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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
Report No. 2005-93
December 2005
The following problems were discovered as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Department of Social Services, Family Support Division � Blind Pension Fund and Rehabilitation Services for the Blind.
The Blind Pension (BP) and Supplemental Aid to the Blind (SAB) programs were created to provide blind/visually impaired Missouri residents age 18 or older with a reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health. Although the SAB program is federally mandated, the BP program is not. The total benefit payments from the BP and SAB programs were approximately $19.7 million, $18.5 million and $17.4 million for the years ended June 30, 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively.
Statutory provisions for the calculation of pension increases and the distribution of excess monies in the Blind Pension Fund are unclear and difficult to apply, which has resulted in different interpretations of the calculations. Additionally, income guidelines for the BP program have not been established. As a result, some blind individuals with incomes as high as $66,000 are receiving pension payments and state-funded Medicaid benefits. Also, since blind individuals are eligible to receive various other state and federal benefits, the BP program needs to be evaluated to determine whether the program is still necessary for some of the state's blind residents or if guidelines need to be revised.
The Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (RSB) needs to improve its controls over Supplemental Security Income (SSI) reimbursements. SSI reimbursements totaled approximately $78,000, $224,000, $156,000, and $1,171,000 for the period July 2004 to February 2005, and the years ended June 30, 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively. Our audit found that the reimbursement claims were not filed on a timely basis. The responsibility for filing SSI reimbursement claims was assigned to several different RSB employees since June 2002, which has resulted in a decrease in the number of claims filed and contributed to the dramatic decline in reimbursements. No claims were filed between June 2003 and November 2004. Furthermore, the use of SSI reimbursement monies per the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program's financial records do not agree with the department's federal financial reports.
The RSB does not consider financial need when providing VR services to clients. As a result, some clients with the least financial resources may not be receiving services as needed. Also, VR program guidelines are not always followed.
Expenditures for the VR program totaled approximately $5.8 million, $5.6 million, and $5.2 million for the years ended June 30, 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively. During our review of 60 VR cases, we noted the following questionable items:
In February 2000, the RSB contributed $12,000 toward the purchase of an $18,245 color copier for a VR client, with the client responsible for the remaining balance. In January 2002, the RSB was notified that the copier had been repossessed, and in April 2002, the RSB purchased the copier for $7,300. The RSB has not identified a client that can use the copier, so it has been in storage since April 2002.
The RSB routinely opens a VR case for an employee when the employee wants/needs equipment. We identified 24 RSB employees that had cases open during the three years ended June 30, 2004. Equipment purchases for these cases totaled approximately $132,000. It is unclear that VR cases for RSB employees are appropriate.
The RSB also needs to improve its procedures for monitoring and enforcing compliance with terms of contracts with personal/vocational adjustment (PVA) facilities. The RSB paid these facilities, located in Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, and South Dakota, $1,443,002, $803,465, and $802,204, during the years ended June 30, 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively to provide certain training programs to allow clients to live independently. The PVA facility onsite monitoring visits are not always performed on a timely basis. Additionally, the RSB does not ensure issues from past monitoring reports have been properly resolved prior to approving new contracts or renewing contracts with PVA facilities.
The RSB contracts with the Lions Business Opportunities for the Missouri Blind, Inc. (LBOMB), a not-for-profit entity, to provide management services and fund administration for the Business Enterprise Program (BEP). As of June 30, 2004, the BEP was supervising the operation of over 55 vending facilities. The LBOMB's annual audit reports show in-kind donations provided by the RSB totaled $340,844, $335,426, and $291,313, for the years ended September 30, 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively. However, the RSB does not maintain documentation to support these amounts. The BEP does not require annual audits from a certified public accountant of the vending facilities, and the department's internal auditor no longer performs facility audits due to budget constraints and personnel shortages. Additionally, sanitation inspections of BEP facilities are not performed on a timely basis as required by state regulations.
The audit report also includes some other matters related to personnel, a data conversion contract, and capital asset records and procedures upon which the department should take appropriate corrective action.
