Indiana Did Not Always Comply With Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program Requirements

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 established the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV program) in 2010, and it was to be collaboratively implemented by HHS's Health Resources and Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families.

Our objective was to determine whether the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) complied with MIECHV program requirements and the terms and conditions of the program's grants.

ISDH did not always comply with MIECHV program requirements and the terms and conditions of the program's grants. Specifically, ISDH did not have appropriate controls to prevent transaction errors, monitor subrecipient services to prevent duplication of services, and verify that subrecipients correctly entered home visit and assessment information in the payment system. In addition, ISDH did not comply with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) reporting requirements.

We recommended that ISDH develop and implement controls to help ensure that it meets the terms and conditions of the program's grants. We also recommend that ISDH submit award data to the www.fsrs.gov website for amounts received by subrecipients in compliance with reporting provisions of the FFATA.

In comments on our draft report, ISDH concurred with our recommendations and described corrective actions that it has taken or plans to take. However, regarding submitting award data to the www.fsrs.gov website, ISDH stated that it would begin reporting subawards made to Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana. After reviewing ISDH's comments, we maintain that ISDH should report award data for all MIECHV service providers, in addition to Goodwill, in compliance with FFATA reporting provisions.