Philadelphia County's Title IV-E Claims for Children for Whom the Contractual Per Diem Rate for Foster Care Services Exceeded $300 From October 1997 Through September 2002

The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (the State agency) did not always claim Title IV-E maintenance and associated administrative costs for Philadelphia County in accordance with Federal requirements.  Of the 100 maintenance claims sampled, which were based on per diem rates exceeding $300, 45 were unallowable.  Based on the sample results, we estimated that the State agency improperly claimed at least $11,693,989 of the total $33,282,491 (Federal share) claimed for Title IV-E reimbursement on behalf of Philadelphia County contractors that received per diem rates exceeding $300. 

We were unable to determine the allowability of the remaining $21,588,502 claimed by the State agency because the contractors' per diem rates did not distinguish between services that were eligible or ineligible for Title IV-E reimbursement. 

We recommended that the State agency (1) refund to the Federal Government $11,693,989; (2) work with ACF to determine the allowability of the remaining $21,588,502 claimed; (3) work with ACF to identify and resolve any unallowable claims made after September 2002 and refund the appropriate amount; (4) discontinue claiming Title IV-E reimbursement for unlicensed facilities and ineligible children and services; and (5) direct Philadelphia County to develop rate-setting procedures that separately identify maintenance and other costs, including related administrative costs, so that claims are readily allocable to the appropriate Federal, State, and local funding sources.  The State agency disagreed with all of the recommendations.