report dated September 2016: Third party agencies wishing to sell Liberty Passes sign an Enrollment Form, which states that, “Agency agrees that the Liberty Pass is only for use by eligible riders and agrees to screen clients requesting a Liberty Pass for eligibility before selling or distributing passes to clients.” The Enrollment Form specifies the eligibility requirements as: • Client’s residency status is homeless; or • Client is residing in a shelter; or • Client’s total household income is no more than 150% of federal poverty level. Currently, the third party agencies are required to determine eligibility based on the criteria stated above for new Liberty Pass riders and enter this data into the Homeless Management 9 | F o l l o w - u p o f S C A T L i b e r t y P a s s P r o g r a m D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7