Review of Cash Assistance Payments Under the Refugee Resettlement Program in Florida

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This final audit report estimates that the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) overpaid refugees $1.9 million in cash assistance after the refugees' period of eligibility for such assistance had expired. The overpayments occurred because the DCF did not have edits in its computerized payment system to identify and automatically terminate assistance to refugees whose eligibility period had ended. In addition to a financial adjustment for $1.9 million, we recommended that DCF implement edits in its computer system to preclude this problem.