Results of Limited Scope Review of Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry Head Start Program

We reviewed the financial conditions at Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry Head Start (the grantee), as a part of a nationwide series of reviews requested by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start, for use in its overall assessment of Head Start grantees that have applied for additional funding under the Recovery Act. Based on our assessment, we believe the grantee is financially viable, has the capacity to manage and account for Federal funds, and is capable of operating a Head Start program in accordance with Federal regulations. However, the grantee's financial management, procurement, and property internal control systems included weaknesses that diminished its capacity to manage and account for Federal funds and to operate its Head Start program in accordance with Federal regulations. These internal control weaknesses existed because the grantee did not comply with Federal requirements and its Head Start financial policies, and it did not fully implement corrective actions included in its approved Quality Improvement Plan. As a result, Head Start grant funds for budget period July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, may have been at risk.

In written comments on our draft report, the grantee offered narrative comments and additional documentation as evidence to demonstrate that it had established controls in the areas where we reported control deficiencies.

We recommended that ACF, in determining whether the grantee should be awarded additional Head Start and Recovery Act grant funding, consider the information presented in this report in assessing the grantee's financial condition.